The effect of metoclopramide on gastric emptying in traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: Gastric paresis in traumatic brain injury (TBI) hinders the effectiveness of enteral support in this patient group. In this study we have investigated the effect of metoclopramide on gastric emptying in TBI patients. METHOD: In this prospective, randomized, controlled, double-blind study, 19 TBI patients with Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 3-11 were included. In all patients, enteral nutrition was commenced with a nasogastric feeding tube within 48 hours of trauma. Patients were randomized into two groups. In the metoclopramide (M) group, 10 mg metoclopramide was delivered intravenously three times daily for 5 days. In the control (C) group, an equal volume of saline was administered. Besides demographics, gastric emptying according to a paracetamol absorption test at days 0 and 5, time to reach target nutritional requirements, gastric residues, intolerance to feeding, nutritional complications, and clinical outcomes were recorded for each patient. RESULTS: The gastric residue rates were 2.7+/-7.4 mL and 8.1+/-17.7 mL per 100 patient days for groups C and M respectively (p=0.408). Similarly, feeding intolerance and complication rates did not significantly differ between groups C and M, (respectively p=0.543 and 0.930). Gastric emptying parameters also were similar between the study groups. CONCLUSION: We were unable to document any advantage to using metoclopramide in TBI patients. Simple intragastric enteral feeding with close monitoring of the possible complications seems to be sufficient with acceptable morbidity rates.     

Optimization of self-reference thermometry using complex field estimation.

Referenceless, or self-reference, thermometry is a technique for mapping temperature differences in the region of interest (ROI) using the baseline phase estimated by extrapolating the field in the surrounding region for estimation (RFE) and subtracting the estimated baseline from the measured field. In the present work a self-reference technique based on complex field estimation using 2D polynomials comprising complex-valued coefficients was proposed and optimized. Numerical simulations with a Gaussian-profiled phase distribution demonstrated that the ROI radius had to be 2.3-2.5 times the standard deviation (SD) of the Gaussian function in order to keep the error below 8% of the peak phase change. The area ratio between the ROI and the RFE had to be larger than 2.0 to maintain the error level. Based on the simulations, and phantom and volunteer experiments, the complex-based method with independently optimized polynomial orders for the two spatial dimensions was compared with the phase-based method using the similar-order optimization strategy. The complex-based method appeared to be useful when phase unwrapping was not removed. Otherwise, the phase-based method yielded equivalent results with less polynomial orders.     

Intracoronary shunt reduces postoperative troponin leaks: a prospective randomized study.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether intracoronary shunt usage reduced the myocardial damage on the basis of the cardiac markers when compared with the shuntless anastomosis in off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG) surgery of isolated left anterior descending artery lesions. METHODS: Forty patients who had stable angina with isolated left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery lesion undergoing OPCABG surgery were randomized into two groups. Shunt group consisted of 20 patients who had OPCABG using intracoronary shunt, whereas the shuntless group consisted of 20 patients who underwent OPCABG without using intracoronary shunt. Cardiac troponin I, CK, and CK-MB before and 24h after the surgery were assessed in the groups. RESULTS: There were no deaths in the study. The two groups were similar with respect to sex and age. Duration of LIMA-LAD anastomosis was significantly higher in the shunt group (p=0.01). There was no significant difference between the groups concerning the preoperative and postoperative CK and CK-MB levels. The preoperative troponin I levels of the groups were not different (p=0.238; NS), whereas postoperative levels of this marker was significantly higher in the shuntless group (p=0.003). CONCLUSION: Intracoronary shunt reduced the postoperative troponin I levels significantly, so it may be indicated in the patients who are thought to be susceptible to transient ischemia.     

Neural fibrolipoma of the ulnar nerve in the hand: a case report.

The author reports an unusual case of neural fibrolipoma (lipofibromatous hamartoma) of the ulnar nerve in the hand. A 20-year-old man presented with a fusiform soft tissue mass in his right hand. Neurological examination was normal except to minimal pain on palpation. Surgical exploration revealed that ulnar nerve and its digital branches were infiltrated by fibrofatty tissues. Fibrofatty tissues were dissected and removed from the nerve by microsurgical technique. Histological examination confirmed the diagnosis as a lipofibromatous hamartoma of the nerve. The result of surgical debulking was satisfactory.     

Fast decomposition of water and lipid using a GRASE technique with the IDEAL algorithm.

Three-point Dixon techniques achieve good lipid-water separation by estimating the phase due to field inhomogeneities. Recently it was demonstrated that the combination of an iterative algorithm (iterative decomposition of water and fat with echo asymmetry and least-squares estimation (IDEAL)) with a fast spin-echo (FSE) three-point Dixon method yielded robust lipid-water decomposition. As an alternative to FSE, the gradient- and spin-echo (GRASE) technique has been developed for efficient data collection. In this work we present a method for lipid-water separation by combining IDEAL with the GRASE technique. An approach to correct for errors in the lipid-water decomposition caused by phase distortions due to the switching of the readout gradient polarities inherent to GRASE is presented. The IDEAL-GRASE technique is demonstrated in phantoms and in vivo for various applications, including pelvic, musculoskeletal, and (breath-hold) cardiac imaging.     

Living unrelated donor kidney transplantation between spouses

From November 3, 1975 to November 3, 1990, 874 kidney transplants were performed at our centers. Of these, 675 (77.2%) were from living donors and 199 (22.8%) were from cadaver donors. Five hundred eighty (66.4%) of the living donors were first degree related while 99 (11.3%) were unrelated or second degree related donors, 29 of which were spouses. All donor recipient pairs were ABO-compatible, with the exception of one pair. Donor recipient relations were wife to husband in 25 cases and husband to wife in 4 cases. All were first grafts and started functioning during surgery. In this series, the follow-up for the recipients was 4 to 64 months (mean 33.5 ± 4.5 months). One-year patient survival and graft survival rates were 92.4% and 81.9%, respectively. Two-year patient survival and graft survival rates were 92.4% and 78.2%, respectively. The single ABO-incompatible case is also doing well, 21 months postoperatively. This study demonstrates that the interspouse kidney transplantation may be used when cadaver organ shortage is a problem. While providing the couple with a better quality of life, interspouse kidney transplantation also enables the couple to share the joy of giving and receiving the gift of life from one another.

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Resumen En nuestro centro se efectuaron 874 trasplantes renales entre noviembre 3 de 1975 y noviembre 3 de 1990; 675 (77.2%) fueron de donantes vivos y 199 (22.8%) de donantes cadavéricos; 580 (66.4%) de los donantes vivos fueron familiares de primer grado y 99 (11.3%) fueron donantes no relacionados familiarmente o familiares de segundo grado, de los cuales 29 eran cónyuges. Todas las parejas donante-recipiente exhibieron compatibilidad ABO, con excepción de una. La relación donante-recipiente fue esposa a esposo en 25 casos y esposo a esposa en 4 casos. Todos los injertos eran de primera vez y todos comenzaron a funcionar en la mesa de cirugía. El seguimiento osciló entre 4 y 64 meses (33.5 ± 4.5). Las tasas de sobrevida a un año del paciente y del injerto fueron 92.4% y 81.9% respectivamente; las tasas a dos años fueron 92.4% y 78.2% respectivamente. El único caso ABO no compatible también se encuentra bien, a 21 meses en la actualidad. El presente estudio demuestra que el trasplante renal entre esposos puede ser utilizado cuando haya escases de órganos cadavéricos. Al tiempo que permite una mejor calidad de vida, el procedimiento da a la pareja la oportunidad de gozar el hecho de otorgar y de recibir el regalo de la vida entre uno y otro.

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Résumé Nous avons effectué 874 transplantations rénales dans nos centres de transplantation entre le 3 Nov, 1975 et le 3 Nov, 1990. Parmi celles-ci, 675 (77.2%) provenaient de donneurs vivants et 199 (22.8%) des reins provenaient de cadavres. Cinq cent quatre vingt des donneurs vivants (66.4%) étaient parents au premier degré alors que 99 (11.3%) étaient parents au 2è degré ou n'étaient pas parents, parmi lesquels 29 étaient des époux. Tous les couples donneur/receveur, sauf un, étaient compatibles dans le système ABO. Le couple donneur/receveur était femme à mari dans 25 cas et mari à femme dans quatre. Il s'agissait dans tous les cas d'une première greffe et qui a commencé à bien fonctionner sur la table d'opération. Dans cette série, le suivi des receveurs allait de 4 à 64 (33.5 ± 4.5) mois. Les taux de survie des malades et des greffes à un an étaient respectivement de 92.4% et 81.9%. Les taux de survie des malades et des greffes à deux ans étaient respectivement de 92.4% et 78.2%. Le seul cas avec incompatabilité ABO va très bien avec un recul de 21 mois. Cette étude montre que la transplantation entre époux est une solution valable en cas de manque de reins. En plus d'améliorer la qualité de survie du receveur et par là même du couple, cette variété de transplantation donne également au couple la possibilité d'avoir la joie de donner et de recevoir un cadeau de vie de leur époux.