Additional Reports (additional + report)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Rituximab therapy for thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura: A proposed study of the Transfusion Medicine/Hemostasis Clinical Trials Network with a systematic review of rituximab therapy for immune-mediated disorders

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL APHERESIS, Issue 1 2006
James N. George
Abstract The rationale for immunosuppressive therapy of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) was established by observations that TTP may be caused by autoantibodies to ADAMTS13. Patients with high-titer autoantibodies to ADAMTS13 may have a higher mortality, and survivors may require prolonged plasma exchange therapy in spite of adjunctive glucocorticoid treatment. More intensive immunosuppressive therapy with rituximab may provide benefit for many of these patients. The Transfusion Medicine/Hemostasis Clinical Trials Network is developing a randomized, clinical trial to test the hypothesis that addition of rituximab to standard treatment of TTP with plasma exchange and glucocorticoids will decrease initial treatment failure rates as well as subsequent relapses over the following 3 years. To provide the background data for this clinical trial, a systematic review of all published reports on rituximab treatment of immune-mediated disorders was performed. Twelve articles have reported 27 patients treated with rituximab for TTP, with benefit described in 25 (93%) of the patients. Additional reports have described rituximab treatment of 37 other immune-mediated disorders, with clinical response in most patients. These observations from small uncontrolled case series provide the background and rationale for a randomized clinical trial to establish the role of rituximab in the management of patients with TTP. J. Clin. Apheresis. 21: 49,56, 2006 © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Circadian rhythm disturbances in depression,

HUMAN PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY: CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL, Issue 7 2008
Anne Germain
Abstract Objective The aim of this article is to review progress in understanding the mechanisms that underlie circadian and sleep rhythms, and their role in the pathogenesis and treatment of depression. Methods Literature was selected principally by Medline searches, and additional reports were identified based on ongoing research activities in the authors' laboratory. Results Many physiological processes show circadian rhythms of activity. Sleep and waking are the most obvious circadian rhythms in mammals. There is considerable evidence that circadian and sleep disturbances are important in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. Depressed patients often show altered circadian rhythms, sleep disturbances, and diurnal mood variation. Chronotherapies, including bright light exposure, sleep deprivation, and social rhythm therapies, may be useful adjuncts in non-seasonal and seasonal depression. Antidepressant drugs have marked effects on circadian processes and sleep. Conclusions Recent progress in understanding chronobiological and sleep regulation mechanisms may provide novel insights and avenues into the development of new pharmacological and behavioral treatment strategies for mood disorders. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Hospitalists and intensivists: Partners in caring for the critically ill,The time has come,

JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL MEDICINE, Issue 1 2010
Michael Heisler MD
Abstract A report by the Committee on Manpower for Pulmonary and Critical Care Societies (COMPACCS), published in 2000, predicted that beginning in 2007 a gap between the demand and availability of intensivists in the United States would become apparent and steadily increase to 22% by 2020 and to 35% by 2030. Subsequent reports have reiterated those projections including a report to congress in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Health Resources and Services Administration. This "gap" has been called a health system "crisis" by multiple authors. Two important documents have published specific recommendations for how to resolve this crisis: the Framing Options for Critical Care in the United States (FOCCUS) Task Force Report in 2004 and the Prioritizing the Organization and Management of Intensive Care Services in the Unites States (PrOMIS) Conference Report in 2007. Since the initial COMPACCS report and since these 2 additional reports were published, a new opportunity to take a major step in resolving this crisis has emerged: the growing number of hospitalists providing critical care services at secondary and tertiary care facilities. According to the 2005/2006 Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) National Survey, that number has increased to 75%. Since the number of intensivists is unlikely to change significantly over the next 25 years, the question is no longer "if" hospitalists should be in the intensive care unit (ICU); rather the question is how to assure quality and improved clinical outcomes through enhanced collaboration between hospital medicine and critical care medicine. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2010;5:1,3. © 2010 Society of Hospital Medicine. [source]


Donor morbidity associated with right lobectomy for living donor liver transplantation to adult recipients: A systematic review

LIVER TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 2 2002
Kimberly L. Beavers
The aim if this study is to determine donor morbidity associated with right lobectomy for living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) to adult recipients through a systematic review of the published literature. Data sources were English-language reports on donor outcome after LDLT. MEDLINE (1995 to June 2001) was searched using the MeSH terms "living donors" and "liver transplantation." Limits were set for human only and English language only. Bibliographies of retrieved references were cross-checked to identify additional reports; 211 reports were obtained. Population studies and consecutive and nonconsecutive series were included. All studies reported at least one of the following outcomes specific to living donors (LDs) of right hepatic lobes to adult recipients: surgical and hospital complications, length of hospital stay, readmissions, recovery time, return to predonation occupation, health-related quality of life, or mortality. Abstracts of relevant articles were reviewed independently using predetermined criteria, and appropriate articles were retrieved. Study design and results were summarized in evidence tables. Summary statistics of combined data were performed when possible. Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria. Data on donor morbidity associated with right lobectomy are limited. On the basis of reported data, morbidity associated with LD right lobectomy ranges from 0% to 67%. In conclusion, reported morbidity associated with right lobe donation for LDLT varies widely. Standardized definitions of morbidity and better methods for observing and measuring outcomes are necessary to understand and potentially improve morbidity. Future studies assessing LD outcomes should report donor outcome more explicitly. [source]