Bayesian Biostatistics,by Emmanuel Lesaffre and Andrew B. Lawson,John Wiley & Sons, 2012

In nondesigned longitudinal observational studies, irregularly spaced measurements are commonly present over a period of follow-up time. We propose a smoothing dynamic model, based on the idea of varying coefficients, to analyze this highly unbalanced longitudinal data. The estimate of model parameters can be obtained by implementing a well-developed B-splines technique. Our method is illustrated with data from a primary care based longitudinal cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients. The results show that the effects of some risk factors might be underestimated by an intention-to-treat analysis using a last-value-carried-forward method.     

Rituximab or Cyclophosphamide in the Treatment of Membranous Nephropathy: The RI-CYCLO Randomized Trial

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Transcranial Doppler monitoring of middle cerebral flow velocity in a patient with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt undergoing laparoscopy

Laparoscopic surgery is possibly associated with a risk of intracranial pressure (ICP) increase due to pneumoperitoneum in patients with ventriculoperitoneal shunts (VPS). Invasive techniques for shunt pressure monitoring are not routinely used because of the possible complications. Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is a non-invasive, safe method which gives accurate information about blood-flow velocities in basal cerebral arteries and indirectly about the ICP. Moreover it is inexpensive and simple in use. We report the use of TCD for middle cerebral flow velocity monitoring in a patient with a VPS who underwent laparoscopic surgery. In the case we present, during 60?min of pneumoperitoneum, TCD showed a sustained, but not clinically significant increase of the Pulsatility Index, with a recorded maximum change of 31?%. We consider that the use of TCD may increase the safety of laparoscopic procedures in patients with preexisting VPS.     

Zystektomie im Alter

Bladder cancer is a carcinoma of the elderly population. The highest incidence of bladder cancer is between the ages of 70 and 80 years old. Radical cystectomy remains the gold standard for muscle invasive bladder cancer treatment. In this article different aspects of radical cystectomy in elderly patients are reviewed. The Pubmed-MEDLINE database was searched using the following keywords: radical, cystectomy, elderly and age.