One hundred and three colorectal carcinoma specimens were examined to determine the value of the xylene and alcohol fat clearance technique in detecting lymph node metastases. The mesocolon or mesorectum was dissected initially by the traditional method and all the lymph nodes identified were examined histologically. After fat clearance the specimen was dissected again and further lymph nodes were examined. Forty-one specimens were obtained from the rectum and 62 from the colon. Traditional dissection produced a mean of 6.2 lymph nodes per specimen, but following fat clearance a further mean of 12.4 nodes per specimen were found. The total number of lymph nodes recovered varied from two to 69 with a mean of 18.5 per specimen. Traditional dissection showed 45 specimens (43.7 per cent) to have lymph node metastases but after fat clearance a further five specimens (4.8 per cent) were found to be lymph node positive. Therefore, of the 58 specimens graded initially as Dukes' B, five (8.6 per cent) were shown after fat clearance to be Dukes' C tumours. In the Dukes' C cases the mean (s.d.) number of involved lymph nodes per specimen was 2.7 (2.1) by traditional dissection and 4.2 (3.9) after fat clearance. Forty-seven (94.0 per cent) of the Dukes' C tumours were correctly identified after examination of specimens containing up to 13 lymph nodes. Fat clearance of the mesocolon or mesorectum should be used when traditional dissection has failed to identify at least 13 nodes and the tumour has been classified as Dukes' B.

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The fat clearance technique is a useful aid to improving the accuracy of the Dukes classification and has prognostic significance. It should be used in specimens of colorectal carcinoma, which on initial examination appear to be Dukes B cases.

Distal ulcerative colitis can be treated with oral or rectal mesalazine, or both. A foam enema preparation has been developed and its efficacy investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of mesalazine foam enemas compared with prednisolone foam enemas in the treatment of patients with acute distal ulcerative colitis. Patients aged over 18 years presenting with a relapse of distal ulcerative colitis were randomly allocated treatment with mesalazine foam enema (n = 149 evaluable patients) and prednisolone foam enema (n = 146 evaluable patients) for four weeks. A randomised multicentre investigator blind parallel group trial was conducted. It was found that after four weeks of treatment, clinical remission was achieved by 52% of mesalazine treated patients and 31% of patients treated with prednisolone (p < 0.001). There was a trend in favour of more patients in the mesalazine group achieving sigmoidoscopic remission (40% v 31%, p = 0.10). Histological remission was achieved by 27% and 21% of patients receiving mesalazine and prednisolone respectively. Symptoms improved in both treatment groups. Significantly more mesalazine patients had no blood in their stools after four weeks of treatment (67% v 40%, p < 0.001). Prednisolone treated patients had significantly fewer days with liquid stools than mesalazine patients, with a median of 0 and 1 days respectively by week 4 (p = 0.001). In this study mesalazine foam enema was superior to prednisolone foam enema with regards to clinical remission, this was supported by favourable trends in sigmoidoscopic and histological remission rates. Both treatments were well tolerated.

One hundred and sixty-five patients presented in a 4-year period: 68 (41.2 per cent) had had previous anorectal sepsis and in 56 of these patients (82.3 per cent) the presenting sepsis was at the site of the previous abscess. The abscesses were drained and pus was sent for culture; any fistula, if found, was laid open. A second examination under anaesthesia was performed within 7--10 days if no fistula had been found. The pus from 114 patients grew bowel-derived organisms; 62 (54.4 per cent) fistulas were found. The pus from 34 patients grew skin-derived organisms but no fistula was demonstrated in this group. It is suggested that a second examination need only be performed if culture of the pus grows bowel-derived organisms: anorectal abscesses which grow skin-derived organisms are not associated with a fistula.