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Biomedical subjects

G Tarroni

Publications and source records attributed to G Tarroni.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Clinical characteristics associated to atrial fibrillation in chronic hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia diagnosed in non-uremic patients and its prevalence increases in older subjects, however, information concerning AF in dialysis patients is scarce. Therefore, we carried out a prospective cross-sectional study from September 1996 to December 1996 in order to evaluate the prevalence and some of the clinical characteristics associated to AF in hemodialysis (HD) patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 316 HD patients (age 63 +/- 12 years, dialysis duration 69 +/- 71 months) treated in three different hospital-based units were studied. Standard 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) carried out in the interdialytic day during the study period were reviewed. Data concerning age, history of ischemic heart disease (IHD), cerebrovascular disease (CVD), peripheral vascular disease (PVD), presence of diabetes, smoking history and antihypertensive therapy were collected. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting cholesterol and triglycerides, albumin and hemoglobin were also derived from the clinical records. Performance status was assessed by Karnofsky index (Ki). RESULTS: 74 patients (23.4%) had persistent AF, i.e. presence of AF in all (at least two) ECGs performed in the study time. Patients with AF were older (age 69 +/- 10 vs 62 +/- 12 years, p < 0.001), had lower Ki (54 +/- 20 vs 68 +/- 17, p < 0.01), cholesterol (182 +/- 46 vs 198 +/- 52 mg/dl, p < 0.01) and albumin (3.9 +/- 0.5 vs 4.1 +/- 0.5 g/dl, p < 0.001) compared to those with no AF. Prevalence of IHD (44.5% vs 19%, p < 0.05) and PVD (23% vs 11%, p < 0.05) was higher among AF patients. Logistic regression analysis showed that IHD (p < 0.001) and Ki (p < 0.01) were independently associated to AF. CONCLUSION: We conclude that AF is a frequent arrhythmia in HD patients treated in hospital-based dialysis units, especially in those with low performance status. It appears to be associated to the atherosclerotic damage of coronary arterial tree. Prospective studies are necessary to assess whether it could contribute to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in end-stage renal disease.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Familial interstitial nephropathy without hyperuricemia.

Progressive hereditary nephropathy is described in 6 members of a single family. Renal biopsies, performed in 3 patients, revealed tubular atrophy, interstitial fibrosis, and lymphomonocytic infiltration associated with severe vascular lesions. These features were disproportionately serious when related to age, arterial pressure, and renal function. Similar familial nephropathy has been reported in the literature, generally in association with gout or asymptomatic hyperuricemia. The patients described here had normal blood concentrations of uric acid. It is proposed that the members of the present group of patients are suffering from the same interstitial nephropathy as that described in the literature and that the hyperuricemia found by other investigators is coincidental and does not play a pathogenetic role.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Beneficial effects of verapamil in renal-risk surgical patients.

OBJECTIVE: To test whether the administration of calcium channel antagonists, such as verapamil (V), on the day before, during, and for 24-36 h after an important abdominal intervention, can lower the onset of acute renal failure (ARF), mostly in renal-risk patients, such as the aged. DESIGN: Randomized, nonblinded study. SETTING: Three surgical care university departments and two intensive care units of the same hospital (S. Anna, Ferrara, Italy). PATIENTS: Thirty-five elderly patients (61-83 years old) entered the study: 18 of them were given V; 17 were not treated and were considered as controls. The two study groups were overlapping as regards age, renal risk, and surgical challenge. The patients who underwent ARF (5 in the treated group, 7 among the controls) were rejected from the study. INTERVENTIONS: V was given on the eve of surgery at a dose of 80 mg/8 h per os and then through slow infusion (5 mg/4-6 h) during the next intra- and postoperative 24-36 h. Abdominal surgery was performed owing to gastric cancer (8 cases), colorectal neoplasia (10 cases), gallstone disease (4 cases), subrenal aortic aneurysm (6 cases), and iliofemoral obstructive arteriopathy (7 cases). MEASUREMENTS: Serum creatinine (SCr) was assessed to test renal function; 24-h urinary levels of brush-border enzymes (gamma glutamyl transferase, or gGT), lysosomal enzymes (N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, or NAG), and beta 2-microglobulin (or beta 2M) were determined at T0 (on the eve of surgery), T1 (first and second day after), and T2 (7th and 8th day after) to demonstrate possible tubule cell damage. RESULTS: In the evaluated patients (13 treated with V and 10 untreated): (a) the 24-h urinary levels of gGt and NAG persisted unchanged throughout the study in the treated patients, whereas in the controls the same indices exhibited significant (p < 0.01) increases at T1 and T2; (b) the 24-h urinary levels of beta 2M showed significant (p < 0.01) increases in both groups from T0 to T1; however, at T2 these values tended to return to normal ranges in the treated patients, whereas they continued to be elevated in the untreated group. As regards the patients who underwent postoperative ARF, in the treated group urine output was significantly larger (p < 0.01 at T1 and p < 0.001 at T2), SCr was significantly (p < 0.05) lower, and the renal function recovered earlier (within 10 +/- 3 vs. 22 +/- 9 days) than in the controls. CONCLUSIONS: The administration of calcium channel antagonists to renal-risk patients during surgery and immediately before and after it has failed to prevent the onset of postoperative ARF. Nevertheless this procedure has been shown to somehow reduce surgery-mediated lesions of the tubule cells, as demonstrated by the finding of elevated urinary enzymes only in the untreated group.

Acute Kidney Injury↗
PubMed1993

Lipoprotein abnormalities in hypertriglyceridaemic patients on long-term haemodialysis.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse by ultracentrifugation in a zonal rotor the plasma lipoproteins in hypertriglyceridaemic patients on long-term haemodialysis. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Tertiary referred care centre. SUBJECTS: Ten consecutive hypertriglyceridaemic patients on haemodialysis and 12 consecutive healthy controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Plasma lipid and lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations, lipoprotein physical properties and compositions, apolipoprotein concentrations. RESULTS: Hypertriglyceridaemia in patients undergoing haemodialysis is characterized by an increased amount of small and slow floating very-low density lipoproteins (VLDL), higher concentrations of intermediate density lipoproteins (IDL) and small and dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles; reduced levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), in particular of HDL2. The lipoprotein composition of such patients indicates reduced cholesterol ester and increased triglyceride content. Compared to controls, they have lower levels of plasma apolipoprotein A-I and A-II and higher B, C-II, C-III and E values. CONCLUSIONS: The lipoprotein abnormalities observed in hypertriglyceridaemic patients undergoing haemodialysis have recently been associated with an increased incidence of vascular complications and may in part explain the high incidence of vascular disease reported in these subjects.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Loss of nocturnal increase in plasma concentration of atrial natriuretic peptide in hypertensive chronic renal failure.

Diurnal change of plasma atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) concentration was investigated in 12 patients with hypertension due to chronic renal failure (CRF) and in 12 patients with essential hypertension (EH) of comparable degree. Blood pressure (BP) monitoring was performed at 15-min intervals, while peripheral blood samples were obtained at 4-hour intervals starting from 8.00 h. The mean 24-hour plasma levels (+/- SEM) of ANP were 24.3 +/- 1.8 pmol/l in EH and 23.4 +/- 1.2 pmol/l in CRF. In EH, plasma ANP concentration was highest at 4.00 h (33.5 +/- 0.8 pmol/l) and lowest at 16.00 h (15.5 +/- 0.6 pmol/l). In CRF, no significant circadian change was present (22.2 +/- 3.1 and 20.4 +/- 3.6 pmol/l, respectively), and the nocturnal fall in BP was lost. Our data demonstrate that in CRF the loss and possible reversal of the nocturnal decline in BP is associated with the disappearance of any significant circadian variation in the circulating concentrations of ANP. These findings suggest a role for ANP in the alteration of BP variability of CRF, possibly mediated by autonomic dysfunction, and are further evidence for the existence of a relation between the circadian rhythms of ANP and BP.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Skin lesions in kidney transplant recipients.

A complete examination of the skin was performed in 53 kidney transplant recipients. Cutaneous lesions were detected in almost all patients. Papillomavirus infections, premalignant and malignant lesions represent the greatest risk for these patients. Our study underlines the importance of a continuous observation to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment of these lesions.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

A modelistic approach to evaluate the factors affecting the 137Cs transfer from mother to fetus in cattle.

The authors have analysed the relationship between 137Cs radioactivity and pregnancy in cattle with radiometric analysis of muscle, kidney and liver of 24 cattle at various stages of pregnancy, fed with fodder exposed to radioactive fall-out. Also the relative fetal muscle, kidney, liver and myocardium have been analysed. The automatic spectra analysis and the statistical one have given the following results: there is no correlation between 137Cs retention and the pregnancy stage in the cattle sampled; the absolute 137Cs concentration is always larger in the kidney than in the muscle (Km/Mm = 1.7), while it is just minor in minor in the liver (Lm/Mm = 0.8). The fetal concentration in muscle, kidney and liver is generally homogeneous, whereas the myocardium tends to retain more 137Cs in the first stages of the pregnancy as against the other tissues. In the last stage of pregnancy it presents a lower concentration. The authors have included the fetal body weight growth to get a more realistic description of the 137Cs transfer in the mother-fetus system; this approach enables to evaluate the kinetic constants so introduced.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Inhalation of a radioactively labeled monodisperse aerosol in rats for the assessment of regional deposition and clearance.

Unanesthesized male Sprague-Dawley rats, averaging 261 g of weight (s.d. = 9 g), were exposed to a radioactively (198Au) labeled monodisperse carnauba wax aerosol, whose AMMD was 0.54 micrometers with a sigma g of 1.1, to determined the alveolar deposition and clearance of particles. Results indicate that 74% of the initial lung burden is cleared in phase one with a T/2 of 11 hours. The remaining 26%, conventionally considered to be the alveolar deposit, is cleared with a T22 of 320 hours. Excised lungs from serial sacrifices have also been measured. The retention curve resulting form the pooled lung data per each day compared well with the curve of the whole animals counted in vivo.

Aerosols↗
PubMed1980

An indication on the biological variability of aerosol total deposition in humans.

A technique for the assessment of the total deposition efficiency, DE, in the human respiratory tract is described. It is based on the use of non-wettable solid spherical monodisperse particles in the 0.3 to 1.5 micron range and on the measurement of particle concentrations in the inhaled and exhaled air. The results of total deposition measurements as a function of particle size taken on 6 volunteers are presented. A wide variability has been found among the subjects; it is discussed and, in contrast with some literature data, there is no apparent correlation with normal expiratory reserve volumes, ERVN. Therefore at 0.6 micron the deposition has been measured at various ERV. The scatter of data is considerable, but it can be greatly reduced if the relative deposition (ratio of the effective DE to DEN, the deposition at "normal" volumes) is expressed as a function of the relative ERV, (the ratio of the effective ERV to the normal ERVN). Measurements have been performed with monodisperse and unipolarly charged particles on two subjects characterized by different DEN and ERVN. The contribution of electrostatic effects to deposition was not distinguishable in the two subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

[Calibration of selective samplers for respirable dust].

The AA., after a short introduction on the concepts of respirable dust consider the double stage selective samplers in the literature. They suggest three of them, which are all characterized by different suction flows; the features of separation of the dust in the air are documented by means of calibrated mixtures of aerosol. As to the penetration ACGIH curve, satisfactory results are obtainable fro the 12 mm sampler with a 10 l/min flow and for the 25.4 mm sampler with a 70 l/min flow. The tests achieved with the Dorr-Oliver 10 mm metal sampler do not agree with the above mentioned curve for a capacity included between 0.7 and 2.5 l/min.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed1975

On the deposition of unipolarly charged particles in the human respiratory tract.

The effect of unipolar electrostatic charges on the total deposition efficiency in the human respiratory tract has been investigated. Monodisperse carnauba wax particles of diameter between 0.3 and 1.1 micron were charged, in a corona discharge apparatus, with a number of elementary charges ranging from about 30 to 110 per particle, with a narrow distribution. The experiments were performed with volunteers breathing through the mouth at 12 resp/min at constant flow rate, without pauses. The increase in deposition was of the order of 15 to 30% relative to neutral but otherwise unchanged monodisperse aerosol. The increase depended on the charges carried by each particle, but was independent of the concentration. Therefore it may be concluded that the variation can be ascribed to the effect of electrostatic attraction between the particle charge and the image charge on the airway wall.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Failing hemodialysis arteriovenous fistula and percutaneous treatment: imaging with CT, MRI and digital subtraction angiography.

PURPOSE: To evaluate failing hemodialysis arteriovenous fistulas with helical CT angiography (CTA), MR angiography (MRA), and digital subtraction angiography (DSA), and to compare the efficacy of the three techniques in detecting the number, location, grade, and extent of stenoses and in assessing the technical results of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and stenting. METHODS: Thirteen patients with Brescia-Cimino arteriovenous fistula malfunction underwent MRA and CTA of the fistula and, within 1 week, DSA. A total of 11 PTAs were performed; in three cases an MR-compatible stent was placed. DSA served as the gold standard for comparison in all patients. The presence, site, and number of stenoses or occlusions and the technical results of percutaneous procedures were assessed with DSA, CTA, and MRA. RESULTS: MRA underestimated a single stenosis in one patient; CTA and MRA did not overestimate any stenosis. Significant artifacts related to stent geometry and/or underlying metal were seen in MRA sequences in two cases. CONCLUSIONS: CT and MRI can provide information regarding the degree of vascular impairment, helping to stratify patients into those who can have PTA (single or multiple stenoses) versus those who require an operative procedure (occlusion). Conventional angiography can be reserved for candidates for percutaneous intervention.

Aged↗