יחיאל מ' בר אילן (1) ודגנית שרון (2)

(1) המח' לרפואה פנימית ב', בית-החולים מאיר, כפר-סבא, והיח' למדעי ההתנהגות בפקולטה לרפואה סאקלר, אוניברסיטת תל-אביב, (2) בית-הספר האקדמי לסיעוד שיינברון, מרכז רפואי סוראסקי, תל-אביב

במאמר זה מובאת בעיה אותה אנו מכנים "הפער ההומאני ברפואה". זהו הפער בין יכולותיה של הרפואה כמדע וכמימסד לבין האתגרים הערכיים והאנושיים העומדים בפני הרופאים המדענים המבקשים ליישם את פרי המחקר המדעי ליד מיטת החולה ולטובתו.

נטען כי מדעי הרוח, החברה והאומנויות (המקצועות ההומאניים, The Humanities) הם כלי חיוני בגישור הפער הזה. מכמני היצירה האנושית מסייעים הן לקלינאים והן למטופליהם להתמודד עם האתגרים האנושיים שבסבל ובחולי.

המקצועות ההומאניים הם הבמה לדיונים ערכיים בחברה המודרנית. במה זו חיונית לתיפקודה של הרפואה כדיסציפלינה וכמימסד, שכן אין ביכולתו של מדע הרפואה להתמודד עם שאלות שיש להן היבטים ערכיים, כל עוד הוא מסוגר ומנותק מהשיח החברתי הרחב וממסורות תרבות ויצירה.

הרפואה הקלינית נסמכת על שני עמודי-תווך: הכרת המחלות והטיפולים הנדרשים מחד-גיסא, והכרת החולה ועולמו מאידך-גיסא. המקצועות ההומאניים מהווים בסיס לעמוד השני, ואבן הראשה בקשת המגשרת בין העמודים הנושאת בעול הרפואה הקלינית בפועל.

לבסוף, נסקרות כמה הצעות לשילוב המקצועות ההומאמניים בחינוך ובמעש הרפואיים. בכלל זה פעילות אקדמית המשותפת לסטודנטים לסיעוד, לרפואה ולכלל האוניברסיטה, שילובם של אומנים בנתיחות אנטומיות, ופעילות התנדבותית ואקדמית במחלקות ובביתם של החולים.            

(1) טליה וולק, (2) שמעון וייצמן, (3) אילנה הרמן-בהם, (4) מיכאל פריגר, (1) שאול סוקניק,

(1) המח' לרפואה פנימית ד', (2) החטיבה לבריאות הקהילה, (3) המירפאה לסוכרת, (4) היח' לאפידמיולוגיה, מרכז רפואי אוניברסיטאי סורוקה, הפקולטה למדעי הבריאות, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון, באר-שבע

המטרה במחקר היתה לבדוק את שכיחות תסמונת הפיברומיאלגיה ומאפייני כאב נוספים ב-137 חולי סוכרת מסוג 2, לעומת 139 חולים ללא סוכרת מסוג 2, תואמים מבחינת גיל ומין. לא נמצא הבדל בשכיחות פיברומיאלגיה בין הגברים בשתי הקבוצות, אולם לגברים חולי הסוכרת היה סף כאב נמוך יותר ומספר רב יותר של נקודות רגישות, והם דיווחו על כאב בשיעור גבוה יותר לעומת גברים בקבוצת הבקרה.

לעומת זאת, נמצאה שכיחות יתר של פיברומיאלגיה בנשים חולות סוכרת מסוג 2 לעומת הנשים בקבוצת הבקרה – 23.3% לעומת 10.6%, בהתאמה (P=0.048). למרות ההבדל בשכיחות הפיברומיאלגיה בנשים, לא נמצא הבדל משמעותי בין שתי קבוצות הנשים במספר הנקודות הרגישות ובסף הכאב. כמו-כן נשים חולות סוכרת התלוננו על כאב בשיעור גבוה יותר. הן בנשים והן בגברים חולי סוכרת היו מספר הנקודות הרגישות וקריאות הדלורימטר ביחס ישיר עם משך המחלה.

אורן שבולת (1), יוסי קליש (2), שמואל גיליס (2), ירון אילן (1)

(1) יח' הכבד, האגף לרפואה פנימית, (2) המח' להמטולוגיה, בית-החולים האוניברסיטאי הדסה עין-כרם, ירושלים

אקסטזי (3.4–Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) הוא סם הניטל למטרות המרצה והגברת תחושת העילוי (ophoria). במאמר זה מדווח על בחור בן 23 שלקה בפקקת ארגמנתית של מיעוט טסיות ובדלקת כבד חדה מישנית לנטילת אקסטזי. נסקרו הסיבוכים בכבד הכוללים דלקת כבד חדה, צמקת, כשל הכבד וסיבוכים המטולוגיים. מן הצורך לכלול נטילת אקסטזי באבחנה המבדלת של חולים הלוקים במחלת כבד או בסיבוך המטולוגי מסיבה לא ידועה.

Myocardial Infarction Due to Cocaine

Doron Zamir, Ilan Leibovitz, Ilia Polychuck, Tetiana Reitblat

Department of Medicine D, Barzilai Medical Center, Ashkelon

Cocaine is a common drug. Myocardial infarcts and brain infarcts related to the use of cocaine were previously reported in the medical literature. We report a 34 year old patient admitted for severe chest pain, a few minutes after cocaine use. He was found to have an acute myocardial infarction with significant left ventricle dysfunction. Coronarography conducted a few days later was found to be normal. Cocaine use may cause acute myocardial infarction in young and healthy people with no other risk factors.

אילן גל, יגאל וולמן, יוסף הרטוב, גדעון פייט, יוסף לסינג, אריאל יפו

המכון לדימות על-שמע במיילדות ורפואת נשים, ביה"ח ליולדות ליס, המרכז הרפואי ת"א

חשיבות המערכת הוורידית והחזר הדם ללב האדם הבוגר ידועה זה שנים. למעשה, השליטה העיקרית בתפוקת הלב הבוגר נקבעת על פי שינויים בזרימה ובהחזר הוורידיים. מדידות לחצים וזרימות במערכת ההחזר הוורידי ללב, משמשים כלי ניטור יומיומי ביחידות לטיפול נמרץ וטיפולים תרופתיים רבים מיועדים לשיפור זרימה זו במצבי אי-ספיקת לב. עם זאת, הזרימה העוברית וההחזר הוורידי ללב העובר לא נחקרו עד לשנים האחרונות. הסיבה לכך כפולה. ראשית, דגם עובר הכבש לבדיקת זרימת הדם שפותח בשנות השישים ייצג בעיקר, את המערכת העורקית. שנית, זיהוי מדויק של מערכת הזרימה הוורידית קשה יותר טכנית ורק עם פיתוח שיטת דופלר בצבע, ניתן היה להדגים ולמדוד בוודאות את צורת גלי הזרימה של מרכיבי המערכת ולדגום אותם. התפתחות נוספת בשנים האחרונות נובעת מהדגמה מדויקת יותר של המערכת ומאפשרת מדידת זרימת הדם במונחי מ"ל/דקה.

Malignant Humoral Hypercalcemia Associated with Angiotropic Large B Cell Lymphoma: Case Report

Boleslaw Knobel, MD;^1,5 Ilan Sommer, MD;¹ Pauline Petchenko, MD;² Dorit Lev, MD; ³ Elimelech Okon, MD;^4,5

¹Department of Medicine "B", ²Department of Hematology, ³Institute of Genetics, Edith Wolfson Medical Center, Holon ⁴Department of Pathology, Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva and 5Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

Angiotropic large B cell lymphoma (angiotropic LCL) or intravascular large cell lymphoma (IVLCL) was diagnosed by liver and bone marrow biopsies and immunohistochemical studies in a 52 year old Caucasian male.

IVLCL is a very rare disease characterized by widespread intravascular proliferation of lymphoma cells. Although it most commonly affects the central nervous system or skin and occasionally bone marrow, angiotropic LCL may be present without evidence of localized disease, as seen initially in our patient.

To date, only a few cases of intravascular malignant lymphomatosis associated with parathyroid hormone related protein (PTH-rP) induced humoral hypercalcemia have been published.

Our extraordinary case was diagnosed mainly by liver biopsy. The neoplastic lymphoid cells stained diffusely and strongly positive with CD-20 (Pan B) and were negative for CD-3 (Pan T) immunostain.

The most significant, initial clinical finding was severe, unexplained hypercalcemia (until 18.6 mg/dl). Plasma PTH-rP showed a ten-fold increase at 8 pmol/L (normal value less than 0.8 pmol/L). Very unusual cytogenic abnormalities were found.

The patient received the massive third generation combination chemotherapy comprising of Methotrexate, Doxorubicine, Cyclophosphamide, Vincristine, Prednisone and Bleomycin and developed, complete although temporary, clinical, humoral and cytogenetic remission.

Surgical Repair of Myxomatous Mitral Valve

D. Bitran, O. Merin, I. Dzigivker, D.Rosenmann, S. Od-allah, S. Silberman

Depts. of Cardiothoracic Surgery and of Anesthesiology and Cardiology; Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem

Myxomatous mitral valve disease is now the most common cause of mitral regurgitation in the western world. Repair of the leaking valve has become standard surgical procedure during the past 2 decades. Between 1993-1999 we performed 113 repairs of the mitral valve. In 25 patients the etiology was myxomatous degeneration (no mortality). Long-term clinical results depend on patients' functional class at surgery. Based on this fact, and the good surgical results, it is recommended to refer such patients even with severe mitral incompetence for surgery at an early stage, even if symptoms are minimal.

Dermatitis from Contact with Agave Americana

Haim Golan, Marina Landau, Ilan Goldberg, Sara Brenner

Dermatology Dept., Tel Aviv-Sourasky Medical Center

Various plants induce dermatitis in man. There have been only a few published cases of contact dermatitis caused by Agave americana (AA).

We report intentional exposure to AA in a soldier seeking sick leave, and review our previously reported cases. Treatment with oral antihistamines and topical saline compresses resulted in subsidence of the systemic symptoms within 24h and regression of cutaneous manifestations in 7-10 days.

Physicians should be alert to the possibility of self-inflicted contact dermatitis induced by exposure to plants, especially to A. americana. Systemic signs may accompany the cutaneous lesions.

Treatment of Phenyl-Ketonuria due to Dihydropteridinereductase Deficiency 

B. Sela, J. Blonder, I. Peled, G. Schwartz

Institute for Pathological Chemistry and Child Development, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer; Clinical Biochemistry Dept., Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University

Most cases of hyper-phenylalaninemia are due to deficiency of phenyl-alanine hydroxylase that converts phenyl-alanine to tyrosine. This enzymic reaction is facilitated by the co-factor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH₄). A defect in the latter substrate leads to increased phenyl-alanine in 1-2 cases per million live births. Such cases are characterized by a degenerative brain process, and pronounced neurologic symptoms that cannot be prevented by a low phenyl-alanine diet alone.

In 3 male newborns a deficiency of dihydropteridine reductase (DHPR) activity was diagnosed, the last in a sequence of 3 enzymes involved in the formation of BH₄. Successful outcome of treatment as well as the results of failure to diagnose and treat affected newborns are described, with emphasis on the logistic problems involved in mass screening.

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.

Relationship between Occupation and Clinical Characteristics during Pregnancy and Recommendation to Stop Working

S. Gazit-Nissim, E. Sheiner, M. Mazor, I. Shoham-Vardi

Depts. of Epidemiology and Health Services Evaluation, and of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soroka University Medical Center and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheba

We examined the relationship between occupation and clinical characteristics during pregnancy and medical recommendations to stop working. Using a case-control design, we compared 58 working women who had preterm births, with 126 who had delivered at term. All women were interviewed postpartum while still in hospital.

There were no differences between the groups with regard to physical activity outside the home, weekly work hours, nor duration of work. Only a small proportion had been exposed to unusually difficult working conditions, to hazardous agents or to a very uncomfortable working environment. Women who had had preterm births were advised more often to leave their jobs or modify their working patterns. Multivariate analysis revealed that the physician's decision to recommend cessation of work was influenced primarily by complications during the current pregnancy.

It appears that our patients at risk for preterm birth are probably correctly identified, and receive appropriate guidelines as to working patterns. It is possible that a poor obstetric history or previous abortions may paradoxically have a protective effect, as they influence the physician to recommend cessation of work.

Diabetes and Premature Delivery: Etiology and Risk Factors 

Avi Beigelman, Arnon Wiznitzer, Ilana Shoham-Vardi, Hilel Vardi, Gershon Holtcberg, Moshe Mazor

Depts. of Obstetrics and Gynecology and of Epidemiology and Health Services Evaluation, Soroka Medical Center and Faculty of Health Science, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheba

Preterm birth is the leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality, while preterm labor and delivery in diabetes mellitus (DM) carries an increased risk of perinatal complications. We investigated the hypothesis that DM (gestational and pregestational) is an independent risk factor for preterm birth and evaluated the hypothesis that the risk factors for preterm birth in diabetics are different from those in non-diabetics.

The study population consisted of all singleton deliveries at this hospital between 1990-1997. Excluded were those of mothers who had not had prenatal care, or who had only partial care or multiple gestations. There were 3 subgroups: 834 women with pregestational DM, 3,841 with gestational DM, and 66,253 non-diabetics.

The combined spontaneous and induced preterm delivery rate was determined in each subgroup. Potential risk factors for spontaneous preterm deliveries were assessed by a univariate model. A logistic regression model was used to assess the unique contribution of DM (gestational and pregestational) to preterm delivery in the presence of the other risk factors, and to compare risk factors for preterm delivery between subgroups.

The prevalence of spontaneous preterm delivery was: 7.1% in non-diabetics, 10.0% in those with gestational DM and 25.5% in those with pregestational DM. When adjusted by a multivariate model for other risk factors for preterm delivery, DM still remained an independent risk factor for spontaneous preterm delivery (gestational DM: odds ratio 1.28, 95% CI: 1.1-1.48; pregestational diabetes: odds ratio 3.4, 95% CI: 2.65-4.36).

The main difference in risk factors for preterm birth between the 3 subgroups was the amount of amniotic fluid. Polyhydramnios was an independent risk factor for preterm delivery in non-diabetics and in pregestational DM, but not in gestational DM. On the other hand, oligohydramnios was associated with a higher risk for preterm delivery only in gestational DM compared to non-diabetics.

DM (gestational and pregestational) is an independent risk factor for spontaneous preterm delivery. Polyhydramnios is an independent risk factor for preterm delivery in pregestational but not in gestational DM. Oligohydramnios is a greater risk factor for preterm delivery in gestational DM compared to non-diabetics.

Placenta Accreta with Placenta Previa after Previouscesarean Sections 

Eylon Lachman, Alexander Mali, Gabriel Gino, Michael Burstein, Michael Stark

Depts. of Obstetrics and Gynecology and of Pathology, Misgav Ladach Hospital, Jerusalem

The increased rate of cesarean sections in recent decades has brought with it an increase in the frequency of placenta accreta. There are direct correlations between previous cesarean deliveries and also maternal age, with the risk of placenta accreta. There is also a direct correlation between placenta accreta and placenta previa.

The risk of placenta accreta in women who have had placenta previa is 2% for those younger than 35 years and with no history of uterine surgery. The risk increases to 39% for those over 35 who have had 2 or more cesarean sections.

We present 3 cases of placenta accreta admitted in 15 months, all of whom had a history of cesarean sections. The frequency of placenta accreta in our hospital is 1:1,579 deliveries, in line with the 1:1,420 in the literature. We consider hysterectomy the treatment of choice for this serious complication. When performing a cesarean in cases of placenta previa with a history of cesarean sections, the possibility of placenta accreta should be considered.

Relationship Between Preterm Birth and Exertion During Pregnancy

S. Gazit-Nissim, E. Sheiner, M. Mazor, I. Shoham-Vardi

Depts. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Epidemiology and of Health Services Evaluation, Soroka-University Medical Center, and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheba

The relationship between physical activity at home and at work during pregnancy and preterm birth was studied. Using a case-control design, 99 women who delivered preterm were compared with 189 women who had term deliveries. The risk of preterm birth was tested in relation to characteristics of work in and outside the home. All women were interviewed post-partum before discharge.

There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in relation to sociodemographic and obstetrical factors, but level of education was significantly lower in the study group versus the control group (p=0.001).

Women who delivered preterm had devoted less time 3 months prior to delivery to household chores (mean of 3.7 hours vs. 4.8 hours in the control group, p=0.002). They also had spent less time walking around the home than the controls (1.2 vs. 1.5 hours, p=0.02). There were no differences between the groups in relation to physical activity outside the home, not during working hours, nor in duration of work. Significantly fewer women who delivered preterm were active in sports (odds ratio 0.22; 95% confidence interval 0.50-0.65; p=0.002).

A low level of education was significantly related to the risk of preterm birth, which may have resulted from lesser compliance with their physician's recommendations. It appears that in women not used to significant physical activity but who had access to adequate prenatal care, physical effort during pregnancy was not related to a higher risk of preterm birth.

Type 2 Diabetes among Adolescents in Israel 

Orit Pinhas-Hamiel, Ilana Koren, Pnina Vardi

Maccabi Juvenile Diabetes Center, Ramat Hasharon and Lin Diabetes Center, Haifa

Type 2 diabetes has been considered rare in children and adolescents. Recently, increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes has been reported among adolescents in various parts of the world. We report the occurrence of type 2 diabetes among adolescents in Israel.

A boy of 14 and girls of 16.5 and 17 were pubertal and extremely obese, with a body mass index (BMI) between 39-47 kg/m². Acanthosis nigricans, elevated diastolic blood pressure, and hirsutism with menstrual disorders, were associated with insulin resistance, and should raise suspicion of type 2 diabetes. Significant obesity and strong family histories of type 2 diabetes appeared to be important risk factors. Since type 2 leads to long-term morbidity and mortality, its early identification and appropriate treatment are crucial.