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Biomedical subjects

D E Tweedle

Publications and source records attributed to D E Tweedle.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Management of common bile duct stones using a second-generation extracorporeal shockwave lithotriptor.

Fifty-four patients with common bile duct stones (8-36 mm in diameter) that could not be removed after endoscopic sphincterotomy, even with the use of mechanical lithotripsy, underwent extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) using a Siemens Lithostar. Their median age was 75.5 (range 34-89) years. Patients received 4000-6000 shocks per session over approximately 60 min. Seventeen underwent two sessions and two patients three or more. Thirty-seven patients had one stone, ten had two, and seven had three or more. Spontaneous clearance of fragments occurred in only three patients before further endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography was performed to remove fragments. Stones were removed and ducts cleared endoscopically in 35 patients, giving a total of 38 of 54 patients (70 per cent) with complete duct clearance. Fragmentation in response to lithotripsy was dependent on stone size; the number of stones had little effect. ESWL was well tolerated without any haematological or biochemical abnormality. Computed tomography in the first 20 patients showed no hepatic or pancreatic change after treatment. ESWL combined with endoscopic extraction of fragments is an alternative to surgery when preliminary endoscopic extraction and mechanical lithotripsy have failed.

Adult

Common bile duct diameter and complications of endoscopic sphincterotomy.

To assess the relationship between distal common bile duct (CBD) diameter and the incidence of an immediate complication following endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES), all patients undergoing ES between January 1986 and October 1990 were studied. The overall risk of an immediate complication following ES in 655 patients was 5.6 per cent (37 patients). Patients with calculi were at greater risk if the distal CBD was dilated (P < 0.001); the complication in those with stones was most likely to be haemorrhage (81 per cent). The relative risk of a complication increased ten times if the distal bile duct diameter was > 0.8 cm. Patients with stricture of the distal CBD did not have a significantly greater risk of complication than those with stones (9.7 versus 4.9 per cent). There was no significant difference between the mean distal CBD diameter of those with stricture and controls (0.61 versus 0.44 cm).

Adult

Pancreaticojejunostomy for severe symptomatic chronic pancreatitis.

The role of operation, particularly pancreaticojejunostomy, in the treatment of abdominal pain from chronic pancreatitis is controversial, but relief of pancreatic duct obstruction may decrease the rate of pancreatic organ failure. Our results over 6 years in 13 carefully selected patients suggest that pancreatic drainage does relieve pain but is less effective in preventing pancreatic exocrine failure. Pain was the indication for operation in all patients.

Abdominal Pain

Endoscopic sphincterotomy: the whole truth.

An 8 year experience of 602 patients (median age 76 years) referred for endoscopic management of common bile stones is reported. No patient referred for treatment has been excluded. A diagnostic cholangiogram was achieved in 94 per cent and sphincterotomy was accomplished in 91.5 per cent. The bile ducts were demonstrated to be completely cleared of stones in 491 (81.6 per cent) of 602 patients. A mean number of 1.9 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography examinations per patient were necessary to achieve this result. Complications of endoscopic sphincterotomy, which were strictly defined, occurred in 10.5 per cent of patients although five patients had two complications (total complication rate 11.3 per cent). The 30-day mortality rate was 2.2 per cent, seven of 13 deaths (1.2 per cent) occurring as a direct result of sphincterotomy. There have been statistically significant improvements in bile duct clearance and complication rates with increasing experience of endoscopists.

Adolescent

Risks of leaving the gallbladder in situ after endoscopic sphincterotomy for bile duct stones.

There is controversy concerning the subsequent clinical course of patients whose gallbladder is left in situ following successful endoscopic removal of stones from their common bile ducts. A total of 191 patients (median age 76 years) were reviewed between 12 and 100 months (mean 38 months) after endoscopic sphincterotomy. Ten patients (5.2 per cent) had symptoms requiring cholecystectomy which was uneventful, nine in the first year. Cholangitis at presentation or failure to fill the gallbladder by endoscopic retrograde cholangiography were not helpful in identifying these patients. Forty-nine (25.6 per cent) patients died during the review period from non-biliary pathology (usually cardiovascular). Elective cholecystectomy is not required in elderly patients with symptomatic bile duct stones if the common bile duct can be cleared of stones after endoscopic sphincterotomy.

Adult

Retroperitoneal perforation during ERCP and endoscopic sphincterotomy: causes, clinical features and management.

Eleven patients with retroperitoneal perforation complicating endoscopic management of bile duct obstruction were seen over a seven-year period. In nine patients endoscopic sphincterotomy or pre-cut papillotomy had been performed, but in two who had not undergone sphincterotomy perforation occurred because of the penetration of a guidewire during attempts to negotiate a malignant bile duct stricture. Eight out of eleven patients remained asymptomatic, and all recovered with conservative management. Asymptomatic retroperitoneal perforation can complicate therapeutic ERCP even when sphincterotomy is not performed, but conservative management is usually effective if the complications is recognized immediately.

Bile Ducts

A prospective randomized trial of vagotomy in chronic duodenal ulceration.

In a prospective, randomized trial, 76 patients with duodenal ulceration treated by truncal vagotomy and pyloroplasty were compared with 77 patients who underwent highly selective vagotomy. A total of 149 patients was followed up for from 1 to 4 years, the average follow-up period being 2.6 years. There was no operative mortality and no significant difference in postoperative morbidity between the two groups. The incidence of recurrent ulceration was greater after highly selective vagotomy, but this difference was not statistically significant. The clinical results were comparable in each group, and although the incidence of diarrhoea and dumping was greater after vagotomy and pyloroplasty, this difference was not statistically significant.

Adult

Postoperative hypophosphataemia.

The possible mechanisms of postoperative hypophosphataemia were studied in women undergoing uncomplicated cholecystectomy. Six patients were allocated to each of three groups. Group I received no intravenous fluids, group II received dextrose/saline solution alone and group III received dextrose/saline solution with phosphorus supplementation. The serum concentration of inorganic phosphorus fell in all three groups, the greatest fall being in the group receiving dextrose/saline solution. However, the lowest level reached (0.82 mmol/l) was within the normal range for our laboratory. Concentrations of red blood cell adenosine triphosphate and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate showed similar changes. The operations were not associated with a large catabolic response nor with an increase in urinary phosphorus excretion. The postoperative reduction in serum concentration of inorganic phosphorus appeared to be due mainly to haemodilution. There is no indication for routine phosphorus supplementation following uncomplicated elective surgery.

Cholecystectomy

Peroperative transduodenal biopsy of the pancreas.

Peroperative transduodenal biopsy of the pancreas was performed in 65 patients with the disposable Trucut needle. The technique described is simple, effective, and may reveal unsuspected malignancy. A histological diagnosis of malignancy is reliable but false negative diagnosis may arise because of failure to obtain representative samples.

Biopsy, Needle

Abnormal liver function during nutritional support in postoperative cancer patients.

Patients who receive total intravenous or nasogastric nutritional support after surgery for head and neck cancer show abnormalities of liver function. Twenty such patients were maintained in positive nitrogen balance. Serum alkaline phosphatase and aspartate aminotransferase values were increased in 15 and 18 cases respectively. Possible causes for the abnormalities are discussed and further investigations proposed.

Aged

Intravenous amino acids as the sole nutritional substrate. Utilization and metabolism in fasting normal human subjects.

The fasting normal human volunteer subject provides an ideal experimental setting for the initial investigation of foodstuffs whose use is proposed for the acutely ill surgical patient. In the normal human subject many variables can be controlled; the achievement of an ideal body fuel economy is quite simple; if a favorable utilization of injected foodstuffs cannot be achieved in this setting, it is unlikely, and remains to be proven, that utilization will be satisfactory under the challenges of acute surgical trauma. In this experimental model, employing four normal human volunteer subjects, nutrition has been provided by the intravenous infusion of isotonic amino acids (FreAmine(R) II) at a 3.4% concentration. No other source of calories or nutrients was provided. In this setting, utilization was very poor; the subjects were in negative nitrogen balance throughout. The nitrogen excretion was significantly greater than the total of infused nitrogen. The changes in protein, fat and carbohydrate intermediates, as well as the alteration in hormone concentrations, suggest the following endocrine governance of fuel economy in this setting: a sharp rise in glucagon with maintenance of insulin concentration; rapid gluconeogenesis at the expense of both injected and endogenous amino acids; a progressive ketosis without any associated improvement in protein economy; fat oxidation to meet caloric need. The changes in plasma amino acid concentrations are of outstanding interest. They demonstrate changes appropriate to the infusion gradient with the exception of three amino acids whose concentrations did not respond to high infusate levels (serine, lysine, and alanine); likewise, by the fact that methionine rose remarkably though present in only low concentrations in the infusion. These data, taken with other information reported in the literature, as well as continuing studies in these laboratories, strongly suggest that the utilization of infused amino acids for protein synthesis is favored by the provision of an additional caloric source such as glucose.

Adult