כרמית צור, קרני גינזבורג, ירון יגיל, יואב צ'פמן, מרגלית דרורי ועמוס קורצ'ין

שיטות טיפול שלא זכו להוכחת יעילותן במבחן מדעי, נפוצות בחברה המערבית לצידן של שיטות המבוססות על תוצאות מחקר רפואי מודרני. במאמר הנוכחי מוצגים מימצאיו של מחקר שנבחנו בו דפוסי הפנייה של 37 חולי טרשת נפוצה לרפואה החלופית (alternative healer). מבין 37 נחקרים, 17 פנו לרפואה חלופית. בהשוואה לחולים שלא פנו לרפואה חלופית, מתאפיינים הפונים לרפואה חלופית בתמיכה משפחתית נרחבת יותר בשעת מחלתם, בשביעות-רצון פחותה מן הקשר שלהם עם הרופא המסורתי ובצורך להיות פעילים בהתמודדות עם מחלתם. בדיון במאמר זה נבחנת הפנייה לרפואה החלופית כביטוי להתמודדות עם מחלה מתקדמת חשוכת-מרפא וכשלב להשלמה עם קיומה.

משה פיינסוד

החטיבה למדעי הנירולוגיה הקלינית, מרכז רפואי רמב"ם, הפקולטה לרפואה רפפורט, הטכניון, חיפה

בשנת 1792 נאלץ מנתח צעיר בשם Larry לכרות את רגלו החבולה של חייל. למדנותו ושליטתו בספרות המדעית העדכנית שולבו בסקרנותו המדעית והפכו אירוע שיגרתי לכאורה לניסוי חדשני בנירופיסיולוגיה יישומית, מרגע שהשתמש ברגל הכרותה להוכחת תקפות תצפיותיו של Galvani בצפרדעים על גוף האדם. Larry אף העז וחזה – ובכך הקדים בכמה דורות את זמנו – שגריית עצבים בתת-עור בזרם הגלווני תמלא תפקיד חשוב בשיקום גפיים משותקים. להלן הניסוי ולקחיו.

י' אליס, מ' יניב, א' לוגר

המח' לאורתופדיה ב' והמח' לאורתופדיה לילדים ביה"ח לילדים דנה, מרכז רפואי סוראסקי תל-אביב והפקולטה לרפואה סאקלר, אוניברסיטת תל-אביב

איחוי עצמות שורש כף-הרגל (tarsal coalition) (אעש"כ) הוא מום מלידה, המתבטא בחיבור שתיים או יותר מעצמות שורש כף-הרגל, הפרעה זו היא הסיבה השכיחה ביותר להתהוות תיסמונת כף-רגל שטוחה עוויתית. התיסמונת כוללת כאב באזור הקרסול והעקב, עיוות נוקשה של כף הרגל במנח וולגוס ועווית (spasm) של השרירים הפרונאליים. בחלק גדול מהחולים הצעירים מהווה אעש"כ סיבה שכיחה לתחושה של נקעים נישנים.

Treatment of Traumatic False Aneurysm of the Thoracic Aorta with Stent Graft

R. Avrahami, M. Noyman-Levine, M. Haddad, A. Koren, J. Dahan, G. Sivak, A. Zelikovski,

Department of Vascular Surgery, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Campus, Petah Tikva

and Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel

The treatment of traumatic false aneurysm of the thoracic aorta by endovascular stent graft may have advantages over conventional surgery. This is a case study of two women suffering from false aneurysm of the thoracic aorta caused in one by a knife injury and in the other by a car accident. After the patients became hemodynamically stable, a commercially available endothelial stent graft (Talent, Gor) was deployed. Recovery was rapid in the first patient. The second patient required emergency laparotomy for venous bleeding one day after stent placement; she died two weeks later, mainly from organ failure.

Conclusions: Endovascular techniques can be used in selected cases to treat thoracic false aneurysms thereby avoiding the complexity and morbidity of conventional surgery.

Diagnostic Laparoscopy for Abdominal Lymphoma

D. Lev-Chelouche, D. Margal, J.M. Klausner, A. Szold

Dept. of Surgery B, Tel Aviv-Sourasky Medical Center (Affiliated with Sackler Medical Faculty, Tel Aviv University)

Imaging-guided (CT/US) percutaneous biopsy has significantly improved diagnosis of intra-abdominal lymphoma. However, in many cases the tissue retrieved may be inadequate for specialized studies such as immunophenotyping or cytogenetic analysis that may be required for a complete analysis of lymphoma or determination of therapy.

The success of diagnostic laparoscopy in the diagnosis and staging of gastrointestinal malignancies suggests that it could be used for intra-abdominal lymphomas as well. We describe our experience in 15 patients with suspected lymphoma who underwent diagnostic laparoscopy during 1995-98.

Preoperative investigation performed in all included percutaneous FNA in 9 without conclusive diagnosis. Laparoscopy was diagnostic for lymphoma in 14 (93%) while in 1 there was a false negative result due to sampling error and the lymphoma was only diagnosed at a second laparoscopy.

There was no mortality nor any major complication. Average hospital stay was 2 days and patients were then referred for further oncological treatment. Our experience shows that diagnostic laparoscopy is a safe and efficient tool and without major complications in diagnosing abdominal lymphoma.
 

ג'מאל עווד¹, בלה שינדל², יאיר שינדל¹

¹המח' לרפואה פנימית ו', ביה"ח לגליל המערבי, נהריה, ²מירפאת סוכרת, מרכז רפואי רבין, פתח-תקוה

האירגון האמריקאי לסוכרת (The American Diabetes Association - ADA) – ממליץ, שאם לא הושג איזון של הסוכרת בחולים NIDDM תוך שלושה חודשים על ידי תזונה דלת-סוכר והתעמלות, יש להתחיל בטיפול תרופתי. בדרך כלל מומלץ להתחיל בתרופה פומית אחת המורידה את רמת הסוכר, כמו, לדוגמה, (s‘SLP) sulfonylureas, (MTF) metformin, (ACS) acarbose או אינסולין.

בבחירת התרופה, יש לדעת את הפתוגנזה העיקרית שהביאה להיפרגליקצמיה, מנגנון הפעולה של התרופה, מחירה, השפעות-הלוואי, אופן מתן התרופה ומידת הדחיפות להורדת רמת הסוכר, דהיינו, ההסתמנות הקלינית של החולה.

התרופות מקבוצת ה- sulfonylureas הן השימושיות ביותר היום כטיפול התחלתי. Metformin מקבוצת ה- biguanides הוא תרופה מהקו הראשון לטיפול בחולי NIDDM הלוקים בהשמנת-יתר ועמידות לאינסולין. התרופה יעילה במיוחד במישלב עם תרופה מקבוצת ה- sulfonylureas, במיוחד במצבים בהם ה- s‘SLP בלבד לא הביאו לאיזון החולה.

התרופה החדשה יחסית acarbose מקבוצת האלפא glucosidase מפחיתה בצורה ברירנית את עליית הגלוקוזה לאחר הארוחה, ואין לה כמעט השפעה על רמת הסוכר בצום. שתי הקבוצות שהוכנסו לשימוש רק לאחרונה הן:

קבוצת ה- thiazolidinedione (troglitazon, rosigltazon) מגבירה את רגישות הרקמות ההיקפיות לאינסולין, כלומר, "מעוררת" תגובה חזקה יותר לאינסולין בשריר, בריקמת השומן ובכבד.

קבוצת ה- meglitinides (repagilinide) מגבירה את הפרשת האינסולין מהלבלב בדומה לקב' ה- s‘SLP, אלא שהשפעתה מהירה יותר וקצרה יותר, ומתאימה להפחתת רמות הגלוקוזה בנסיוב לאחר ארוחה.
 

Folic Acid for Preventing Neural Tube Defects

Ziv Gil, Adi Aran, Orna Friedman, Liana Beni-Adani, Shlomo Constantini

Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheba; Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Dana Children's Hospital, Sourasky Medical Center and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv

Spina bifida and anencephaly are the most common, serious malformations in neural tube defects (NTD). Randomized trials in the last 2 decades have demonstrated that folic acid, 0.4 mg/d, reduces the incidence of NTD by more than 50%. We investigated the use of folic acid and multivitamins containing folic acid in childbearing women.

Of 221 women interviewed, 67 (30%) regularly took pills containing 0.4 mg folic acid. Women with higher educational levels were more likely to take multivitamins with folic acid than were the less educated (p=0.05). Of the women who took folic acid, only 5 (7.5%) used separate folic acid tablets, before and during their pregnancy. The rest used multivitamins containing folic acid. The 5 women who took folic acid separately were college-educated and nonreligious, and they took multivitamins in addition (p>0.05).

Of the women interviewed, 58 (26.2%) were Bedouin of the Negev. 24 (41.4%) of them took pills containing folic acid on a regular basis. This percentage is higher than that in the Jewish women in the study who took folic acid for prevention of NTD (17%; p=0.038).

Most of the women took folic acid after the first trimester. Only a minority took daily periconceptional folic acid. Multivitamins containing 0.4 mg of folic acid were more popular than folic acid tablets alone. This study emphasizes the need for continuing efforts to increase consumption of folic acid and awareness of its benefits among women of childbearing age.

Multiresistant Escherichia Coli from Elderly Patients

Ilana Slucky-Shraga, Moshe Wolk, Sofia Volis, Israel Vulikh, David Sompolinsky

Dept. of Medicine and Microbiology Laboratory, Mayanei Hayeshua Hospital, Bnei Brak; Central Laboratories, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem; and Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan

We examined all ceftriaxone-resistant Escherichia coli isolates obtained from clinical samples during 16 months (1 Dec. '97 - 31 Mar. '99). A total of 97 resistant isolates from 36 patients were obtained, mostly from urine specimens. Of these patients, 35/36 were over 75 years old, most lived in nursing homes, were dependent on nursing in their daily lives, and were incontinent and/or had indwelling catheters.

All 97 isolates had similar susceptibility profiles: resistant to ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, ampicillin, amoxycillin/clavulanate, tricarcillin/clavulanate, aztreonam, and cefuroxime; decreased susceptibility to ceftazidime and cefepime; and susceptible to imipenem and meropenem. Double-disc tests indicated that all strains produced extended spectrum beta-lactamase(s). All the isolates belonged to 1 of 3 E. coli serotypes: 79 were 0153:H31, 13 were 0142:H10, and 5 were 0102:H6.

Pre-Induction Sport Activity in Prevention of Stress Fractures 

Aharon S. Finestone, Arieh Eldad, Charles Milgrom

Medical Corps, Israel Defense Forces, and Dept. of Orthopedics, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Campus, Petah Tikva and Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Kerem, Jerusalem

Pre-induction sports participation of 392 elite infantry recruits was evaluated for correlation with incidence of stress fractures (SF) during 14 weeks of basic training. 23.7% developed lower extremity stress fractures. 72% of the recruits had participated in sports on a regular basis during the 2 years prior to induction. Their fitness as examined by the Bar-Or induction fitness test, was significantly better than that of those who had not trained. 14.9% of the soldiers who had previously participated in ball games (primarily basketball) as an only sport suffered stress fractures, compared to 31.0% of those whose only sport was running (p<0.005).

Training for only 6 months prior to induction had no effect on the incidence of SF. The reason for the difference between ball games and running is probably related to the higher strains and strain rates developed during ball games and to their multidirectional nature, as compared to running.

These findings suggest that participation in a pre-induction program that includes activities that create strains, such as basketball, can reduce incidence of SF in infantry recruits. The training period has to last at least 2 years.

SYME Amputation for Foot Infections in Diabetics 

Michael Michailevich, Ehud Lebel, Menachem Itzchaki

Dept. of Orthopedics, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem

Syme ankle disarticulation for foot infections in diabetics with concomitant peripheral vascular disease is often unsuccessful. The need for re-amputation usually results from recurrent infection or ischemia of the posterior heel flap. We present 5 such cases of deep foot infections in diabetics who underwent Syme amputation after failure of local debridement. All patients needed reamputation in 4-18 days for ischemia of the flap.

Smoking by an Israeli Hospital Staff, its Attitude to Smoking in Hospitals and to “Smoke-Free” Hospitals

Shabtai Varsano, Giora Hevion, Mila Garenkin

Depts. of Pulmonary Medicine, Asthma Care-Education Unit, Hospital Management Office, and Epidemiology and Medical Data Unit; Meir General Hospital, Sapir Medical Center, Kfar Saba and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University

Smoking within hospitals is common in general hospitals in Israel. It has a strong negative educational impact, has a negative image and curing its ill effects help keep our hospitals busy. An anonymous questionnaire was answered by 128 members of our hospital staff (28%). Their distribution, according to occupation and sex was representative of the rest of our hospital staff.

19% of our workers are smokers, a much lower proportion than in our general adult population. The proportion was highest among maintenance (40%) and sanitary-help staff (36%). 23% of nurses and 15% of physicians were smokers. This situation is better than that among Italian or Japanese medical staff, but much worse than among North American medical staff.

75% of our workers who smoke declared that they smoke outside the room in which they work. 66% and 72% of the staff believe that hospital workers and visitors, respectively, should smoke outside hospital buildings. Only 19% of all workers do not believe that a "smoke-free hospital" is attainable. 34% believe that a "smoke-free hospital" is achievable, and 47% said that it is perhaps achievable. 86% of all the workers, and 41% of the smokers, expect the hospital director to implement an effective policy of enforcing the law limiting smoking within hospitals (and other public buildings) in Israel. 60% are willing to contribute actively to this effort.

We believe these results strongly suggest that the time is ripe for implementation of the "smoke-free hospital" in Israel. This requires a strong and effective central policy, like that in the USA. We suggest measures that the Israel Ministry of Health take measures to successfully implement this policy.

Thromboembolism in Orthopedic Trauma

A. Khoury, R. Mosheiff, M. Liebergall

Orthopedic Surgery Dept., Hadassah University Hospital and Hebrew University - Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem

Trauma increases risk of thromboembolic complications. Thus, in pelvic fractures and spinal injuries the incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is about 35-60%. Half occur in the pelvic veins and are the most likely to result in pulmonary embolism. While symptomatic pulmonary embolism occurs in 2-10% of patients, more have silent pulmonary embolism. 0.5-2% of pulmonary embolisms are fatal. In lower extremity trauma the incidence of DVT is about 58%, with 18% of them in the proximal veins. Thromboembolic complications are the prime cause of morbidity and mortality among trauma patients, yet they can be prevented efficiently and cost-effectively. The arsenal of prophylactic agents includes heparin, low molecular weight heparin, and mechanical devices including inferior vena cava filters.

Popliteal Vascular Trauma

R. Avrahami, M. Haddad, B. Watemberg, E. Stelman, A. Koren, J. Dahn, A. Zelikovski

Dept. of Vascular Surgery, Rabin Medical Center (Beilinson Campus), Petah Tikva

6 cases of popliteal vascular trauma are presented, 3 due to posterior dislocation of the knee and 3 due to crush injury. The patients were referred from another hospital and some had undergone unnecessary angiography when ischemia was present, leading to delay in surgery. All patients presented with distal ischemia and underwent reconstructive surgery; 2 subsequently underwent below-knee amputation because of irreversible ischemia and sepsis.

Urgent operation for popliteal vascular trauma is necessary whenever there is ischemia and intraoperative angiography may be necessary. There should be reconstruction of the artery and vein when there is concomitant venous damage, and fasciotomy and debridement are important. The harmful potential of occult popliteal vascular injuries and their ostensible mild presentation present a challengfor the emergency room surgeon.

Familial Occurrence of Ebstein Anomaly

Ruti Margalit-Stashefski, Avraham Lorber, Eyal Margalit

Family Practice Unit, Kupat Holim Klalit, Haifa, Pediatric Cardiology Unit, Rambam Hospital, Haifa and Ophthalmology Dept., Hadassah--University Hospital, Jerusalem

Ebstein anomaly is a rare congenital disease which affects location, structure and mobility of the tricuspid valve, and right atrium and ventricle. Although most cases are sporadic, familial occurrence has been reported. We report 2 brothers born with Ebstein anomaly. The parents were first degree cousins and there were 8 other children. 2 daughters were born with other congenital heart anomalies, 1 with ventricular septal defect and the other with severe pulmonary artery stenosis. We suggest that in some families, Ebstein anomaly is an autosomal dominant disease with different expression in the sexes.

Limited Axillary Thoracotomy for Recurrent Spontaneous Pneumothorax

I. Bar, M. Simha, A. Nissan, Y. Shargal, M. Kramer, G. Merin

Depts. of Cardiothoracic Surgery and of Surgery, and Pulmonary Institute, Hadassah--University Hospital, Ein Karem; and Dept. of Surgery, Hadassah--University Hospital, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem

Recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax often requires surgical intervention. Recently, less invasive thoracic surgical techniques, such as video-assisted thoracoscopy (VAT) and limited axillary thoracotomy (LAT), have been developed and used for different thoracic procedures. We describe our results with limited axillary thoracotomy, as compared with those of video-assisted thoracoscopy as reported in the literature. From October 1994 to May 1996, 14 patients with recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax, aged 16-33 years, underwent limited axillary thoracotomy, resection of blebs and apical pleurectomy, using multifire GIA 80 staplers (Auto Suture Inc.). There were no complications or recurrences during 5-17 months of follow-up. Mean operative time was 52.2 minutes and mean hospital stay 2.3 days postoperatively. Full activity was regained within 12.1 days. In comparison with over 75 cases of VAT from the literature, LAT is safe and offers the potential benefits of decreased operative time, hospital stay and cost.