Both approaches showed no differences in complications in the management of appendicitis complicated exclusively with peritonitis. In our experience, laparoscopic appendectomy is a safe approach in cases of appendicitis complicated exclusively with peritonitis.

Abstract-Because hypertensive pregnancies have been associated with increased cardiovascular disease, we aimed to identify whether angiographically characterized coronary artery disease differed in women with previous normotensive pregnancies or hypertensive pregnancies (HPs Key Words: hypertension in pregnancy Ⅲ preeclampsia Ⅲ coronary artery disease Ⅲ cardiovascular risks Ⅲ coronary angiography I ndirect evidence has linked preeclampsia, other forms of hypertension in pregnancy, and placentation-related defects to cardiovascular (CV) disease later in life. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Although most studies have used registry bases, one includes clinical follow-up, 10 one compares women with angiographically characterized coronary lesions with patients who only underwent clinical screening for coronary disease, 8 and another evaluates coronary calcification, a predictor of coronary artery disease. 11 A prospective study performed in a cohort of women with a precise classification of obstetric outcomes would be necessary to evaluate the tentative association between reproductive and CV complications, but because this is a relatively new finding, any ongoing or new study will need at least a couple of decades to be completed. Furthermore, included subjects would have to be left to the natural evolution of CV disease, and it is ethically inadmissible to abstain from CV preventive management.We decided to take an intermediate stance, by testing whether those subjects who had hypertensive pregnancies (HPs) developed earlier or more extensive coronary lesions than controls who had normotensive pregnancies (NPs). For this purpose, we evaluated the remote obstetric histories in women who underwent coronary angiography, the gold standard for defining coronary disease. MethodsThis investigation was a case-control observational retrospective study, with the results of coronary angiography as the dependent variable. Women undergoing coronary angiographies because of suspected coronary disease at Hospital Sótero del Río, in the southeast zone of Santiago, Chile, from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2007, completed a questionnaire (please see the online data supplement at http://hyper.ahajournals.org) to determine their CV risk factors, including the following: family history; age of onset and end of menstrual cycles; hormonal replacement therapy; number of

Object Several reports have shown that nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have an inhibitory effect in osteogenesis and reduce heterotopic ossification in humans. A deleterious effect of NSAIDs in posterolateral intertransverse process fusion has also been suggested. The authors used a validated rabbit model to try to determine the influence of the NSAID ketoprophen on the fusion rate in lumbar spinal arthrodesis. Methods Thirty New Zealand male rabbits underwent posterolateral (intertransverse process) bilateral spinal fusions at a single level, using autologous bone graft obtained from both iliac crests. The animals were randomized after the operation, so that 15 rabbits received ketoprophen as a postoperative analgesic and the other 15 received the postoperative analgesic tramadol. The animals were killed 8 weeks after surgery, and fusion status was determined by inspection, palpation, anteroposterior radiographs, and histological analysis. Results A solid fusion was obtained in eight rabbits (53%), and pseudarthrosis in seven rabbits (47%) in each group. Conclusions These findings suggest that the use of ketoprophen after intertransverse spinal fusion at a single level does not decrease the fusion rate, compared with tramadol.

Object Posterolateral spinal fusions are performed to treat different spinal disorders. Autograft continues to be the gold standard; it is, however, associated with donor site morbidity and limited sources. Allograft has been used, but has been reported to result in lower fusion rates. Demineralized bone matrix (DBM) has also been used and reportedly increases the fusion rate in a variety of critical defect models. Different forms of DBM are available, not all have been independently studied. To evaluate the effect of a xenogenic DBM added to allograft on the fusion rate of posterolateral lumbar spine arthrodesis the authors designed an experimental study comparing posterolateral fusion rate using autograft, allograft, and allograft plus a xenogenic DBM in a validated animal model. Methods A bilateral, 1-level (L4–5) intertransverse process fusion was performed in 45 male New Zealand rabbits. Iliac crest bone graft was harvested bilaterally from each rabbit. The rabbits were randomly assigned to 3 groups: Group I, Autograft, 15 rabbits; Group II, Allograft, 15 rabbits; and Group III, Allograft plus DBM in a paste form (Dynagraft). The animals were killed 8 weeks after surgery. Fusion was assessed radiographically and by manual palpation by 2 independent observers. The results were analyzed using the Fisher exact test and chi-square test. Results The fusion rate was 46.6% (7 of 15 rabbits) in the autograft group, 33.3% (5 of 15 rabbits) in the allograft group, and 33.3% (5 of 15 rabbits) in the allograft plus DBM group (p > 0.05). Conclusions Autograft produced a higher fusion rate than allograft in this spinal fusion rabbit model, but the difference was not statistically significant. Allograft plus xenogenic DBM showed the same fusion rate as allograft alone.

No abstract