Esophageal resection in the ederly

The aging of the population and longer life expectancy entails an increased number of elderly patients with esophageal cancer and benign pathologies referred for surgical treatment. Esophageal cancer is a pathology that mainly involves elderly patients. The aim of this study is to assess the effects of age on the outcome of surgery for esophageal cancer and benign pathologies in patients treated in our departmen

From 3-Port to New Laparoendoscopic Single-Site (LESS) Cholecystectomy : A Critical Analysis of Available Evidence.

In recent years, laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) has gained greater interest and diffusion for the treatment of gallstones. This critical review aims to evaluate the feasibility and safety of LESS cholecystectomy versus the 3-port technique (TPT) through a comparative analysis of 5 parameters: mean operative time, intraoperative and postoperative complications, conversion to open, conversion to the 4-trocar technique and postoperative hospital stay. The authors performed a systematic search of the medical literature through a search of PubMed and Ovid EMBASE. Inclusion criteria were as follows: publication date between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2010; English or Italian language; human participants and series of 20 operations or more. There were 5 manuscripts meeting the inclusion criteria for TPT and 23 for LESS. Only one prospective randomized controlled trial comparing TPT and LESS was identified. Operative time is significantly longer in the single-incision group. Complications and conversion rates to the 4-port technique are higher in LESS. Postoperative hospital stay is similar in the 2 groups. Rate of conversion to open is higher in TPT. Despite the number of publications on LESS cholecystectomy, the vast majority of data available in the literature are from small case series without any comparative data. Although LESS cholecystectomy is a fashionable technique there are few data available for an evidence-based determination as to the real benefits of this technique. Well-designed comparative studies are suggested to validate the clinical benefits and ensure that there are no new complications or added costs associated with the new technique

Immunization status of internationally adopted children in Rome, Italy

Aims: International adoption medicine is a relatively new specialty in pediatrics that has emerged to address the specific health care needs of internationally adopted children in high‑income countries. This study ascertains the seroprotection rate for vaccine‑preventable diseases, especially against pneumococcal diseases.Patients and Methods: We evaluated 67 internationally adopted children that reached the International Adoption Unit of Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome‑Italy. We collected demographic information, data from preadoption immunization records, results of laboratory testing for immunity to vaccine‑preventable diseases (tetanus, pneumococcus, hepatitis B, hemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), measles), as well as results of screening for HIV, hepatitis C, quantiferon, immunological and nutritional status.Results: For children that had received ≥3 vaccine doses of tetanus, overall protection was 94% of 31 vaccinated children; with 1–2 vaccine doses for hepatitis B and Hib respectively, protection was 45% of 29 vaccinated children and 63% of 8 vaccinated children, respectively. For children with one or more doses of measles vaccine, protection was 63% of 32 vaccinated children. Regarding pneumococcus vaccine (documented for eight children), 88% of children with one or more doses of vaccine had developed protective immunity.Conclusions: International adoptees without a valid vaccine record need to undergo a complete schedule in accordance with their age and should receive all the vaccines in the adoptive country’s schedule.Key words: And pneumococcal immunization, immigrant children, internationally adopted children, vaccination statu

The assessment and the within-plant variation of the morpho-physiological traits and VOCs profile in endemic and rare Salvia ceratophylloides Ard. (Lamiaceae)

Salvia ceratophylloides (Ard.) is an endemic and rare plant species recently rediscovered as very few individuals at two different Southern Italy sites. The study of within-plant variation is fundamental to understand the plant adaptation to the local conditions, especially in rare species, and consequently to preserve plant biodiversity. Here, we reported the variation of the morpho-ecophysiological and metabolic traits between the sessile and petiolate leaf of S. ceratophylloides plants at two different sites for understanding the adaptation strategies for surviving in these habitats. The S. ceratophylloides individuals exhibited different net photosynthetic rate, maximum quantum yield, light intensity for the saturation of the photosynthetic machinery, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, leaf area, fractal dimension, and some volatile organic compounds (VOCs) between the different leaf types. This within-plant morpho-physiological and metabolic variation was dependent on the site. These results provide empirical evidence of sharply within-plant variation of the morpho-physiological traits and VOCs profiles in S. ceratophylloides, explaining the adaptation to the local conditions

Palliative treatment of malignant esophageal-cardiac stricture in the ederly

The aging of the population and longer life expectancy entails an increased number of elderly patients with esophageal cancer and benign pathologies referred for surgical treatment. Esophageal cancer is a pathology that mainly involves elderly patients. The aim of this study is to assess the effects of age on the outcome of surgery for esophageal cancer and benign pathologies in patients treated in our department

Frequent demonstration of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) in bone marrow biopsy samples from Turkish patients with multiple myeloma (MM)

In order to investigate the frequency of HHV-8 in MM patients from another geographic location, we obtained fresh bone marrow (BM) biopsies from Turkish patients with MM (n = 21), monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) (n = 2), plasmacytoma (n = 1) with BM plasma cell infiltration, various hematological disorders (n = 6), and five healthy Turkish controls. The frequency of HHV-8 was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in two independent laboratories in the USA and in Turkey. Using fresh BM biopsies, 17/21 MM patients were positive for HHV-8 whereas all five healthy controls, and six patients with other hematological disorders were negative. Two patients with MGUS, and one patient with a solitary plasmacytoma were also negative. The data from the two laboratories were completely concordant. Also using primer pairs for v IRF and v IL-8R confirmed the results observed with the KS330233 primers. Furthermore, sequence analysis demonstrated a C3 strain pattern in the ORF26 region which was also found in MM patients from the US. Thus, HHV-8 is present in the majority of Turkish MM patients, and the absence of the virus in healthy controls further supports its role in the pathogenesis of MM