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Biomedical subjects

G Cavagna

Publications and source records attributed to G Cavagna.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1986

Hyperalimentation of jaundiced patients on percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage.

Although percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) restores hepatic and renal function in patients with obstructive jaundice, it is not certain whether it reduces the rate of complications and death after biliopancreatic surgery. We studied the possibility that the operative risks of jaundiced patients are related to malnutrition and the usefulness of hyperalimentation with PTBD to reduce the incidence of complications. Sixty-four patients with obstructive jaundice and serum bilirubin greater than 200 mumol/l were randomized into two treatment groups (n = 32) with PTBD or PTBD + hyperalimentation. Four patients were withdrawn from the latter group, two for metastatic cancer and two for complications of PTBD. Before starting hyperalimentation, the incidence of malnutrition was assessed by biochemical, immunological and anthropometric tests: malnutrition was found in 70 per cent of the patients. All the patients had good recovery of hepatic function but patients treated with PTBD alone still had high mortality (12.5 per cent) and morbidity (46.8 per cent) after biliopancreatic surgery. When hyperalimentation was provided to patients on PTBD for a period of 20 days before the operation, the incidence of complications fell to 17.8 per cent and mortality to 3.5 per cent. These results suggest that the combined use of PTBD and hyperalimentation, improving both hepatic function tests and the nutritional status of jaundiced patients, can reduce the rate of complications after biliary and pancreatic surgery.

Bile↗
PubMed1981

The colonization of Streptococcus faecium in human intestinal tract after oral administration.

The colonizing ability of Streptococcus faecium strain SF 68 at different levels of the gastrointestinal tract was assessed in ten patients. They were orally treated with a preparation containing the bacteria in lyophilized form for three days. During an abdominal surgical operation a sample of bacterial content of jejunum, ileum and colon was taken and cultured. The Streptococcus faecium was detected in all treated patients in a quite high concentration compared to the counts of both aerobic and anaerobic germs. These data confirms the rapid growth of SF 68 after oral administration in the gastrointestinal human tract.

Humans↗