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Biomedical subjects

K G Evans

Publications and source records attributed to K G Evans.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Surgical management of adenocarcinoma of the cardia.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of adenocarcinoma of the cardia is increasing. The surgical management remains controversial. The present study reviews our experience with surgically resected adenocarcinoma of the cardia. METHODS: A retrospective review of 153 cases of surgically resected adenocarcinoma of the cardia was performed. Preoperative radiotherapy was used in 31 patients. The surgical approach, morbidity, mortality, impact of preoperative radiotherapy, and survival were determined. RESULTS: The type of resection performed was a transhiatal esophagogastrectomy in 78%, a transthoracic esophagogastrectomy in 21%, and a transabdominal esophagogastrectomy in 1%. The in-hospital mortality rate was 4%. The frequency of complications was not associated with the use of preoperative radiotherapy or surgical approach. The 1-year (61%), 2-year (38%), 3-year (23%), and 5-year (16%) survival were not affected by the use of preoperative radiotherapy or surgical approach. Survival was significantly associated with stage and the presence of lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: Adenocarcinoma of the cardia is associated with a poor long-term prognosis. The long-term survival does not appear to be affected by the use of preoperative radiotherapy or by surgical approach.

Adenocarcinoma

Pulmonary nodules: differential diagnosis using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose single-photon emission computed tomography.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to prospectively evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) for differentiating malignant from benign pulmonary nodules. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty-six patients with 28 radiologically indeterminate focal pulmonary lesions were examined. Fasting patients were injected with 5 MBq/kg of FDG (maximum dose, 370 MBq). Imaging was performed with dual-head SPECT cameras equipped with 511-keV collimators. RESULTS: Seventeen of 21 pathologically malignant nodules showed FDG uptake on SPECT imaging (sensitivity, 81%). None of the seven benign modules showed uptake (specificity, 100%). SPECT imaging with FDG was positive in all 16 malignant nodules that were larger than or equal to 2 cm in diameter. However, only one (20%) of five nodules smaller than 2 cm in diameter showed positive on SPECT imaging. CONCLUSION: Using current technology, we found FDG SPECT imaging useful for distinguishing benign from malignant pulmonary nodules that were larger than or equal to 2 cm in diameter. However, because of the relatively low sensitivity of SPECT, smaller malignant nodules were not adequately revealed.

Deoxyglucose

Gastrointestinal function following esophagectomy for malignancy.

BACKGROUND: The frequency and causes of gastrointestinal complications following esophagectomy for malignancy are unknown. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed 295 esophagectomies performed for malignancy between January 1980 and September 1994 in order to determine the frequency and causes of early and late gastrointestinal complications. RESULTS: Compared to transhiatal and left thoracoabdominal esophagectomies, esophagectomies carried out through a right posterolateral thoracotomy with cervical esophagogastric anastomosis had a higher incidence of delayed gastric emptying (11%), pneumonia (26%), and hospital death (9%). The same operation had a higher incidence of gastroesophageal reflux (20%) and dysphagia requiring esophageal dilatation (53%). We found no independent effect of gastric drainage procedures, feeding jejunostomy, preoperative radiotherapy, pathology, or age on these outcomes. Women had no operative mortality, but a higher incidence of gastroesophageal reflux and diarrhea following esophagectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical techniques aimed at improving gastric emptying following esophagectomy for cancer should improve operative morbidity and mortality.

Adenocarcinoma

Transhiatal esophagectomy for carcinoma of the esophagus and cardia. Experience with 160 cases.

We reviewed our experience from 1979 to 1990 with 160 cases of transhiatal esophagectomy for carcinoma of the lower esophagus and cardia to evaluate trends in patient selection, management, and outcome. Patients treated in the past 6 years (n = 110) and those treated before 1985 (n = 50) were similar in terms of age and sex distribution, medical history, and weight loss. The majority of tumors seen were adenocarcinoma, with patients in the latter group having significantly lower stages. Significant decreases in anesthetic time, units of blood transfusions, chest tube insertions, length of postoperative ventilation, incidence of postoperative pneumonia, and length of hospital stay were seen during the past 6 years. Wound infections increased significantly during the same period. The decrease in the 30-day mortality rate from 6% to 0.9% was not significant. Survival rates did not differ between groups, with overall rates of 62%, 40%, and 21% at 1, 2, and 5 years, respectively.

Adenocarcinoma

Patient-controlled lumbar epidural fentanyl compared with patient-controlled intravenous fentanyl for post-thoracotomy pain.

Thirty-four patients undergoing thoracotomy were entered into a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to compare the effects of patient-controlled, lumbar epidural (PCA-E) fentanyl with patient-controlled intravenous (PCA-i.v.) fentanyl with respect to drug requirements, analgesic efficacy and respiratory function. Prior to chest closure patients received fentanyl 2 micrograms.kg-1 by the epidural or i.v. route. In the recovery room further doses of epidural or i.v. fentanyl, 50 micrograms, were administered by the patients who controlled two PCA pumps. Background fentanyl infusion rates were increased by 10 micrograms.hr-1 each time the patient administered a drug bolus and were decreased by 10 micrograms.hr-1 whenever visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores were less than 2 on a maximum 10 scale. Twenty-nine patients completed the study. Patients in the PCA-E group (n = 14) required less total fentanyl than those in the PCA-i.v. (n = 15) group (1857 +/- 693 micrograms vs 2573 +/- 890 micrograms respectively, P less than 0.05). Fentanyl infusion rates were lower in the PCA-E group at most measurement times. There were no differences between groups in respiratory rates, PaCO2, VAS pain scores or changes in pulmonary function as measured by FVC and FEV1. It is concluded that satisfactory patient-controlled analgesia can be achieved with both epidural and i.v. fentanyl after thoracotomy but that fentanyl requirements are less when given via the epidural route. This supports a direct spinal cord site of action for lumbar epidural fentanyl.

Analgesia, Epidural

Esophagogastrectomy and the variant left hepatic artery.

A variant left hepatic artery occurs at a rate of approximately 10%. In standard esophagogastrectomy and some proximal gastric operations this variant artery is sacrificed, which has led to reported fatalities secondary to hepatic necrosis. We report our method of esophagogastrectomy in the presence of an aberrant left hepatic artery.

Esophagectomy

Effect of routine fibrin glue use on the duration of air leaks after lobectomy.

The effectiveness of fibrin glue as a sealant to reduce postoperative air leaks after pulmonary lobectomy was evaluated in 28 consecutive patients between November 1988 and May 1989. A fibrin glue spray was used in 14 patients, and 14 patients served as controls. Assignment of either group was made before thoracotomy. Nine male and 5 female patients with a mean age of 63.8 years were in the fibrin glue experimental group, and 8 male and 6 female patients with a mean age of 59 years, in the control group. An equal number of complete and incomplete fissures were in each group. All fissures were handled in the same way (stapled). Two milliliters of fibrin glue was applied through a double-syringe delivery system and sprayed on the staple line and any cut surface of the inflated lung just before thoracotomy closure. The fibrin glue-treated group had a mean air leak duration of 2.3 +/- 3.7 days, chest tube drains for 6 +/- 4.1 days, and a postoperative hospitalization of 9.8 +/- 3.1 days. The control group had a mean air leak duration of 3.3 +/- 3.3 days (p = 0.94), chest tube drains for 5.9 +/- 3.9 days (p = 0.95), and a postoperative hospitalization of 11.5 +/- 3.9 days (p = 0.21). We conclude that the routine use of a fixed quantity of fibrin glue is not effective in reducing the duration of air leaks, chest tube drainage, or hospitalization after uncomplicated pulmonary lobectomy.

Air

Pulmonary capillary blood volume in emphysema.

We determined single breath diffusing capacity (DLCO) and pulmonary capillary blood volume (Vc) in a total of 110 patients, who were being evaluated for resectional lung surgery for a localized tumor or lesion. Pathologic assessment of emphysema was obtained in 55 cases who had resection of a lung or an upper lobe, based on a standard reference panel for emphysema grading. In 86 cases, the extent of emphysema was quantitated by computed tomography (CT) of the chest. There was a significant negative correlation between Vc and emphysema assessed by either pathology or CT (r = about -0.5, p less than 0.001) similar to the correlation between DLCO and the extent of emphysema. Results of Vc were significantly lower in cases with moderate emphysema (pathologic grade greater than or equal to 30) than those with no emphysema (grade less than or equal to 5) (p less than 0.001) or mild emphysema (grade 10 to 25) (p less than 0.05), and they were significantly lower (p less than 0.05) in the group with mild emphysema compared with the group with no emphysema on pathologic assessment similar to DLCO results. Although Vc was reduced in emphysema, determination of Vc did not result in improved discrimination in separating cases with emphysema from those without emphysema when compared with DLCO.

Adult

Chest-wall tumours.

Between August 1984 and October 1988, 7 women and 16 men underwent chest-wall resection. The 23 patients ranged in age from 17 to 79 years. Resection was done for benign lesions in 9 patients, for recurrent chest-wall sarcoma in 4 and for carcinoma involving the chest wall in 10. The number of ribs resected ranged from none to six. Prosthetic material was required for reconstruction in eight patients. There were no operative deaths and no flail segments developed postoperatively. Three patients have since died of metastatic disease, one has died of unrelated causes but with no residual disease and the remainder were alive and well at follow-up intervals ranging from 11 to 60 months. Aggressive resection, including a wide margin of healthy tissue, provides the best chance for recurrence-free survival for patients with many types of chest-wall tumour. Resection can be performed with low morbidity and satisfactory cosmetic results.

Adolescent

Neuroendocrine carcinomas of the lung: clinical, radiologic, and pathologic correlation.

Neuroendocrine carcinomas of the lung are characterized by differentiation toward Kulchitsky cells and are classified as Kulchitsky-cell carcinoma (KCC) I (classic carcinoid), KCC II (atypical carcinoid), and KCC III (small-cell carcinoma). The clinical, computed tomographic (CT), and pathologic findings in 31 patients with KCC were reviewed. KCC I lesions generally occurred in younger (56 years +/- 18) nonsmoking women, were small (1.8 cm +/- 0.7 in diameter on CT scans), and were associated with lymphadenopathy in one of ten patients. KCC II tumors were found predominantly in older (66 years +/- 12) smoking men and were larger (3.9 cm +/- 1.3 in diameter, P less than .001); four of ten patients had CT evidence of lymphadenopathy. KCC III tumors occurred in older (66 years +/- 8) smoking men and were large (4.2 cm +/- 1.0); 11 of 11 patients had massive lymphadenopathy. Clinical, radiologic, or pathologic overlap was noted in three patients. Sputum cytologic and fine-needle and bronchoscopic biopsy findings were often nondiagnostic or misleading, particularly for KCC II lesions. CT of the chest provides additional discriminating information in the preoperative diagnosis of neuroendocrine lung carcinomas.

Aged

Comparison of single breath carbon monoxide diffusing capacity and pressure-volume curves in detecting emphysema.

To evaluate the sensitivity of diffusing capacity (DLCO) and pressure-volume (P-V) curves in the detection of emphysema, these tests were compared with pathologic assessment of emphysema in patients undergoing lung resection for a localized tumor, and with the overall extent of emphysema as assessed by computed tomography (CT). The resected lung specimens were fixed in the inflated state and cut at 1-cm intervals in the horizontal plane. The pathologic extent of emphysema was quantitated by comparison with a standard reference panel of emphysema grading. The overall extent of emphysema on CT was assessed by a visual scoring system in a total of 55 patients, 19 undergoing lung resection and 36 not undergoing lung resection. Analysis of 37 patients by pathology scores revealed 18 with no or trivial emphysema (emphysema grades less than or equal to 5; mean grade, 2.2 +/- SD 2.6) and 19 with emphysema (grades greater than or equal to 10; mean grade, 33.2 +/- SD 24.2). Diffusing capacity, the ratio of DLCO to alveolar volume (DLCO/VA), maximal lung elastic recoil (PLmax), and lung elastic recoil at 90% of total lung capacity (PL90) were significantly different between the two groups, whereas K (the exponential constant describing the shape of the P-V curve) was not. The pathology grade of emphysema showed a significant correlation with (DLCO) (r = -0.53) and DLCO/VA (r = -0.55), which was greater than the correlation with PLmax (r = -0.42) and PL90 (r = -0.43).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult

Multicentricity of adenocarcinoma of the lung.

In a consecutive series of 62 lung resections for bronchogenic adenocarcinoma, 12 patients (19 percent) were found to have two or more adenocarcinomas on careful pathologic examination. These tumors all met the criteria for separate primary malignancy. In only two of the patients were the additional lesions suspected preoperatively. This incidence of multiple primary lung adenocarcinomas in apparently operable patients is several fold higher than would be anticipated from the literature. The phenomenon has important implications for preoperative radiologic evaluation, postoperative pathologic examination, assignment of TNM stage, and clinical follow-up of patients undergoing successful resection.

Adenocarcinoma

Primary anterior mediastinal tumours: "an investigational algorithm".

A review of 33 months' experience with primary anterior mediastinal masses in 31 patients disclosed that in 9 (29%) the tumour was benign. Nineteen (86%) of the 22 malignant tumours and only 2 of the 9 benign tumours were symptomatic. Diagnosis was established by histopathologic examination of a biopsy specimen or resected tissue and serum radioimmunoassay for alpha-fetoprotein or human chorionic gonadotropin, beta-subunit. The authors present an investigational algorithm, using modern procedures, to facilitate the diagnosis of this relatively uncommon and challenging condition.

Adolescent

Glandular neoplasia of the lung. A proposed analogy to colonic tumors.

In 62 consecutive resections for adenocarcinoma of the lung, 50 cases (81%) had single adenocarcinomas and 12 (19%) had multiple adenocarcinomas. In seven of these 12 patients, two adenocarcinomas were found. In the other five patients, the specimen contained a dominant adenocarcinoma and several 0.1- to 1-cm nodules of similar histologic appearance. In four of the 50 single tumor patients and one of seven double tumor patients, 1- to 2-mm nodules were found along with adenocarcinomas that we interpreted as being bronchioloalveolar tumors of uncertain malignant potential. An analogy is drawn between these four types of findings and single tumors of the colon, double tumors of the colon, polyposis syndromes, and tubular adenomas of the colon, respectively.

Adenocarcinoma

Resectable stage III lung cancer: CT, surgical, and pathologic correlation.

The new International Staging System identifies a subset of patients with stage III lung cancer who have improved survival rates after surgical resection. The computed tomographic (CT), surgical, and pathologic findings in 26 patients with completely resected stage IIIa lung cancer were reviewed. Preoperative CT scans accurately demonstrated chest wall invasion in only two of ten patients with chest wall or diaphragmatic invasion. CT demonstrated pericardial involvement in only one of three patients. Tumor extension to within 2 cm of the tracheal carina was seen with CT in one of three patients. Eleven of 26 patients had limited ipsilateral mediastinal (N2) disease; eight of 11 had affected nodes greater then 10 mm on CT scans. As previously shown, CT is of limited value in the assessment of chest wall, mediastinal, pleural, or pericardial tumor extension; however, such extension does not preclude complete resection. Ipsilateral node involvement does not preclude surgery. Familiarity with the new staging system and awareness of what constitutes potentially resectable disease are necessary for an adequate assessment of CT findings.

Adult

Mediastinal nodes in bronchogenic carcinoma: comparison between CT and mediastinoscopy.

Computed tomography (CT) and mediastinoscopy were compared in 151 patients with bronchogenic carcinoma. In all patients in whom findings at mediastinoscopy were negative, all accessible nodes were either removed or sampled at thoracotomy. Several size criteria for identifying nodes as enlarged on CT scans were compared. The long axis greater than or equal to 15 mm and short axis greater than 10 mm had very low sensitivity (61%), and the long axis greater than 5 mm had a low specificity (23%). CT (long axis greater than 10 mm) allowed sensitivity equal to that of mediastinoscopy (79%) in the detection of mediastinal metastases, but the specificity with CT was lower (65% vs. 100%). In seven of 44 patients with nodes greater than 10 mm on CT scans and with positive findings at mediastinoscopy, tumor was present not in the enlarged nodes but rather in normal-sized nodes in a different nodal station. The sensitivity of CT for actual nodal stations involved with tumor was only 66%. Eighty-three percent of patients with false-negative findings at mediastinoscopy but only 33% of patients with false-negative findings at CT had surgically resectable stage IIIa disease.

Carcinoma, Bronchogenic