Comparison of gastric emptying of a nondigestible capsule to a radio-labelled meal in healthy and gastroparetic subjects.
(65/244)
BACKGROUND: Gastric emptying scintigraphy (GES) using a radio-labelled meal is used to measure gastric emptying. A nondigestible capsule, SmartPill, records luminal pH, temperature, and pressure during gastrointestinal transit providing a measure of gastric emptying time (GET). AIMS: To compare gastric emptying time and GES by assessing their correlation, and to compare GET and GES for discriminating healthy subjects from gastroparetics. METHODS: Eighty-seven healthy subjects and 61 gastroparetics enrolled with simultaneous SmartPill and GES. Fasted subjects were ingested capsule and [(99m)Tc]-SC radio-labelled meal. Images were obtained every 30 min for 6 h. Gastric emptying time and percentage of meal remaining at 2/4 h were determined for each subject. The sensitivity/specificity and receiver operating characteristic analysis of each measure were determined for each subject. RESULTS: Correlation between GET and GES-4 h was 0.73 and GES-2 h was 0.63. The diagnostic accuracy from the receiver operating characteristic curve between gastroparetics and healthy subjects was GET = 0.83, GES-4 h = 0.82 and GES-2 h = 0.79. The 300-min cut-off time for GET gives sensitivity of 0.65 and specificity of 0.87 for diagnosis of gastroparesis. The corresponding sensitivity/specificity for 2 and 4 h standard GES measures were 0.34/0.93 and 0.44/0.93, respectively. CONCLUSION: SmartPill GET correlates with GES and discriminates between healthy and gastroparetic subjects offering a nonradioactive, standardized, ambulatory alternative to scintigraphy. (+info)
Metinel node--the first lymph node draining a metastasis--contains tumor-reactive lymphocytes.
(66/244)
Acute gastrointestinal hemorrhage detected by selective scintigraphic angiography.
(68/244)
Intra-arterial 99mTc colloid scintigraphy may have greater sensitivity than either standard intravenous scintigraphy or selective arteriography in detecting gastrointestinal bleeding. Ten millicuries of 99mTc colloid were administered directly into the superior and inferior mesenteric arteries (SMA and IMA) of patients who had undergone selective arterial catheterization for the evaluation of gastrointestinal bleeding. In one patient, 99mTc-albumin colloid was administered directly into the IMA and identified diverticular bleeding. The bleeding had been occult to prior contrast arteriography and refractory to selective intra-arterial Pitressin therapy. In a second patient who had undergone three negative provocative angiograms, selective SMA injection of 99mTc-sulfur colloid identified occult mesenteric varices secondary to portal hypertension. Selective intra-arterial scintigraphy should be valuable in detecting intestinal bleeding occult to conventional studies. This will help in directing further therapy and diagnostic evaluation. (+info)
Optimal number of radioactive sentinel lymph nodes to remove for accurate axillary staging of breast cancer.
(69/244)
Portal hyperfusion or hepatic venous congestion: which one affects Kupffer cell function more?
(72/244)
OBJECTIVES: Because of their effects on the liver parenchyma after surgery, portal hyperperfusion and hepatic venous congestion are challenging problems for hepatobiliary surgeons. However, the effects of those conditions on Kupffer cells have not been established. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of vascular streams modified by portal hyperperfusion and hepatic venous congestion on Kupffer cell function. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty rats were allocated into 3 groups of 10 rats each and were subjected to right portal vein ligation to induce hyperperfusion in the left lobe of the liver (group 1), occlusion of the right hepatic vein to produce venous congestion (group 2), or sham operation (controls; group 3). After 72 hours, the right and left liver lobes of the subjects were submitted separately for scintigraphic and histopathologic evaluation, and the radiocolloid uptake per gram of liver tissue and the number of Kupffer cells per square millimeter were calculated. RESULTS: The mean technetium-99m labeled sulfur colloid uptake values of the liver tissue per gram were 0.126 -/+ 0.038 for group 1, 0.106 -/+ 0.032 for group 2, and 0.110 -/+ 0.031 for group 3. Portal hyperperfusion significantly increased the technetium-99m labeled sulfur colloid uptake of the liver tissue per gram (P = .043). The mean number of Kupffer cells per square millimeter was calculated for each group as follows: 321 -/+ 094 x 10-6 for group 1, 369 -/+ 083 x 10-6 for group 2, and 355 -/+ 096 x 10-6 for group 3. Both vascular streams produced no significant effects on the number of Kupffer cells (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: In this experimental model, portal hyperperfusion affected Kupffer cell function more than did hepatic venous congestion. (+info)