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M Mutignani

Publications and source records attributed to M Mutignani.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

[Results of endoscopic biliary drainage in primary tumors of the common bile duct (cholangiocarcinoma)].

Endoscopic drainage is an effective therapy for palliation of patients with bile duct carcinoma. From November 1987 to November 1994 112 patients with cholangiocarcinoma were observed. The success rate of the procedure was 94.5%. The biliary drainage was successful in 99% of patients (in 4% of patients the complete biliary drainage was obtained with the aid of a transhepatically inserted guide-wire with the "rendez-vous" procedure). In 15 patients an intraluminal radiation therapy with Iridium-192 was associated. The morbility was 13% and the 30-days mortality 11%. A surgical operation was performed in 26% of patients with radical intent. The mean survival time in patients treated only endoscopically was 208 days for patients with lesions of the distal and middle third of the bile duct and 281 days for patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma. In patients with intraluminal radiation therapy the mean survival time was 357 days, with a significative difference with the only endoscopically treated group (357 vs 238 days, p < 0.05). We conclude that endoscopic drainage is a safe and effective management for patients with cholangiocarcinoma and it does not preclude definitive surgical treatment in appropriate candidate.

Adult↗

Treatment of "obstructive" pain by endoscopic drainage in patients with pancreatic head carcinoma.

Obstruction of the main pancreatic duct with secondary upstream ductal hypertension is one cause of pain in patients with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic endoscopic stenting and decompression of the pancreatic duct have been effective in the treatment of pain secondary to chronic calcifying pancreatitis and in one case of pancreatic cancer. We describe eight patients with unresectable cancer of the pancreatic head associated with upstream dilatation of the pancreatic duct and severe pancreatic "obstructive"-type pain (correlation with meals and pain radiation to the back) in which a pancreatic stent was inserted across the neoplastic stricture. No mortality was associated with the procedure. All patients but one were free of pain within 48 hours after endoscopic pancreatic stenting, and all discontinued narcotics. Mean survival time was 165.5 days (range, 26 to 575 days). Six patients were still without symptoms, whereas two had a painful relapse a few days before death. No clinical evidence of pancreatic clogged stent was observed during follow-up. Endoscopic pancreatic drainage is a safe and effective way of controlling cancer pain in selected cases and should be considered as a further therapeutic option in these patients.

Aged↗

Endoscopic pancreatic stenting in pancreatic cancer.

Most pancreatic carcinomas are unresectable at the time of diagnosis; therefore, palliative treatment is very often the main concern of clinicians in this setting. The main symptoms resulting in the need for palliation in pancreatic cancer are obstructive jaundice, duodenal obstruction and pain. Therapeutic endoscopy plays a major role in the palliation of obstructive jaundice by stent placement into the biliary ducts. Initial experience has also been gained recently with endoscopic placement of expandable metallic stents to treat gastric outlet obstruction. Much less is known about the possible role of endoscopic pancreatic stenting in patients with unresectable pancreatic carcinoma. The main indication for pancreatic ductal stenting is 'obstructive' pain related to meals in patients with dilated main pancreatic duct beyond the stricture and intraluminal brachyradiotherapy. The technique of endoscopic pancreatic stenting does not substantially differ from that applied on the biliary tree. When technically possible, placement of 10 French plastic stents is preferred. According to the authors' indications, only about 15% of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer (55 of 355 in the present study) may potentially benefit from this technique. Pancreatic stenting may be obtained in more than 80% of these selected patients, with low morbidity (less than 10%) and no procedure-related mortality. According to the authors of the present and other studies reported in the literature, about 60% of patients treated because of 'obstructive' pain become symptom-free, and another 20% to 25% significantly reduce the amount of analgesic drugs required. Intraluminal brachyradiotherapy with 192iridium in the main pancreatic duct is a feasible and safe method to deliver high radiation doses to the tumour while sparing adjacent organs. Brachyradiotherapy may be performed alone or in conjunction with external beam radiotherapy. Because of the small number of patients suitable for this treatment, only a multicentre study will be able to detect whether intraluminal brachyradiotherapy in pancreatic cancer may have any positive impact on survival.

Abdominal Pain↗

Concomitant radiochemotherapy in unresectable carcinoma of the exocrine pancreas: cost-effectiveness analysis.

One of the principal therapeutic options in unresectable carcinoma of exocrine pancreas is concomitant radiochemotherapy. However, in current scientific literature cost analyses of this therapeutic modality are lacking. A payer-oriented cost-effectiveness analysis of concomitant radiochemotherapy was carried out. Outcomes and differences in costs relatively to two different therapeutic strategies were compared retrospectively: biliary drainage + observation (group 1); biliary drainage + concomitant radiochemotherapy (group 2). Cost-effectiveness was assessed based on the analysis of incremental cost of benefit in terms of survival in group 2. As incremental cost of group 2 was considered that of radiochemotherapy, costs of diagnosis and staging being similar in the two groups. The unit of measurement used was $/Lys (LYS = years of life saved). For estimates of cost-effectiveness in different clinical situations, a sensitivity analysis was carried out. The incremental cost of standard concomitant radiochemotherapy was shown to be $4,755. Incremental costs relatively to the situations of minimum and maximum treatment were shown to be $4,410 and $8,375, respectively. Median survival was 4.5 and 10 months in group 1 and 2 respectively (logrank: p = 0.0046). The benefit in terms of survival achieved by concomitant radiochemotherapy was shown to be 5.5 months equal to 0.46 years. Therefore, in the standard situation, the treatment cost-effectiveness can be estimated in: $4,755/0.46 years = $10,337/LYS, that is, the cost of a year of life saved was shown to be $10,337. Results of sensitivity analysis showed that cost-effectiveness can be estimated in the range $7,603 and $25,379/LYS. In conclusion, concomitant radiochemotherapy in patients with unresectable pancreatic carcinoma is able to improve the quality of life through the relief of related symptoms as well as median survival (10 vs 4.5 months). Costs of these benefits, even if considering better survival only, based on this analysis, were shown to be acceptable.

Adult↗

Extrahepatic bile duct carcinoma: a western experience with 118 consecutive patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a diagnostic and therapeutic approach adopted in 118 consecutive patients affected by primary malignancy of the extrahepatic bile duct. METHODOLOGY: After diagnostic procedures were performed (ultrasound examination, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and computed tomography scan) 25 patients underwent surgical resection. For the remaining 93 patients considered unresectable for cure, stenting by endoscopic means was almost always the only palliative treatment performed. RESULTS: The morbidity and mortality rates were 28% and 8% for patients treated with surgical resection and the curative and overall 3-year survival rate was 30% and 22% respectively. The procedure related morbidity and mortality rates were 13% and 4% for patients endoscopically treated and the median survival rate was 7.3 months. The quality of life evaluated in 68 patients out of 93 was good in 57% of cases, fair in 19% and poor in the remaining 22%. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study demonstrate the safety and efficacy of endoscopic stenting in the palliative treatment of extrahepatic bile duct cancer while potential cure can only be achieved by radical surgical resection.

Adult↗

An apparent idiopathic case of relapsing acute pancreatitis.

We describe a case of relapsing acute pancreatitis apparently idiopathic in a 55-year-old man. The patient did not smoke and was a modest and irregular drinker of wine. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography showed an initial dilatation of secondary ducts like a chronic pancreatitis of class I of Cremer. Ultrasound and computed tomography resulted negative for pancreatic lesions. In the follow-up however, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography detected the presence of an intraductal mucin-hypersecreting neoplasm, a duct-ectatic mucinous cystic tumor of the pancreas, in the uncinate process. This is a benign lesion clearly recognized nowadays by magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, because this radiological technique shows the grape-like clusters of cystic lesions in secondary ducts communicating with the main duct on the same plane. The radiological picture above excludes a malignant lesion and a biopsy specimen is not required. Furthermore, an intraductal mucin-hypersecreting neoplasm of the pancreas does not require an immediate surgical resection because of its slow evolution and can be followed-up. Conversely cystoadenocarcinoma spreads in peripheral ducts and does not communicate with the Wirsung duct. It requires both surgical resection and a biopsy specimen for histological diagnosis. In the last episode of acute pancreatitis, a sphincterotomy was performed at endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and our patient had no more pain for one year.

Acute Disease↗

Diagnosis of exocrine diseases of the pancreas: is there still a role for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)?

In the diagnosis of exocrine diseases of the pancreas, three major questions should be addressed: when only MR cholangiopancreatography should be applied; when endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography should be applied directly; when a combined approach should be applied. In pancreatic disease MRI has many indications because ultrasonography, the procedure of choice, is rarely able to resolve the diagnostic problem, with a clearcut indication for therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. One of the rare cases where MRI could be omitted is represented by pancreatic cancer with biliary obstruction in non operable patients in whom a pancreatic mass was already visualized on ultrasonography. In all other diseases of the pancreas, the combination of MRI/MRCP with secretin stimulation and ERCP usually favors the first procedure, preventing a number of diagnostic ERCP.

Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde↗

Diagnostic and therapeutic ERCP in patients with Billroth II gastrectomy.

Diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic cholangio- pancreatography (ERCP) are more difficult in patients with Billroth II gastrectomy. A six-year experience including 274 ERCP in 175 Billroth II patients is reviewed. Overall diagnostic success-rate was 88.3% while a complete endoscopic treatment could be accomplished in 92.8% when indicated. Endoscopy related morbidity and mortality were 5.1% and 0 respectively, while in-hospital mortality was 2.3%. Diagnostic and therapeutic ERCP techniques in Billroth II patients are then discussed with special reference to the choice of the scope and of the accessories to perform a safe endoscopic sphincterotomy. The use of the lateral-viewing duodenoscope and of the long-nose sigmoid inverted sphincterotome (originally modified by our group) are emphasized. ERCP and endoscopic sphincterotomy in Billroth II subjects are today as safe and nearly as effective as in the non-gastrectomized patient.

Adult↗

Endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of malignant biliary strictures: review of 505 patients.

The role of ERCP and endoscopic drainage in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with malignant biliary obstruction is well established. Endoscopic drainage is an effective therapy for palliation of malignant obstructive jaundice and does not preclude definitive treatment in appropriate candidate. We report our experience, in a retrospective review, of 505 patients with malignant biliary obstruction. In this series, endoscopic biliary drainage is shown to be safe and effective management for these patients. Relief of obstruction was obtained in a large majority of patients with a low, procedure related, morbidity and mortality. We conclude that ERCP, to diagnose and localize obstructive lesions, followed by endoscopic biliary drainage can be strongly considered in all patients with suspected malignant obstructive jaundice.

Adolescent↗

Carcinoma of the pancreatic head area. Diagnostic imaging. Direct cholangiography: ERCP.

In case of clinical and radiologic findings suggestive for periampullary cancer, primary goals of ERCP are the observation of the duodenum and the periampullary region and the opacification of biliopancreatic ducts to confirm the diagnosis of neoplastic stricture of biliopancreatic ducts and to establish its origin and extent at the level of the ducts and of the intestinal lumen. Secondarily, during ERCP, histologic and/or cytologic typing of the neoplasm by biopsy sampling and brushing of the lesion or exfoliative cytology of the bile and pancreatic juice, is feasible. At the level of the area of the pancreatic head various types of neoplasms can arise with different prognostic features which require different therapeutic approaches. Endoscopic cholangiopancreatography for its high sensitivity and specificity plays a major role in a correct combined radiodiagnostic imaging.

Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde↗

Carcinoma of the pancreatic head area. Therapy: nonoperative biliary drainage for palliation.

Jaundice is the dominant symptom in patients with biliary obstruction from carcinomas of the pancreatic head area. The many symptoms usually associated to prolonged biliary stasis (malnutrition, coagulopathy, pruritus hepatocellular failure, renal dysfunction, angiocolitis) is commonly resolved or relieved by biliary drainage. Palliation is frequently the only feasible treatment in these patients due to the biological aggressiveness of these tumors characterized by the early infiltration of adjacent tissues. Endoscopic and percutaneous procedures of biliary recanalization are as effective as those of surgical palliation, are more comfortable to the patients and burdened with a lower morbidity and mortality. In selected patients, palliation of jaundice can be combined with intraluminal radiotherapy or pancreatic drainage the latter aimed at the relief of the "obstructive" pain present in some patients with carcinoma of the area of the head of the pancreas.

Combined Modality Therapy↗

Radical surgery for liver hydatid disease: a study of 89 consecutive patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of radical surgery for liver hydatid disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Hospital charts of 104 consecutive patients with liver hydatidosis observed in our unit during the period 1982-1994 were reviewed. A total of 121 cysts in 89 patients were treated surgically: with cystopericystectomy in 66 and liver resection in 23. RESULTS: The overall incidence of postoperative complications was 19%: 19.7% and 17.1% after cystoperi-cystectomy and liver resection respectively (p = 0.32). Overall postoperative mortality was 1%. Among the 72 patients available for follow-up, only one (1%) had a local recurrence of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest the safety and efficacy of radical procedures in the surgical management of liver hydatid disease. Total cystopericystectomy is the treatment of choice but liver resection is justified in selected cases.

Adult↗