We report three cases of terminal-stage ovarian cancer where diatrizoate meglumine and diatrizoate sodium solution (Gastrografin) was effective for malignant bowel obstruction due to peritoneal dissemination. All cases had gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and constipation, showed air-fluid levels and dilation of the small intestine on imaging tests. Therefore, all the cases were diagnosed as bowel obstruction. We initiated oral administration of Gastrografin because the patients failed to show a sufficient response to other drugs such as octreotide. Their gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and constipation improved after administration of the drug, and they could continue oral intake. In addition, they were diagnosed as having an incomplete bowel obstruction since radiographic examination 24 hours after administration of Gastrografin confirmed its presence in the large intestine. In all the cases, Gastrografin could be used repeatedly without noticeable side effects. This study suggests that Gastrografin might be useful for evaluating bowel obstruction and improving gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with malignant bowel obstruction caused by terminal-stage ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVESTo investigate the association of smoking habits with blood pressure (BP) and intraocular pressure (IOP), and to examine whether the smoking-BP association is related to the IOP level.

METHODSThis study was conducted on the basis of a cross-sectional design using annual health check-up data during one-year between August, 1999 and August, 2000 for 611 middle and old-aged Japanese residents living in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan.

RESULTSAfter adjustment for age, gender, body mass index and alcohol intake score, the proportion of hypertensives, and the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) of the subjects without antihypertensive medications were the highest (50.4%, 129.6 mmHg and 75.9 mmHg, respectively) in the "smokers of 25 or more cigarettes per day with intraocular pressure (IOP)≥15 mmHg" of six subgroups crossed by three smoking categories (non-smokers, 1 to 24 cigarettes per day, and 25 or more cigarettes per day) and two IOP categories (less than 15 mmHg, and 15mmHg or greater). On the other hand, the adjusted proportion of hypertensives, and the adjusted mean SBP and DBP decreased with increasing smoking category in the individuals with less than 15 mmHg of the IOP (p for trend=0.028 for proportion of hypertensives 0.008 for the SBP, and 0.001 for the DBP, respectively).

CONCLUSIONSHeavy smoking may be specifically related to 'high BP accompanied by high IOP', although the BP may be inversely associated with smoking under the condition without high IOP.