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Biomedical subjects

G Parkin

Publications and source records attributed to G Parkin.

43 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

A ten year prospective experience with semi-elective shunt in selected patients for bleeding oesophageal varices.

In a prospective study from 1972 to 1982, 38 patients with bleeding oesophageal varices and relatively good liver function were treated by semi-elective or emergent shunt 2-4 weeks after admission. There were no deaths within 3 months of surgery. This constituted 30% of the total 125 patients admitted with bleeding varices during that period. No referred case for treatment of portal hypertension was included in this study. The procedures performed were end-to-side portacaval shunt in 30 cases, lieno renal shunt in seven cases and interposition mesenterico-caval shunt in one case. All patients were admitted to a special unit with a two stage policy of management. Immediate endoscopic diagnosis and balloon tamponade in those with continued bleeding was followed by shunt in selected cases. Follow-up of the 38 patients showed a cumulative survival at 1 year of 89%, at 3 years of 75% and 5 years of 65%. In four cases (13%) a clinical diagnosis of portal systemic encephalopathy was made, all were controlled by medical management. In four of ten follow-up deaths, liver failure was the cause, in none of these cases was encephalopathy a problem. It is concluded that with a policy of early diagnosis and control of haemorrhage, 30% of a typical series of prospectively studied patients admitted with bleeding varices can be treated without mortality by definitive surgery. There was low incidence of encephalopathy and no cases of incapacitating mental confusion. Centralization of treatment and prospective study is essential for the implementation of such a policy of management.

Adult↗

Acute renal failure in critical illness. Conventional dialysis versus acute continuous hemodiafiltration.

The dialytic therapy of choice in critically ill patients with acute renal failure (ARF) is a matter of controversy. The clinical outcome of such patients managed with either conventional dialytic therapy (CDT) or acute continuous hemodiafiltration (ACHD) was compared through retrospective review of medical records from the intensive care unit of a tertiary institution. Records from 167 critically ill patients with ARF consecutively treated in the same intensive care unit were reviewed. Eighty-four patients with ARF treated by CDT were compared to 83 treated with ACHD. The etiology of ARF and the degree of illness severity were similar in both groups (failing organs: CDT 3.9 vs. ACHD 4.1; mean APACHE II score: CDT 25.8 vs. ACHD 28.1). Overall survival was 29.8% for the CDT patients and 41% for the ACHD group (NS). In those with two to four failing organs, survival was greater in the ACHD group (53.8% vs. 31.1%; p < 0.025). This was also true for patients with an intermediate APACHE II score (24-29) who demonstrated better survival when treated by ACHD (46.4% vs. 12.5%; p < 0.025). Acute continuous hemodiafiltration was associated with better control of azotemia and hyperphosphatemia and increased nutritional intake. This retrospective study suggests that ACHD may offer clinically significant advantages over CDT, particularly in patients with an intermediate degree of critical illness severity.

Acute Kidney Injury↗