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Biomedical subjects

C Fava

Publications and source records attributed to C Fava.

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

[Dynamic cavernosography. A proposed new method].

The excessive blood outflow from the corpora cavernosa during erection ("venous leakage") is a frequent cause of impotence. Dynamic cavernosography, a recent technique, is able to both evaluate such venous leakage and detect the veins concerned. After a critical review of the literature and on the basis of their own experience (64 cases), the authors suggest a 2-phase method. A conventional cavernosography is performed and flows of physiological solution necessary to induce and maintain an artificial erection are separately measured. Subsequently, only the patients with increased flow rates undergo a second angiography of the corpora cavernosa and drainage paths, after being given and intracavernous injection of papaverine. A simple, more rational and less invasive examination can thus be performed. All useful parameters can nevertheless be examined when surgical/radio-interventionist treatment is considered.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty after renal transplantation].

Renal artery stenosis is a frequent complication of kidney transplantation (10%). Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) has recently been proposed as a potential therapeutic procedure. Twelve transplant patients with arterial stenosis underwent PTA. The procedure was successful in 10 cases (83.3%). Restenosis occurred in 2 patients (16.7%); both of them underwent PTA successfully. No complications occurred. A considerable improvement in glomerular filtration rate and a reduction in high blood pressure were observed in all patients after successful PTA. The authors believe PTA to be the therapy of choice in the treatment of arterial stenoses in kidney transplant patients.

Angiography↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Treatment of acute arterial embolism of the kidney].

The possible ways of treating renal artery embolisms are reviewed with an examination of their advantages and defects. Surgical treatment has a fairly high mortality rate but quickly cures any type of vascular occlusion and will cure any concomitant problems such as arterial stenosis. Medical treatment with anticoagulant or thrombolytic drugs offers a lower short term mortality rate and is effective even on narrow blood vessels but the response varies according to the type of thromboembolic damage and the way the drugs are administered. Recently developed forms of radiological treatment are also examined. A personal technique successfully applied to an embolism in a patient with only one functioning kidney is described. It consists of a two-step mechanical and pharmacological attack. First the occluded artery was opened by means of a balloon catheter that was pushed beyond the embolism and withdrawn into the aorta after inflation of the balloon. Thrombolytic drugs (Urokinase) were then infused through the catheter into the bed of the renal artery in order to cure the secondary thrombosis found, as is generally the case, downstream of the embolism. The technique appears ideal for the treatment of patients with embolisms and total involvement of the renal parenchyma, especially when their general condition makes surgery inadvisable.

Catheterization↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Detection of group B streptococci by agglutination testing from selective broth cultures.

A rapid technique for the immunological identification of group B streptococci in vaginal swabs is reported. Vaginal swabs obtained from 567 pregnant women at term or during labor were incubated for eight hrs in Todd Hewitt broth containing 15 micrograms per ml nalidixic acid, one microgram per ml polymixin, and 0.1 microgram per ml crystal violet (NPC broth). After streaking the swabs on blood agar plates, both plain broth cultures and their nitrous acid extracted pellets were tested with a commercial latex agglutination reagent. Beta-hemolytic colonies grown on the blood agar plates after overnight incubation were grouped with commercial latex agglutination and coagglutination reagents for reference identification. Sensitivities for the broth culture and nitrous acid techniques were 86.8 percent and 94.7 percent, respectively; specificities were 97.4 percent and 98.7 percent respectively. Nitrous acid extraction of vaginal broth cultures followed by latex agglutination testing can significantly shorten the time needed to detect group B streptococci, resulting in the intrapartum detection of these organisms.

Bacteriological Techniques↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[A cytofluorimetric analysis of the DNA content and S phase in intraepithelial neoplasia of the cervix uteri].

The natural history of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) evidenced in such pathologies a different biological behaviour due to the presence of similar morphological atypia with different potential development. To biologically characterize CIN lesions we valued by flow cytometry, the DNA content and the proliferative activity of 53 biopsies obtained by colposcopy. Aneuploid histograms were present in none of the histologically negative lesions, in 14% of the CIN I, in none CIN II, and in 40% of the CIN III. The mean value of S-phase was 2.7% in non dysplastic lesions, 5% in the CIN I, 2.5% in the CIN II and 6.1% in the CIN III. In this study the findings of aneuploid cells and the value of proliferative activities seems to be not correlated with the histological features. The clinical and instrumental follow up of the considered patients could establish the eventual prognostic significance of cytofluorimetric parameters in CIN lesions.

Biopsy↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The usefulness of computer tomography in planning cochlear implant surgery].

In recent years, technical progress has created new complex acoustic implants which send an electrical stimulus to the eighth cranial nerve through one or more electrodes inserted through the round window into the scala tympani of the cochlea. The abnormal--mostly osteosclerotic--processes which cause deep hearing loss may prevent electrode insertion. Therefore, internal ear anatomy must be detailed, which is essential to assess the feasibility of surgery and, if surgery is indicated, to plan it properly. High resolution CT (HRCT) was performed on 79 patients to study cochlear patency, round window shape and patency, degree of temporal bone pneumatization and the proximity of vascular structures (carotid artery and jugular vein). On the basis of HRCT results, 14 of 79 patients were excluded from surgery. Comparing HRCT with surgical findings, the authors conclude that HRCT is the method of choice to examine the candidates to cochlear implant thanks to its high spatial resolution and excellent depiction of even the smallest structures. Its only limitation is that it fails to assess the lack of patency of the cochlear canal due to fibrosis, which is not associated with demonstrable density changes (3 of 19 surgical patients). This problem may be solved by submitting the potential surgical candidates to MRI.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cardiac malignant lymphoma: a case report.

A 76 year old man, who had undergone tonsillectomy for non Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma, died suddenly in rapidly evolving cardiogenic shock with electrocardiographic signs of acute lateral myocardial infarction. Post mortem examination showed three cardiac lesions, two in the left ventricle and one in the right atrium, corresponding to the "crista terminalis". Histologic examination of autopsy samples confirmed the presence of lymphoma in the heart, partially affecting the sino atrial node (NSA) but excluding other sites. There was no evidence of acute myocardial infarction in spite of the clinical signs and symptoms. An infarction-type electrocardiographic pattern associated with conduction disturbances in patients with lymphoma should suggest the possibility of cardiac localization of the disease.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Computerized tomography with lipiodol in hepatocarcinoma. Assessment of its diagnostic accuracy with anatomo-pathological control].

PURPOSE: To assess the diagnostic accuracy and predictive value of Lipiodol CT for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) before liver transplantation (OLT). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Seventy-eight cirrhotic patients awaiting OLT underwent Lipiodol CT to demonstrate the presence and extent of possible HCC. Radiologically, focal uptake areas with dense, homogeneous or "mosaic" iodized oil uptake were considered to be neoplastic nodules. All patients underwent OLT within 4 months of Lipiodol CT. Pathologic examination of the explanted livers was performed using the standard technique and, if necessary, with additional slices. Pathologic findings were compared with radiologic results to calculate the diagnostic accuracy and predictive value of Lipiodol CT in relation to both patients and lesions. RESULTS: Lipiodol CT depicted 61 focal areas of iodized oil uptake in 48 patients; pathologic examinations detected 57 HCC lesions in 42 patients (diameter .8 cm, mean 2.2 cm); agreement with radiologic diagnosis was found in 35 patients only. Patient by patient, Lipiodol CT had 83.3% sensitivity, 63.8% specificity, 74.3% diagnostic accuracy, 72.9% positive predictive value (PPV), and 76.6% negative predictive value. Lesion by lesion, Lipiodol CT showed overall sensitivity and PPV of 75.4-70.5%, 74-69.8% for "small" HCCs (diameter < or = 3 cm), and 72.9-71.1% for nodules < or = 2 cm in size. Eighteen uptake areas in 13 patients were diagnosed as HCC by Lipiodol CT but the finding was not confirmed at histology: 4 were hemangiomas and 14 corresponded to cirrhotic tissue without neoplastic foci. CONCLUSIONS: Our study, as the few others comparing radiologic results and pathologic findings of whole explanted liver, demonstrates that Lipiodol CT has relatively low diagnostic accuracy; particularly, specificity and PPV were limited by possible false positives, with HCC overstaging and mistakes in the indications/contraindications for OLT.

Adult↗