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Luca Ampollini

Publications and source records attributed to Luca Ampollini.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Postoperative outcome of patients undergoing lung resection presenting with new-onset atrial fibrillation managed by amiodarone or diltiazem.

OBJECTIVE: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common complication after thoracic surgery. The objective of the study was to prospectively evaluate the postoperative outcome of patients undergoing lung resection and presenting with new onset of AF. The postoperative course of AF was also evaluated in relation to either amiodarone or diltiazem employed as anti-arrhythmic agents. METHODS: A prospective observational study during a 3-year period was designed to evaluate all patients presenting AF as a complication of anatomic lung resections. The absence of a history of heart rhythm disease was an inclusion criterion. Amiodarone was employed as the anti-arrhythmic drug during the first 18 months, and diltiazem in the second half of the study. Anti-arrhythmic drugs were started intravenously; when rhythm was restored or after 48h of treatment, they were administered orally. AF duration, recurrences and the postoperative outcome of patients were recorded. RESULTS: Thirty patients fulfilled inclusion criteria. No deaths occurred; median hospital stay was 10 days (range 6-37). AF presented as a solitary complication in 17 patients; in 10 patients it was associated with a respiratory complication and in the last three patients in one case each with pulmonary embolism, acute renal failure and chylothorax respectively. AF occurred on median post-operative day 2 (range: 1-9). Sinus rhythm restoration within the first 24h was observed in 11 (70%) out of the 15 patients receiving diltiazem and in 10 (67%) out of the 15 receiving amiodarone. After 48h, in 80% of patients in both groups cardioversion was achieved. AF recurrence occurred in 11 patients (37%). In 10 out of these 11 patients iterative intravenous treatment was attempted and in all a permanent cardioversion was achieved. Fisher's exact test indicated AF recurrence as being significantly correlated to the presence of a respiratory complication (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: Postoperative outcome of patients undergoing lung surgery with new onset of AF resulted as being significantly complicated by AF recurrence in the case of an associated respiratory complication. The pharmacological strategies tested during this pilot study led to no differences in the postoperative course of AF.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Thoracoscopic parietal pleural argon beam coagulation versus pleural abrasion in the treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax.

OBJECTIVE: The obliteration of pleural space is useful to prevent recurrences of spontaneous pneumothorax. We retrospectively compared the results of pleural argon beam coagulation versus pleural abrasion in the treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax. METHODS: Between 1996 and 2004, 136 patients underwent surgery for primary spontaneous pneumothorax, with 143 surgical procedures, all performed by VATS. Indications were recurrent pneumothorax in 107 patients, a complicated first episode in 29 and occupational activity in 7. Six patients were excluded because of postoperative histopathological diagnosis other than pulmonary emphysema. In 70 cases pleurodesis was performed with argon beam coagulation and in 67 by Marlex degrees mesh abrasion. These techniques were employed during two different periods. Median follow-up was 68 months in the Marlex degrees group and 41 in the argon group. The two groups resulted as being homogeneous for gender, age, smoking attitude and surgical indication. Statistical analysis was done with chi2 and Fisher's test. RESULTS: No postoperative mortality was observed. Mean recovery time was 5 days. There were three patients with postoperative bleeding who underwent re-operation. There were nine cases of prolonged air-leak, one needing surgical exploration. Nine recurrences were noted, all requiring surgery. Two recurrences were observed in the group treated by pleural abrasion (3.4%) and seven in the group treated by argon coagulation (10.7%). The Fisher's test failed to demonstrate a statistical significance between the two procedures in terms of recurrence rate (p=0.18). Multivariate analysis yielded no risk factors for recurrences. Postoperative complications resulted as being equally distributed in both groups. CONCLUSION: After primary spontaneous pneumothorax, pleurodesis induced by argon beam parietal pleural coagulation resulted as being no better than that obtained by pleural abrasion in the prevention of recurrences. No benefits in terms of postoperative complications resulted by use argon beam coagulation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Ectopic mediastinal parathyroid adenoma.

Ectopic mediastinal parathyroid adenomas may be cause of Primary Hyperparathyroidism (PH). The occurrence of these lesions is explainable on embryologic basis. We report the case of a 20-year-old patient with PH due to an ectopic mediastinal parathyroid adenoma located in the anterior mediastinum. After its accurate pre-operative localization, surgical resection through a cervical manubriotomy was performed. Serum calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels returned promptly within the normal range, no complications occurred and the patient was discharged in the 4th postoperative day. Different surgical approaches are discussed.

Adenoma↗