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Biomedical subjects

E Bodner

Publications and source records attributed to E Bodner.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Is there a role for laparoscopic ultrasonography (LUS)?

Laparoscopic ultrasound (LUS) was performed in 24 patients undergoing routine laparoscopic cholecystectomy at the Second Surgical Department of the University Hospital of Innsbruck, Austria. After introduction of the ultrasonic probe via the umbilical incision, liver, biliary tract, pancreas, kidneys, stomach, and colon were investigated to assess the sonomorphology of these organs and to judge whether or not LUS is a feasible and reliable means for screening the abdominal organs during routine surgery or laparoscopic staging of upper gastrointestinal (GI) tumors. In all cases, a very accurate investigation of these organs was possible, and the laparoscopic procedure was prolonged for only 15 to 20 min. In eight further patients, LUS was performed to investigate pancreatic pathology (six cases), stomach cancer (one patient), and primary hepatocellular carcinoma (one patient). Three additional patients (pancreatic lesions) who underwent intraoperative ultrasonography with the LUS probe were excluded from this evaluation.

Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic

Gastric remnant cancer has a better prognosis than primary gastric cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To study the prognosis of gastric remnant cancer following radical resection (group 1) compared with that of primary gastric cancer of the upper third of the stomach following radical resection (group 2). DESIGN: Cohort study with a 5-year follow-up. SETTING: A university hospital in Austria. PATIENTS: Group 1 consisted of 43 patients, and group 2, of 61. Postoperative deaths and deaths during the follow-up period that were not related to gastric cancer were excluded. Fifteen patients in group 1 (34.9%) presented with stage I cancer; 10 (23.3%), stage II; 13 (30.2%), stage III; and five (11.6%), stage IV. Twenty patients in group 2 (32.8%) presented with stage I cancer; 12 (19.7%), stage II; 15 (24.6%), stage III; and 14 (22.9%), stage IV (Union Internationale Contre le Cancer staging classification, 1987). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Overall and stage-related 5-year survival rates. RESULTS: The overall 5-year survival rate was 53.5% in group 1 and 32.8% in group 2 (P < .05). The stage-related 5-year survival rate in group 1 was 100% for stage I and 80% for stage II. In group 2, the stage-related 5-year survival rate was 65% for stage I and 25% for stage II (both, P < .01). No significant difference was noted for stages III and IV. CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of cancer of the gastric remnant presenting as stage I or II is good and is significantly better than that of the equivalent stages of primary cancer of the upper third of the stomach.

Adolescent

Ultrasonography in the management of blunt abdominal and thoracic trauma.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of ultrasonography in patients with blunt abdominal or thoracic trauma in regard to the indication for immediate operation, delayed abdominal exploration, or conservative treatment. DESIGN: A retrospective study was conducted after consecutive sampling of 1151 patients in a nonrandomized control trial. SETTING: The study was conducted at the University Hospital of Innsbruck (Austria), which serves as a general community hospital and a major primary care and referral center. PATIENTS: All patients with blunt abdominal or thoracic trauma with or without polytraumatization were eligible for the study; a total of 1151 patients were observed from 1980 to 1990. According to the ultrasonographic findings, patients were divided into three groups: immediate operation, primary conservative treatment, and conservative treatment (normal ultrasonographic findings). Ultrasonography was repeated when the clinical findings or laboratory test results showed the development of intra-abdominal hemorrhage or signs of organ laceration. INTERVENTION: Ultrasonography in the emergency department or intensive care unit. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Conservative or operative treatment based on ultrasonographic and clinical findings. RESULTS: Ultrasonography showed a sensitivity of 99%, a specificity of 98%, a positive predictive value of 0.97, and a negative predictive value of 0.99 in regard to the indication for surgery in cases of blunt abdominal or thoracic trauma. Ultrasonography is not reliable in patients with intestinal perforation and large retroperitoneal hematomas. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonography saves time and money, can be performed in the emergency department, shows high sensitivity and specificity, and is the method of first choice in the evaluation of blunt trauma.

Abdominal Injuries

Lymphangitis carcinomatosis of the lesser omentum: a prognostic factor in gastric cancer.

A series of 126 patients with gastric cancer who underwent radical gastrectomy with systemic lymph node dissection revealed 9 patients who survived for a median time of only 3 months. Of these 9 patients, 4 were classified by the UICC system as stage II and 5 as stage III, all of whom had lymphangitis carcinomatosis of the lesser omentum. These data suggest that although lymphangitis carcinomatosis of the lesser omentum is an uncommon finding, if it is present, curative surgery is impossible and an operation should therefore be limited to tumor palliation.

Adult

Subcutaneous abscess due to gallstones lost during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

No complications caused by gallstones lost during laparoscopic cholecystectomy have yet been described in the literature. In one animal study in rats, it has been shown that pigment calculi, but not cholesterol stones, lead to severe local inflammation of the abdominal cavity. We present a case of a chronic subcutaneous and subfascial abscess in the lower abdomen, which included multiple pigment calculi, six months after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. During the procedure, multiple small pigment calculi had been lost into the free abdominal cavity.

Abdomen

Survival after surgical treatment of recurrent carcinoma of the rectum.

BACKGROUND: From January 1983 to January 1991, radical surgical treatment for carcinoma of the rectum was performed upon 154 patients in our department. In 30 instances, local treatment failure occurred and patients were treated either conservatively or operatively. Survival times of these 30 patients were compared to evaluate if operation, even in instances in which only palliative resection is possible, can prolong survival and if early diagnosis of recurrence leads to a higher rate of radical resections and subsequent cure. STUDY DESIGN: Patients were divided into three groups. Group 1 consisted of patients not undergoing an operation, patients in group 2 had a palliative resection and patients in group 3 had radical resections. The median survival time was estimated for each group. RESULTS: The median survival period was six months for group 1, 17 months for group 2, and 35.5 months for group 3. Four patients who underwent reoperation for cure are still alive: one with recurrent tumor after 28 months, and three without evidence of disease after 32, 42 and 43 months. The most valuable diagnostic mean in the detection of local recurrence was endosonography. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical treatment for recurrent carcinoma of the rectum is justified not only in cases having radical resection but also as a palliative approach. Compared to other investigative methods, endosonography seems to detect recurrences earlier, at a time when curative retreatment is still possible.

Adult

Traumatic bilhemia.

BACKGROUND: Retrospective analysis was done of three cases with severe liver trauma and excessive serum bilirubin levels caused by a traumatic biliovenous fistula. The literature is reviewed. METHODS: Diagnostic measures included laboratory findings, computed tomography, ultrasonography, and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). RESULTS: The biliovenous fistula was detected by ERCP in two cases. In one case a left hemihepatectomy was carried out, and the patient was cured. The other patient received drainage of a huge necrotic cavity in the center of the liver. Ten months later the patient underwent reoperation, and left hepatic resection was performed. The patient died of liver function failure on postoperative day 7. In the third case the fistula subsided spontaneously. CONCLUSIONS: An excessively high serum level of direct bilirubin and only moderately elevated liver enzymes indicate bilhemia in trauma patients. ERCP is most reliable in localizing the fistula; computed tomography/ultrasonography are valuable in detecting the extension and localization of the parenchymal destruction. Conservative therapy is justified if the patient is in good condition or if the localization of the fistula is unclear. Spontaneous closure of the fistula may occur. Surgical treatment options are partial liver resection and suture of the fistula and T-tube drainage of the common bile duct and drainage of the rupture site.

Adolescent

Neopterin and prognosis in patients with adenocarcinoma of the colon.

Concentrations of neopterin, a sensitive indicator for the activation of cellular immunity, were measured in urine samples of 44 patients with adenocarcinoma of the colon at diagnosis. To judge the relative predictive value of neopterin concentrations, other routine clinical and laboratory variables were concomitantly determined. The patients were then followed up to 10 yr, and the abilities of all variables to predict death from cancer were assessed. Neopterin concentrations were not correlated with either tumor stage or Dukes' stage. In univariate analyses using the product-limit approach, four variables were significant indicators of poor prognosis: presence of distant metastases (P = 0.0001); high Dukes' stage (P = 0.0009); high urinary neopterin concentration (P = 0.0034); and advanced stage (P = 0.030). Presence versus absence of lymph node metastases was not associated with prognosis. Multivariate survival analyses by the proportional hazards technique demonstrated that neopterin provided statistically independent predictive information in addition to either presence versus absence of distant metastases or Dukes' stage. When neopterin and tumor stage were investigated for joint prediction, stage failed to be included in the model. Thus, neopterin concentrations provide valuable and statistically independent prognostic information in patients with adenocarcinoma of the colon.

Adenocarcinoma

Incarcerated bariolith of the cecum eight months after a barium meal.

Barioliths consist of inspissated barium mixed with feces. They are a rare complication after barium contrast roentgenography and occur almost exclusively in the large bowel. Mostly asymptomatic or causing only slight symptoms and signs, they may persist for months or years. We report a severe case of cecal bariolith. Clinical symptoms and signs, radiological findings, intraoperative findings, and histology are presented and discussed with reference to the literature.

Aged

Distinct distributions of D-erythro-neopterin in arteries and veins and its recovery by an enterohepatic circulation.

Large amounts of D-erythro-neopterin, a pteridine derivative, are formed from guanosine triphosphate (GTP) by human macrophages upon stimulation with interferon-gamma. In addition, in humans a basal neopterin level in all body fluids is evident also in absence of immunological stimuli. Extremely high concentrations of D-erythro-neopterin were detected in biliary fluid. We therefore investigated, if an enterohepatic circulation might exist for this substance. We quantified concentrations of pteridines in serum obtained from various vessels and in biliary fluid. Samples were collected during surgery of five patients with duodenal ulcer or adenocarcinoma of the stomach. Our data clearly demonstrate the existence of an enterohepatic circulation for the recovery of neopterin which seems to be specific for this substance. The relative distributions of neopterin concentrations in the gastrointestinal tract and vessels were seen invariably in all patients and were consistent with findings in five corpses examined post mortem. In addition, significantly higher neopterin concentrations, were found in arteries than in veins. The data indicate that neopterin derivatives are consumed in the peripheral capillary system and an enterohepatic circulation is established to maintain constant blood levels of neopterin derivatives. Furthermore, we suppose that the liver is the source of constitutive neopterin concentrations.

Adenocarcinoma

Endosonography (ES) in the diagnosis of recurrent cancer of the rectum.

The ability of endosonography (ES) to detect local recurrence after "curative" surgery for rectal cancer was investigated in 65 patients. Fifteen patients developed local recurrence. All of these 15 patients had ES evidence of recurrence; in four cases recurrence was detected by ES alone. Ten of the 15 patients with local failure underwent reoperation. Four patients were candidates for reoperation for cure. Three patients with radical reoperation belonged to the group in which recurrence was detected by ES alone. ES is able to detect small tumors before there is evidence of recurrence in other available forms of examination.

Adult

Treatment of calculi of the common bile duct.

Endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) is regarded as an alternative therapeutic approach to the surgical treatment of choledocholithiasis. To clarify the indication for each of these two methods, a prospective study has been performed comparing patients with calculi of the common bile duct who had undergone endoscopic or surgical treatment. Mortality, morbidity and stone clearance were used as criteria for the evaluation of the dependence of age on results achieved by the two modalities. Of 306 patients with choledocholithiasis, 199 underwent surgical exploration of the duct and 107 underwent endoscopic sphincterotomy. Patients who were more than 60 years of age and had previously undergone cholecystectomy underwent endoscopic sphincterotomy. All other patients had surgical treatment. There were no significant differences among the two groups with regard to mortality rates. The incidence of relevant complications as well as the incidence of surgical revisions related to postoperative complications in the operation group was, however, significantly higher (p less than 0.05). In contrast with this, the incidence of retained stones was significantly lower (p less than 0.01) in the group that underwent surgical treatment (2.5 percent) than in the group that had endoscopy (11.2 percent). When assessing the results in terms of stone clearance, complications and mortality rates, findings seem to indicate that a safe limit for the application of surgical treatment would be 60 years of age, whereas older patients should be primarily considered as candidates for EST.

Age Factors