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Biomedical subjects

C E Forsmark

Publications and source records attributed to C E Forsmark.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Pancreatic duct stenting in benign pancreatic disease.

The ability to place endoscopic stents into the pancreatic duct has led to a dramatic increase in stent therapy for benign pancreatic diseases, particularly chronic pancreatitis and pancreas divisum. The overall effectiveness of this therapy remains unknown. This article critically reviews the available literature with a focus on patient selection, efficacy, and risk. The risk of pancreatic duct stenting is only now beginning to be appreciated, and clinicians must understand not only the potential effectiveness of pancreatic duct stenting but also the magnitude of the potential risk when considering this therapy.

Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde↗
PubMed1995

What does an abnormal pancreatogram mean?

The foregoing discussion emphasized the fact that pancreatography can document changes that are relatively specific for chronic pancreatitis but that similar changes can be seen in other clinical conditions and even as normal variants. In addition, the exact clinical implication of minor or equivocal changes is unclear and care should be taken not to overinterpret ERP findings. It also must be realized that ERP may miss a substantial number of patients with earlier or less advanced chronic pancreatitis. ERP also may document pancreas divisum, but is not helpful in explaining the patient's clinical condition in the absence of dorsal duct abnormalities. Finally, tests of pancreatic function--in particular, hormonal stimulation tests--are complementary to tests of pancreatic morphology and allow the diagnosis of less advanced or earlier chronic pancreatitis, as well as patients with divisum and normal dorsal ducts who nonetheless have obstruction to flow at the minor papilla. The evaluation of a patient with presumed chronic pancreatitis therefore should begin with simple, noninvasive tests that are able to detect advanced forms of chronic pancreatitis. These include plain abdominal radiograph and serum trypsin. If either of these is markedly abnormal, no further diagnostic testing is generally required. In patients in whom diagnostic uncertainty still exists, reasonable second-echelon tests include abdominal CT, bentiromide testing, or secretin stimulation testing. Of these, hormonal stimulation testing offers the most sensitivity but is not universally available. More invasive evaluations--in particular, ERP--should be reserved for patients in whom the diagnosis is still unclear or in whom therapeutic rather than diagnostic information is required (e.g., a patient classified a medical failure being considered for Peustow procedure).

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed1995

Acute pancreatitis. Medical management.

The medical management of acute pancreatitis is primarily supportive and involves making the patient nulla per os, providing adequate intravenous hydration, and controlling pain with analgesics. Systems to identify patients with severe pancreatitis at risk for morbidity and mortality are available but require supplementation with frequent, experienced clinical observation. A number of modalities to inhibit pancreatic secretion or pancreatic proteases have not been successful in clinical trials, although larger studies in patients with more severe pancreatitis are required to ultimately assess their effectiveness. The empiric use of imipenem and long-term peritoneal lavage in patients with severe or necrotizing pancreatitis appear promising but further studies are needed. The removal of impacted gallstones in patients with severe pancreatitis or cholangitis is useful, provided an expert endoscopist is available. Improvements in our ability to document pancreatic infection early by CT-directed aspiration have markedly improved our ability to manage pancreatic infection.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1995

Differential diagnosis of pancreatic tumors.

Endosonography is the most sensitive method to detect even small pancreatic tumors. A number of endosonographic criteria have been evaluated, but there are not specific features that allow malignant tumors to be differentiated from benign tumors. The role and timing of endoscopic ultrasound as part of a more diagnostic evaluation in patients with pancreatic tumors is not yet defined.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed1994

Diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and prediction of unresectability using the tumor-associated antigen CA19-9.

Marked elevations of the tumor-associated antigen CA19-9 are relatively specific for pancreatic carcinoma and are associated with more advanced malignancies. We retrospectively reviewed 53 patients with CA19-9 values > 90 U/ml in whom the test had been done because of clinical suspicion of pancreatic malignancy. Pancreatic cancer was found in 45 patients (85%). If a cutoff value of CA19-9 > 200 U/ml is used, 36 of 37 (97%) patients had pancreatic cancer. Thirty patients with pancreatic cancer and no radiographic criteria of unresectability underwent attempted resection; five of these patients were judged to be potentially resectable and four of them underwent attempted resection. In only one patient with a CA19-9 value > 300 U/ml was resection possible; this patient had advanced carcinoma. Our results suggest that, in patients in whom the clinician suspects pancreatic carcinoma, CA19-9 > 90 U/ml is highly suggestive of pancreatic malignancy, while CA19-9 > 200 U/ml is virtually diagnostic of pancreatic malignancy. In similar patients with CA19-9 > 300 U/ml, resection is rarely possible and tumors are advanced.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

AIDS and the gastrointestinal tract.

Gastrointestinal disease in AIDS most often affects three major areas: the bowel, the esophagus, and the liver. Investigation should be tailored to identify treatable causes of disease, bearing in mind that multiple infections, superinfection, and untreatable diseases are common. Clinical decisions must be made regarding both the level of investigation necessary and the best testing procedures to use. Treatment is often only symptomatic, but in some cases a specific pathogen can be targeted.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1992

Cytomegalovirus peritonitis in a patient with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Peritonitis has been reported infrequently in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Intestinal or colonic perforation resulting from cytomegalovirus (CMV) enteritis is the most common cause of peritonitis in these patients. We report a patient with CMV peritonitis occurring in the absence of perforation (primary peritonitis) to alert physicians to this potentially treatable disorder.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed1991

Effect of octreotide on refractory AIDS-associated diarrhea. A prospective, multicenter clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy and safety of octreotide for treatment of refractory, profuse diarrhea in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). DESIGN: A prospective, open-label study. SETTING: Inpatient metabolic units of four university medical centers. PATIENTS: Fifty-one patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who had uncontrolled diarrhea (greater than or equal to 500-mL liquid stool per day) despite treatment with maximally tolerable doses of antidiarrheal medications. INTERVENTION: After initial baseline studies, patients received octreotide, 50 micrograms every 8 hours for 48 hours. If stool volume was not reduced to less than 250 mL/d, the dose of octreotide was increased stepwise to 100, 250, and 500 micrograms. MAIN RESULTS: Fifty men and one woman (mean age, 36.3 +/- 1.1 years) entered and completed the 28-day protocol (14 days of inpatient therapy and 14 days of outpatient therapy). Stool frequency and volume decreased significantly (6.5 +/- 0.5 stools per day on day 0 compared with 3.8 +/- 0.3 stools per day on day 21 [P less than 0.001] and 1604 +/- 180 mL/d on day 0 compared with 1084 +/- 162 mL/d on day 14 [P less than 0.001], respectively). Twenty-one patients (41.2%) were considered to be partial or complete responders (reduction in daily stool volume by greater than or equal to 50% of initial collections or reduction to less than or equal to 250 mL/d). Of the 21 responders, 14 (67%) had no identifiable pathogens at initial screening compared with 9 of 30 (30%) nonresponders (P less than 0.01). CONCLUSION: Patients with AIDS-associated refractory watery diarrhea, especially those without identifiable pathogens, may respond favorably to subcutaneously administered octreotide. This drug deserves further study in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1991

High-protein ascites in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Diseases of the liver or peritoneum resulting in ascites have been infrequently reported in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Since 1985, eight noncirrhotic patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome presenting with new onset high-protein ascites have been evaluated. All but one patient had nondiagnostic paracentesis studies. Laparoscopy with biopsy of identified abnormalities or percutaneous omental biopsy were diagnostic in four patients. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was the cause in three patients, and disseminated cryptococcosis occurred in one patient. In the four other patients, chronic nonspecific peritonitis was found at laparoscopy; follow-up of these latter patients, including exploratory laparotomy in one patient and autopsy in two patients, disclosed no specific cause. Patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and high-protein ascites of uncertain etiology should undergo directed peritoneal evaluation as a potentially treatable disorder may be found. However, despite extensive evaluation, a subset of patients in whom no specific cause can be identified still remains.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1991

Characterization of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 strains recovered from the bowel of infected individuals.

HIV-1 isolates were recovered from biopsy tissues from the small bowel, colon, and rectum of 10 infected individuals with severe diarrhea. In general, the bowel strains grew well in primary macrophage and lymphocyte cultures, not in T or B cell lines. They induced cytopathic effects such as syncytia formation and cell killing in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and were usually sensitive to serum neutralization. Several of these isolates were able to infect bowel epithelial cell lines, but this characteristic was also observed with blood-derived strains. Differences could be identified in 3 of 6 cases of paired bowel and blood isolates from the same individual. When compared to blood-derived isolates, the bowel strains exhibited a relative inability to grow in established cell lines, a reduced ability to induce cytopathology in infected cells, and a greater sensitivity to serum neutralization. Thus, although distinct characteristics of bowel-derived HIV-1 strains were not found, certain biological and serological properties might differentiate these viruses from those isolated from other tissues.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1990

Cytomegalovirus-associated acute pancreatic disease in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Report of two patients.

Pancreatic disease has been infrequently reported in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Over the last 3 years at our hospital, two patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and acute pancreatic or biliary disease, demonstrated at autopsy to be secondary to cytomegalovirus infection of the pancreas, have been evaluated. However, pancreatic disease was not recognized antemortem in our two patients because of their underlying diseases and the atypical presentation. Cytomegalovirus infection of the pancreas may cause acute symptomatic disease in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1990

Campylobacter-like organisms are uncommon pathogens in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.

Over a 25-month period, we prospectively evaluated 36 patients with symptomatic human immunodeficiency virus disease (including 27 with unexplained chronic diarrhea) by flexible sigmoidoscopy for the presence of Campylobacter-like organisms. No Campylobacter-like organisms were isolated. Campylobacter-like organisms appear to be an uncommon cause of idiopathic chronic diarrhea in symptomatic human immunodeficiency virus disease.

Campylobacter↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Utility of droperidol for conscious sedation in gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures.

Although narcotics and benzodiazepines are widely used as premedications for gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures, we have found a significant number of patients in whom this combination is either inadequate for sedation or results in paradoxical agitation. Over the last 54 months, we have administered droperidol, a neuroleptic, as an adjunct to narcotics and benzodiazepines in 764 patients undergoing 1,102 procedures. The most common indication for droperidol usage was active alcohol abuse or withdrawal (45%). The most frequent dose administered was 2.5 mg (41.1%) followed by 3.75 mg (25.8%). The level of sedation and cooperation was adequate in all but 22 procedures (2.0%). Complications related to droperidol use were infrequent, occurring in 17 procedures (1.5%). There was no mortality or major morbidity resulting from droperidol usage. In our endoscopic population, we find droperidol to be a safe and efficacious adjunctive agent for conscious sedation.

Anxiety↗