CA 19.9, CA 242 and CEA in the diagnosis and follow-up of pancreatic cancer

The diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is usually made in the advanced stages of the disease when the prognosis is poor. We compared the behavior of CA19.9, CEA and the newly proposed mucin CA242 in a consecutive series of 42 pancreatic carcinomas. A control group was recruited of 21 patients with benign pancreatic diseases. With the recommended cutoffs (37 U/ml for CA19.9, 20 U/ml for CA242 and 8 ng/ml for CEA) we obtained a specificity of 90% for CA19.9 and of 85% for CA242 and CEA. The sensitivity was 85.7% for CA19.9, 73.8% for CA242 and 26.2% for CEA. CA19.9 and CA242 showed identical behavior in various TNM stages of cancer and in stages III and IV of the Hermreck classification. Moreover, CA19.9 and CA242 showed identical behavior in 10 patients monitored during the survival period who developed recurrence of disease. ROC curve evaluation demonstrated that CA242 and CA19.9 were very similar. The results of CA242 were better than those of CA19.9 in the false positive range under 10%, whereas CA19.9 had a better performance in the true positive range over 70%. CA242 could be used instead of CA19.9 for diagnosing pancreatic carcinoma

Validation of the BAP-65 score for prediction of in-hospital death or use of mechanical ventilation in patients presenting to the emergency department with an acute exacerbation of COPD: a retrospective multi-center study from the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine (SIMEU)

Exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPDE) frequently require hospitalizations, may necessitate of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), and are associated with a remarkable in-hospital mortality. The BAP-65 score is a risk assessment model (RAM) based on simple variables, that has been proposed for the prediction of these adverse outcomes in patients with COPDE. If showed to be accurate, the BAP-65 RAM might be used to guide the patients management, in terms of destination and treatment. We conducted a retrospective, multicentre, chart-review study, on patients attending the ED for a COPDE during 2014. The aim of the study was the validation of the BAP-65 RAM for the prediction of in-hospital death or use of IMV (composite primary outcome). We assessed the discrimination and the prognostic performance of the BAP-65 RAM. We enrolled 2908 patients from 20 centres across Italy. The mean (standard deviation) age was 76 (11) years, and 38% of patients were female. The composite outcome occurred in 5.3% of patients. The AUROC of BAP-65 for the composite outcome was 0.64 (95%CI 0.59-0.68). The sensitivity of BAP-65 score\u202f 65\u202f4 to predict in-hospital mortality was 44% (95% CI 34%-55%), the specificity was 84% (95% CI 82%-85%), the positive predictive value was 9% (95% CI 6%-12%), and the negative predictive value was 98% (95% CI 97%-98%). CONCLUSIONS: In patients attending Italian EDs with a COPDE, we found that the BAP-65 score did not have sufficient accuracy to stratify patients upon their risk of severe in-hospital outcomes

High-resolution, three-dimensional, and contrast-enhanced ultrasonographic findings in diseases of the eye

Objectives: To review the contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and 3D ultrasound findings (3D-US) in various pathologies involving the eye and orbit and to compare them with high-resolution US (HRUS) findings. Background: CEUS is a valid diagnostic tool for study several districts. There are numerous pathological conditions of the eye in which CEUS can be very helpful or detrimental. Image Findings: We review a wide range of ocular lesions, traumatic (retinal and choroidal detachments) and malignant (choroidal melanoma, tumors inside and outside the muscle cone) evaluated alternatively with CEUS and 3D and compare these findings with those obtained with HRUS. Dysthyroid orbitopathy is not included in this review. Conclusion: CEUS plays a central role in the differentiation of detached retina (vascular) and vitreous membranes (avascular). It is also helpful in the assessment of tumor of the eye, in planning treatment for choroidal melanoma, and in assessing orbital masses for neovascularization. HRUS is highly effective in the detection of traumatic and non-traumatic lesions of the eye, but it is less effective for the assessment of orbital lesions. The 3D module has increased the diagnostic value of CEUS. CEUS is cost-effective and can be used when CT and MR cannot be performed. \ua9 2010 Elsevier Srl

Bone geometry, biomechanics, and mineral content of the distal radius in uremic patients with severe hyperparathyroidism =[Valutazione delle proprietà  geometriche, biomeccaniche e osteodensitometriche del radio ultradistale mediante Tomografia Computerizzata quantitativa periferica nei pazienti uremici affetti da iperparatiroidismo grave

Introduction. Bone integrity and mineral status were studied with a noninvasive method in uremic patients with severe secondary hyperparathyroidism undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. Material and methods. Volumetric cortical and trabecular mineral density (cBMD, tBMD) and bone geometrical properties were evaluated in 16 patients (11 women and 5 men) candidate to parathyroidectomy. Peripheral quantitative Computed Tomography (pQCT) was used to make measurements at the distal radius of the nondominant forearm. Thirty-two age-matched healthy subjects were chosen as a control group. Cortical area (CA), cross-sectional area (Total A), cortical thickness (CThk) and stress strain index (SSI) were assessed as biomechanical parameters. Serum intact PTH levels were assessed with a radioimmunoassay method (IRMA). Results. Both cBMD and tBMD were decreased in all patients and the difference was more significant in women (p < .0004 and p < .009) than in the smaller group of men (p < .01 and p < .01 ). Serum PTH levels correlated negatively with cBMD (r = .52; p < .01), CThk (r= .51; p < .04), CA (r = .52; p < .03) and SSI (r = .54; p < .02), as well as tBMD (r = .34), though not significantly. Dialysis duration did not significantly correlate with cBMD (r = .33), tBMD (r = .20), CA (r = .31), CThk (r = .40) and SSI (r = .35). As for geometrical and biomechanical parameters, CA, CThk and SSI were significantly different in both male and female uremic patients in comparison with the relative controls. Bone quantitative analysis and three-dimensional (3D) representation with the paraboloid revolution model also demonstrated osteopenia. Conclusions. pQCT shows significant cortical and trabecular osteopenia in uremic patients with severe secondary hyperparathyroidism. Osteopenia is associated with geometrical and mechanical impairment with consequently increased bone fragility and thus a higher risk of fracture. Prolonged PTH hyperexpression seems to be mainly associated with intracortical porosity and cortical-endosteal resorption. Bone quantitative analysis and 3D representation provide rapid automated information on the cortex mineral status

Il trapianto di polmone a Pavia. Esperienza clinica.

Single and bilateral lung transplantation represents the most recent success in the field of organ replacement. The procedure underwent a very long period of laboratory and clinical experimentation and it is still a high-risk procedure to be performed by a few highly specialized centers. At our Department of Cardiac Surgery, the preliminary experience in lung replacement was obtained by clinically applying heart-lung transplantation in patients with both vascular and parenchymal lung disease during 1991. In the following years, the indications for isolated lung transplantation were enlarged by some centers with good results; this consideration, together with the scarce availability of integral heart-lung blocks, led us to use single and bilateral lung transplantation initially for parenchymal disease and subsequently also for vascular disease. Since February 1992, 12 single lung transplantations and 12 bilateral lung transplantations have been performed at our Center. In this report the selection criteria, the preoperative characteristics and the perioperative variables of donors and recipients are discussed. Particular emphasis is given to immunosuppression treatment, diagnosis of rejection and airways suture complications. The conclusions summarize the present indications for the different types of lung transplantations according to the different preoperative diagnosis

A rare case of polyostotic fibrous dysplasia assessed by bone scintigraphy with Tc-99m methylene diphosphonate (MDP)

A 66-year-old man affected by polyostotic form of fibrous dysplasia in consequence of worsening of lower extremity bone pain aggravated by walking and concomitant increase of serum alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin, was subjected first to a radionuclide study. Bone scan demonstrated a pathological uptake of the radiotracer in the craniofacial bones, right scapula, left and right posterior ribs, right hemipelvis and lower extremities confirming the diagnosis but establishing especially the extent of bone involvement, greater than expected on the basis of symptoms and X-ray findings, underlying the importance of nuclear medicine imaging in the assessment and follow-up of this rare disease