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Biomedical subjects

A Z'Brun

Publications and source records attributed to A Z'Brun.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

[Diagnosis of arterial occlusive disease: what does angiology have to offer?].

Peripheral arterial disease is common in the elderly patient. The clinical symptoms are varied from claudication to the acute ischemic syndrome. The diagnosis can be suspected from history and clinical examination. Additional investigations like leg pressure measurements, oscillography and duplex sonography confirm the diagnosis. These investigations further quantify the extent and the localisation of the occlusive disease and are needed to choose the treatment. Treatment modalities are conservative, interventional by catheters and surgical. Further angiographic examinations are rarely needed. The interdisciplinary approach together with surgeons and radiologists is most important.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Rapid D-dimer testing and pre-test clinical probability in the exclusion of deep venous thrombosis in symptomatic outpatients.

We assessed the performance of three rapid D-dimer tests (Auto Dimertest, VIDAS and Tinaquant) in combination with a pretest clinical probability model for deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in 106 consecutive outpatients with suspected DVT. Contrast venography or colour-coded duplex ultrasonography demonstrated the presence of DVT in 47 patients (14 distal DVT and 33 proximal DVT). First, we assessed the accuracy indices for different cut-off levels of the rapid D-dimer tests. Sensitivity was found to be 97.9-100%, negative predictive value (NPV) was 96.3-100%, and the exclusion rate was 24.5-31.1%. Next, the patients were grouped according to the pre-test clinical probability model in categories with low, moderate or high probability. In patients with a low pre-test probability, DVT would have been directly ruled out and the patients would not have undergone further investigations. In patients with a moderate probability, D-dimer testing and, in the case of a positive result, objective testing would have been performed and, in the case of a negative result, they would have been ruled out of having DVT. Patients with high probability would directly have undergone objective tests for DVT. The combination with the pre-test clinical probability model improved the exclusion rate (43.5-44.6%), whereas sensitivity (97.5-100%) and NPV (97.6-100%) remained roughly unchanged. The combination of rapid D-dimer tests with a pre-test clinical probability model may help to reduce unnecessary work-up in patients with suspected DVT.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

[The diabetic foot].

Problems of the diabetic foot are frequent. The magnitude of the clinical picture and morbidity mirrors the severity and complexity of the underlying pathobiology. The three pathogenetic mechanism involved are ischemia, neuropathy and infection. Seldom do these mechanisms work in isolation, rather most foot problems result from a complex interplay among all three. The clinical picture of the diabetic foot reaches from the neuropathic deformity with diminished or absent sensation of pain to limited gangrene or superficial ulcer. The polymicrobial infection leads to extensive tissue destruction (plantarphlegmone) with osteomyelitis. The patients often notes no pain and may become aware of the infection only through the presence of drainage or a foul odor. These infections are usually more extensive than would be predicted by clinical signs and symptoms. These lesions must be debrided and drained promptly and completely. This often requires amputations of one or more toes, combined with an incision along the entire course of the infected track on the plantar or dorsal aspect of the foot. Cultures should be taken from the depth of the wound. Initial treatment should be with broad-spectrum antibiotics, with subsequent adjustment based on culture results. The diabetic foot is a clinical problem that can be solved with a high degree of success when the approached by an interdisciplinary team (specialists in infectious and vascular disease, podiatry and diabetology). Arterial reconstruction should be designed to restore maximum perfusion to the foot. The most effective result can be obtained with infra-inguinal vein bypass with distal anastomosis to the most proximal artery with direct continuity to the ischemic territory. The single most important factor in the achievement of the reduction of amputation is the autologous vein bypass. The overall outcome in the diabetic patient in terms of graft patency and limb salvage is equal to that in the nondiabetic.

Diabetic Foot↗
PubMed1996

[Assessment of deep venous thrombosis].

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a frequent disorder, which should not be missed diagnostically because of the associated morbidity and mortality due to pulmonary embolism and the postthrombotic syndrome. Clinical diagnosis is unreliable. Because of the possible risks a treatment by anticoagulation should not be undertaken without objective confirmation of DVT. Venography is generally considered as the gold standard for the diagnosis of DVT, but is invasive and associated with side effects. Noninvasive cw-Doppler ultrasound and the plethysmography are simple methods, but the accuracy is sufficient only for symptomatic proximal DVT and not for isolated DVT of the calf. In the past few years (color-coded) venous duplex imaging gained increasing importance. It is a noninvasive test with an accuracy comparable to that of venography. In addition to vascular changes perivascular structures can be investigated. B-mode compression sonography has a comparable accuracy for symptomatic proximal DVT.

Humans↗
PubMed1995

[Ginkgo--myth and reality].

Ginkgo biloba is one of the oldest, still existing plants. Extracts from its leaves were already used in ancient China whereas in the Western World, they have been utilized only since the Sixties when it became technically possible and feasible to isolate the essential substances of Ginkgo biloba. Pharmacologically, there are two groups of substances which are of some significance: the flavonoids, effective as oxygen-free radical scavengers, and the terpenes (i.e. the ginkgolides) with their highly specific action as platelet activating factor (PAF) inhibitors. Clinically important indications for Ginkgo biloba extracts are cerebral insufficiency and atherosclerotic disease of peripheral arteries of intermediate severity. In several placebo-controlled clinical studies, symptoms of cerebral insufficiency have been effectively and significantly influenced. Most of these investigations have examined the efficacy of Ginkgo biloba extracts such as EGb 761 and LI 1370.

Arteriosclerosis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system function in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

The neuropathologic hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are very prominent in the hippocampus, a brain site which is pivotal for the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system. Thus, the combined dexamethasone-suppression/CRH-stimulation-test outcome in patients with AD was compared to that of healthy elderly controls to assess--with a more refined neuroendocrine challenge procedure--HPA function in AD. Cortisol secretion after dexamethasone (DEX) pretreatment and before CRH was increased in Alzheimer's patients and 21% of this group were DST-nonsuppressors. None of the healthy control subjects escaped DEX-induced suppression of cortisol. However, after additional CRH administration, AD patients released significantly less cortisol and ACTH than the control subjects. No correlations were found between any of the endocrine parameters and degree of severity of dementia. It is concluded that the DST part of the DEX/CRH test better reflects glucocorticoid feedback disturbances, probably at a suprapituitary level. The CRH part of the DEX/CRH-test outcome might indicate the loss of endogenous CRH-Arginine-Vasopressin (AVP) synergism of the HPA system of these patients.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗