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Biomedical subjects

M Lafortune

Publications and source records attributed to M Lafortune.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Urinary milk of calcium in children and adults: use of gravity-dependent sonography.

Fifteen cases with urinary milk of calcium (UMC) are presented, all of them secondary to urinary obstruction: ureteropelvic junction stenosis (three cases), staghorn calculus (two), caliceal diverticulum (five), and pyelogenic cyst (five). Four patients (aged 7-19) are the youngest with this affliction reported to date. Milk of calcium proximal to a staghorn calculus has not been described previously. Gravity-dependent sonography was the most efficient and sensitive method of diagnosis. Follow-up of 1-16 years showed the formation and gradual increase in the quantity of UMC without evidence of gross calculus formation within the milk. In two patients, there was spontaneous, partial drainage of UMC.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

The recanalized umbilical vein in portal hypertension: a myth.

The demonstration of a vessel in the falciform ligament, traditionally presumed to be a reopened umbilical vein, is an important sonographic sign of portal hypertension. This vessel was sought in 200 umbilicoportographies (all portal hypertensive) and in 41 autopsy-dissected falciform ligaments (34 normal and seven cirrhotic). The normal falciform ligament contained one to three tiny collapsed paraumbilical veins. In cirrhotics, the number and caliber of paraumbilical veins increased. A reopened umbilical vein was never found. The authors conclude that the umbilical vein does not recanalize in portal hypertension. The vessel involved is actually an enlarged paraumbilical vein.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Portal venous system measurements in portal hypertension.

The diameters of the portal, splenic, superior mesenteric, and coronary veins were measured during umbilicoportal venography in 64 cirrhotic patients with or without portal hypertension. The diameter of the portal vein did not increase along with the portohepatic gradient and even tended to decrease depending on the severity of hypertension and the opening of spontaneous portosystemic shunts. While there was no relationship between portohepatic gradient and splenic or superior mesenteric vein diameter, a coronary vein larger than 0.7 cm was associated with a portohepatic gradient greater than 10 mm Hg. This could be a useful sign of severe portal hypertension.

Anthropometry↗
PubMed1984

[Compulsory internship in diagnostic radiology in the 5th year of medicine at the University of Montreal].

Problems of methodology, organization, and evaluation confronting the radiology departments of the university hospitals affiliated with the University of Montreal, the medical students, and the University itself in connection with an elective internship in radiology offered in the fifth year of medicine, resulted in the formation of a committee to reorganize the course of study. In this concise article the authors describe this and other measures taken by the University to solve these problems. The committees' main purpose was to restructure the internship which was made compulsory so that future physicians would be prepared to draw on the resources of diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine. To this end, the committee formulated the objectives, content, evaluation system, and pedagogical methods to be used in those courses. The 25 self-teaching modules, together with the observation and practical interpretation of radiology sessions, proved highly useful in solving the initial problems, and were of particular interest to the students.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1983

Undergraduate radiology clerkship: the Universite de Montreal program.

At the Université de Montréal, a four-week rotation in radiology is part of the core curriculum for students in their fifth and final year of medicine. The objective of this undergraduate radiology clerkship is to prepare the future physician to use efficiently the resources of radiology and nuclear medicine in patient care. Specific goals and methods used to achieve them are described and analysed.

Clinical Clerkship↗
PubMed1983

Echographic demonstration of an oncocytoma.

Renal oncocytomas are rare and apparently benign tumors. Diagnosis other than by angiography has not been reported. We report the echographic demonstration of an oncocytoma.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1981

[Epidemic of bacillary dysentery].

An outbreak of bacillary dysentery in 1978 affecting 928 persons, most of whom were living in the village of St-Jacques, PQ, is described. An epidemiologic study suggested the water supply as the source of the infection, and it was established that the water carried by the municipal aqueduct was contaminated by feces containing the causal agent, Shigella sonnei. This epidemic, the largest mentioned in he Canadian medical literature, demonstrates how contagious this infection is.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

[Double approach to the study of high jumping: attention demands and biomechanics].

A double approach was used to study high jumping: attention demands and biomechanic. The main goal was to determine if the methodology used to measure the attention demands did interfere with high jumping performance. Two sub-goals were also aimed: (a) to find the main characteristics of the attention demands of high jumping; (b) to find the main kinetic characteristics of high jumping. Two members of the canadian olympic team were tested. Results showed that the methodology using to measure the attention demands did not seem to interfere with subject's performance, the later being evaluated by means of force time variations during the take-off. Results also showed that: a) high jumping seems to require considerable amount of attention even for international caliber high jumpers, and b) there were differences between Straddle and Fosbury Flop techniques as far as kinetic date were concerned.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

A microcomputer-based stimulator for clinical and experimental investigations in cardiac electrophysiology.

A cardiac stimulator is described which combines the ease of operation required in clinical investigations, particularly endocavitary studies of cardiac arrhythmias, and the versatility needed in a research context. This instrument uses a microcomputer to control two independent optically-isolated stimulation ports which can be addressed either independently or jointly to stimulate at two different sites. The main software module operates as a cascade of ten real time pulse generators with individually presettable parameters: amplitude, duration, period, initial delay, periodic and cyclic modifiers, triggering mode, etc. A simple interactive procedure allows the operator to define a stimulation protocol either by accessing the generator structure directly, or by calling any of five pre-programmed stimulation protocols. With this combination, the instrument can provide a large variety of pulse patterns. The operator can intervene at any time during stimulation to change parameter values or modify the pulse pattern. Concurrently with stimulation, the instrument generates time-codes to help relate cardiac responses recorded on paper chart and magnetic tape, and reference them to specific events. The instrument can be readily expanded by the addition of parallel microprocessor modules; other real time tasks such as acquisition and processing of cardiac responses can thus be incorporated.

Cardiac Pacing, Artificial↗
PubMed1977

Angiography: an essential diagnostic aid in asymptomatic aortic aneurysm?

Aortography is a highly desirable diagnostic procedure for evaluating clinically diagnosed abdominal aortic aneurysm. In a retrospective study of 83 patients with such aneurysms, routine angiographic investigation changed the course of management in 17. The morbidity associated with angiography in the investigation of abdominal aortic aneurysm has been minimal. In this situation angiography provides more information than ultrasonography and therefore should be used routinely.

Aged↗
PubMed1976

Association of endodermal sinus tumour, testicular teratoma and alpha1-fetoprotein.

An endodermal sinus tumour in the retroperitoneal region was associated with the presence of alpha1-fetoprotein (AFP) in the patient's serum. At autopsy a simple cystic teratoma of the right testicle was also found. The association of these two tumours has been reported before. The classification of these malignant germ-cell tumours and an understanding of their evolution may be aided by the discovery that AFP is often found in the patient's serum.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Idiopathic portal hypertension.

Idiopathic portal hypertension is reported in five cases including one case of chronic arsenical intake and one case of chronic industrial vinyl chloride exposure. In all five cases the patients presented with gastrointestinal bleeding as the chief complaint. Physical examination was within normal limits except for splenomegaly in all. Results of liver function tests were normal, except for the relative clearance of sulfobromophtalein. A surgical liver biopsy specimen was obtained in all cases and showed moderate degrees of portal fibrosis, but no cirrhosis. Combined umbilicoportal, hepatic vein and superior mesenteric artery catheterization was performed in all cases. Hepatoportographies showed distortion of the intrahepatic portal venous system and cut-off of small portal venules. Porto-hepatic gradients ranged from 14.0 to 20.5 mm Hg. The portal hypertension was both sinusoidal and presinusoidal in nature but mainly presinusoidal. Hepatic extraction of indocyanine green and of albumin microaggregates was normal, thereby suggesting normal functional portal blood supply to the liver. The patients with arsenical or vinyl chloride exposure could not be differentiated from the other three patients with idiopathic portal hypertension. These results suggest that idiopathic portal hypertension may be related to domestic or industrial exposure to other hepatotoxins.

Adult↗