Endoscopic biliary drainage for severe acute cholangitis

Background. Emergency surgery for patients with severe acute cholangitis due to choledocholithiasis is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Because recent results suggested that emergency endoscopic drainage could improve the outcome of such patients, we undertook a prospective study to determine the role of this procedure as initial treatment. Methods. During a 43-month period, 82 patients with severe acute cholangitis due to choledocholithiasis were randomly assigned to undergo surgical decompression of the biliary tract (41 patients) or endoscopic biliary drainage (41 patients), followed by definitive treatment. Hospital mortality was analyzed with respect to the use of endoscopic biliary drainage and other clinical and laboratory findings. Prognostic determinants were studied by linear discriminant analysis. Results. Complications related to biliary tract decompression and subsequent definitive treatment developed in 14 patients treated with endoscopic biliary drainage and 27 treated with surgery (34 vs. 66 percent, P>0.05). The time required for normalization of temperature and stabilization of blood pressure was similar in the two groups, but more patients in the surgery group required ventilatory support. The hospital mortality rate was significantly lower for the patients who underwent endoscopy (4 deaths) than for those treated surgically (13 deaths) (10 vs. 32 percent, P<0.03). The presence of concomitant medical problems, a low platelet count, a high serum urea nitrogen concentration, and a low serum albumin concentration before biliary decompression were the other independent determinants of mortality in both groups. Conclusions. Endoscopic biliary drainage is a safe and effective measure for the initial control of severe acute cholangitis due to choledocholithiasis and to reduce the mortality associated with the condition.published_or_final_versio

A systematic review of the survival and complication rates of fixed partial dentures (FPDs) after an observation period of at least 5 years III. Conventional FPDs

The present study was done to determine the long-term success and survival of fixed partial dentures (FPDs) and to evaluate the risks for failures due to specific biological and technical complications. A MEDLINE search (PubMed) from 1966 up to March 2004 was conducted, as well as hand searching of bibliographies from relevant articles. Nineteen studies from an initial yield of 3658 titles were finally selected and data were extracted independently by three reviewers. Prospective and retrospective cohort studies with a mean follow-up time of at least 5 years in which patients had been examined clinically at the follow-up visits were included in the meta-analysis. Publications only based on patients records, questionnaires or interviews were excluded. Survival of the FPDs was analyzed according to in situ and intact failure risks. Specific biological and technical complications such as caries, loss of vitality and periodontal disease recurrence as well as loss of retention, loss of vitality, tooth and material fractures were also analyzed. The 10-year probability of survival for fixed partial dentures was 89.1% (95% confidence interval (CI): 81-93.8%) while the probability of success was 71.1% (95% CI: 47.7-85.2%). The 10-year risk for caries and periodontitis leading to FPD loss was 2.6% and 0.7%, respectively. The 10-year risk for loss of retention was 6.4%, for abutment fracture 2.1% and for material fractures 3.2%.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Hepatic resection for small hepatocellular carcinoma: The Queen Mary Hospital experience

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Doxorubicin for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. A prospective study on the addition of verapamil

A prospective study was conducted to assess the safety and efficacy of the addition of oral verapamil to intravenous Adriamycin (doxorubicin) for the management of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). All 28 patients studied had histologically verified disease, and cirrhosis was present in 20 of the 21 patients with adequate tissue sampling. The overall median survival was 57 days. Chemotherapy was terminated in seven patients after one course of treatment. Partial response and complete response were noted in four patients (19%) and one patient (4.8%), respectively, among the 21 patients evaluated. Side effects related to the chemotherapy were present in all patients studied. Death from fulminating sepsis occurred in three of the 13 patients with leukopenia. Symptomatic myocardial dysfunction developed in one patient. The addition of verapamil apparently did not potentiate the tumoricidal effect of systemic Adriamycin on HCC but probably did increase its complications.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

The ELFIN Mission.

The Electron Loss and Fields Investigation with a Spatio-Temporal Ambiguity-Resolving option (ELFIN-STAR, or heretoforth simply: ELFIN) mission comprises two identical 3-Unit (3U) CubeSats on a polar (∼93∘ inclination), nearly circular, low-Earth (∼450&nbsp;km altitude) orbit. Launched on September 15, 2018, ELFIN is expected to have a &gt;2.5 year lifetime. Its primary science objective is to resolve the mechanism of storm-time relativistic electron precipitation, for which electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves are a prime candidate. From its ionospheric vantage point, ELFIN uses its unique pitch-angle-resolving capability to determine whether measured relativistic electron pitch-angle and energy spectra within the loss cone bear the characteristic signatures of scattering by EMIC waves or whether such scattering may be due to other processes. Pairing identical ELFIN satellites with slowly-variable along-track separation allows disambiguation of spatial and temporal evolution of the precipitation over minutes-to-tens-of-minutes timescales, faster than the orbit period of a single low-altitude satellite (Torbit ∼ 90&nbsp;min). Each satellite carries an energetic particle detector for electrons (EPDE) that measures 50&nbsp;keV to 5&nbsp;MeV electrons with Δ E/E &lt; 40% and a fluxgate magnetometer (FGM) on a ∼72&nbsp;cm boom that measures magnetic field waves (e.g., EMIC waves) in the range from DC to 5&nbsp;Hz Nyquist (nominally) with &lt;0.3&nbsp;nT/sqrt(Hz) noise at 1&nbsp;Hz. The spinning satellites (Tspin ∼ 3&nbsp;s) are equipped with magnetorquers (air coils) that permit spin-up or -down and reorientation maneuvers. Using those, the spin axis is placed normal to the orbit plane (nominally), allowing full pitch-angle resolution twice per spin. An energetic particle detector for ions (EPDI) measures 250&nbsp;keV - 5&nbsp;MeV ions, addressing secondary science. Funded initially by CalSpace and the University Nanosat Program, ELFIN was selected for flight with joint support from NSF and NASA between 2014 and 2018 and launched by the ELaNa XVIII program on a Delta II rocket (with IceSatII as the primary). Mission operations are currently funded by NASA. Working under experienced UCLA mentors, with advice from The Aerospace Corporation and NASA personnel, more than 250 undergraduates have matured the ELFIN implementation strategy; developed the instruments, satellite, and ground systems and operate the two satellites. ELFIN's already high potential for cutting-edge science return is compounded by concurrent equatorial Heliophysics missions (THEMIS, Arase, Van Allen Probes, MMS) and ground stations. ELFIN's integrated data analysis approach, rapid dissemination strategies via the SPace Environment Data Analysis System (SPEDAS), and data coordination with the Heliophysics/Geospace System Observatory (H/GSO) optimize science yield, enabling the widest community benefits. Several storm-time events have already been captured and are presented herein to demonstrate ELFIN's data analysis methods and potential. These form the basis of on-going studies to resolve the primary mission science objective. Broad energy precipitation events, precipitation bands, and microbursts, clearly seen both at dawn and dusk, extend from tens of keV to &gt;1&nbsp;MeV. This broad energy range of precipitation indicates that multiple waves are providing scattering concurrently. Many observed events show significant backscattered fluxes, which in the past were hard to resolve by equatorial spacecraft or non-pitch-angle-resolving ionospheric missions. These observations suggest that the ionosphere plays a significant role in modifying magnetospheric electron fluxes and wave-particle interactions. Routine data captures starting in February 2020 and lasting for at least another year, approximately the remainder of the mission lifetime, are expected to provide a very rich dataset to address questions even beyond the primary mission science objective