693 research outputs found
Two-stage laparoscopic biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch as treatment of high-risk super-obese patients: analysis of complications
The aim of this study is to retrospectively analyze the incidence of complications after two-stage laparoscopic biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (Lap BPD-DS) in high-risk super-obese patients and explore the possible predictive factors of specific complications after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (SG). High-risk patients-body mass index (BMI) > 50 kg/m(2) with at least two major comorbidities: type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), hypertension-undergoing two-stage laparoscopic BPD-DS were retrospectively analysed. The SG pouch volume was 100-150 ml; in the second stage, the common channel and the alimentary loop were 100 cm and 150 cm, respectively. Eighty-seven patients (50 female, 57.5%) underwent SG (two open). The mean age was 41.8 +/- A 10.22 years with BMI of 55.2 +/- A 6.69 kg/m(2). Four patients had Prader-Willy syndrome. Fourteen (16.46%) patients (6 female, 42.8%) had postoperative complications such as bleeding, fistula, pulmonary embolism, transitory acute renal failure, and abdominal abscess. One patient died at postoperative day 5 of pulmonary embolism. One patient was reoperated for hemoperitoneum by laparoscopy. The risk of complications after SG was lower in patients where reinforcement of the suture line was used (0.492), while it was higher in men (1.780). Neither difference was statistically significant [p = not significant (NS)]. After 9-24 months, 27 patients (BMI 43 +/- A 8 kg/m(2)) underwent a second stage of BPD-DS (two open). Major postoperative complications were registered in eight patients (29.6%): three bleeding, four duodeno-ileal stenosis and one rhabdomyolysis. Two cases of internal hernia required laparoscopic reoperation. The reoperation rate was 1/85 (1.2%) after SG and 2/27 (7.4%) after second stage. Complications after SG greatly decrease after the learning curve period and can be successfully managed without need of reoperation. Suture-line reinforcement, at least selectively in the middle-upper portion of the staple line and in super-super-obese patients, is recommended to decrease the incidence of specific complications
Aortic stenting in the growing sheep causes aortic endothelial dysfunction but not hypertension: Clinical implications for coarctation repair
Stent implantation is the treatment of choice for adolescents and adults with aortic coarctation (CoAo). Despite excellent short-term results, 20%-40% of the patients develop arterial hypertension later in life, which was attributed to inappropriate response of the aortic baroreceptors to increased stiffness of the ascending aorta (ASAO), either congenital or induced by CoAo repair. In particular, it has been hypothesized that stent itself may cause or sustain hypertension. Therefore, we aimed to study the hemodynamic and structural impact following stent implantation in the normal aorta of a growing animal
Prevalence, molecular epidemiology and intra-hospital acquisition of Klebsiella pneumoniae strains producing carbapenemases in an Italian teaching hospital from January 2015 to September 2016.
Objectives: We described Klebsiella pneumoniae producing carbapenemase (CPKP) spread from 01/01/2015 to 13/09/16 in a tertiary level hospital.
Methods: The first positive surveillance rectal swab (SRS) or clinical sample (CS) collected in the medical department (MD), surgical department (SD) and intensive care department (ICD) were included in the study. A validated in-house Real-Time PCR method was used to detect carbapenemases; multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used for further characterization of the strains.
Results: 21535 patients were included: 213 CPKP strains from surveillance rectal swab (SRS) and 98 from clinical samples (CS) were collected. The percentage of CPKP detected in SRS with respect to CS increased in the medical MD from 2015 to 2016 (p = 0.01) and in ICD from 2012 to 2015 (p = 0.0001), while it decreased in SD from 2014 to 2016 (p = 0.003); 68.5% of the positive SRS had a previous negative SRS; CPKP was more frequently identified in CS than in SRS in MD. Twelve strains harboured more than one carbapenemase gene. Many other species harbouring a carbapenemase gene were collected.
Conclusions: MDs need more inclusive surveillance criteria. The late detection of positive SRS underlined the risk of colonization during hospitalization
Next-generation methods for early disease detection in crops
: Plant pathogens are commonly identified in the field by the typical disease symptoms that they can cause. The efficient early detection and identification of pathogens are essential procedures to adopt effective management practices that reduce or prevent their spread in order to mitigate the negative impacts of the disease. In this review, the traditional and innovative methods for early detection of the plant pathogens highlighting their major advantages and limitations are presented and discussed. Traditional techniques of diagnosis used for plant pathogen identification are focused typically on the DNA, RNA (when molecular methods), and proteins or peptides (when serological methods) of the pathogens. Serological methods based on mainly enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) are the most common method used for pathogen detection due to their high-throughput potential and low cost. This technique is not particularly reliable and sufficiently sensitive for many pathogens detection during the asymptomatic stage of infection. For non-cultivable pathogens in the laboratory, nucleic acid-based technology is the best choice for consistent pathogen detection or identification. Lateral flow systems are innovative tools that allow fast and accurate results even in field conditions, but they have sensitivity issues to be overcome. PCR assays performed on last-generation portable thermocyclers may provide rapid detection results in situ. The advent of portable instruments can speed pathogen detection, reduce commercial costs, and potentially revolutionize plant pathology. This review provides information on current methodologies and procedures for the effective detection of different plant pathogens. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry
610 Fontan associated kidney and liver disease: can we predict organ involvement with echocardiographic assessment of systolic function and atrioventricular valve insufficiency?
Abstract
Aims
Fontan operation represents the surgical palliative option for congenital heart disease with single ventricle physiology. With the improvement of surgical and percutaneous technique, we are facing a growing population of patients with an unique pathophysiology and potential complications.
Methods and results
Patients that underwent Fontan palliation in our centre between 1993 and 2016 were included in this prospective study. We excluded patients with major congenital renal anomalies, those that underwent cardiac transplantation, and redo-Fontan patients. All the subjects underwent clinical evaluation, laboratory exams with complete renal and hepatic function, transient hepatic elastography, and complete cardiac evaluation. We used Schwartz equation for estimating glomerular filtration rate in patients younger than 18 years, and CDK-EPI equation for adult patients. We enrolled 35 patients, 46% female (N = 16), and 54% male (N = 19). Medium age was 17 years old, median age 15 years old (range: 10–31 years old). Medium time from Fontan completion was 160 months (range: 57–340 months). Regarding to cardiac anatomy, 10 patients had functional single left ventricle (FSLV, 28.5%) and 21 a functional single right ventricle (FSRV, 60%); 4 patients had undetermined single ventricle (11.5%). Total cavo-pulmonary connection (TCPC) with intracardiac lateral tunnel was performed in 7 patients (20%, N = 7), whereas 28 patients had TCPC with external conduit (80%). Data from echocardiographic evaluation showed a medium EF established with Simpson's method of 60% in patients with FSLV; patients with a FSRV or undetermined single ventricle had a medium FAC of 41.1%, with 15.1% having a reduced FAC < 35%. No FSLV patients had an EF < 50%. When using creatinine-based formula, data about renal function in our population showed a stage 2 chronic kidney disease (eGFR: 60–89 ml/min 1.73 mq) in 11% of total population (N = 4), that became 26% when using cystatin C-based equation (N = 9), with one patient showing a moderate reduced loss of kidney function (eGFR: 40–59 ml/min 1.73 mq). Urinalysis showed 29% (N = 10) of patients having microalbuminuria (microalbumin/creatinine ratio between 30 and 300 mg/g). Statistical analysis demonstrated a negative correlation between systolic function (TAPSE for FSRV) and cystatin C blood levels (Pearson's R −0.428, P = 0.053), and between systolic function (FAC and Simpson) and microalbuminuria (Pearson's R −0.414 with P = 0.049 and Pearson's R −0.754 with P = 0.019, respectively). Transient elastography reported 10 patients (29.4%) with abnormal hepatic stiffness for Fontan patients. That condition appeared to be more frequent in patients with higher grade of AV valve insufficiency (P < 0.05).
Conclusions
Our population showed an higher prevalence of FSRV Fontan patients, with an expected lower systolic function compared with FSLV. 2D evaluation of systolic function showed a linear inverse correlation with renal function, suggesting that Fontan patients need a closer renal monitoring. Hepatic stiffness, which is a warning sign of potential hepatic cirrhosis need to be monitored in all Fontan patients, especially those with a worse AV valve insufficiency
POVIJEST SIFILISA U XVI. STOLJEĆU I KLJUČNA ULOGA LUIGIJA LUIGINIJA U RENESANSI
...Syphilis is the prime example of a “new disease” which triggered a transnational (European)
discussion among physicians. It appeared between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning
of the Modern Times (at the beginning of the sixteenth century), a time in which
medicine was changing from a dogmatic to an experimental discipline.
The main changes were in the field of anatomy: in 1543, the same year of the astronomy-disrupting
work by Nicolas Copernicus, the new less dogmatic and more empirical approach to
anatomy by Andreas Vesalius was published.
Nevertheless, in the Renaissance, medicine remains a tradition-bound discipline, proud of its
millennial history and its superiority over the empirical, non-academic healers.
When syphilis appeared in Europe, several explanations were elaborated. In the mid-16th
century, an Italian doctor Luigi Luigini (born in 1526) published in Venice a collection
of all the works on syphilis that appeared until 1566. He wanted to entrust to colleagues, contemporary and future, a compendium of all that was known about the “new” disease (the
Latin term Novus means both “new” and “strange”).
According to the most authors of the collection, the disease is in fact “new” and “strange”.
Some authors of the collection find it impossible that authorities like Hippocrates and Galen
overlooked it. Luigini’s work shows the authors’ effort to absorb syphilis in the corpus of academic
medicine and affirm the authority of academic physicians against the empirical
healers.Sifilis je važan primjer “nove bolesti” koja je pokrenula transnacionalnu (europsku) raspravu
među liječnicima. Bolest se pojavila između kraja srednjeg vijeka i početka modernog doba
(početkom 16. stoljeća), u vrijeme u kojem se medicina iz dogmatske mijenjala u eksperimentalnu
disciplinu. Glavne promjene dogodile su se na polju anatomije: u 1543., istoj godini u
kojoj se pojavio rad Nikole Kopernika, koji je promijenio zakone astronomije, objavljen je
novi, manje dogmatični i više empirijski pristup anatomiji u radu Andreasa Vesaliusa.
Ipak, u renesansi medicina ostaje disciplina vezana uz tradiciju, ponosna na svoju tisućljetnu
povijest i svoju superiornost nad empirijskim, neakademskim iscjeliteljima.
Kada se sifilis pojavio u Europi, nekoliko je objašnjenja detaljno izloženo. Sredinom 16. stoljeća,
talijanski liječnik Luigi Luigini (rođen 1526.) objavio je u Veneciji zbirku svih djela o
sifilisu koja su se pojavila do 1566. Želio je prenijeti svojim suvremenicima i budućim kolegama
sažetak svega što je bilo poznato o “novoj bolesti” (latinski pojam Novus znači i “novi”
i “čudan”).
Prema većini autora zbirke, bolest je “nova” i “čudna”. Neki autori čiji se radovi pojavljuju u
zbirci smatraju nemogućim da su najveći autoriteti, poput Hipokrata i Galena, previdjeli tu
bolest. Luiginijevo djelo pokazuje napor autora da uvrste sifilis u korpus akademske medicine
i potvrde autoritet akademskih liječnika nasuprot empirijskih iscjelitelja
IL-17A impairs host tolerance during airway chronic infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Resistance and tolerance mechanisms participate to the interplay between host and pathogens. IL-17-mediated response has been shown to be crucial for host resistance to respiratory infections, whereas its role in host tolerance during chronic airway colonization is still unclear. Here, we investigated whether IL-17-mediated response modulates mechanisms of host tolerance during airways chronic infection by P. aeruginosa. First, we found that IL-17A levels were sustained in mice at both early and advanced stages of P. aeruginosa chronic infection and confirmed these observations in human respiratory samples from cystic fibrosis patients infected by P. aeruginosa. Using IL-17a(-/-) or IL-17ra(-/-) mice, we found that the deficiency of IL-17A/IL-17RA axis was associated with: i) increased incidence of chronic infection and bacterial burden, indicating its role in the host resistance to P. aeruginosa; ii) reduced cytokine levels (KC), tissue innate immune cells and markers of tissue damage (pro-MMP-9, elastin degradation, TGF-β1), proving alteration of host tolerance. Blockade of IL-17A activity by a monoclonal antibody, started when chronic infection is established, did not alter host resistance but increased tolerance. In conclusion, this study identifies IL-17-mediated response as a negative regulator of host tolerance during P. aeruginosa chronic airway infection
Prevalence of Klebsiella pneumoniae strains producing carbapenemases and increase of resistance to colistin in an Italian teaching hospital from January 2012 To December 2014
The aim of this study was to characterize the spread of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (CPKP) in a tertiary level hospital using ongoing active surveillance with rectal swab cultures. Furthermore, this study analyzed the presence of CPKP in the clinical samples (CS) of a single patient as well as the evolution of Colistin-sensitive strains (CoS) to Colistin-resistant strains (CoR)
- …