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Biomedical subjects

C Fava

Publications and source records attributed to C Fava.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

[Radiological aspects of viral respiratory diseases].

The importance of radiological examination in viral diseases of the respiratory apparatus depends on the site and the type of alterations caused, since the evidence of damage it provides is closely linked to the anatomical and pathological of such alterations. In the case of the upper airways, trachea, and large bronchi, little radiological evidence of the mostly mucosal lesions will be obtained, except in laryngeal forms in children with considerable oedema. Generally speaking, the chances of demonstration are greater in diseases affecting the lung parenchyma, with direct or indirect ventilation changes. Interstitial involvement, which is characteristic of such diseases, will be less easy to demonstrate, especially in the initial stages, on account of the absence of distinct gross evidence of the alteration, irrespective of the clinical picture.

Humans

[Radiological aspects of viral respiratory diseases in adults].

Adults present few radiological signs of damage to the air ways caused by viral agents whereas the importance of such study is much greater in lung pathology, particularly in the course of pneumonia and bronchopneumonia. Typical of this group of disease is the involvement of the interstice which is normally great enough to be detected in X-rays. The different causal agents generally present in their own preferential ways, but specific diagnosis using X-rays signs alone is in practice impossible. At best, some suspicion might be advanced regarding a non-bacterial form as the notable morphological resemblances in fact prevent differential diagnosis among the different virosis forms as well as their distinction from pneumopathies due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

Adult

[Post-traumatic pulmonary hematoma].

Pulmonary haematoma is relatively rare. Though on the increase as a consequence of a rise in the number of road accidents, it is not necessarily traumatic in origin. Three cases (two post-traumatic, out of 250 serious chest trauma cases examined) observed at the University of Turin chest and lung surgery centre over the last three years are presented. Data from the literature are also cited. A description is given of the typical radiological features: roundish opacity with distinct edges, homogeneous, in the site the pulmonary or subpleural ligament, slow involution. This picture may be sufficient for diagnosis when the history is not clear.

Adult

[Abnormal pulmonary vein outlet. Radiological aspects (author's transl)].

6 cases of abnormal pulmonary venous outlet, 5 of them partial anomalies without cardiocirculatory symptoms, are reported. Diagnosis was formulated by means of angiocardiography resorted to on the basis of the radiographic picture: retraction of the right hemithorax (left in 1 case), heart attraction, pulmonary veiling, tomographic pictures of anomalous vessels.

Adolescent

[The transcatheter recanalization of occluded portosystemic shunts].

UNLABELLED: The authors present their personal experience in percutaneous treatment of portosystemic shunt occlusion and stenosis by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and fibrinolytic local infusion. Twelve patients with portosystemic shunt stenosis or occlusion were percutaneously treated. In 8 patients only PTA was performed, 4 were treated with local fibrinolytic infusion, in 3 of the latter cases this treatment was followed by PTA. In all 12 patients recanalization was successful and non complications arose. Six patients died in the following 15 months, none due to rebleeding. In 5 of these patients the shunt was patent at post-mortem examination. In the 6 patients still alive in the follow-up period (2 to 25 months, mean 14.5 months) the shunt was patent in 4 and occluded in 2. IN CONCLUSION: percutaneous treatment with PTA or fibrinolytic local infusion is preferable in non-functioning portosystemic shunt; further surgery is always extremely risky in such patients.

Adult

[Hemobilia following biliary drainage: percutaneous treatment with arterial embolization and biliary fibrinolysis].

The Authors report a case of haemobilia following the performance of biliary drainage. Angiography of the celiac tripod and superior mesenteric artery was carried out in order to evidence the lesion and to perform, during the same session, embolization of the leaking vessel by means of fibrin sponge particles (Spongostan). Subsequent cholangiographic controls demonstrated the presence of bile ducts clots then treated by loco-regional infusion of urokinase. On the basis of the Authors' personal experience, the combination of loco-regional biliary fibrinolytic treatment and embolisation leads to the resolution of the cause of hematobilia and of retention jaundice.

Aged

[Dynamic cavernosography. A proposed new method].

The excessive blood outflow from the corpora cavernosa during erection ("venous leakage") is a frequent cause of impotence. Dynamic cavernosography, a recent technique, is able to both evaluate such venous leakage and detect the veins concerned. After a critical review of the literature and on the basis of their own experience (64 cases), the authors suggest a 2-phase method. A conventional cavernosography is performed and flows of physiological solution necessary to induce and maintain an artificial erection are separately measured. Subsequently, only the patients with increased flow rates undergo a second angiography of the corpora cavernosa and drainage paths, after being given and intracavernous injection of papaverine. A simple, more rational and less invasive examination can thus be performed. All useful parameters can nevertheless be examined when surgical/radio-interventionist treatment is considered.

Adolescent

[Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty after renal transplantation].

Renal artery stenosis is a frequent complication of kidney transplantation (10%). Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) has recently been proposed as a potential therapeutic procedure. Twelve transplant patients with arterial stenosis underwent PTA. The procedure was successful in 10 cases (83.3%). Restenosis occurred in 2 patients (16.7%); both of them underwent PTA successfully. No complications occurred. A considerable improvement in glomerular filtration rate and a reduction in high blood pressure were observed in all patients after successful PTA. The authors believe PTA to be the therapy of choice in the treatment of arterial stenoses in kidney transplant patients.

Angiography

[Treatment of acute arterial embolism of the kidney].

The possible ways of treating renal artery embolisms are reviewed with an examination of their advantages and defects. Surgical treatment has a fairly high mortality rate but quickly cures any type of vascular occlusion and will cure any concomitant problems such as arterial stenosis. Medical treatment with anticoagulant or thrombolytic drugs offers a lower short term mortality rate and is effective even on narrow blood vessels but the response varies according to the type of thromboembolic damage and the way the drugs are administered. Recently developed forms of radiological treatment are also examined. A personal technique successfully applied to an embolism in a patient with only one functioning kidney is described. It consists of a two-step mechanical and pharmacological attack. First the occluded artery was opened by means of a balloon catheter that was pushed beyond the embolism and withdrawn into the aorta after inflation of the balloon. Thrombolytic drugs (Urokinase) were then infused through the catheter into the bed of the renal artery in order to cure the secondary thrombosis found, as is generally the case, downstream of the embolism. The technique appears ideal for the treatment of patients with embolisms and total involvement of the renal parenchyma, especially when their general condition makes surgery inadvisable.

Catheterization

Detection of group B streptococci by agglutination testing from selective broth cultures.

A rapid technique for the immunological identification of group B streptococci in vaginal swabs is reported. Vaginal swabs obtained from 567 pregnant women at term or during labor were incubated for eight hrs in Todd Hewitt broth containing 15 micrograms per ml nalidixic acid, one microgram per ml polymixin, and 0.1 microgram per ml crystal violet (NPC broth). After streaking the swabs on blood agar plates, both plain broth cultures and their nitrous acid extracted pellets were tested with a commercial latex agglutination reagent. Beta-hemolytic colonies grown on the blood agar plates after overnight incubation were grouped with commercial latex agglutination and coagglutination reagents for reference identification. Sensitivities for the broth culture and nitrous acid techniques were 86.8 percent and 94.7 percent, respectively; specificities were 97.4 percent and 98.7 percent respectively. Nitrous acid extraction of vaginal broth cultures followed by latex agglutination testing can significantly shorten the time needed to detect group B streptococci, resulting in the intrapartum detection of these organisms.

Bacteriological Techniques