Bruce A. Runyon, John C. Hoefs – 1 May 1984 – A review of patients with bacterial peritonitis and ascites revealed six patients with gastrointestinal tract perforation into their ascitic fluid and 33 episodes of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in 32 patients. Signs and symptoms were not helpful in differentiating the two groups; however, ascitic fluid analysis was found to be useful. All patients with perforation peritonitis fulfilled at least two of the following criteria: ascitic fluid total protein ± 1 gm per dl, glucose < 50 mg per dl and lactate dehydrogenase ± 225 mU per ml.

George Papaevangelou, Nicolaos Tassopoulos, Anastasia Roumeliotou‐Karayannis, Clive Richardson – 1 May 1984 – The etiology of fulminant viral hepatitis was determined in 65 consecutive cases among 1,814 (3.58%) adults with acute viral hepatitis who were admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital of Athens from May, 1981 to August, 1983. Radioimmunoassays were used to detect hepatitis B virus, hepatitis A virus and δ‐agent markers. Enzyme immunoassay was used to detect anti‐HBc IgM.

Ding‐Shinn Chen, Ming‐Yang Lai, Juei‐Low Sung – 1 May 1984 – Taiwanese have a high prevalence of HBsAg carrier rate and chronic liver diseases. To evaluate the role of delta (δ) agent infection in our patients, 45 HBsAg‐positive patients with chronic active hepatitis, 4 with chronic persistent hepatitis and 11 with HBsAg‐positive hepatocellular carcinoma were studied for δ antibody by radioimmunoassay of serum; liver was studied for δ antigen by immunofluorescence in 23 patients.

José M. López‐Novoa, Juan C. Santos, Carlos Caramelo, Dolores Fernandez‐Muñoz, Alicia Blanchart, Luis Hernando – 1 May 1984 – Kidney function and tubular handling of water and sodium by superficial nephrons, packed cell volume, total plasma proteins and albumin distribution space were studied in control and cirrhotic rats before and after a moderate and sustained saline infusion (3% body weight per 30 min + reposition of urinary losses). Tubular fluid samples were obtained from late proximal, early distal and late distal convolutions of superficial nephrons using micropuncture.

Gary W. Goldstein – 1 May 1984

Hanspeter Spichtin, Fred Gudat, Hans Berthold, Gunthild Krey, Martin Schmid, Mauro Pirovino, Josef Altorfer, Georg Stalder, Gerald Eder, Leonardo Bianchi – 1 May 1984 – In an electron microscopic study, nuclear aggregates of virus‐like spherical and tubular particles measuring 20 to 29 nm in diameter were found in 5 of 7 clinically healthy volunteers with normal liver histology, 6 of 10 patients with hepatitis B and 17 of 18 patients with hepatitis non‐A, non‐B. The incidence of hepatocytes containing nuclear particles was approximately 0.5 to 2% in all three groups.

Erik Christensen, Poul Schlichting, Lis Fauerholdt, Christian Gluud, Per Kragh Andersen, Erik Juhl, Hemming Poulsen, Niels Tygstrup, The Copenhagen Study Group For Liver Diseases – 1 May 1984 – The Child‐Turcotte criteria (CTC) (based on serum bilirubin and albumin, ascites, neurological disorder and nutrition) are established prognostic factors in patients with cirrhosis having portacaval shunt surgery. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of CTC in conservatively treated cirrhosis.

Jaime Bosch, Roberto J. Groszmann – 1 May 1984 – A method to quantitate blood flow through the gastroesophageal collaterals in portal hypertensive patients was developed. Since gastroesophageal collaterals drain into the azygos system, it is postulated that measurement of blood flow in the azygos vein should provide a quantitative measurement of gastroesophageal collateral blood flow changes in portal hypertensive patients. Azygos blood flow was measured using a double thermodilution catheter directed under fluoroscopy to the azygos vein. Ten patients with alcoholic cirrhosis were studied.

Raymond S. Koff – 1 May 1984

R. K. Chandra – 1 May 1984