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Biomedical subjects

G Guzzo

Publications and source records attributed to G Guzzo.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Visceral artery aneurysms.

Visceral artery aneurysms (VAA) frequently present as life-threatening emergencies. The purpose of this study was to review our experience with VAA treatment. Between 1988 and April 2002, 31 VAA were treated in 28 patients (14 males, 14 females) with average age of 55 +/- 15 years. The most common locations were the splenic artery (16) and the hepatic artery (7). Three patients underwent emergency surgery, 22 patients had elective open surgery, and 7 patients underwent endovascular treatment. In the surgical group the perioperative mortality rate was 3.6%. The perioperative morbidity rate was 7.1% (one case of respiratory distress manifested in the immediate postoperative period and one urgent case of bilious fistula). In the endovascular group none of the patients died; the perioperative morbidity rate was of 14.3% (one case of hepatic artery thrombosis after failure of gastroduodenal artery aneurysm embolization). Failure of the procedure was 42.9% (3 cases of aneurysm recanalization). In conclusion, we believe that an aggressive surgical approach is justified, even in the case of asymptomatic VAA, because of the low morbidity and mortality rates. Endovascular treatment should be reserved for selected cases.

Abdomen↗

Relevance of hydration state of the fat free mass in estimating fat mass by body impedance analysis.

Body impedance analysis (BIA) is widely used to assess body composition, however, accurate estimates of fat mass (FM) are sometimes rendered impossible due to over- or dehydration states. In fact, BIA is accurate in total body water (TBW) estimates, and TBW can be converted into fat free mass (FFM) assuming 73% hydration; but, if there is an alteration in the hydration state, such a fixed value does not fit with the real content of fluids in the FFM compartment, thus causing wrong estimates of FFM and in turn of FM. For this reason, phase-sensitive bioelectric analyzers operating at a single frequency or at multiple frequencies have recently been under investigation in order to produce an equation that is also able to estimate the volume of extracellular water (ECW). Some authors, rather than trying to find the best equation or the best instrument approach, have tested the direct use of resistance, reactance and phase angle values derived from 50 kHz impedance measurements, assuming that normal bioelectrical values are associated with normal hydration states. Using a large series of data we have found strong correlations between BIA-derived FM and BMI, and our data show that screening the subjects with normal hydration states using the direct bioelectrical parameters (BIAGRAM) improves the predictivity of standard equations, since it avoids trying to estimate FM in overhydrated subjects.

Adipose Tissue↗