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Biomedical subjects

G Lock

Publications and source records attributed to G Lock.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

[Chronic, pseudocystically altered splenic hematoma as the cause of left-sided chest pain: successful therapy using alcohol instillations].

HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: A 26-year-old man was admitted urgently because of breathing-related pain in the left thorax. This pain had started 3 months before, but had at first improved spontaneously. He had lost 13 kg during those weeks and had no recollection of any injury. Physical examination was unremarkable except for slight pain on upper-abdominal pressure and a palpably enlarged spleen. INVESTIGATIONS: All laboratory tests were normal, including the Quick value (100%), partial thromboplastin time (38 sec) and hemoglobin (14.2 g/dl). Chest radiogram showed a high left diaphragm. Abdominal sonography revealed a 12 x 10 cm moderately echogenic tumour in the spleen, extending from the splenic hilus to the upper splenic pole. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography demonstrated a hypodense tumour from which 300 ml of old blood were removed by needle puncture. Biopsy of the wall of the haematoma revealed pseudocystic transformation. TREATMENT AND COURSE: The pseudocyst again filled with blood in a few days. A drain was inserted and remained for 32 days. Six installations of alcohol achieved complete obliteration of the cystic haematoma, which did not recur. CONCLUSION: Splenic haematoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pain in the lower left thorax, even in the absence of a history of injury. Sonographically such a haematoma my imitate a solid tumor. Obliteration of the cavity by alcohol installation can be a successful alternative to surgical treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Effect of programmed endoscopic follow-up examinations on the rebleeding rate of gastric or duodenal peptic ulcers treated by injection therapy: a prospective, randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: A second-look endoscopy is often performed to evaluate the efficacy of a prior injection therapy in patients with bleeding peptic gastric or duodenal ulcers. Although this strategy is widely established, it does not rely on unequivocal data from controlled studies. In a prospective, randomized, controlled multicenter trial we assessed the effect of programmed endoscopic follow-up examinations with eventual retreatment on the outcome of bleeding ulcers in these patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred and five patients with gastric or duodenal peptic ulcers presenting with active (Forrest type I) or recent (Forrest type IIa and IIb) bleeding upon endoscopy within four hours after admission were included in the study. Emergency treatment consisted of the sequential injection of both epinephrine (1:10,000 v/v) and up to 2 ml of fibrin/thrombin around the ulcer base. Fifty-two patients were randomized to receive programmed endoscopic monitoring with eventual retreatment in cases of Forrest type I, IIa, or IIb ulcers beginning within 16-24 hours after the index bleed. Follow-up endoscopies were continued until the macroscopic appearance revealed a Forrest type IIc or III ulcer. Fifty-three patients in the control group were closely monitored, and only received a second endoscopy when there was clinical or biochemical evidence of recurrent bleeding. The groups did not differ with respect to age, sex, site and severity of bleeding. RESULTS: The numbers of patients with recurrent bleeding were similar whether they were endoscopically monitored or not (21% versus 17%, P=0.80 chi-squared test). In addition, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups with respect to the number of blood units transfused, need for surgical intervention, hospital stay or number of deaths (Mann-Whitney U-test). Improving local ulcer stigmata was not related to a better outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Programmed endoscopic follow-up examinations with eventual retreatment in patients locally injected for an acute or recent hemorrhage from a gastric or duodenal ulcer did not influence their outcome when compared to patients receiving only a second endoscopic intervention upon evidence for recurrent hemorrhage. Scheduled control endoscopies cannot be recommended after an initial successful endoscopic treatment of peptic ulcer bleeding when selection of the patients for second-look endoscopy is directed by the Forrest criteria.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

[Percutaneous abscess drainage in Crohn disease].

PURPOSE: To evaluate the success of percutaneous, CT-guided abscess drainage (PAD) in patients with Crohn's disease. METHODS: Within the last 5 years 8 patients with Crohn's disease were treated by PAD for intra-abdominal abscesses. A fistula was determined to be the cause in 4 patients. The abscesses arose spontaneously in 7 patients while one patient had a postoperative abscess. We used single lumen 10 F- and double lumen 12 F- and 14 F-catheters for drainage (duration of drainage 8-20 days). RESULTS: In all cases the abscess was successfully drained by PAD. However, an operation-free interval of at least three months was achieved in only two patients. A healing of the fistula was not attained in any of the 4 patients with a proven fistula. No enterocutaneous fistulas arose within the course of PAD. CONCLUSIONS: PAD is also useful for patients with Crohn's disease since it improves the starting situation for the necessary operative interventions. In most cases (especially with enterogenic fistulas), however, a long-lasting therapeutic result cannot be expected.

Abdominal Abscess↗
PubMed1998

The accuracy of abdominal ultrasound in the assessment of bowel disorders.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of transabdominal ultrasonographic (US) findings in a teaching hospital setting. METHODS: We carried out a prospective study including 227 patients with symptoms suggestive of inflammatory bowel disorder. The Picker 9200 CS equipment (5-mHz curved-array probe) was used to obtain bowel images. Gastrointestinal endoscopy, enteroclysis, bowel enema, computed tomography scan, or bowel surgery was used as reference. RESULTS: Of 227 patients, 168 had pathologic findings of the bowel as final diagnosis. The overall sensitivity of US was 76%, whereas the positive predictive value was 98%. Overall specificity was 95%. The negative predictive value for bowel disorders was only 58%, since US missed pathologic findings in 48 patients. Subgroup analysis showed a sensitivity of 84% for Crohn's disease, 66% for ulcerative colitis, 46% for bowel tumors, and 60% for diverticulitis. Topographic comparisons showed that US detected inflammatory bowel-wall alterations preferentially in the terminal ileum and colon, whereas abnormalities in the duodenum, jejunum, and rectum were frequently missed (sensitivity, 10%-20%). CONCLUSIONS: Positive US findings are useful for the diagnosis of bowel processes. US is highly predictive albeit not disease-specific. Negative US examinations, however, do not exclude pathologic bowel processes. A topographic location of pathologic US findings is mostly confined to the colon.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Air oesophagogram: a frequent, but not a specific sign of oesophageal involvement in connective tissue diseases.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the role of the air oesophagogram in conventional chest X-rays for the diagnosis of oesophageal dysmotility in patients with connective tissue diseases. METHODS: Fifty-one patients with connective tissue diseases were studied by oesophageal manometry and lateral and posterior-anterior chest X-rays. The presence or absence of oesophageal air on chest X-rays were evaluated separately in the upper, middle and distal segment of the oesophagus. Forty-seven chest X-rays of patients without connective tissue diseases, who had undergone manometry for the evaluation of oesophagus-related symptoms and who had normal oesophageal function, were analysed as a control. RESULTS: A total of 23/51 patients with connective tissue diseases showed oesophageal dysfunction in manometry; 16/51 patients (31%) had air in two or more oesophageal segments on the lateral chest X-ray. There was a significant association of manometrically proven oesophageal dysmotility and air in two or three oesophageal segments (P < 0.05; sensitivity 48%, specificity 82%). However, the prevalence of an air oesophagogram showed no significant difference between patients with connective tissue diseases and the control group (10/47; 21%). CONCLUSION: The radiological sign of an air oesophagogram is neither sensitive nor specific enough to omit oesophageal motility studies in patients with connective tissue diseases.

Air↗
PubMed1998

Association of esophageal dysfunction and pulmonary function impairment in systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between esophageal dysfunction and pulmonary involvement in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: Pulmonary function parameters were compared between groups of patients with and without manometric evidence for SSc-induced esophageal dysmotility. RESULTS: Twenty-six of 43 patients (60.5%) exhibited a marked hypo- or aperistalsis of the smooth muscle portion of the esophagus. Total lung capacity, inspiratory vital capacity, and forced vital capacity were significantly lower in patients with esophageal dysfunction compared with those with normal esophageal peristalsis (p < 0.001). Patients with the diffuse form of SSc (n = 20) had significantly lower values for total lung capacity and inspiratory vital capacity compared with patients with the limited type of SSc (n = 23; p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: There is a significant association of esophageal dysmotility with reduced lung volumes in SSc. Possible explanations for these findings are pulmonary damage due to increased gastroesophageal reflux and, more likely, simultaneous involvement of the lungs and the esophagus in the disease process.

Esophageal Motility Disorders↗
PubMed1998

Assessment of afferent gut--brain function using cerebral evoked responses to esophageal stimulation.

Increasing awareness is attributed to altered sensory perception in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal disorders. Evoked potentials (EP), which represent the brain's electrical response to peripheral stimulation, have recently been used to investigate where and how (GI) afferent information is processed along the brain-gut axis. EP can be obtained with electrical stimulation or balloon distention in the esophagus in humans. Stimulation of afferent neural pathways in the esophagus produces cerebral evoked responses allowing assessment of the peripheral afferent neural pathways involved, and of the function of integrative neural centers within the brain. Recent studies using esophageal EP indicate that the cerebral response to either mode of stimulation depends on the perception of the stimuli. Using electrical stimulation, a clear dose-response relationship is found. The EP response obtained with electrical stimulation is in keeping with those recorded using direct cervical stimulation of the vagus nerve, supporting evidence that esophageal EP are produced by activation of afferent vagal pathways. From the conduction velocity of the autonomic (vagal) nerves conveying information from esophagus to brain, it was concluded that non-painful electrical stimuli predominantly activate fast conducting myelinated afferent sensory fibers (A-fibers), while EP to balloon distention are largely due to activation of unmyelinated C-fibers. Techniques, however, vary widely amongst different investigators, and some electrophysiological parameters remain controversial, as there is no standard approach. Using balloon distention, EP waveforms vary widely between laboratories, suggesting that EP are substantially influenced by the stimulator devices (pump, respirator). EP to balloon distention are hampered by a relatively low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which is probably due to long inflation-deflation time (> 200 ms). With electrical stimulation, there is much less variability between different groups, and SNR is distinctly higher. This method appears to be most attractive for studies of afferent esophageal function. Standardization of the techniques is important, before esophageal EP can be regarded as a useful diagnostic approach in patient groups.

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed1998

Association of autonomic nervous dysfunction and esophageal dysmotility in systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: The primary event in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc) has been hypothesized to be an early neural lesion. We investigated the association of autonomic nervous dysfunction and esophageal involvement in SSc. METHODS: Thirty-six consecutive patients with SSc were investigated by esophageal manometry and autonomic nervous function tests for cardiovascular and pupillary autonomic dysfunction. RESULTS: In 27 of 36 patients, esophageal manometry showed esophageal dysfunction. Twelve patients had either pupillary (n = 6) or cardiovascular (n = 5) dysfunction or both (n = 1). All patients with autonomic dysfunction had esophageal dysfunction. Patients with autonomic dysfunction had significantly reduced mean distal esophageal contraction amplitudes compared to patients without autonomic nervous dysfunction (p < 0.05). The association of autonomic dysfunction and esophageal dysfunction was significant (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Our results support the concept of a role for neurogenic defects in the development of esophageal dysfunction in SSc.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

[Cardiovascular and pupillary autonomic and somatosensory neuropathy in chronic diseases with autoimmune phenomena. A comparative study of patients with Crohn disease, ulcerative colitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, progressive systemic sclerosis and type I diabetes mellitus].

BACKGROUND: During the last years, examination of autonomic nervous function and of autonomic neuropathy has attracted attention not only in diabetes mellitus research but also in other areas of internal medicine. However, patients with various chronic diseases with autoimmune phenomenons have never been investigated in a comparative study with standardized examination techniques. Hence, the aim of the study was to examine the prevalence and the severity of autonomic neuropathy in patients with the following chronic diseases. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We investigated 28 patients with Crohn's disease (CD: age: 32.4 +/- 2.0 y), 17 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC: 39.7 +/- 3.6 y), 39 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE: 34.9 +/- 2.0 y), 38 patients with progressive systemic sclerosis (pSS; 51.5 +/- 2.4 y) and 65 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM: 35.5 +/- 1.6 y). Cardiovascular autonomic (cANP), pupillary autonomic (pANP), and sensorimotor (ssNP) neuropathy were assessed by standardized techniques. RESULTS: Prevalence rates for cANP, pANP and ssNP were found to be 0%, 19%, and 7% in CD, 6%, 25%, and 18% in UC, 5%, 29%, and 10% in SLE, 11%, 16%, and 32% in pSS, and 26%, 66%, and 29% in IDDM, respectively. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated patients with IDDM to have the highest prevalence rates of cANP and pANP. Patients with other chronic diseases, particularly SLE, pSS and UC, had high prevalence rates of pANP. This may be due to alterations of structures of the central nervous system in these patients. cANP was rare in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and ssNP was found very often in patients with pSS, probably due to local fibrotic lesions. The various disease groups differ in the pattern and severity of autonomic and sensorimotor neuropathy, which indicates that different structures and neuropathogenic mechanisms may be involved.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

[Computer tomography-guided gastrostomy, jejunostomy and gastrojejunostomy. A reliable non-surgical method also for contraindications and failure of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy].

OBJECTIVE: To analyse retrospectively the results of CT (computed tomography)-guided gastrostomy or gastroenterostomy where an endoscopic procedure was not possible or had failed. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between August 1993 and March 1997, CT-guided gastrostomy (n = 50) or gastroenterostomy (n = 8) was performed in 58 patients (mean age 56 +/- 6 years; 51 males, 7 females). An endoscopic or fluoroscopic method had been contraindicated in 52 and had failed in 6 patients. RESULTS: Technical success was achieved in all patients. Three patients needed intravenous sedation. There were no procedure related complications requiring treatment. Three patients had a mild infection at the site of the skin puncture. CONCLUSION: CT-guided gastrostomy or gastroenterostomy is a safe and simple procedure which provides a minimally invasive alternative also in patients with contraindications to the established percutaneous method.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Anorectal function in systemic sclerosis: correlation with esophageal dysfunction?

PURPOSE: This study was designed to compare esophageal and anorectal function parameters in patients with systemic sclerosis and to define the role of anorectal manometry in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal involvement of systemic sclerosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-six consecutive patients (22 females) with systemic sclerosis originally referred for assessment of esophageal function were evaluated by esophageal and anorectal manometry. Anorectal function parameters were compared between patients with normal and those with disturbed esophageal function. RESULTS: A total of 17 of 26 patients (65 percent) had severe esophageal dysfunction with aperistalsis of the lower two-thirds of the esophagus, whereas 9 patients (35 percent) had normal esophageal manometry. Only three patients (11.5 percent) suffered from occasional fecal incontinence. Anorectal function parameters (resting pressure, maximum squeeze pressure, perception threshold) were not significantly different between patients with normal and those with disturbed esophageal motility. Rectoanal inhibitory reflex was excitable in nearly 90 percent of patients. CONCLUSION: In an unselected group of patients with systemic sclerosis, fecal incontinence and abnormal anorectal function are rather rare findings. Anorectal manometry cannot differentiate between patients with and without gastrointestinal involvement of systemic sclerosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Esophageal manometry in systemic sclerosis: screening procedure or confined to symptomatic patients?

The predictive value of esophagus-related symptoms for the diagnosis of esophageal dysmotility induced by systemic sclerosis (SSc) was prospectively evaluated in 50 consecutive patients with SSc. Patients were classified as symptomatic when either dysphagia or repeated episodes of heartburn were present. All patients underwent esophageal manometry; SSc-induced esophageal dysfunction was diagnosed when there was aperistalsis or marked hypocontractility of the distal two-thirds of the esophageal body. Twenty-nine patients (58%) had a history of esophagus-related symptoms, while 21 patients (42%) were asymptomatic. Compared to esophageal manometry, esophagus-related symptoms had a sensitivity of 64%, a specificity of 52%, a negative predictive value of 50% and a positive predictive value of 62% for the diagnosis of SSc-induced esophageal dysfunction. In conclusion, the association of esophagus-related symptoms and esophageal motility pattern is poor. As clinical management strategies depend on proof of esophageal dysfunction, screening examinations are mandatory in all patients with SSc.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Cerebral abnormalities in patients with cirrhosis detected by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging.

Hepatic encephalopathy is a common problem in cirrhosis. The pathogenesis of this complication of advanced liver disease still remains unclear. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to assess prospectively cerebral metabolism in 51 patients with histologically proven cirrhosis (Child-Pugh classes A, B, and C, 18, 18, and 15, respectively) and 36 healthy volunteers. According to the results of psychometric tests, overt hepatic encephalopathy, subclinical encephalopathy, and no encephalopathy were found in 14, 21, and 16 patients, respectively. Myoinositol/creatine ratios in gray (.36 +/- .17) and white (.35 +/- .22) matter voxel were reduced significantly (P < .0001) in cirrhotic patients compared with healthy volunteers (gray matter, .51 +/- .11; white matter, .64 +/- .16). In addition, patients showed a significant reduction (P = .024) in white matter choline/creatine ratio (.77 +/- .27) compared with controls (.92 +/- .25), and glutamine/glutamate level was elevated in cirrhotic patients compared with controls (gray matter, P < .0001; white matter, P = .036). Changes in cerebral myoinositol and glutamine/glutamate levels correlated significantly with the severity of hepatic encephalopathy (P < .0001). However, these metabolic alterations were also detected in patients without hepatic encephalopathy (normal psychometric test results). N-acetyl aspartate/creatine ratios did not differ between patients and controls. Magnetic resonance imaging detected bright basal ganglia in 37 patients, which correlated significantly with portal-systemic shunting and elevation of glutamine/glutamate, but not with the degree of hepatic encephalopathy. In conclusion, magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy showed that alterations of cerebral metabolism are common in patients with cirrhosis, even without evidence of clinical or subclinical hepatic encephalopathy.

Adult↗