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Useful Therapy (useful + therapy)
Selected AbstractsGood neurological recovery after cardiopulmonary resuscitation and thrombolysis in two old patients with pulmonary embolismACTA ANAESTHESIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 3 2009F. CAVALLARO The use of thrombolysis as an emergency treatment for cardiac arrest (CA) due to massive pulmonary embolism (MPE) has been described. However, there are no reports of successful treatment of MPE-associated CA in patients over 77 years of age. We report two cases of successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation for an MPE-associated CA in two very old women (87 and 86 years of age). In both cases, typical signs of MPE were documented using emergency echocardiography, which showed an acute right ventricle enlargement and a paradoxical movement of the interventricular septum. Emergency thrombolysis was administered during resuscitation, which lasted 45 and 21 min, respectively. Despite old age and prolonged resuscitation efforts, both patients had good neurological recovery and one of them was alive and neurologically intact 1 year later. Thrombolysis is a potentially useful therapy in MPE-associated CA. A good neurological outcome can be obtained even in very old patients and after prolonged resuscitation. [source] Clodronate treatment of vitamin D-induced hypercalcemia in dogsJOURNAL OF VETERINARY EMERGENCY AND CRITICAL CARE, Issue 2 2006Bulent Ulutas DVM Abstract Objective: To determine the effects of clodronate on vitamin D3 -induced hypercalcemia in dogs. Design: Prospective experimental study. Settings: University research laboratory. Animals: Fourteen healthy intact adult male and female mixed breed dogs. Interventions: Dogs received 7.5 mg of vitamin D3/kg of body weight once orally and were randomly assigned to 2 groups of 7 dogs each. Dogs in the saline control group were given intravenous infusions of 150 mL 0.9% NaCl solution 24 hours after vitamin D3 administration. Dogs in the clodronate group were given an infusion of 4 mg/kg of clodronate in 150 mL 0.9% NaCl solution 24 hours after vitamin D3 administration. Measurements and main results: Clinical signs of vitamin D3 toxicosis were evaluated 48 hours after ingestion of vitamin D3. Dogs that were given clodronate had significantly lower serum calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), urea, and Ca × P values than dogs in the control group on days 4, 7, and 12 after administration. Additionally, alkaline phosphatase activity was significantly lower in the clodronate group compared with dogs in the control group on days 4 and 7. Conclusions: Parenteral administration of clodronate, a biphosphonate compound and osteoclastic activity inhibitor, may be a useful therapy when administered within the first 24 hours after ingestion of toxic doses of vitamin D3. [source] Successful treatment of cutaneous sarcoid by photodynamic therapy with minimal discomfort using a fractionated dosing regimePHOTODERMATOLOGY, PHOTOIMMUNOLOGY & PHOTOMEDICINE, Issue 5 2009Clare Patterson We report the case of a 42-year-old lady with an 8-year history of a persistent tumid plaque on her forehead. Investigations and presentation were consistent with cutaneous sarcoid with no systemic involvement. Multiple topical and oral treatments had been ineffective. She received seven sessions of 5-aminolaevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (PDT) over the course of 16 months. Each treatment was delivered in discontinuous and fractionated time intervals. Improvement was seen after the first treatment and continued with subsequent treatments. She found the treatment almost painless and was pleased with the cosmetic outcome. We conclude that PDT is a useful therapy in the treatment of facial cutaneous sarcoid. Fractionated exposure may allow the treatment to be less painful and therefore better tolerated. [source] Usefulness of PCR Strategies For Early Diagnosis of Chagas' Disease Reactivation and Treatment Follow-Up in Heart TransplantationAMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 6 2007M. Diez Heart transplantation (HTx) is a useful therapy for end-stage Chaga, cardiomyopathy; however, Chagas reactivation remains a mayor complication. Parasitological methods offer poor diagnostic sensitivity, and use of more sensitive tools such as the Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is usually necessary. In the present study, reactivation incidence and PCR usefulness for early reactivation diagnosis, as well as for treatment response evaluation during follow-up, were analyzed using Strout parasite detection test, in 10 of 222 consecutive HTx patients suffering Chagas cardiomyopathy. PCR strategies targeted to minicircle sequences (kDNA, detection limit 1 parasite/ 10 mL blood) and miniexon genes (SL-DNA, 200 parasite/10 mL) were performed to compare parasite burdens between samples. No patients received prophylactic antiprotozoal therapy (benznidazole). Five patients (50%) exhibited clinical reactivation within a mean period of 71.6 days; positive Strout results were observed in most cases presenting clinical manifestations. kDNA-PCR was positive 38,85 days before reactivation, whereas SLDNA-PCR became positive only 7,21 days later, revealing post-HTx parasitic load enhancement present prior to clinical reactivation development. Reactivations were successfully treated with benznidazole and generated negative PCR results. Results observed in this study indicate the value of PCR testing for an early diagnosis of Chagas reactivation as well as for monitoring treatment efficacy. [source] | ||||||||||