The value of late computed tomographic scanning in identification of vascular abnormalities after abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.
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PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of late arterial abnormalities after aortic aneurysm repair and thus to suggest a routine for postoperative radiologic follow-up examination and to establish reference criteria for endovascular repair. METHODS: Computed tomographic (CT) scan follow-up examination was obtained at 8 to 9 years after abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair on a cohort of patients enrolled in the Canadian Aneurysm Study. The original registry consisted of 680 patients who underwent repair of nonruptured AAA. When the request for CT scan follow-up examination was sent in 1994, 251 patients were alive and potentially available for CT scan follow-up examination and 94 patients agreed to undergo abdominal and thoracic CT scanning procedures. Each scan was interpreted independently by two vascular radiologists. RESULTS: For analysis, the aorta was divided into five defined segments and an aneurysm was defined as a more than 50% enlargement from the expected normal value as defined in the reporting standards for aneurysms. With this strict definition, 64.9% of patients had aneurysmal dilatation and the abnormality was considered as a possible indication for surgical repair in 13.8%. Of the 39 patients who underwent initial repair with a tube graft, 12 (30.8%) were found to have an iliac aneurysm and six of these aneurysms (15.4%) were of possible surgical significance. Graft dilatation was observed from the time of operation (median graft size of 18 mm) to a median size of 22 mm as measured by means of CT scanning at follow-up examination. Fluid or thrombus was seen around the graft in 28% of the cases, and bowel was believed to be intimately associated with the graft in 7%. CONCLUSION: Late follow-up CT scans after AAA repair often show vascular abnormalities. Most of these abnormalities are not clinically significant, but, in 13.8% of patients, the thoracic or abdominal aortic segment was aneurysmal and, in 15.4% of patients who underwent tube graft placement, one of the iliac arteries was significantly abnormal to warrant consideration for surgical repair. On the basis of these findings, a routine CT follow-up examination after 5 years is recommended. This study provides a population-based study for comparison with the results of endovascular repair. (+info)
Relief of obstructive pelvic venous symptoms with endoluminal stenting.
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PURPOSE: To select patients for percutaneous transluminal stenting of chronic postthrombotic pelvic venous obstructions (CPPVO), we evaluated the clinical symptoms in a cohort of candidates and in a series of successfully treated patients. METHODS: The symptoms of 42 patients (39 women) with CPPVO (38 left iliac; average history, 18 years) were recorded, and the venous anatomy was studied by means of duplex scanning, subtraction venography, and computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. Successfully stented patients were controlled by means of duplex scanning and assessment of symptoms. RESULTS: The typical symptoms of CPPVO were reported spontaneously by 24% of patients and uncovered by means of a targeted interview in an additional 47%. Of 42 patients, 15 had venous claudication, four had neurogenic claudication (caused by dilated veins in the spinal canal that arise from the collateral circulation), and 11 had both symptoms. Twelve patients had no specific symptoms. Placement of a stent was found to be technically feasible in 25 patients (60%), was attempted in 14 patients, and was primarily successful in 12 patients. One stent occluded within the first week. All other stents were fully patent after a mean of 15 months (range, 1 to 43 months). Satisfaction was high in the patients who had the typical symptoms, but low in those who lacked them. CONCLUSION: Venous claudication and neurogenic claudication caused by venous collaterals in the spinal canal are typical clinical features of CPPVO. We recommend searching for these symptoms, because recanalization by means of stenting is often feasible and rewarding. (+info)
Prevalence of generalised osteoarthritis in patients with advanced hip and knee osteoarthritis: the Ulm Osteoarthritis Study.
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OBJECTIVES: Different prevalences of generalised osteoarthritis (GOA) in patients with knee and hip OA have been reported. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate radiographic and clinical patterns of disease in a hospital based population of patient subgroups with advanced hip and knee OA and to compare the prevalence of GOA in patients with hip or knee OA, taking potential confounding factors into account. METHODS: 420 patients with hip OA and 389 patients with knee OA scheduled for unilateral total joint replacement in four hospitals underwent radiographic analysis of ipsilateral and contralateral hip or knee joint and both hands in addition to a standardised interview and clinical examination. According to the severity of radiographic changes in the contralateral joints (using Kellgren-Lawrence > or = grade 2 as case definition) participants were classified as having either unilateral or bilateral OA. If radiographic changes of two joint groups of the hands (first carpometacarpal joint and proximal/distal interphalangeal joints defined as two separate joint groups) were present, patients were categorised as having GOA. RESULTS: Patients with hip OA were younger (mean age 60.4 years) and less likely to be female (52.4%) than patients with knee OA (66.3 years and 72.5% respectively). Intensity of pain and functional impairment at hospital admission was similar in both groups, while patients with knee OA had a longer symptom duration (median 10 years) compared with patients with hip OA (5 years). In 41.7% of patients with hip OA and 33.4% of patients with knee OA an underlying pathological condition could be observed in the replaced joint, which allowed a classification as secondary OA. Some 82.1% of patients with hip and 87.4% of patients with knee OA had radiographic changes in their contralateral joints (bilateral disease). The prevalence of GOA increased with age and was higher in female patients. GOA was observed more often in patients with knee OA than in patients with hip OA (34.9% versus 19.3%; OR = 2.24; 95% CI: 1.56, 3.21). Adjustment for the different age and sex distribution in both patient groups, however, takes away most of the difference (OR = 1.32; 95% CI: 0.89, 1.96). CONCLUSION: The crude results confirm previous reports as well as the clinical impression of GOA being more prevalent in patients with advanced knee OA than in patients with advanced hip OA. However, these different patterns might be attributed to a large part to a different distribution of age and sex in these hospital based populations. (+info)
Breast carcinoma developing in patients on hormone replacement therapy: a histological and immunohistological study.
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AIM: To study the histopathological features of breast carcinoma developing in postmenopausal patients on hormone replacement therapy (HRT). METHODS: The sample comprised 60 patients with invasive breast carcinoma including 31 who had received HRT at or shortly before presentation, and 29 who had not. Details concerning their tumour size, histological type and grade, lymph node status, and oestrogen and progesterone receptor status were compared. Immunoperoxidase staining for Bcl-2, p53, and E-cadherin was carried out on paraffin sections of all 60 patients. The results were then statistically analysed. RESULTS: Tumours detected in HRT patients were significantly smaller (mean 17 mm v 25 mm; p = 0.0156) and of a lower histological grade (p = 0.0414) than those detected in non-HRT patients. The incidence of invasive lobular carcinoma was slightly higher in HRT patients (19% v 14%). Immunohistologically, 87% of HRT tumours were Bcl-2 positive (compared with 79% in the control group), 29% were p53 positive (45% in the control), and 48% were E-cadherin positive (72% in the control group). Although the differences were not statistically significant there was a trend towards higher incidence of p53 negative and E-cadherin negative tumours in HRT patients. CONCLUSIONS: Breast carcinomas detected in patients on HRT have a significantly higher incidence of two favourable prognostic features (small size and a low histological grade). They also show a trend, statistically not significant, of being p53 negative and E-cadherin negative; this may be related to the slightly higher incidence of invasive lobular tumours in these patients. (+info)
Spirometric reference equations for older adults.
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The objective of this study was to develop spirometric reference equations for healthy, never-smoking, older adults. It was designed as a cross-sectional observational study consisting of 1510 Seventh Day Adventists, ages 43-79 years enrolled in a study of health effects of air pollutants. Individuals were excluded from the reference group (n = 565) for a history of current respiratory illness, smoking, or chronic respiratory disease, and for a number of 'non-respiratory' conditions which were observed in these data to be related to lower values of FEV1. Gender-specific reference equations were developed for the entire reference group and for a subset above 65 years of age (n = 312). Controlling for height and age, lung function was found to be positively related to the difference between armspan and height, and in males was found to be quadratically related to age. The predicted values for this population generally fell within the range of those of other population groups containing large numbers of adults over the age of 65 years. Individuals with lung function below the 5th percentile in this sample, however, could not be reliably identified by using the lower limits of normal predictions commonly used in North America and Europe. (+info)
The relationship between a polymorphism in CYP17 with plasma hormone levels and breast cancer.
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The A2 allele of CYP17 has been associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome, elevated levels of certain steroid hormones in premenopausal women, and increased breast cancer risk. We prospectively assessed the association between the A2 allele of CYP17 and breast cancer risk in a case-control study nested within the Nurses' Health Study cohort. We also evaluated associations between this CYP17 genotype and plasma steroid hormone levels among postmenopausal controls not using hormone replacement to assess the biological significance of this genetic variant. Women with the A2 allele were not at an increased risk of incident breast cancer [OR (odds ratio), 0.85; 95% CI (confidence interval), 0.65-1.12] or advanced breast cancer (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.54-1.32). We did observe evidence that the inverse association of late age at menarche with breast cancer may be modified by the CYP17 A2 allele. The protective effect of later age at menarche was only observed among women without the A2 allele (A1/A1 genotype: for age at menarche > or =13 versus <13; OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.36-0.90; A1/A2 and A2/A2 genotypes: OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.76-1.45; P for interaction = 0.07). Among controls, we found women with the A2/A2 genotype to have elevated levels of estrone (+14.3%, P = 0.01), estradiol (+13.8%, P = 0.08), testosterone (+8.6%, P = 0.34), androstenedione (+17.1%, P = 0.06), dehydroepiandrosterone (+14.4%, P = 0.02), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (+7.2%, P = 0.26) compared with women with the A1/A1 genotype. These data suggest that the A2 allele of CYP17 modifies endogenous hormone levels, but is not a strong independent risk factor for breast cancer. (+info)
Infratentorial atrophy on magnetic resonance imaging and disability in multiple sclerosis.
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Loss of tissue volume in the central nervous system may provide an index of fixed neurological dysfunction in multiple sclerosis. Recent magnetic resonance studies have shown a modest relationship between clinical disability rating scores and transverse sectional area of the cervical spinal cord. To explore further the relationship between atrophy and disability in multiple sclerosis, we estimated the volumes of infratentorial structures from MRIs in a cross-sectional study of 41 patients, 21 with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and 20 with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. We used the Cavalieri method of modern design stereology with point counting to estimate the volume of brainstem, cerebellum and upper cervical spinal cord from three-dimensional MRIs acquired with an MPRAGE (Magnetization-prepared Rapid Acquisition Gradient Echo) sequence. The volume of the upper (C1-C3) cervical spinal cord was significantly correlated with a composite spinal cord score derived from the appropriate Functional Scale scores of the Expanded Disability Status Scale (r = -0.50, P < 0.01). The cerebellar (r = 0.49, P < 0.01) and brainstem (r = 0.34, P < 0.05) volumes correlated with the Scripp's Neurological Disability Rating Scale scores. The upper cervical cord volumes (r = -0.39, P < 0.01), but not the brainstem or cerebellar volumes, were significantly associated with disease duration. MRI-estimated structural volumes may provide a simple index of axonal and/or myelin loss, the presumed pathological substrates of irreversible impairment and disability in multiple sclerosis. (+info)
Natural history of stage IV epithelial ovarian cancer.
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PURPOSE: In this report we present the natural history, prognostic factors, and therapeutic implications of stage IV epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed 192 patients with stage IV EOC as defined in 1985 by the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. RESULTS: The site of stage IV-defining disease was cytologically positive pleural effusion in 63 patients, liver in 50 patients, lymph nodes in 26 patients, lung in six patients, other sites in 15 patients, and disease at multiple stage IV-defining metastatic sites in 32 patients. Surgery was performed before chemotherapy in 169 patients; 25 patients (14.8%) were left with only microscopic residual disease or less than 2 cm of macroscopic residual disease. The overall response rate to chemotherapy was 56%; the complete response rate was 18%. The median progression-free survival was 7.1 months, and the median overall survival was 13.4 months. The median overall survival of patients with positive pleural effusions only was 13.4 months as compared with 10.5 months for patients with visceral disease only, but this difference was not statistically significant. The 5-year survival rate was 7.6%, with only six patients surviving more than 5 years. Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that two parameters were associated with a shorter survival time: visceral involvement (lung or liver) and diagnosis before 1984. CONCLUSION: Patients with stage IV EOC initially respond to chemotherapy as often as those with less advanced disease, but the long-term prognosis is very poor. The size of residual disease is not a prognostic factor in this group of patients, and, therefore, the role of debulking surgery in these patients needs to be reconsidered. (+info)