Endosonographic characteristics of perigastrointestinal lymphnodes studied ex-corpore.

OBJECTIVES: Assessment of morphological characteristics of lymphnodes studied ex-corpore by echoendoscopy--shape, sharpness of limits, echogenicity and dimensions--to categorize them either as metastatic or non-metastatic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty-four lymphnodes were studied. They were identified and studied by echoendoscopy in fresh surgical specimens of oesophagus, stomach and rectum. Eight nodal characteristics were evaluated. The data obtained were studied by multivariate analysis using the logistical estimate method in two different statistical models. RESULTS: In model 1, logistical estimate demonstrated that well-defined limits (WDL) of the lymphnodes and the association of hypoechogenicity and round shape were the most significant variables suggesting the presence of invasion. In model 2, the most significant variables were WDL, round shape and association of round shape with WDL. The first model had a high sensitivity of 93.1% and specificity of 68% whereas the second model had a greater specificity of 84%, with a slight fall in sensitivity. CONCLUSION: These models might have an application to clinical practice particularly in the pre-operative assessment of patients with oesophageal carcinoma, gastric carcinoma or rectal carcinoma.     

Estimation of salt intake by urinary sodium excretion in a Portuguese adult population and its relationship to arterial stiffness.

BACKGROUND: Portugal has one of the highest mortality rates from stroke, a high prevalence of hypertension and probably a high salt intake level. AIM: To evaluate Portuguese salt intake levels and their relationship to blood pressure and arterial stiffness in a sample of four different adult populations living in northern Portugal. METHODS: A cross-sectional study evaluating 24-hour urinary excretion of sodium (24 h UNa+), potassium and creatinine, blood pressure (BP), and pulse wave velocity (PWV) as an index of aortic stiffness in adult populations of sustained hypertensives (HT), relatives of patients with previous stroke (Fam), university students (US) and factory workers (FW), in the context of their usual dietary habits. RESULTS: We evaluated a total of 426 subjects, mean age 50 +/- 22 years, 56% female, BMI 27.9+/-5.1, BP 159/92 mmHg, PWV 10.4+/-2.2 m/s, who showed mean 24h UNa+ of 202 +/- 64 mmol/d, corresponding to a daily salt intake of 12.3 g (ranging from 5.2 to 24.8). The four groups were: HT: n = 245, 49 +/- 18 years, 92% of those selected, 69% treated, BP 163/94 mmHg, PWV 11.9 m/s, 24 h UNa+ 212 mmol/d, i.e. 12.4 g/d of salt); Fam: n = 38, 64 +/- 20 years, 57 % of those selected, BP 144/88 mmHg, PWV 10.5 m/s, 24 h UNa+ 194 mmol/d, i.e. 11.1 g/d of salt; US: n = 82, 22 +/- 3 years, 57% of those selected, BP 124/77 mmHg, PWV 8.7 m/s, 24h UNa+ 199 mmol/d, i.e. 11.3 g/d of salt; FW: n = 61, 39 9 years, 47% of those selected, BP 129/79 mmHg, PWV 9.5 m/s, 24 h UNa+ 221 mmol/d, i.e. 12.9 g/d of salt. The ratio of urinary sodium/potassium excretion (1.9 (0.4) was significantly higher in HT than the other three groups. In the 426 subjects, 24h UNa+ correlated significantly (p < 0.01) with systolic BP (r = 0.209) and with PWV (r=0.256) after adjustment for age and BP. Multivariate analysis showed that BP, age and 24h UNa+ correlated independently with PWV taken as a dependent variable. CONCLUSIONS: Four different Portuguese populations showed similarly high mean daily salt intake levels, almost double those recommended by the WHO. Overall, high urinary sodium excretion correlated consistently with high BP levels and appeared to be an independent determining factor of arterial stiffness. These findings suggest that Portugal in general has a high salt intake diet, and urgent measures are required to restrict salt consumption in order to prevent and treat hypertensive disease and to reduce overall cardiovascular risk and events.     

筛检对肝癌死亡率影响的研究

5581名HBsAg阳性的男性随机分入周期性筛检组(A组,3712人)及对照组(B组,1869人)。A组(19155.4人年)共发生肝癌257例,B组(9785.5人年)为117例,两组的肝癌发生率分别为1342/10万与1196/10万;两组肝癌死亡分别为218与109例,肝癌死亡率分别为1138/10万与1114/10万。两组中Ⅰ期肝癌病例分别为29.6％与6.0％,差异有非常显著性意义。1、3、5年相对生存率A组为23.7％、7.0％、4.0％,B组为9.7％、4.0％、4.1％。用Poisson回归模型拟合显示,在调正年龄、初筛AFP及入列年份后,筛检对于肝癌的相对危险度为0.83,95％CI为0.68～1.03,有较弱的“保护”作用,Cox回归模型拟合结果显示当临床分期未引入模型时,筛检对于肝癌有显著的“保护”作用:危险率为0.6617,95％CI为0.5234～0.8365;而模型经调整后,危险率即接近“1”,95％CI为0.74～1.26。     

Primary pregnancy in the liver. A case report

A case of intra-hepatic pregnancy is reported. The patient was 32 years old and presented with an acute intra-abdominal hemorrhage. At surgery a spongy 3 x 2 x 1.5 cm mass was removed from the right liver lobe. Microscopically, well developed chorionic villi appeared invading the liver tissue. The patient had a relatively uneventful recovery.     

FM sonography in diffuse liver disease: prospective assessment and blinded analysis

FM sonography - a signal-processing technique that uses frequency and phase information as well as amplitude data - shows promise in evaluation of patients with diffuse liver disease. In a prospective blinded review of 37 patients with biopsy-proved liver disease and 42 healthy volunteers, FM sonography was clearly superior to traditional amplitude-based (AM) sonography in distinguishing healthy from diseased subjects. Statistically significant differences were seen in accuracy (FM, 98.7%; AM, 84.8%), sensitivity (FM, 97.3%; AM, 70.3%), and negative predictive value (FM, 97.7%; AM, 78.8%). Our data also suggest that current FM sonographic techniques cannot differentiate among histologic findings associated with different hepatic parenchymal abnormalities. It is unclear, therefore, whether FM imaging can reduce the numbers of patients who require biopsy for diagnosis or the frequency of biopsy procedures in patients with known disease.