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D Baronciani

Publications and source records attributed to D Baronciani.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Sudden cardiac tamponade after chemotherapy for marrow transplantation in thalassaemia.

Published work suggests that cardiac tamponade occurs only occasionally after bone-marrow transplantation (BMT) but the worrying number of cases encountered in the transplant programme in Pesaro, Italy, has led to an analysis of this complication. Cardiac tamponade occurred in 8 (2%) of 400 consecutive thalassaemic patients during conditioning for or within a month of BMT. 6 cases were fatal; these represented 9% of all causes of death and 29% of those occurring between start of conditioning regimen and 30 days post transplant. The syndrome was characterised by sudden onset of circulatory shock and cardiac arrest. The only effective treatment was immediate fluid removal. The absence of myocardial lesions and the complete resolution of the syndrome after pericardiocentesis suggest that the pericardial membranes played the main part in the pathogenesis of the syndrome. Since irradiation was not part of the conditioning regimen and since 3 of the affected patients had bacteraemia, the triggering factor for the syndrome could have been the drugs used for conditioning, acting alone or together with bacteraemia and trauma. The frequency with which we encountered the syndrome, and the similarity among our patients in clinical picture, and in characteristics of the effusion, indicate that cardiac tamponade occurring in thalassaemic patients after start of chemotherapy as conditioning for BMT is a specific syndrome requiring rapid treatment.

Acute Disease↗

Urothelial toxicity following conditioning therapy in bone marrow transplantation and bladder cancer: morphologic and morphometric comparison by exfoliative urinary cytology.

Since cyclophosphamide and busulphan used for therapy of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) can cause urothelial cell changes similar to those found in bladder cancer, comparative morphologic and morphometric urinary cytologic research was carried out, examining 812 urine samples taken from 121 patients undergoing BMT and 60 urine samples from 20 patients with bladder cancer. The morphological results showed some differences in the characteristics of the urinary sediment in urothelial toxicity caused by conditioning therapy in BMT and in bladder cancer; among these were background, cellularity, leukocytes, urothelial cell arrangement, cell shape and size, vacuolization, mitosis, and nucleoli. A comparative morphometric study was also carried out, showing differences regarding cell area, nuclear area and perimeter, and N/C ratio, especially between well-differentiated bladder cancer and urothelial toxicity.

Bone Marrow Transplantation↗

Caesium contamination in human milk and transfer factor from diet.

A study on caesium contamination in human milk, as a consequence of the Chernobyl fallout, was conducted in 1989 on a group of women from one of the areas of northern Italy most heavily affected by the radioactive fallout. Their diet was studied, and the caesium intake was calculated by using the mean food activity concentration in that area. The caesium transfer factor was evaluated both as the ratio of caesium concentration in mother's milk to the daily intake, and by using a simplified milk compartment model.

Accidents↗

Bone marrow transplantation in thalassemia.

Since 1983, 350 patients aged 1 to 19 years with beta-homozygous thalassemia were given infusions of HLA-identical marrow after high doses of busulphan and cyclophosphamide. Survival and event-free survival leveled off about 1 year after bone marrow transplantation at 82% and 75%, respectively. In 172 consecutive patients who were treated with our current regimen since June 1985, a multivariate analysis demonstrated that portal fibrosis, hepatomegaly, and a history of inadequate chelation therapy were significantly associated with reduced probabilities of survival and event-free survival. The patients were divided into three classes on the basis of the presence of hepatomegaly, portal fibrosis, and inadequate chelation therapy. Class 1 had none of the factors and class 3 had all three factors; class 2 had different associations of two out of the three factors. For class 1 patients, the 3-year probabilities of survival and event-free survival were 97% and 94%, respectively. For class 2 patients, the probabilities were 86% and 83%, and for class 3 patients, 58% and 52%. Bone marrow transplantation from HLA-identical donors is followed by a high probability of event-free survival in thalassemic patients, particularly if they belong to class 1.

Adolescent↗

Bone marrow transplantation in patients with thalassemia.

We reviewed the results of transplantation of allogeneic marrow from HLA-identical donors in patients with beta-thalassemia who were less than 16 years old. Among the 222 consecutive patients who had received transplants since 1983, survival and event-free-survival curves leveled off about one year after transplantation, at 82 and 75 percent, respectively. Pretransplantation clinical characteristics were examined for their impact on survival, event-free survival, and the recurrence of thalassemia in the 116 consecutive patients who were treated with our current regimen, in use since June 1985. In a multivariate analysis, portal fibrosis and either the presence of hepatomegaly or a history of inadequate chelation therapy were significantly associated with reduced probabilities of survival and event-free survival. The patients were divided into three classes on the basis of the presence of hepatomegaly or portal fibrosis (class 1 had neither factor, class 2 had one, and class 3 had both). For class 1 patients the three-year probabilities of survival, event-free survival, and recurrence were 94, 94, and 0 percent, respectively. For class 2 patients the probabilities were 80, 77, and 9 percent, and for class 3 patients 61, 53, and 16 percent. We conclude that for patients under 16 years of age, transplantation of bone marrow from an HLA-identical donor offers a high probability of complication-free survival, particularly if they do not have hepatomegaly or portal fibrosis.

Adolescent↗

Cytomegalovirus infections in thalassemic patients after bone marrow transplantation.

We report the incidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) seroconversion, infections and mortality in 169 consecutive thalassemic patients transplanted in Pesaro. We observed a 44% incidence of early seroconversion and a 52% incidence of late seroconversion. No relationship was found between seroconversion and acute or chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) or rejection. The donor status did not influence the incidence of seroconversion, GVHD and rejection. Only three patients died of CMV infection (1.7%); in each case CMV disease was the final cause of death in patients with severe acute GVHD.

Adolescent↗

Marrow transplantation for children with acute leukemia: experience of Pesaro.

Thirty children aged 1-15 years with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia were transplanted from HLA-matched donors using two different preparative regimens: 18 patients were prepared with cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation (TBI) while 12 patients received busulphan and cyclophosphamide. Fifteen patients survived 7 to 74 months after transplant. The association of busulphan and cyclophosphamide is a well-tolerated preparation for bone marrow transplant in children with eradicating and immunosuppressive efficacy comparable to that of the well-experienced TBI-cyclophosphamide association.

Actuarial Analysis↗