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Biomedical subjects

A Calciati

Publications and source records attributed to A Calciati.

85 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Bedside diagnosis of cardiac autonomic damage by computerized analysis of heart rate-respiration relationship.

In this study we propose a method for the analysis of the relationship between heart rate changes and respiration as a possible diagnostic tool for cardiac autonomic damage. The method consists in recording R-R intervals and respiratory amplitude by a suitably equipped personal computer, and by evaluating the cross-correlation peak between the two signals. This mathematical function appeared to be more sensitive to the degree of concordance between the two signals, rather than their absolute amplitude. The cross-correlation appeared to be lower in diabetics with autonomic dysfunction, markedly decreased after injection of atropine (only in normals), slightly increased after propranolol. Hyperpnea increased the cross-correlation peak between 3-18 breaths/min in normals, but only at lower frequencies, if at all, in diabetic subjects with various degrees of autonomic dysfunction. The cross-correlation showed the best reproducibility among R-R change tests. These preliminary results suggest that this method may provide new information on autonomic integrity and a substantial advantage in terms of reproducibility.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Chest irradiation as an attempt to improve the response after induction chemotherapy in small cell lung carcinoma.

Forty-six patients with small cell lung carcinoma received cyclic chemotherapy with cisplatin-VP 16 and vincristine, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide. The responding patients were given prophylactic cranial irradiation. Patients without metastases not achieving a complete response (CR) following induction chemotherapy were given chest irradiation. The response rate was 73.9 per cent. Response was improved by radiation therapy in only 9 per cent of the patients with limited disease. Median survival was 39 weeks, with 2 patients surviving for longer than 24 months. The duration of response and survival in complete and partial responders was similar; absence of radiation therapy in the patients with CR might explain this finding.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Phase II study of alpha-interferon plus bleomycin in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

A synergistic effect between alpha-Interferon and Bleomycin has been recently shown in in vitro and in vivo experimental systems. Although active, Bleomycin and other antineoplastic drugs give low response rates in non-small cell lung cancer, but, like the other antineoplastic agents, responses are short-lived. We treated 13 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer with the combination Bleomycin 15 mg/m2 i.v. at hour 0 and alpha-Interferon 9 X 10(6) U i.m. given at hours 6, 30 and 54. Major side effects were pyrexia, astenia and anorexia; only one case of moderate leukopenia was observed. No major responses were obtained and stable disease lasted a median of 5 months. Further study of this combination is not warranted in patients with pretreated non-small cell lung cancer.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Piperacillin and amikacin in the treatment of infections in neoplasm patients with granulocytopenia].

Infections are the most common cause of death in tumor patients. The risk of infection is progressively increased in relation to the severity of neutropenia. It is therefore essential to start empirical antibiotic therapy in these patients at the first sign of infection. Forty-three neutropenic tumor patients were entered into the above study when it was assumed that they had bacterial infections (temperature above 38.5 degrees C and/or signs and symptoms of infection). Patients with greater than 1000 neutrophils/mm3 were given piperacillin alone while those with more severe neutropenia (less than 1000/mm3) were given a combination of piperacillin plus amikacin. Of the 43 patients who had entered the study, 41 could be evaluated whereas the remaining two were considered dropouts either because of non-compliance with the study protocol or because the infection was found to be non-bacterial. In both groups of patients (greater than 1000 and less than 1000 neutrophils/mm3) infection resolved completely in a large percentage of cases (92% and 82%, respectively). The efficacy of piperacillin was therefore reconfirmed for the management of infection in oncologic patients with neutropenia, and proved to be an effective therapeutic resource in patients with both slight and severe neutropenia.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Microcomputer-aided diagnosis in cardiology. An expert system based on clinical and phono-mechanocardiographic data.

A knowledge-based consultation system capable of making multiple diagnoses in noninvasive cardiology is presented here. The system, expressly designed for a personal computer, is able to provide assistance in the diagnosis of 49 disease-entities. When tested in 52 retrospective cases (33 patients with one disease-entity, 17 with two, 2 with three), it made 39 correct diagnoses (75%). The average score of the actually present disease-entities was 94 +/- 3.2 (mean +/- standard error of the mean), significantly higher than the highest score obtained by the incorrect diagnoses (87.2 +/- 3.1) (p less than 0.001). The system was able to correctly perform 1 triple diagnosis and 9 double diagnoses. The results obtained, comparable with those of well-known expert systems (MYCIN, INTERNIST-1), demonstrate the reliability of a microcomputer-based expert system for medical diagnosis in cardiology.

Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted↗