The hypothesis that competitive pressures encourage hospitals to accommodate patient and physician preferences for longer lengths of stay was tested. Seven hundred forty-seven nonfederal short-term hospitals were divided in terms of the number of neighboring hospitals within a 24-km radius, and this measure of hospital concentration and competition was measured against length of stay for ten surgical procedures, using 1982 data on 498454 patient discharges. Patient, physician, and hospital characteristics associated with length of stay were controlled for. Competition-related percentage increases in length of stay were identified for all procedures, including total hip replacement (14.8%), transurethral prostatectomy (13.9%), intestinal operations (14.0%), stomach operations (14.7%), hysterectomy (6.9%), cholecystectomy (9.1%), hernia repair (10.5%), appendectomy (8.4%), cardiac catheterization (22.9%), and coronary artery bypass graft surgery (21.2%). It was concluded that there is a strong association between the number of hospital competitors in the local market and the average length of stay in US hospitals.

Over a 5 1/2-year period, 22 of 262 children receiving liver transplants developed adenoviral infections. Five had adenoviral hepatitis in the allograft, caused by serotype 5. All five were treated for rejection, either just before or at the time of infection. Liver biopsy specimens had characteristic histological appearance, and diagnosis of adenoviral infection was confirmed with monoclonal antiadenoviral antibodies, electron microscopy, and by culture of liver tissue. In the remaining 17 patients, adenovirus was isolated from urine, stool, throat secretions, and/or blood samples, but none had any detectable visceral infection. Serotypes 1 and 2 predominated, similar to children not receiving transplants during the same time period. Three of the patients with hepatitis are alive and well; two died of liver failure. Adenoviral hepatitis did not recur in the second allograft of a patient who underwent retransplantation for combined rejection and adenoviral hepatitis, and appears, therefore, not to be a contraindication to retransplantation when liver failure ensues.

Mediterranean populations have low incidence rates of cardiovascular disease and hypertension that may be due, in part, to dietary factors, particularly a relatively high intake of monounsaturated fat as olive oil. In this study, nutritional components (as grams per 4200 kJ) (1 kcal = 4.2 kJ) from three-day food records were examined in association with resting blood pressure in a cross-sectional survey of 76 sedentary middle-aged American men, aged 30 to 55 years, with resting blood pressures below 160/100 mm Hg. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures correlated significantly and inversely with monounsaturated fat consumption. Polyunsaturated fat consumption also correlated inversely with diastolic blood pressure; however, this relationship became nonsignificant when adjusted for an index of regional adiposity that characterizes the male-type obesity pattern. Detailed analyses of specific fatty acids showed that the correlations with monounsaturates were specific to oleic acid, and the correlation with polyunsaturates was specific to linoleic acid. Multiple regression analysis suggested that 18.2% of the variance in systolic blood pressure and 23.2% of the variance in diastolic blood pressure were related to monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat consumption and regional adiposity. Thus, increased consumption of monounsaturated fat is related inversely to resting blood pressure, although causality remains to be determined.

During 1986, a total of 270 cadaver renal transplantations were performed at the University of Pittsburgh. Kidneys were allocated by a point system that awarded points to recipients for waiting time, antigen matching, antibody analyses, medical urgency, and logistic practicality. Kidneys were given to patients with the highest point totals in 98% of cases. To our knowledge, this is the first such multifactorial system for cadaver kidney allocation. Possibly it may be modified for extrarenal organs.

Coffee intake from three-day diet records was studied in association with plasma lipoprotein concentrations in a cross-sectional sample of 77 middle-aged American men to determine the significance and form of their interrelationships. The number of cups consumed per day correlated positively with levels of apolipoprotein B (r = .27, P less than or equal to .01) and became more strongly correlated when adjusted for age, cigarette use, adiposity, aerobic capacity, nutrient intake, and stress. Coffee intake also correlated with total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels when adjusted for these confounding factors. Graphic analyses revealed that plasma concentrations of apolipoprotein B and LDL-cholesterol were unrelated to intake of up to 2 cups of coffee per day and positively associated with intake exceeding 2 to 3 cups. These results suggest that male heavy coffee drinkers have lipoprotein profiles suggestive of increased cardiovascular disease risk, although the causality remains to be determined.

During the five-year period September 1974 through August 1979, two hundred nine consecutive patients received their first kidney transplant in Denver. During 2.5 to 7.5 years of follow-up, 54 patients (26%) died. Infection was the leading cause of death during all intervals and was responsible for 22 (41%) of the 54 deaths. Pneumonia was primarily responsible for 14 of the 22 deaths from infection. The other causes of death were cardiovascular problems in 11 patients (20%), suicide in eight patients (15%), gastrointestinal (GI) tract problems in seven patients (13%), malignant neoplasms in two patients (4%), and miscellaneous problems in four patients (7%). Twenty-six (48%) of the 54 deaths occurred more than one year after primary transplantation; 12 of these 26 patients had already returned to chronic hemodialysis. To minimize mortality after transplantation, patients and their physicians must remain alert to the ongoing risks to which these patients are exposed, including the risks of sudden death from infection, myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolus, suicide, or GI tract perforation.

A 56-year-old woman from southwestern Minnesota underwent an extended left hepatic lobectomy to remove a large multinodular mass with a necrotic central cavity. The clinical, serological, and pathological findings led to the diagnosis of alveolar hydatid disease, and specific identification of Echinococcus multilocularis was achieved by growing mature larvas in voles inoculated intraperitoneally with tissue from the hepatic lesions. The patient probably acquired her infection some years previously from pet cats or dogs that had become infected by ingesting infected rodents. In North America E multilocularis is enzootic in the northern tundra zone of Alaska and Canada. Since 1964 the cestode has been recognized with increasing frequency in several north-central states, including Minnesota. The parasite may extend its range farther south, since suitable animal hosts occur throughout the United States.

Orthotopic liver transplantation was accomplished in a 22-year-old woman dying of the Budd-Chiari syndrome. She is well and has normal liver function 16 months postoperatively. In view of the good early result, it will be appropriate to consider liver replacement for this disease in further well-selected cases.

Nineteen male recipients of renal homografts were responsible for 23 pregnancies, resulting so far in 19 live births and one abortion; three additional wives have not yet been delivered of infants. Eighteen of the 19 infants were normal; the abnormal infant had a myelomeningocele and other anomalies. Eight female recipients have become pregnant ten times. Two of the pregnancies were terminated with therapeutic abortions, and two more are in progress. The other six resulted in live births. There were only two infants with a completely uncomplicated neonatal period. One premature baby died a few hours after birth from hyaline membrane disease. The other five survived, but one had pulmonary valvular stenosis, two had evidence of transient adrenocortical insufficiency plus lymphopenia, and one child had the respiratory distress syndrome. Renal function of three mothers underwent deterioration during pregnancy, but was restored after its termination