Acute acalculous cholecystitis occurs infrequently, but the incidence seems to be increasing. Its attendant high associated morbidity and mortality dictate prompt diagnosis. Diagnosing this condition is often difficult because of the patient's debilitated medical condition and the limitations of biliary imaging techniques. During a 5-year study period (1981 through 1986), 20 patients underwent assessment and treatment for acute acalculous cholecystitis at our institution. This observation suggests an increase in incidence in comparison with a previously reported review of 28 such patients during a 16-year period at our institution. Initial treatment consisted of cholecystectomy in 18 patients, and percutaneous transhepatic cholecystostomy was successfully used in the other 2 patients. The postoperative mortality and morbidity for these 20 patients were 30% and 55%, respectively. Percutaneous transhepatic cholecystostomy should be explored further as a treatment option for acute acalculous cholecystitis.

One hundred and four patients undergoing concomitant cholecystectomy and exploration of the common bile duct were retrospectively reviewed. Exploration of the common bile duct retrieved stones in only 17 patients, all of whom had clearly positive findings from operative cholangiography. Of 87 patients who had negative results 57 underwent exploration of the common bile duct on the basis of clinical factors and 21 on the basis of equivocal cholangiographic findings.

At the Mayo Clinic, six patients with primary volvulus and 51 with secondary volvulus were treated during a 10-year period. Volvulus of the small intestine must be considered when a patient presents with small-bowel obstruction, and early operative intervention should be undertaken to prevent vascular compromise.

PreviewPosttraumatic meningitis may occur in up to 25% of patients with basilar skull fracture, and administration of antibiotics has been proposed to prevent this complication. Some studies support this practice bat others challenge it The authors present the results of their own retrospective study of patients seen in a large clinic during a nine-year period.

Serum creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) screening followed by two-dimensional echocardiography (2-DE) was used for the assessment of possible cardiac injury in victims of blunt trauma with acute thoracic or rapid deceleration injury. Of 291 victims evaluated acutely, 58 (20%) had a CK-MB fraction evident within 24 hours after injury. Sixty per cent (35/58) were diagnosed as having 'cardiac concussion' (normal 2-DE) and 40% (23/58) as having 'cardiac contusion' (abnormal 2-DE). 2-DE abnormalities most often involved the right ventricle and were characterized by dyskinesis. Only one of 35 concussion patients (3%) and nine of 23 contusion patients (39%) manifested cardiac arrhythmias within 72 hours after injury (p less than 0.006). Distinction between concussion and contusion has enabled development of a rational acute management protocol. A total of 70 patients with documented blunt cardiac injury (58 evaluated acutely, nine dead on arrival or died in the emergency room, and three delayed presentations) seen at this institution over 4 years are reported, illustrating the full spectrum of blunt cardiac injury.