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Biomedical subjects

A Agostini

Publications and source records attributed to A Agostini.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

[Port-site metastases following laparoscopic surgery].

Laparoscopy for malignancy resection has been followed by description of metastatic laparoscopic port sites. Recently published clinical, experimental studies and case reports related to this problem are reviewed. Frequency of port-site metastases for gallbladder, colorectal and ovarian cancers seem to differ. Ascites and staging during laparoscopy are probably risk factors for port-site metastases. Clinical presentations of port-site metastases are exposed and experimental studies show that pneumoperitoneum, nature of gas as well as local factors were probably implicated. Hypothetical mechanisms of port-site metastases are discussed; it is likely that the aetiology are multifactorial. Preventive strategies of port-site metastases are proposed. Further research in this area is necessary to understand mechanisms of port-site metastases.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

[Evaluation of two methods for endometrial sampling during diagnostic hysteroscopy].

OBJECTIVE: To compare two endometrial sampling devices, pipelle and vacurette, performed during hysteroscopy, based on the quality of material obtained and pain during the sampling. PATIENTS AND METHODS: During the period from 01.03.96 to 01.12.97, 200 patients were consecutively randomized in a single blind prospective study. Efficacity was evaluated on the quality of material obtained and pain was graded on a scale of 0 to 5. RESULTS: On the average the Vacurette was more painful (1.6 vs 1.1, p = 0.01). Vacurette biopsy was more effective than pipelle biopsy (64% vs 48%, p = 0.05). There was a significative difference of efficacity in the post-menopausal group (34% vs 13%, p = 0.05), but not in the pre-menopausal group (76% vs 64%, p > 0.05). When hysteroscopy diagnosed endometrial atrophy, there was no significative difference of efficacity (29% vs 23%, p > 0.05), whereas vacurette was significatively more effective when there was an other hysteroscopy diagnosis (78% vs 62%, p = 0.05). Both procedures were less effective in post-menopausal women (p = 0.001), and in case of endometrial atrophy (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Both procedures were acceptable during ambulatory hysteroscopy. In our study, vacurette was more painful than pipelle. Vacurette was more effective but insufficient tissue for histologic evaluation was important in both procedures. This might be explained by the population included and the histologic method used.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1998

Evaluation of cardiac status in iron-loaded thalassaemia patients following bone marrow transplantation: improvement in cardiac function during reduction in body iron burden.

Iron-induced cardiac disease is the primary cause of death in transfused patients with thalassaemia major. The beneficial effects of deferoxamine mesylate on clinical cardiac disease have been well described but the impact of therapy on subclinical cardiac dysfunction is unknown. To assess the reversibility of subclinical cardiac dysfunction we studied the cardiac status during iron depletion treatment (phlebotomy) in iron overloaded patients, cured of thalassaemia by marrow transplantation, without clinical manifestation of heart failure but with alteration in both left ventricular diastolic function and in contractility property. 32 patients were studied and demonstrated a slight but significant impairment in the morphology and function if compared with matched normal controls. 17 of these patients were submitted to sequential echocardiographic evaluations during the phlebotomy programme. Following completion of the programme, normalization of the indices of contractility and normalization of diastolic function were observed. This study indicates that transplanted thalassaemia patients with subclinical left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and impaired left ventricular contractility may reverse these processes with an effective regimen of iron reduction such as phlebotomy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

[Sanitary conditions of community dining halls in greater Buenos Aires, Argentina].

Because of the importance of food safety for public health, a study was done to determine the microbiologic quality of foods provided to patrons of community dining halls in greater Buenos Aires, Argentina. The study was descriptive and was conducted in three municipalities with intermediate or high poverty indices; a sample of 52 dining halls was selected randomly from those municipalities. Information was collected from April 1994 through April 1995 by means of surveys, direct observations, and microbiologic analyses of the water and food served. Water and food analysis followed the recommendations of the Argentine Food Code and the International Commission on Microbiologic Specifications for Foods, respectively. The results were interpreted according to the values for cooked foods agreed upon by the Working Group on Food Monitoring. The microbiologic analysis revealed that 28 (54%) of the dining halls had food or water of inadequate quality and 11 (21%) had inadequacies in both. Bacillus cereus was the most commonly found pathogenic bacterium in the food samples analyzed. The factors that were significantly associated with unsatisfactory microbiologic conditions in the food and water were lack of disinfection of the water (P = 0.009), lack of hygiene in the environment (P = 0.03), the presence of rodents and insects (P = 0.05), the supply system for raw materials (P = 0.01), and a relatively small number of users, i.e., fewer than 100 (P = 0.0008). It was concluded that water disinfection and general clean-up of the dining halls were measures that could be put in place by providing education in the areas of hygiene and food handling to supervisors and employees. The results obtained also indicate the need to include a food safety evaluation among the general evaluation criteria for food assistance programs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Efficacy of maduramicin against turkey coccidiosis in battery: a clinical and pathological study.

Two groups of 24 three-day-old turkeys each were inoculated with Eimeria meleagrimitis sporulated oocytes and fed a diet containing respectively 5 and 6 ppm of maduramicin ammonium. Clinical signs, mortality rates, weight gain, intestinal lesions and replication of the parasite were compared to the data obtained from a group of infected, untreated birds kept in the same experimental conditions over a period of 17 days. The treated birds showed better performances and less severe intestinal damages; the replication and the development of the parasite in the intestinal mucosa were impaired and delayed by the drug. All the data were dose dependent.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Peribulbar anesthesia in vitreoretinal surgery.

BACKGROUND: Retrobulbar anesthesia is considered an effective method of obtaining anesthesia and akinesia in eye surgery. It can give rise to serious complications, however, and these complications could be considerably reduced with peribulbar anesthesia. METHODS: After using peribulbar anesthesia for 2 years in surgical treatment of the anterior segment, the authors began a study to test its efficacy in posterior segment surgery. Retinal and vitreoretinal surgery with the peribulbar anesthesia technique were performed in 32 consecutive patients. RESULTS: In all cases anesthesia was complete with one preoperative block. In 2 patients, however, completion of akinesia required a supplemental 2- to 3-cc injection of the anesthetic solution. Surgery was performed with preoperative block only in 31 cases. In the remaining case, a supplemental peribulbar injection of the anesthetic solution was given intraoperatively for pain. In 5 cases (15%) pain at the end of surgery from conjunctiva was controlled by anesthetic drops. CONCLUSION: It is recommended that this method be used only when the duration of the operation is expected to be brief.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Echocardiographic study in ex-thalassemic patients with iron overload, preliminary observations during phlebotomy therapy.

In patients with thalassemia major iron overload leads to symptoms of cardiac failure and it is the most frequent cause of death. A sub group of asymptomatic thalassemic patients (Th Pts) who underwent bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and who presented persistently high serum ferritin level and heavy haemosiderosis were subjected to cardiological study to evaluate possible iron-related cardiac disease. We report here preliminary results obtained from the Echocardiographic studies carried out at baseline and at eight months follow-up in a group of ex-thalassemic after transplant who underwent phlebotomy in the attempt to reduce the iron overload.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Cardiac study by dobutamine stress echocardiography in thalassemic patients.

In patients with Thalassaemia Major the iron overload with alteration both of systolic and diastolic properties of left and right ventricles finally leads to symptoms of cardiac failure and is the most frequent cause of death in these patients. In the majority of asymptomatic thalassemic patients with normal myocardial mass it is possible to demonstrate an alteration of the diastolic function both with echocardiographic study and with radionuclide angiography (subclinical cardiac disease). We have also demonstrated in "ex thalassemics" with stable and heavy iron overload in the subclinical cardiac disease phase a subnormal systolic function and a slight impairment of the contractility state. Therefore our purpose was to evaluate cardiac performance emphasising the contractility properties of the left ventricle during moderate inotropic stimulation with dobutamine in thalassemic patients in subclinical cardiac disease. We are now also using this test to evaluate cardiac performance in adults thalassemic patients as a screening for marrow transplantation procedure. Dobutamine is a sympathomimetic drug (beta 1 agonist) that increases myocardial contractility and at high doses also systolic arterial blood pressure and heart rate. The half-life is extremely short and at low doses the drug has no major side effects. Continuous intravenous dobutamine infusion is largely used in the therapeutic field to treat cardiac failure and it is reported to be a very efficacious and safe therapeutic agent. Recently dobutamine stress echocardiography was reported to be an accurate non-invasive diagnostic technique for detecting cardiac dysfunction in adults with coronary artery disease (Dobutamine is used for this purpose at high dose to increase the myocardial oxygen consumption).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Frequency of HLA DQA1 alleles in an Italian population.

A sample of 103 Italians was tested for HLA-DQA1 polymorphism using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and dot blot hybridization. Results were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The power of discrimination was 0.91 and the rate of exclusion 56.7. The frequencies of the DQA1*0201 and DQA1*0301 alleles were found to be significantly different from other Caucasian populations.

Discriminant Analysis↗
PubMed1991

Suitability of PCR methods for forensic investigation. Analysis of the 3'apoB VNTR system in an Italian population sample.

The PCR method has been applied to amplify a Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) sequence located at the 3' end of the apolipoprotein B (ApoB) gene. The study was conducted on an Italian population sample and in a 3-generation family of 13 members, whose relationships were previously established using conventional blood systems. The allele frequencies found were compared with those reported in the literature. The results also confirmed the Mendelian inheritance of the alleles and the suitability of the PCR method for forensic purposes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Attentional scanning and space errors.

Using the method of paired comparisons, pairs of simultaneous horizontal or vertical lines, with one line above and one below or one on the left and one on the right of a fixation point, respectively, were presented tachistoscopically for length comparison. Space errors were found to have a pattern similar to that of time errors. The tendency to guess the comparative response from the absolute magnitude of stimuli is proposed as a basis for time and space errors. Manipulation of attentional scanning, which implies a more frequent usage of this guessing strategy for one of the two lines in a pair, was shown to affect space errors.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Why do they enroll in nursing school? A study of the motivations of the enrollments in the School for Professional Nurses of Veneto Province].

A longitudinal investigation developed in the Regione Veneto has focused on the motivations which lead 2,500 young people per year to choose the nursing school and on the information on the school and the profession which are available for them. The ground motivations which seem to guide to choice appear to be mostly of the idealistic-humanitarian type, while the image of the nursing profession shares the characteristics of a low professional and social role. The investigation has also explored the motivations which lead 15% of the candidates to leave the school very early on, and provides a profile of those characteristics of the Regional Schools which are judged by the young candidates as positive or negative.

Humans↗
PubMed1981

Megathrombocytes, platelet regeneration time and platelet associated IgG in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and in thrombocytopenia associated with chronic liver disease.

Percentage of megathrombocytes, platelet regeneration time (PRT) and platelet-Associated IgG (Pl-A-IgG) were investigated in 12 patients with clinical features consistent with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and in 11 patients with thrombocytopenia associated with chronic liver disease. Bone marrow smears were also examined and megakaryocytes classified into stages I-III according to the current principle. Of 12 patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura the percentage of megathrombocytes was increased in 9, PRT reduced in 10, and Pl-A-IgG increased in 8 patients. A statistically significant correlation was found between the percentage of megathrombocytes and the level of Pl-A-IgG. A slight correlation was also found between PRT and the percentage of megathrombocytes, while a significant correlation was found between megakaryocytes in stage I and the percentage of megathrombocytes, suggesting that growth of megakaryocytes probably contributes to platelet heterogeneity. In patients with thrombocytopenia and chronic liver disease, the percentage of megathrombocytes was in the normal range. A moderately increased level of Pl-A-IgG was found only in patients with active chronic hepatitis, PRT was reduced only in a few patients, while most of them also showed an increase of Pl-A-IgG.

Blood Platelets↗
PubMed1979

Platelet heterogeneity. Relationship between buoyant density, size, lipid peroxidation and platelet age.

Human platelets were separated into 2 density populations by repeated centrifugations of platelet-rich plasma at increasing gravitational force. The heaviest platelet fraction was rich in larger platelets. The lightest platelet fraction was rich in smaller platelets. In both fractions and in the platelet button, lipid peroxidation (malonaldehyde-MDA-production after addition of thrombin) was measured at basal condition, on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th day after aspirin ingestion. At basal conditions and after ingestion of aspirin, MDA production was higher in the heavy-large platelets than in light-small ones, but a parallel increase of MDA production was observed in the light and in the heavy population and in the platelet button. The data are not compatible with the hypothesis that platelet density and size are age-related. Aspirin inhibits platelet lipid peroxidation by permanently acetylating their cyclooxygenase and if the heaviest platelets were the young ones, lipid peroxidation should reappear sooner in them.

Aspirin↗