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Biomedical subjects

L Sunder-Plassmann

Publications and source records attributed to L Sunder-Plassmann.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Importance of microscopic residual disease at the bronchial margin after resection for non-small-cell carcinoma of the lung.

A total of 805 patients underwent lung resection for non-small-cell lung carcinoma at the University of Munich Medical Center, Klinikum Grosshadern, from 1978 through 1988. Microscopic residual disease at the bronchial margin was found in 21 patients (2.6%). The tumor residues showed either a mucosal (1%) or a extramucosal (1.6%) spreading pattern. Patients with extramucosal microscopic residual disease had a poorer prognosis (median survival 10.3 months) than patients with mucosal microscopic residual disease (median survival 25 months). The prognosis was better if the tumor was squamous cell as opposed to adenocarcinoma or large-cell carcinoma. The most important prognostic factor was tumor stage. Patients with microscopic tumor infiltration and stage I or II disease survived longer than the comparable stage III group. We suggest that these patients should undergo reoperation, if possible. Patients with stage III disease, mediastinal lymph node involvement, and microscopic residual disease have the same marked reduction in survival as patients with stage III disease but without microscopic tumor infiltration. We do not recommend a follow-up operation in these patients. Complete histologic examination of mucosal and extramucosal peribronchial tissues at the resection line by frozen section is mandatory to avoid leaving microscopic tumor behind, which may adversely affect patient survival.

Bronchi↗

Prognostic value of deoxyribonucleic acid aneuploidy in primary non-small-cell lung carcinomas and their metastases.

The ploidy status of the deoxyribonucleic acid of a malignant lung tumor provides additional information besides histologic grading and tumor staging according to lymph node infiltration and tumor metastasis. Ninety-nine surgical specimens from patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma were investigated by flow cytometry. Deoxyribonucleic acid aneuploidy was found in 48% of the primary tumors. Patients with deoxyribonucleic acid-euploid tumors showed better survival (p < 0.01) than those with deoxyribonucleic acid-aneuploid carcinomas independent of tumor stage. Deoxyribonucleic acid ploidy status of the primary tumor was compared with that of N2 lymph node metastases in 29 cases. Seven samples showed a change from deoxyribonucleic acid aneuploidy in the primary tumor to deoxyribonucleic acid euploidy in the lymph node metastases. Survival was significantly better for patients with euploid primary tumors and lymph node metastases, followed by patients with deoxyribonucleic acid-aneuploid primary tumors and euploid lymph node metastases. Survival was poorest in patients with deoxyribonucleic acid-aneuploid primary tumors and lymph node metastases. It was observed that only the simultaneous determination of deoxyribonucleic acid ploidy of primary tumors and lymph node metastases permits accurate prognostic evaluation in case of lymph node infiltration.

Actuarial Analysis↗

[Giant cell arteritis of the arteries of the arm. Diagnosis, surgical indications and choice of procedure].

At autopsy, affection of the aortic arch and of the arm arteries is found in about 70% of patients with giant cell arteritis. Symptoms occur in only about 5% of them. Arteriography often shows typical spindle-shaped stenoses or tapered occlusions of the diseased vessels. Arterial stenoses are successfully treated with corticosteroids. In case of chronic occlusion, however, ischemia-induced symptoms may necessitate an operation. Endarterectomy should be preferred to bypass procedures. Subsequent long-term corticosteroid treatment should be instituted in order to treat the underlying disease, and to prevent reocclusions.

Aged↗

[Carcinoembryonic antigen in serum and pleural fluid to distinguish between bronchial carcinoma and pleural mesothelioma].

The concentrations of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were measured, partly retrospectively and partly prospectively, in 94 patients with diffuse malignant mesothelioma and in 79 with bronchial carcinoma and pleural involvement. Serum concentrations were measured in all patients, pleural-fluid concentrations additionally in 53 patients of the former and 39 of the latter group. The concentrations were significantly higher in those with bronchial carcinoma (P less than 0.001). The two groups could be distinguished by serum concentrations, using 5.2 ng/ml as the limit, with a sensitivity of 68%, specificity of 98% and a predictive value of 96%. Measurement of CEA in pleural fluid (at a limit of 4.5 ng/ml) had a specificity of 94% and a positive predictive value of 90%, sensitivity being similar to that for serum. The negative predictive value for serum CEA concentration was 79%, for pleural fluid it was 81%. Thus in most cases measurement of CEA in serum and, to a lesser extent in pleural fluid, is a very simple method to exclude mesothelioma with a high degree of certainty. If the CEA concentration is below the stated level, either may be present.

Adult↗

Epidural spinal electrical stimulation in the treatment of severe arterial occlusive disease.

The effect of epidural spinal cord stimulation (ESES) on peripheral circulation in 10 cases with advanced vascular occlusive disease has been tested, using transcutaneous oxygen measurement (TcpO2), contact thermography and laser-speckle measurements. The values in all cases increased. Improvement was more pronounced during the first 2-3 weeks. Indications and limitations of this treatment modality are discussed.

Aged↗

Beta-adrenergic receptors and m-cholinergic receptors in human lung. Findings following in vivo and in vitro exposure to the beta-adrenergic receptor agonist, terbutaline.

In order to investigate whether treatment with terbutaline (1 mg subcutaneously) in patients with bronchial obstruction is accompanied by changes in the densities of receptors of the autonomic nervous system, beta-adrenergic receptors or m-cholinergic receptors were measured in membrance preparations of human peripheral lung tissue from patients undergoing lung resection for bronchial carcinoma. The density of beta-adrenergic receptors and mononuclear leukocytes (MNLs) of treated and untreated patients and beta-adrenergic receptors and m-cholinergic receptors in lung strips from the same patients exposed to terbutaline in vitro were studied for comparison. In patients, treatment with terbutaline did not have any effect on human lung beta-adrenergic receptors and m-cholinergic receptors, whereas a 57 percent decline was measured in the number of beta-receptors on MNLs of the very same patients. In contrast, in vitro exposure of human peripheral lung strips to terbutaline (100 mumol/L for 36 hours) evoked a time-dependent and concentration-dependent decline of 46 percent in beta-adrenergic receptors. Again, there was no change in the number of m-cholinergic receptors. The antagonist affinities, as judged from the KD values, did not differ under either condition. We concluded that lung beta-adrenergic receptors are subject to down-regulation when exposed to agonists in vitro. This down-regulation in the human lung is not accompanied by alterations in m-cholinergic receptors. Down-regulation of beta-adrenergic receptors or up-regulation of m-cholinergic receptors appears not to play a role in the proposed tolerance to beta-adrenergic receptor agonist treatment in clinical situations. The reduction of beta-adrenergic receptors in MNLs provides evidence that treatment with terbutaline was sufficient to affect beta-adrenergic receptors in vivo in certain cell types but also shows that alterations in blood cells do not necessarily reflect the situation in the lung.

Aged↗

Beta 2-adrenoceptors in human lung and peripheral mononuclear leukocytes of untreated and terbutaline-treated patients.

Beta 2-adrenoceptor agonists act against bronchoconstriction by stimulating beta 2-adrenoceptors in bronchial smooth muscle. However, tachyphylaxis has been argued to occur because of beta 2-adrenoceptor down-regulation following therapy with beta 2-adrenergic agents. To investigate receptor alterations, human peripheral mononuclear leukocytes are frequently used, since human lung tissue is not easily available. In order to study whether beta 2-adrenoceptors in MNL reliably reflect the conditions in the human lung tissue, we compared MNL and human lung tissue of 18 patients who had to undergo lung resection. Ten patients were untreated, and eight had bronchodilator therapy prior to therapy with terbutaline because of bronchoconstriction. Both in human lung and MNL, the beta 2-adrenoceptor subpopulation was characterized by competition experiments with the beta 1-selective antagonist CGP 207.12 A and the beta 2-selective antagonist ICI 118.551. In MNL, a significant decrease in the density of beta 2-adrenoceptors was found in treated but not in untreated patients, while the antagonist affinity of the beta 2-adrenoceptors remained unchanged. However, in lung parenchyma, which was obtained at the very same time from the same patients, no down-regulation of the total amount of beta 2-adrenoceptors could be measured. It is concluded that MNLs are a reliable model for studying properties of beta 2-adrenoceptor regulation. However, the hereby obtained results show that MNLs do not reflect the conditions of beta 2-adrenoceptors in human lung tissue. Human lung tissue is found to be less susceptible than human MNL for beta 2-adrenoceptor down-regulation by terbutaline treatment at therapeutic doses.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗

[Low molecular weight heparin in vascular surgery patients].

In contrast to general surgery postop. thromboprophylaxis in vascular surgery cannot be standardized because the risk of thrombosis differs considerably among different types of operations. Following peripheral reconstructions prophylaxis of arterial thrombosis will cover all aspects of venous thromboprophylaxis too. Only in operations without any arterial prophylaxis subcutaneous heparin for venous thromboprophylaxis is essential. The therapeutic value of low molecular heparin fraction has not yet been clarified so far.

Arterial Occlusive Diseases↗

[Bronchial stump insufficiency: treatment and results].

A bronchopleural fistula following lung resection is a dangerous complication. Records from 25 patients with a bronchopleural fistula were followed up in order to propose a therapeutic concept. An early onset of fistula should be treated as an emergency. Late fistulas can be reoperated electively because they are most often rather small and the patients are in a better condition. The suture of the stump alone was successful in only 3 out of 13 cases. Patients with fistulas following lobectomy were reoperated by pneumonectomy with good results. In fistulas due to pneumonectomy the results of either an isolated muscle-flap or a thoracoplasty were disappointing. Instead, a closure of the stump was accomplished by the combination of thoracoplasty and muscle-flap in 3 out of 4 patients. However, 2 patients with an early fistula after pneumonectomy died from septic complications after the fistulas had already been managed. Endoscopic maneuvers like gluing and insertion of spongiosa did not show any success unless combined with operative measures but rather delayed the onset of re-intervention.

Bronchial Fistula↗

[Bronchial carcinoid. A clinical study of 37 patients].

To establish whether bronchoplastic procedures designed to minimize loss of lung tissue are justifiable for the treatment of bronchial carcinoid tumours, data were analysed from 37 patients (17 men, 20 women, average age 51 [22-70] years) who had undergone surgery for typical (n = 30) or atypical (n = 7) bronchial carcinoids. Conventional tumour resections had been performed in 29 cases and bronchoplastic operations in eight. After an average observation period of 54 months one patient who had undergone lobectomy for a bronchial carcinoid had died of recurrent tumour, and one other patient who had been treated by pneumonectomy for an atypical carcinoid had developed distant metastases. All the other patients were free from tumour at that time. This indicates that patients treated by bronchoplastic procedures do not have any higher incidence of recurrences or any lower chance of survival than those treated by lobectomy or pneumonectomy. A bronchoplastic operation should therefore be the treatment of first choice, provided that the adjacent lung tissue has not been destroyed by retention pneumonia and that lymph node dissection does not reveal any involvement.

Adult↗

[Pleural mesothelioma--problems in diagnosis and clinical course in 25 patients].

Patients with benign pleurafibromas should undergo surgery as suspect thoracic tumors have the potential to become malignant. In benign cases diagnosis can easily be made during the operation. In such a case the prognosis is good and it is seldom necessary to undergo repeated surgery due to recurrence. In the case of malignant pleuramesothelioma the preoperative diagnosis with an exact staging of the tumor is very important to determine an adequate therapeutic regimen. X-ray, CT-scanning, tapping of the pleura fluid and biopsy of the pleura are together insufficient to diagnose a pleuramesothelioma correctly. Since it is not always possible to diagnose a malignant pleuramesothelioma even at thoracoscopy, one should not hesitate to perform an open lung biopsy in order to obtain enough material under adequate vision.

Adult↗

Tumors of the bronchi: role of evaluation with CT.

Computed tomography (CT) was performed in 142 patients thought to have an endobronchial tumor based on clinical or radiologic grounds. In 121 patients an endobronchial mass was confirmed at bronchoscopy with biopsy or at surgery. The CT scans were evaluated independently by two experienced observers (A and B). For statistical purposes the result in each single bronchus from the level of the trachea to the segmental bronchi was considered separately. A total of 361 abnormal and 1,413 normal bronchi were confirmed with bronchoscopy or surgery. Observers A and B identified 100% and 99%, respectively, of the abnormal bronchi and 97% and 96%, respectively, of the normal bronchi on CT scans. For the standard CT examination (8-mm-thick sections) a sensitivity of 94% (observer A) or 91% (observer B) and a specificity of 99% (observers A and B) were found in the diagnosis of a normal or narrowed bronchial lumen. CT proved to be a reliable method for demonstrating tumor lesions of the bronchi.

Bronchial Neoplasms↗

[Pleural empyema as a complication of gastrointestinal interventions].

The diagnosis of empyema following gastrointestinal operations is usually established at an early stage (Stage I/II in 23 of our own 29 patients). The decisive factor in therapy is the careful and precise insertion of a drainage tube under radiologic control (ultrasound, CT) followed by efficient suction drainage. Nevertheless mortality in this special group of postoperative septic complications was 56%, since extrathoracic sepsis could not always be eliminated promptly enough when diffuse peritonitis was the source of sepsis.

Empyema, Pleural↗

[The value of computerized tomography in detecting and localizing lung metastases].

25 patients with an extrathoracic malignant tumor and radiologically proven lung nodules had a thoracic CT preoperatively. 111 nodules were confirmed by surgery (median: 10 mm). Histopathological examination revealed 104 metastases or sterilised metastases and 7 benign nodules. CT detected 97% of the nodules. Localisation of the nodules according to different lobes or segments was correct in 97% of nodules. CT is a very sufficient method for the detection and localisation of lung metastases.

Adolescent↗

Lung tissue concentrations of ciprofloxacin following intravenous administration in patients.

Serum and corresponding lung tissue concentrations of ciprofloxacin (Ciprobay) were investigated in 25 patients undergoing open lung surgery for pulmonary malignancies. Drug levels were measured at various times (50-240 min) after completion of a single i.v. dose of 200 mg by bioassay and HPLC. Lung tissue concentrations peaked within one hour after dosing (bioassay: 3.2 micrograms/g, HPLC: 4.5 micrograms/g). Tissue levels exceeded corresponding serum level 3- to 4fold throughout the observation period. The results demonstrate excellent penetration properties of this new antimicrobial compound into lung tissue. Ciprofloxacin was concentrated in the lung and thus by far exceeded known minimum inhibitory concentrations for most nosocomial respiratory pathogens.

Adult↗