Medicine
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The impact of important preexisting comorbidities, such as liver and renal disease, on the outcome of liver resection remains unclear. Identification of patients at risk of mortality will aid in improving preoperative preparations. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a population-based score based on available preoperative and predictable parameters predicting 90-day mortality after liver resection using data from a hepatitis endemic country. ⋯ This population-based score could identify patients at risk of 90-day mortality before liver resection. Preexisting renal disease and cirrhosis-related complications had the strongest influence on mortality. This score enables preoperative risk stratification, decision-making, quality assessment, and counseling for individual patients.
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The objective of the study was to define and quantitatively evaluate the fascicular ratio (FR) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with peripheral neuropathies compared with healthy controls. Forty control subjects (20 women, 20 men; age, 44.6 ± 13.4 years) and 40 patients with peripheral neuropathy (22 women, 18 men; age, 50.3 ± 10.2 years) were examined with a standard 3T MRI protocol. With customized software (with semiautomatic and automatic interface), the hypointense and hyperintense areas of the peripheral nerves corresponding to fascicular and nonfascicular tissue were examined on T1-weighted sequences. ⋯ The interobserver agreements were also good (reader 1 vs reader 2, k = 0.71; reader 2 vs reader 3, k = 0.78; reader 3 vs reader 1, k = 0.71). There were no statistically significant differences between the results obtained using the 2 methods. FR calculation on MRI is feasible, and it may be used in adjunct to standard MRI evaluation in peripheral nerve disorders.
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The hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT) usually have no specific clinical symptoms at early stages. HCC with BDTT was usually misdiagnosed when the intrahepatic tumor was small, even undetectable. In this study, 5 cases of HCC with BDTT misdiagnosed as choledocholithiasis and cholangitis in the local hospital are described. ⋯ Intraductal ultrasonography (US), intraoperative US, and histopathological examination are very valuable for the diagnosis. The prognosis of HCC patients with BDTT is dismal. Identification of this type of patient is clinically important, because surgical treatment may be beneficial.
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Kidney is an important organ to clear neurotoxic substance in circulation. However, it is still unknown about the effect of renal function impairment (RFI) on the mortality of cirrhotic patients with hepatic encephalopathy (HE). We used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database to identify 4932 cirrhotic patients with HE, hospitalized between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007. ⋯ Compared with the CKD group, the adjusted HR of ESRD with hemodialysis for 3-year mortality was 0.664 (95% CI, 0.466-0.945). RFI increased the 3-year mortality of cirrhotic patients with HE, especially ARF and HRS. HE patients with ESRD receiving hemodialysis had better 3-year survival rate than those with CKD.
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Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) is a rare serious life-threatening complication in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) associated with a high mortality rate. The old standard treatment options include high-dose corticosteroids, cyclophosphamide, and plasmapheresis, which are unspecific, treating the underlying disease rather than the complication itself, and not effective. We report a case of DAH complicating SLE flare-up in a female patient treated with recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) administered via the bronchoscope that showed clinical and radiological improvement. No toxicity or adverse events were observed with rFVII treatment. rFVII may be an effective treatment option for DAH in SLE patient.