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Biomedical subjects

F Cavaliere

Publications and source records attributed to F Cavaliere.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Hyperthermic antiblastic perfusion for the treatment of soft tissue limb sarcoma.

Eighty patients with locally advanced, high grade soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities were studied prospectively in order to determine the efficacy of hyperthermic antiblastic perfusion (H.A.P.) as the first step of a combined multimodality therapy. All of the patients have been evaluated in terms of functional results, loco-regional control and survival according to the different treatment schedules adopted. The first clinical trial employed H.A.P., followed by surgery alone. Because the results obtained were unsatisfactory, the protocol was modified to include a continuous intra-arterial (i.a.) infusion of doxorubicin (dx) or radiotherapy before surgery. The best results have been obtained with the radiotherapy-including protocol showing a conservative surgery rate of 100% and a 94% rate of loco-regional control. The disease-free, distant disease-free and overall survival rates were 68%, 75% and 70%, respectively. The importance of the treatment protocol has been confirmed in a multivariate analysis which demonstrated that the treatment protocol adopted is one of the prognostic factors with an independent value (p = 0.06).

Chemotherapy, Cancer, Regional Perfusion↗
PubMed1992

Tympanometry for middle-ear effusion in unconscious ICU patients.

Eighty-six bilateral impedance audiometries were performed weekly in 35 unconscious ICU patients. Tympanometry showed the presence of middle-ear effusion in 43.3% of the examinations (80% of the patients). The incidence of effusion was significantly higher in patients older than 50 years, in intubated and mechanically ventilated patients and in the presence of microbial colonization of the upper airways. The acoustic reflex (AR) was characterized by increased threshold values in 23.8% of the examinations and was absent in 41.3%. Abnormal or absent ARs were usually associated with middle-ear effusion or tube malfunction.

Acoustic Impedance Tests↗
PubMed1991

[Spontaneous rupture of the esophagus].

Spontaneous rupture of the esophagus is a rare emergency that requires immediate diagnosis and superior surgical treatment. Delay in diagnosis is common and is caused mostly by lack of consciousness of the disease and consequent tendency to diagnose a cases as perforated peptic ulcer, pancreatitis, acute coronary disease etc. Mortality and morbidity increase proportionally to the time between esophageal perforation and adequate treatment. In this paper the Authors present a case of Boerhaave's syndrome in a patient who underwent two surgical repairs followed by leakages of the esophageal sutures. The definitive successful treatment has been obtained with a third operation performed after complete sterilization of the mediastinum.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Clinical evaluation of serum tumor-associated glycoprotein-72 as a novel tumor marker for colorectal cancer patients.

A novel tumor marker, tumor-associated glycoprotein-72 (TAG-72), has been identified using monoclonal antibody (MAb) B72.3. Using immunohistochemical techniques, TAG-72 has been found in carcinomas of various origin including colon, stomach, breast, lung, prostate, and ovary, as well as in body fluids. The presence of TAG-72 in serum samples from 260 patients with colorectal disease (malignant or benign) has been evaluated using the CA72-4 assay. Approximately 40% of patients with colorectal cancer exhibit elevated levels of this marker; moreover, the presence of positive levels of TAG-72 significantly correlates with advanced stages of disease, suggesting that TAG-72 may be a good marker of advanced colorectal cancer. Only 2% of the patients diagnosed with colorectal disease had elevated TAG-72 serum levels indicating the high specificity of this marker. A comparative study with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) serum levels showed a complementarity of the two tumor markers; in fact, 49.6% of CEA negative cases scored positive for TAG-72. A longitudinal evaluation of TAG-72 serum levels in 31 patients with malignant disease was performed. The results indicate that patients with increasing TAG-72 serum levels postoperatively may be indicative of recurrent disease. In 60% of patients in which significant changes of CEA levels could not be detected, TAG-72 showed rising positive levels prior to clinical evidence of recurrent disease. These results suggest that the simultaneous use of TAG-72 and CEA serum markers may be useful in the diagnosis of recurrent disease and therefore play an important role in the clinical management of cancer patients.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1991

[Loss of plasma protein in open-heart surgery].

The changes in the concentrations of nine serum proteins were studied in ten patients who underwent open-heart surgery for mitral or aortic valve replacement. alpha 1-glycoprotein, albumin, transferrin, alpha 2-macroglobulin, IgG, IgA, IgM, C3, and C4 were assessed before anesthesia induction, after sternotomy, ten minutes after the beginning of CPB, and ten minutes following the end of CPB; values were corrected for haemodilution. All the proteins, with the exception of alpha 1-glycoprotein, showed similar trends that were characterized by a significant decrease after CPB. Linear contrasts did not show any significant difference among the proteins expressed as per cent of the initial values. Such generalized decrease was probably due to the aspecific damage caused by oxygenators, pumps and aspirators. On the contrary, specific mechanisms, as IgM aggregation or complement activation, do not affect significantly the concentration of single proteins. Also the hypothesis of a relevant protein migration toward the extravascular space was rejected because of the absence of any significant relation between the molecular weight of the proteins and their decrease after CPB.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Collagenous colitis: a disease difficult to define].

The Authors report a case with watery chronic diarrhoea not related to malabsorption or to inflammatory bowel disease or to intestinal neoplasm. Colonic biopsy, performed during colonoscopy, with the histologic finding of collagenous material in the subepithelial space associated to epithelial alterations and to the presence of inflammatory cells, confirmed the diagnosis of this rare pathologic condition. The pathogenesis of the syndrome, however, is still unknown.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

[ Physiopathology and treatment of accidental hypothermia].

Severe hypothermia is seldom observed in our country due to the mild climate. But it can represent a difficult medical problem. Severe hypothermia occurs when body temperature falls below 28 degrees. The victim may be unconscious with a severe depression of vital functions. All such patients should undergo vigorous cardiopulmonary resuscitation and rapid rewarming. The most efficient methods of rewarming are represented by peritoneal irrigation and esophageal thermal tube.

Humans↗
PubMed1989

Prognostic variables in recurrent limb melanoma treated with hyperthermic antiblastic perfusion.

Between October 1969 and December 1986, 136 patients with recurrent limb melanoma were treated with hyperthermic antiblastic perfusion (HAP). This retrospective analysis is aimed at identifying tumor-related and treatment-related variables likely to influence tumor response, locoregional control, disease-free survival, and overall survival. Independent factors predicting a complete response (CR) were the number of lesions (P less than 0.0001) and the minimum tumor temperature (minT) (P = 0.03). Only a positive trend was observed for the drug dose (P = 0.08). However, the proportion of CR was significantly higher (57.7%; P = 0.02) in patients who had a minT of 41.5 degrees C or greater and who were given a dose equal to or greater than the standard dose than in patients treated with lower temperatures and/or lower drug doses. The occurrence of a CR significantly increased the rates of locoregional control (77%; P = 0.007), disease-free survival (55.6%; P = 0.006), and overall survival (68.6%; P = 0.03). Treatment optimization may provide further therapeutic improvements by increasing the incidence of CR. However, the overall survival rates also were influenced by the number of lesions (P = 0.0014), sex (P = 0.04), and the number of previous relapses (P = 0.01). Therefore, tumor aggressiveness also is crucial in determining the outcome of the disease, and only early treatment with HAP can reduce the risk of distant metastases.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Products of lipid peroxidation in the blood and respiratory secretions in 3 patients with acute respiratory diseases].

Oxygen free radicals have been suggested to be involved in ARDS pathogenesis. Their production may be caused by leukocyte activation and by administration of high oxygen concentrations. Radicals can oxidize lipids with production of dienes. In order to gather an indirect proof of radical production, dienes were repeatedly assessed in plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples from three patients affected by ARDS. Plasma levels resulted higher than normal ones in all the patients initially; concentrations in BAL samples were lower than in plasma. Successively dienes decreased progressively in the patient who survived, whereas an increase was observed in BAL samples from the other patients, who died. The last trend was accompanied by a smaller increase in plasma levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Airway secretion electrolytes: reflection of water and salt states of the body.

Water and electrolyte content influences the rheology of respiratory mucus. Nasal secretions can be obtained from almost all patients and may be regarded as a possibly useful model of the electrolyte composition of lower airway secretions that are difficult to collect in most patients. Na, K, and Cl were determined from nasal secretions in 35 ICU patients. We studied the relationship of those values to the patients' water and salt states. Our study indicates that: a) lower K and Cl levels and higher Na levels than those found in plasma are common to both nasal and bronchial secretions; b) variations of electrolyte levels in nasal secretions are interrelated; c) patients with lower values of free-water clearance show lower Na and higher Cl levels in nasal secretions, possibly due to increased epithelial transport; d) the amount of K in nasal secretions appears correlated with its urinary fractional excretion (this could be explained by the variations in intracellular K levels); and e) in hyperchloremic patients, plasma/secretion differences of Na are decreased, possibly due to decreased epithelial transport.

Adolescent↗