Prophylactic amnioinfusion in preganancies complicated by chorioamnionitis: a prospective randomized trial

The objective of this article is to prospectively investigate the efficacy of amnioinfusion as a means to reduce febrile morbidity in pregnancies complicated by chorioamnionitis. All laboring patients with a temperature > or =100.1 degrees F were approached for study participation. Exclusion criteria included amnionitis diagnosed at greater than 8 cm dilation, multiple gestation, placental abruption, or a nonreassuring fetal heart rate tracing. Consenting patients were randomized to receive antibiotics (ampicillin or penicillin with gentamicin) and acetaminophen with or without amnioinfusion. All patients received intrauterine pressure catheter placement. For study patients, normal saline at room temperature was infused at 10 mL/min for 60 min, then 3 mL/min until delivery. Postpartum endometritis was defined as a temperature = 100.4 degrees F accompanied by uterine tenderness more than 12 hr after delivery. Statistical analysis was performed using the Student's t-test for continuous data and Chi-square for discrete variables. Thirty-six patients were enrolled, and complete data were available for 34 patients (17 in each group). There were no differences between groups with respect to maternal age, gravidity, race, or gestational age. There were also no differences between groups in duration of rupture of membranes, temperature at randomization, interval from randomization to delivery, cesarean section rate, or umbilical cord arterial pH. The mean temperature at the time of delivery was 99.8+/-0.9 degrees F for the amnioinfusion group versus 100.5+/-1.0 degrees F for the control group (p=0.046). Three of 17 amnioinfusion patients and 3 of 17 control patients had postpartum endometritis. There was 1 neonatal infection in the treatment group and no neonatal infections among the control patients. Prophylactic amnioinfusion was associated with a decline in temperature at the time of delivery. No untoward effects from the amnioinfusion were identified.

Effects of age on sensory-specific satiety

The effects of age on sensory-specific satiety were investigated in adolescents (aged 12-15 y), young adults (22-35 y), older adults (45-60 y), and elderly subjects (65-82 y) (n = 24 per group). Subjects rated the pleasantness of the sensory properties and their desire to eat five foods and then ate either a fixed amount (300 g) or as much as they wanted of one of the foods (yogurt) and rerated the foods. No differences in food intake were found between the 300-g and the ad libitum experiments or among the age groups. Compared with the other age groups, elderly subjects did not show a decrease in the pleasantness of the taste of the eaten food compared with the uneaten foods in either experiment nor did the pleasantness of the texture or the desire to eat the yogurt decrease significantly in elderly subjects in the 300-g experiment. Sensory-specific satiety was pronounced in the adolescents and diminished in the elderly people.

Effects of pentazocine in experimental head injury

In previous studies we demonstrated the adverse effects of ethyl alcohol in murine head injury. Using this model in this study, effects of prior administration of pentazocine (Talwin) on the survival of mice are reported. Swiss Webster mice were randomly divided into one of three groups. Group I (n = 20) received pentazocine and Group II (n = 20, controls) received saline. Groups I and II were then injured under ether anaesthesia by allowing a weight to fall from a height of 15 cm on the cranium. Ten animals received pentazocine and were anaesthetized but had no head trauma (Group III). In Group II, 85% survived 24 h, and in Group I, 35% survived; all mice in Group III survived 24 h (significance: chi 2, p less than 0.005; Group I versus Groups II and III). Pentazocine increases the lethality of murine head injury.