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Biomedical subjects

V Cavallaro

Publications and source records attributed to V Cavallaro.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Effect of a broad-spectrum cephalosporin on the oral and intestinal microflora in patients undergoing colorectal surgery.

The influence of ceftriaxone on oral and intestinal flora was investigated in 10 patients undergoing colorectal surgery. Ceftriaxone was given intravenously in one 2g dose before anesthesia. Saliva and feces samples were collected and analyzed on day 0, 3, 5, 14 and 28 after drug administration. All specimens were cultured quantitatively for aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms; representative colonies of each morphologic type of organism cultured were identified. The oral aerobic flora was somewhat affected by the administration of ceftriaxone. In all patients the number of Streptococci, Staphylococci and Neisseria decreased during the 5 days after ceftriaxone administration. No significant changes in the number of anaerobic commensal occurred. The oral microflora of all patients after 14 days had returned to normal. The aerobic fecal flora was considerably affected: in all patients enterobacteria were eliminated or strongly suppressed. Only minor changes in the number of aerobic gram-positive bacteria were observed, and the anaerobic intestinal flora showed only minor alterations. On day 28 the intestinal flora were normalized in all respects. No new colonizing microorganisms were isolated during the investigation period and no colonization with ceftriaxone-resistant bacteria was observed. No postoperative infection occurred and no adverse effects were registered.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

[Cardiac changes induced by deconditioning in athletes: an echocardiographic and electrocardiographic study].

The relationships between echocardiographic and electrocardiographic variations and the sensibility of three different electrocardiographic criteria of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy were assessed during deconditioning in 18 top-level oarsmen (mean age 23 +/- 4 years). After seven months of training and on the 7th and 21st deconditioning days the oarsmen underwent clinical examination, electrocardiogram (ECG) and echocardiogram with Doppler evaluation. The following ECG measurements were obtained: heart rate (HR), QTc, QRS and T waves axes, QRS and T wave angular gradients, R, S and T wave amplitude and T wave area. Moreover, the sums of S wave in lead V1 plus R wave in lead V5 or V6, of S wave in lead V1 or V2 plus R wave in lead V5 or V6, and of R wave in lead aVL plus S wave in lead V3 were calculated as indices of left ventricular hypertrophy. The following echocardiographic parameters were also analyzed: intraventricular septal (IVST) and posterior wall thickness (PWT), LV internal diameter (LVID), left ventricular mass (LVM) and volumes, LV endocardial/epicardial diastolic surface area ratio, peak systolic meridional wall stress (PSS), end-systolic stress (ESS) and mean systolic wall stress (MWSI), LV ejection fraction (EF) and total peripheral resistances (TPR); early (E) and late (A) transmitral peak flow velocity, E/A ratio. Systolic blood pressure was reduced after 3 deconditioning weeks, while diastolic blood pressure and HR were unchanged. Left ventricular mass and end-systolic volume were reduced after 1 week, while LV end-diastolic volume only after 3 weeks; therefore, EF improved at the end of the first week when TPR were lower. End-systolic stress always remained unchanged; PSS increased at 1 week and then returned to previous values. In addition, the endocardial-epicardial area ratio increased after 1 week and then returned to starting values after 3 weeks. Doppler parameters were in the normal range and remained unchanged during the study. Amplitudes of R wave in aVL, V5, V6 and of S wave in V2 did not change, while S wave amplitude in V1 and V3 decreased after three weeks and one week, respectively. The most sensible criterion for LV hypertrophy was the sum of S wave in V1 or V2 plus R wave in V5 or V6 (range from 33.3% to 22.2%); the sum of S in V1 plus R in V5 or V6 performed better than the sum of R in aVL plus S in V3.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1990

[Staplers in surgery: state of the art].

After a review of the technical development and application of staplers from their introduction to the present day, the indications to the use of this instrument in all gastroenterological areas from the oesophagus to the rectum as well as in chest, gynaecological and urological surgery specified. The advantages offered by staplers in the creation of intestinal anastomoses are undeniable, but these instruments must be considered alternatives to traditional surgery, the techniques of which should be well known to all surgeons. In certain areas (gastric, ileal and colonic resections etc.), the now widespread return to single thread manual stitches sheds a new light on staplers and reflects the fact that an anastomosis can be performed just as quickly by hand but will be softer and less rigid than a stapled one. It is only in oesophageal and lower rectal surgery that staplers offer a significant advantage, solving problems where hand suturing cannot.

Anastomosis, Surgical↗
PubMed1989

Short-term antimicrobial prophylaxis in surgery. The state of the art.

The authors pointed out that contamination may be exogenous, as a result of invasive diagnostic techniques, patient preparation, surgery, catheter insertion and wound dressing, or endogenous, especially in patients with specific risk factors (age, metabolic disorder, malnutrition, immunodeficiency) and aspecific risk factors (anesthesia, blood transfusion, surgery). Pharmacologic prophylaxis of infection may be unspecific (artificial nutrients, anticoagulants, immunomodulators) or specific (antibiotics). Prophylaxis is indicated in clean-contaminated and contaminated surgery; antibiotic chemoprophylaxis is also indicated in risk patients and permanent prosthesis surgery. The authors emphasized that antibiotics are no substitution for careful surgery.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1989

Ultrasonographic diagnosis of obstructive jaundice.

The diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography in differentiating between medical and surgical jaundice (99%), and in revealing the site (80%) and nature of the obstruction (79.8%) was assessed in a study on 128 jaundiced patients. The validity of this diagnostic procedure is underlined and its use is recommended in patients with obstructive jaundice.

Cholestasis, Extrahepatic↗
PubMed1989

[Ischemic coronary artery disease in menopause].

Women show a lower incidence of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) and probably a better prognosis than men. However better survival rate of women tended to be obscured because they were more likely to have histories of hypertension and diabetes and to be older than men. In this paper, incidence, clinical presentation, and prognosis of CAD in women are examined. Furthermore the conflicting reports concerning the effect of estrogen use on morbidity from CAD are reported. Finally the syndrome of angina with a normal coronary arteriogram, sometimes referred to as "Syndrome X" is analyzed.

Angina Pectoris↗
PubMed1989

Radiologic anatomy of the genital venous system in female patients with varicocele.

The diagnosis of varicocele in a female patient is difficult clinically. Until recently, only celioscopy and uterine phlebography were helpful. We have developed a new method for diagnosis of the pelvic varicocele using retrograde phlebography of the ovarian and iliac veins. Thirty-three women with pelvic pains and disorders of the menstrual cycle have been studied. In 15 patients, an insufficiency of the left ovarian vein was revealed. In three of the patients, an analogous insufficiency of the right ovarian vein was also recognized, along with chronic bilateral stasis in the pampiniform plexes. An insufficiency of the left iliac vein was present in seven of the patients without ovarian varicocele. The average age of the women without ovarian reflux was lower (22.5 years) than that of women with reflux (36.6 years) (p less than 0.01). In this last group of patients, the number of pregnancies was greater (30 children) than in the group without reflux (two children) (chi-square = 12.75; p less than 0.001). This indicates how parity plays an important role in the determination of the appearance of a varicocele. We conclude that the diagnosis of pelvic varicocele may be made by a new diagnostic method represented by retrograde phlebography of the ovarian and iliac veins. The use of it in patients with chronic pelvic pains and disorders of the menstrual cycle of unknown nature can be done routinely.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

[Diagnostic value of pan-cavography in obstructed central venous return of intrinsic causes].

The authors, after having analyzed the clinical patterns and the causes producing cava syndrome, propose a sequential diagnostic approach to it, whose course makes use of radiological procedures more or less invasive, and of endoscopic and histobioptic techniques. Among radiological investigations pan-cavography has allowed the authors to formulate the diagnosis of limited venous return because of intrinsic causes, conferring so an aetiological connotation and a physiopathological correlation indispensable for a correct and rapid therapy of the uncommon "intrinsic cava syndrome" of two patients, suffering respectively from "idiopathic thrombosis of superior vena cava, concerning also the beginning of inferior vena cava" and from "Fiedler cardiomyopathy".

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed1982

[Intestinal subocclusion caused by lymphoma of the small intestine].

Primitive gastrointestinal lymphomas constitute a rare pathological event, may involve any part of the gastrointestinal tube, and normally belong to the non-hodgkin variety. They do not present characteristic symptoms as compared with what can be found in other gastrointestinal lesions whether neoplastic or inflammatory. Radiologically and endoscopically they do not evidence any particular aspects, so that they can be confused with other diseases (gastroduodenal ulcer, benign tumours, epithelial malignant tumours). For such primitive forms, radical surgical treatment constitutes the first treatment and undoubtedly the fundamental form, with which radiotherapy and chemotherapy may be associated. In addition to a review of the literature, the Authors examine a case of intestinal lymphoma complicated by a picture of subocclusion.

Adult↗