Postpneumonectomy bronchopleural fistula: analysis of risk factors and the role of bronchial stump coverage

Surgery Today - Bronchopleural fistula (BPF) is a potentially fatal complication of pneumonectomy. We analyze its occurrence rate, risk factors, and the methods used for its prevention. We reviewed...     

Retrospective study of children with acute pyelonephritis. Evaluation of bacterial etiology, antimicrobial susceptibility, drug management and imaging studies.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the management of pyelonephritis in a large Italian pediatric population. A total of 1,333 patients (36% male) were considered. Escherichia coli was the most frequently isolated agent (89.9%), followed by Proteus mirabilis (3.6%) and Klebsiella oxytoca (2.1%). 27% of microorganisms were resistant to amoxicillin, 4% to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, 11% to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, 2.4% to gentamicin and less than 2% to ceftazidime. Despite this resistance pattern showing that oral antibiotics, such as amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, are effective in vitro as well as parenteral antimicrobials, a parenteral antibiotic was given initially to 756 (57.2%) children. A prophylactic regimen was started in 922 patients with a rate of reinfection during prophylaxis of 9.5%; a higher rate of reinfection was observed in patients with reflux (25%) compared to children without reflux (3%) (p < 0.0001). Vesicoureteral reflux was demonstrated in 30% of patients. The number of renal abnormalities detected by DMSA in patients with and without reflux was significantly different (p < 0.001). CRP was higher in patients with scars (p < 0.02). In conclusion, pyelonephritis represents a common disease with about 2,500 days of hospitalization per year in the Veneto Region where there is a pediatric population of about 800,000 under 15 years of age. The results of antimicrobial in vitro tests indicate that amoxillicin/clavulanic acid could represent the antibiotic of choice. The high frequency of malformations, observed even in children between 6 and 12 years of age, may suggest the need of an imaging study including DMSA scan and VCUG in all age groups.     

The H3 anti-phospholipid idiotype is found in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) but not in patients with syphilis.

The human H3 idiotype, defined by a mouse monoclonal antibody S2.9, is commonly found in patients with SLE where it is correlated with the amount of anti-cardiolipin antibodies. No correlation between the amount of anti-cardiolipin antibody and the H3 idiotype is found in patients with syphilis. Using the S2.9 antibody, serum from each of 10 patients with SLE and eight patients with syphilis was separated into H3-bearing and H3-negative fractions. Comparison of the partition of anti-cardiolipin antibody in these two groups of patients revealed that much of the anti-cardiolipin antibody (44-91%) was found in the H3+ fraction in patients with SLE; in patients with syphilis, virtually none of the anti-cardiolipin antibody was H3+. In patients with SLE, the H3+ fraction contained both IgG and IgM and antibodies of both kappa and lambda light chains. The H3+ fraction was polyspecific and frequently reacted with dsDNA.     

Pathways to care,DUP, and types of interventions over 5 years following psychosis onset: findings from a naturalistic study conducted in routine generalist mental health services

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology - To describe pathways to care, duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), and types of interventions provided to first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients...     

Auditory brainstem evoked responses in the clinical evaluation and follow-up of insulin-dependent diabetic subjects

In the last few years the use of ABR in the dysmetabolic encephalopathies has aroused considerable interest. Even though brainstem involvement in these syndromes is not yet entirely understood, ABR techniques have provided new and important insights. We studied 60 insulin-dependent diabetic subjects, 29 females and 31 males aged to 17 to 55 yrs, and observed ABR abnormalities in 28.2% of the cases. This impairment affects the I-V interval or central transmission time (CTT), which is considered the most reliable index of brainstem function. The ABR pattern was considered pathologic when the CTT was due 2DS as compared with a sex- and age-matched control. Follow-up studies performed on 20 of these subjects revealed no significant variation in the ABR tracing. This fact, together with the absence or correlation between ABR involvement and metabolic control and glycemia level during the test, could be attributed to a 'structural' damage of the brainstem tissue. In diabetics, we observed a significant correlation (p less than 0.05) between I-V interval shift and an EMG-proved reduction in motor conduction velocity (MCV) of the peroneal nerve. We also found a high incidence of ABR impairment (53%) in diabetics with cardiovascular autonomic failure.     

Patterns of corneal graft rejection in the rabbit and reversal of rejection with monoclonal antibodies.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the local administration of monoclonal antibodies could reverse rabbit corneal graft rejection. To provide a rational basis for the choice of monoclonal antibodies as potential immunosuppressive agents, the phenotypes of cells infiltrating rejecting rabbit corneal allografts were examined by immunohistochemistry. About half the leukocytes accumulating in these grafts bore an immunodominant T cell marker, over two-thirds carried MHC class II antigens, and about one-fifth carried myeloid cell markers. A kinetic study of the cell population appearing in rabbit aqueous during corneal graft rejection was performed by examination of repetitive anterior chamber taps taken over a ten-day period; again, the major components were T cells, MHC class II antigen-positive cells and myeloid cells. Monoclonal antibodies L11/135 (directed against a peripheral T cell determinant), 2C4 (directed against a monomorphic MHC class II antigen), and LION 2 (directed against a myeloid antigen) were chosen for intracameral injection into rabbits with rejecting corneal grafts. Each animal received a total of 50-100 micrograms of antibody in two injections at 3-4-day intervals. L11/135 and LION 2 reversed rejection in 5/9 and 8/12 animals, respectively, in the absence of any other immunosuppression; 2C4 was without effect. We suggest that monoclonal antibody therapy in corneal transplantation deserves further attention.     

Paternity testing requested by private parties in Italy: some ethical considerations

In Italy, judicial and extrajudicial requests for paternity testing have increased in recent years. A retrospective analysis of such private extrajudicial requests received by the legal medicine unit of the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health of Padua University was conducted to identify problem areas most helpful in determining whether to accept private parties' requests for paternity testing. Such testing is most delicate when a presumptive father may be seeking to disown paternity and when testing is wanted without the consent of a member of the mother-child-father triangle. Tests that could establish paternity where none has been recognised are less problematic, as the child will not lose out. Legal and ethical-deontological aspects of consent, of the protection of minors and of children's and parents' need for follow-up interviews to deal with the outcome of such testing are carefully considered by the Padua University team when deciding whether to accept a request for testing. It is argued that because such issues are not dealt with by mail-order laboratories, the use of such services is inappropriate.     

The effect of flumazenil on subclinical psychometric orneurophysiological alterations in cirrhotic patients: a double-blind placebo-controlled study

It is not yet clear if benzodiazepine receptor ligands,implicated in the pathophysiology of hepatic coma, also have a role in subclinical cognitive orneurophysiological alterations in cirrhotic patients. Therefore, we carried out a double-blind,placebo-controlled study to evaluate the effectiveness of flumazenil, a benzodiazepine antagonist,on brainstem auditory evoked responses and on the number connection test in cirrhotic patientswith subclinical neurophysiological or cognitive alterations. Thirteen cirrhotic subjects withsubclinical neurophysiological or cognitive alterations were studied. A total of 3 mg of flumazenilor saline was infused intravenously. Before and after the infusion, the number connection test wasadministered and brainstem auditory evoked responses recorded. After 72 h, patients werecrossed over. Flumazenil did not influence brainstem auditory evoked responses or the numberconnection test. A screening test for benzodiazepines was negative in all subjects. We concludethat benzodiazepine receptor ligands have a negligible role, if any, in the pathophysiology of sub-clinical neurophysiological or cognitive alterations of cirrhotic patients.