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Biomedical subjects

R Rossi

Publications and source records attributed to R Rossi.

At least 433 records · Page 24Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

[Clinico-epidemiological aspects of infectious endocarditis in a present-day Italian population].

This study has been carried out with the aim of assessing the incidence and other features of Infective Endocarditis in the region Veneto (Italy) in the years 1975-84, with particular regard to the patients admitted to the hospitals in Verona. Of the 692 patients admitted in hospitals of Veneto, 629 were resident in the region (an incidence equal to 1.6/100,000 inhabitants per year). The age range was from 8 to 72 (55 +/- 9). All social classes were affected, although retired, disabled and unemployed subjects were in the majority. The average stay in hospitals was 27.6 days. In 7.6% of the cases surgical therapy was required; the over-all mortality rate was 10%. Of the 80 patients admitted to the hospitals in Verona, 79% were suffering from pre-existing cardiopathy (40% rheumatic heart disease, 25% valvular prosthesis, 7.5% congenital heart disease, 5% prolapsing mitral valve, 1.2% obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy); 54% of the cases had been exposed to bacteriological infections in the preceding months: bronchopulmonary, oropharyngeal, genitourinary or gall bladder infections processes or oral surgery or heart surgery or drug addiction. Only in 19% of these cases a correct antibiotic prophylaxis had been carried out. The responsible germ was identified in 50 patients (67% of the cases in which blood cultures had been performed): Streptococcus in 22%, Staphylococcus in 20%, Gram-negative in 12%, Corynebacterium in 4%, polymicrobial associations in 9% of the cases. These data stress the need for an improvement in antibiotic drug regimen (both in prophylaxis and treatment) and the diffusion of norms of hygiene aimed to the reduction of skin and mucous sources of bacteremia and interpersonal transmission of infections disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Virtual leads for the ambulatory ECG monitoring: remarks on the persistency of their direction.

We attempt to improve the performances of the algorithms devoted to the computer-based detection of arrhythmias by improving the quality of the tracings they have in input. This aim is pursued by building virtual tracings mathematically derived from the original ones. In this paper we describe the persistency in the time domain of the direction of some virtual leads. Such a persistency will tell us how often in a subject we must recalculate the virtual lead. They have been defined starting from the original tracings of the two leads belonging to the BIH/MIT Arrhythmia Database. We considered the width of the time window just more than the cycle duration: i.e., a severe experimental condition. We found there is no persistency and we have to recalculate continuously the direction of the virtual lead. The set consisting of only two original leads and the short window may have had a major influence on our results. About the specific contribution that the virtual leads take to the improving of the tracings quality, we have several examples where, in respect to the original tracings, the virtual tracings show a positive increase of the differences between normal and abnormal beats.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed1985

[The diagnosis of prosthesis pathology in biological and mechanical valves. I. Clinical and echocardiographic evaluation].

We retrospectively evaluated the clinical and echocardiographic findings of 50 patients with documented malfunctioning of cardiac prosthetic valves. The prostheses, mechanical or biological, were in 24 cases in a mitral and in 26 cases in an aortic position. Prosthetic dysfunction was due to thrombosis, fibro-calcific degeneration, fibrous cloth, bacterial infection, dehiscence, mismatch. The clinical features were represented by cardiac insufficiency of different degrees, up to global congestive failure unresponsive to medical treatment, by sudden low-output syndrome, arrhythmias, angina. The changes in auscultatory findings have appeared important clues to prosthetic malfunction, but we stress the necessity of an instrumental documentation of the type and grade of dysfunction. Echocardiography has represented an essential tool for a rapid and accurate noninvasive diagnosis of prosthetic pathology. The echocardiographic examination, except 2 false negatives, has consistently provided informations useful for therapeutic decisions. In 7 cases in critical clinical conditions (refractory heart failure or shock) the echocardiographic examination has afforded the exact documentation and identification of prosthetic pathology, allowing by itself a surgical decision.

Aortic Valve↗
PubMed1985

Further evidence of the validity of risk group definition in differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

Three hundred nine consecutive patients primarily treated at the Lahey Clinic Foundation for differentiated thyroid carcinoma between the years 1961 and 1980 were followed for a median of 13 years and a minimum of 5 years. The recurrence and survival rates of these patients are strikingly different in the low-risk group (men 40 years of age and under and women 50 years and under) compared with the high-risk group (all older patients). Only two patients died and eight others had recurrences but survived in 192 low-risk patients, whereas 18 died and 23 had recurrences in 117 high-risk patients. Thus 20% of patients with recurrence in the low-risk group died but 78% of patients with recurrence in the high-risk group died. Follicular carcinoma and major capsular invasion carries a poor prognosis, but only 22% of low-risk in contrast to 55% of high-risk patients died. The fact that low- and high-risk patients have a separate biology is emphasized by unique sex ratio differences. Low-risk patients have a constant male to female ratio of about 5:1, whereas high-risk patients have progressively increased from 1:3 to a male predominance during the past 5 decades. This study showing unique differences in results by age reemphasizes the concept of basic risk groups in differentiated thyroid cancer. The effect of this basic risk group, as in our previous report, supercedes the effect of pathologic type, extent of local disease, or aspects of therapy and exerts principal control over biologic behavior.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1984

Severe digoxin intoxication in a child treated by infusion of digoxin-specific Fab-antibody-fragments.

Accidental digitalis ingestion in children is a rare, but potentially life-threatening emergency. We report the case of a 2 10/12-year-old boy with accidental ingestion of 6 mg beta-Acetyl-digoxin. Soon after admission, the boy developed sinus bradycardia, SA and AV-block, of increasing severity without circulatory impairment. As the serum digoxin level reached 21.7 ng/ml digoxin-specific Fab-antibody-fragments were used to bind free serum digoxin. Immediately after infusion, serum free digoxin was below the detection limit, whereas total digoxin peaked at 219 ng/ml 5 h thereafter. The arrhythmias did not subside totally, so that in addition, a transvenous pacemaker was placed, but never used. The antibody-infusion was well tolerated and the boy was discharged in good health.

Acetyldigoxins↗
PubMed1984

Effects of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) on the in vivo growth and differentiation of progenitors of natural killer (NK) cells.

We evaluated the possible modulating activity of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) on in vivo growth of mouse progenitors of Natural Killer (NK) cells. Our data show that both IL-1 and IL-2 are able to stimulate the maturation of NK reactivity of infant mice as well as the regeneration of NK reactivity of lethally irradiated and reconstituted bone marrow chimeras.

Animals↗