Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Major Morbidity (major + morbidity)
Selected AbstractsLessons Learned from the Pediatric Heart Transplant StudyCONGENITAL HEART DISEASE, Issue 3 2006Daphne T. Hsu MD ABSTRACT The Pediatric Heart Transplant Study (PHTS) group was founded in 1991 as a voluntary, collaborative effort dedicated to the advancement of the science and treatment of children following listing for heart transplantation. Since 1993, the PHTS has collected data in an international, prospective, event-driven database that examines risk factors for outcome events following listing for transplantation. The events include transplantation, death, rejection, infection, malignancy, graft vasculopathy, and retransplantation. Over its 12 years of existence, the PHTS has made major contributions to the field of pediatric heart transplantation, especially in the areas of outcome analysis and risk factor assessment for death and other major morbidities after listing and after transplantation. The new challenges facing the PHTS include how to implement the practice of evidence-based medicine in the field of pediatric heart transplantation and how to support ongoing data collection and analysis to provide long-term outcomes as the PHTS subjects enter their second decade after transplantation. [source] Outcome after hemispherectomy in hemiplegic adult patients with refractory epilepsy associated with early middle cerebral artery infarctsEPILEPSIA, Issue 6 2009Arthur Cukiert Summary Purpose:, To study the outcome after hemispherectomy (HP) in a homogeneous adult patient population with refractory hemispheric epilepsy. Methods:, Fourteen adult patients submitted to HP were studied. Patients had to be at least 18 years old, and have refractory epilepsy, clearly focal lateralized seizures and unilateral porencephalus consistent with early middle cerebral artery infarct on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). All patients were submitted to functional hemispherectomy. We analyzed age of seizure onset, age by the time of surgery, gender, seizure type and frequency, interictal and ictal electroencephalography (EEG) findings, MRI and IQ scores preoperatively; seizure frequency, drug regimen, and IQ outcome were studied postoperatively. Results:, Mean follow-up was 64 months. All patients had frequent daily seizures preoperatively. All patients had unilateral simple partial motor seizures (SPS); 11 patients had secondarily generalized tonic,clonic (GTC) seizures and five patients had complex partial seizures (CPS), preoperatively. All patients had hemiplegia and hemianopsia. Twelve patients had unilateral EEG findings, and in two epileptic discharges were seen exclusively over the apparently normal hemisphere. Twelve patients were seizure-free after surgery and two patients had at least 90% improvement in seizure frequency. Pre- and postoperative mean general IQ was 84 and 88, respectively. Five of the twelve Engel I patients were receiving no drugs at last follow-up. There was no mortality or major morbidity. Conclusions:, Our results suggest that well-selected adult patients might also get good results after HP. Although good results were obtained in our adult series, the same procedure yielded a much more striking result if performed earlier in life. [source] Posterior Quadrantic Epilepsy Surgery: Technical Variants, Surgical Anatomy, and Case SeriesEPILEPSIA, Issue 8 2007Roy Thomas Daniel Summary:,Objective: Patients with intractable epilepsy due to extensive lesions involving the posterior quadrant (temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes) form a small subset of epilepsy surgery. This study was done with a view to analyze our experience with this group of patients and to define the changes in the surgical technique over the last 15 years. We also describe the microsurgical technique of the different surgical variants used, along with their functional neuroanatomy. Methods: In this series there were 13 patients with a median age of 17 years. All patients had extensive presurgical evaluation that provided concordant evidence localizing the lesion and seizure focus to the posterior quadrant. The objective of the surgery was to eliminate the effect of the epileptogenic tissue and preserve motor and sensory functions. Results: During the course of this study period of 15 years, the surgical procedure performed evolved toward incorporating more techniques of disconnection and minimizing resection. Three technical variants were thus utilized in this series, namely, (i) anatomical posterior quadrantectomy (APQ), (ii) functional posterior quadrantectomy (FPQ), and (iii) periinsular posterior quadrantectomy (PIPQ). After a median follow-up period of 6 years, 12/13 patients had Engel's Class I seizure outcome. Conclusion: The results of surgery for posterior quadrantic epilepsy have yielded excellent seizure outcomes in 92% of the patients in the series with no mortality or major morbidity. The incorporation of disconnective techniques in multilobar surgery has maintained the excellent results obtained earlier with resective surgery. [source] Development and Evaluation of a DNA Vaccine Based on Helicobacter pylori urease B: Failure to Prevent Experimental Infection in the Mouse ModelHELICOBACTER, Issue 6 2006Livania Zavala-Spinetti Abstract Background:, The development of a vaccine against Helicobacter pylori has become a priority to prevent major morbidity and mortality associated with this infection. Our goal was to prepare and evaluate a DNA vaccine based on the urease B gene (ureB). Methods:, The ureB gene of H. pylori was amplified and cloned into the eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1/TOPO. Plasmid DNA was purified from transformed Escherichia coli cells and used to immunize mice by the intragastric, intramuscular, intrarectal (40 µg each) and intranasal (16 µg) route, three doses every 2 weeks, with CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) as adjuvant. Four weeks after the third dose, animals were orally challenged with Helicobacter felis and were sacrificed 6 weeks later. The stomach was stained to detect the presence of infection. Results:, Despite in vitro confirmation of successful cloning and functionality of the ureB gene with expression of a protein morphologically and antigenically identical to urease B, the DNA vaccine did not perform well in vivo. Immunization of mice produced a weak immune response. Overall, intrarectal and intranasal administration seemed more immunogenic than other routes. Protection against challenge was modest and nonsignificant, and slightly better on animals immunized by the intramuscular and intranasal route. Conclusion:, A DNA vaccine based on H. pylori urease B was poorly immunogenic and nonprotective at the conditions evaluated. Higher doses, better adjuvants or a prime-boost approach may circumvent these limitations. [source] Increased risk of squamous cell carcinoma in junctional epidermolysis bullosaJOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY & VENEREOLOGY, Issue 5 2004R Mallipeddi ABSTRACT Non-Herlitz junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB) is an autosomal recessive genodermatosis characterized by skin fragility and blistering. It is usually caused by mutations in the genes encoding the basement membrane proteins laminin 5 or type XVII collagen. Clinically, impaired wound healing and chronic erosions cause major morbidity in affected patients. Previously it was thought that these individuals, unlike patients with dystrophic EB, did not have an increased risk of developing skin cancer. However, we describe three patients with non-Herlitz JEB (aged 42, 56 and 75 years) who developed cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). The tumours were well-differentiated in two cases, but one patient had multiple primary SCCs that were either well- or moderately differentiated. Most cases of SCC in non-Herlitz JEB described have occurred in those with laminin 5 defects and on the lower limbs. These clinicopathological observations have important implications for the management of patients with this mechanobullous disorder as well as providing further insight into the biology of skin cancer associated with chronic inflammation and scarring. [source] Current diagnosis and management of primary sclerosing cholangitisLIVER TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 6 2008Jens J. W. Tischendorf Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is an important liver disease with major morbidity and mortality. The diagnosis of PSC is confirmed by magnetic resonance cholangiopancreaticography, and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography is performed in patients needing therapeutic endoscopy. As a result of the unknown cause of the disease, current medical therapies are unsatisfactory. Nevertheless, high-dose ursodeoxycholic acid should be recommended for treatment of PSC patients because there is a trend toward increased survival. Dominant bile duct stenoses should be treated endoscopically. However, liver transplantation continues to be the only therapeutic option for patients with advanced disease. Estimation of prognosis and timing of liver transplantation should be determined individually for each PSC patient on the basis of all results. The diagnosis and treatment of cholangiocarcinoma (CC) still remain a challenge in PSC patients. Early diagnosis of CC certainly is a prerequisite for successful treatment with surgical resection or innovative strategies such as neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy with subsequent orthotopic liver transplantation. Therefore, endoscopic techniques such as cholangioscopy and/or intraductal ultrasound may be useful diagnostic tools in patients with stenoses suspicious for malignancy. Liver Transpl 14:735,746, 2008. © 2008. [source] SEXUAL MEDICINE HISTORY: Satyriasis: The Antiquity Term for Vulvodynia?THE JOURNAL OF SEXUAL MEDICINE, Issue 1 2006Janice McElhiney EdM ABSTRACT From ancient times, through the Middle Ages, and well into the 19th century, physicians concentrated on catastrophic medical conditions and illnesses rather than on quality of life issues. Wars, plagues, and pestilence left little time, energy, or concern for "discomfort" problems. Therefore, it is not surprising that women's conditions that caused distressing symptoms but fell short of major morbidity and mortality were not given a prominent position in medicine until relatively recently. This is especially the case with vulvodynia, a condition that has been reported to affect approximately 15% (and in some studies up to 27%) of the female population at some point in their lives. Despite its high prevalence, this condition was not discussed or reported in traditional medical textbooks until the end of the 1800s. Now, we propose another viewpoint on when the first description of vulvodynia appeared; that is, that vulvodynia was described as far back as the 1st century CE. From our review of the ancient medical literature, we believe that the condition described by Soranus as "satyriasis in females" was actually vulvodynia. McElhiney J, Kelly S, Rosen R, and Bachmann G. Satyriasis: the antiquity term for vulvodynia? J Sex Med 2006;3:161,163. [source] Safety on an inpatient pediatric otolaryngology service: Many small errors, few adverse eventsTHE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 5 2009Rahul K. Shah MD Abstract Objectives: Studies of medical error demonstrate that errors and adverse events (AEs) are common in hospitals. There are little data of errors on pediatric surgical services. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 50 randomly selected inpatient admissions to the otolaryngology service at a tertiary care children's hospital. We used a "zero-defect" paradigm, recording any error or adverse event,from minor errors such as illegible notes to more significant errors such as mismanagement resulting in a bleeding emergency. Results: A total of 553 errors/AEs were identified in 50 admissions. Most (449) were charting or record-keeping deficiencies. Minor AEs (n = 26) and moderate AEs (n = 8) were present in 38% of admissions; there were no major AEs or permanent morbidity. Medication-related errors occurred in 22% of admissions, but only two resulted in minor AEs. There was a positive correlation between minor errors and AEs; however, this was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Multiple errors occurred in every inpatient pediatric otolaryngology admission; however, only 26 minor and eight moderate AEs were identified. The rate of errors per 1,000 hospital days (6,356 per 1,000 days) is higher than previously reported in voluntary reporting studies, possibly due to our methodology of physician review with a "zero-defect" standard. Trends in the data suggest that the presence of small errors may be associated with the risk of adverse events. Although labor-intensive, physician chart review is a valuable tool for identifying areas for improvement. Although small errors were common, there were few harms and no major morbidity. Laryngoscope, 2009 [source] Anesthesia-Related Complications in Living Liver Donors: The Experience from One Center and the Reporting of One DeathAMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 10 2008S. Ozkardesler Living donor liver transplantation has become an alternative therapy for patients with end-stage liver disease. Donors are healthy individuals and donor safety is the primary concern. The objective of this study was to evaluate the anesthetic complications and outcomes for our donor cases; we report one death. The charts of the patients who underwent donor hepatectomy from February 1997 to June 2007 were retrospectively reviewed. Right hepatectomy (resection of segments 5,8) was done in 101 donors, left lobectomy (resection of segments 2,3) in 11 donors, and left hepatectomy (resection of segments 2,4) in one donor. Minor anesthetic complications were shoulder pain, pruritus and urinary retention related to epidural morphine, and major morbidity included central venous catheter-induced thrombosis of the brachial and subclavian vein, neuropraxia, foot drop and prolonged postdural puncture headache. One of 113 donors died from pulmonary embolism on the 11th postoperative day. This procedure has some major risks related to anesthesia and surgery. Although careful attention will lower complication rate, we have to keep in mind that the risks of donor surgery will not be completely eliminated. [source] 2509 Living Donor Nephrectomies, Morbidity and Mortality, Including the UK Introduction of Laparoscopic Donor SurgeryAMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 11 2007V. G. Hadjianastassiou The worldwide expansion of laparoscopic, at the expense of open, donor nephrectomy (DN) has been driven on the basis of faster convalescence for the donor. However, concerns have been expressed over the safety of the laparoscopic procedure. The UK Transplant National Registry collecting mandatory information on all living kidney donations in the country was analyzed for donations between November 2000 (start of living donor follow-up data reporting) to June 2006 to assess the safety of living DN, after the recent introduction of the laparoscopic procedure in the United Kingdom. Twenty-four transplant units reported data on 2509 donors (601 laparoscopic, 1800 open and 108 [4.3%] unspecified); 46.5% male; mean donor age: 46 years. There was one death 3 months postdischarge and a further five deaths beyond 1 year postdischarge. The mean length of stay was 1.5 days less for the laparoscopic procedure (p < 0.001). The risk of major morbidity for all donors was 4.9% (laparoscopic = 4.5%, open = 5.1%, p = 0.549). The overall rate of any morbidity was 14.3% (laparoscopic = 10.3%, open = 15.7%, p = 0.001). Living donation has remained a safe procedure in the UK during the learning curve of introduction of the laparoscopic procedure. The latter offers measurable advantages to the donor in terms of reduced length of stay and morbidity. [source] Association between quality of life scores and short-term outcome after surgery for cancer of the oesophagus or gastric cardiaBRITISH JOURNAL OF SURGERY (NOW INCLUDES EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SURGERY), Issue 12 2005J. M. Blazeby Background: Evidence suggests that baseline quality of life (QOL) scores are independently prognostic for survival in patients with cancer, but the role of QOL data in predicting short-term outcome after surgery is uncertain. This study assessed the association between QOL scores and short-term outcomes after surgery for oesophageal and gastric cancer. Methods: Consecutive patients selected for oesophagectomy or total gastrectomy between November 2000 and May 2003 completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer's quality of life questionnaire, QLQ-C30. Multivariable regression models, adjusting for known clinical risk factors, were used to investigate relationships between QOL scores, major morbidity, hospital stay and survival status at 6 months. Results: Of 130 patients, 121 completed the questionnaire (response rate 93·1 per cent). There were 29 major complications (24·0 per cent) and 22 patients (18·2 per cent) died within 6 months of operation. QOL scores were not associated with major morbidity but were significantly related to survival status at 6 months after adjusting for known clinical risk factors. A worse fatigue score of 10 points (scale 0,100) corresponded to an increase in the odds of death within 6 months of surgery of 37·4 (95 per cent confidence interval (c.i.) 12·4 to 67·8) per cent (P = 0·002). Pretreatment social function scores were moderately associated with hospital stay (P = 0·021); a reduction in social function by 10 points corresponded to an increase in hospital stay of 0·93 (95 per cent c.i. 0·12 to 1·74) days. Conclusion: QOL scores supplement standard staging procedures for oesophageal and gastric cancer by providing prognostic information, but they do not contribute to perioperative risk assessment. Copyright © 2005 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Pharmacokinetics and tolerability of intravenous busulfan in hematopoietic stem cell transplantationCLINICAL TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 3 2007Yo-Han Cho Abstract:, Intravenous (IV) busulfan has been developed to overcome variable absorption of oral busulfan and tested in several trials. We tested its pharmacological properties and tolerability in 16 Korean stem cell transplantation (SCT) patients. IV busulfan was administered at 0.8 mg/kg every six h for a total of 16 doses (days ,7 to ,4), which was followed by cyclophosphamide administration at 60 mg/kg every 24 h for two d (days ,3 and ,2). The median AUCinf values (at the first dose) and AUCss (at the steady state) were 1060.4 ,M·min (range: 511.1,1812.7) and 1092.5 ,M·min (range: 539.7,1560.8) respectively. All patients had an AUCinf of <1500 ,M·min at the first dose, and 13 of the 16 (81.3%) maintained AUCss levels between 800 and 1500 ,M·min. Thirteen of 16 patients showed successful engraftments but four patients (25%) developed hepatic VOD (two of which were fatal), three of whom had advanced disease at the time of SCT. Overall, pharmacokinetics of IV busulfan in our SCT patients appeared comparable with those observed in other study. However, hepatic VOD was a major morbidity in patients with advanced disease. [source] | ||||||||||