Biomedical subjects

Lucio Gullo

Publications and source records attributed to Lucio Gullo.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Acute pancreatitis in five European countries: etiology and mortality.

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, many advances have been made in the diagnosis and treatment of acute pancreatitis that have lead to a significant reduction in both morbidity and mortality; however, knowledge of the etiology and of the relation between etiology and mortality is far from complete. AIM: To obtain a more comprehensive view of the etiology and mortality of acute pancreatitis in Europe than has been given by previous single-center studies. METHODOLOGY: The study comprised 1,068 patients in five European countries who were admitted to hospitals for acute pancreatitis from January 1990 to December 1994. Data for each patient were collected on a standardized form. RESULTS: Of the 1,068 patients (692 men, 376 women; mean age, 52.8 years; range, 10-95 years), 589 had edematous pancreatitis, and 479 the necrotic form. Cholelithiasis (37.1%) and alcohol (41.0%) were the most frequent etiologic factors. In Germany, cholelithiasis and alcohol occurred with similar frequency (34.9 and 37.9%, respectively); in Hungary, alcohol predominates over cholelithiasis (60.7 vs. 24.0%); in France, a small predominance of alcohol was seen (38.5 vs. 24.6%); and in Greece and Italy, there was a clear predominance of cholelithiasis over alcohol (71.4 vs. 6.0% and 60.3 vs. 13.2%, respectively). The differences in the frequency of cholelithiasis and alcohol between Greece and Italy and the other countries were statistically significant (p < 0.01). Eighty-three patients (7.8%) died of acute pancreatitis; 77 (16.1%) had necrotic disease and 6 (1.0%) edematous. There was no statistically significant difference in mortality among the etiologic groups, and no relation was found between mortality and age. CONCLUSION: Both cholelithiasis and alcohol were main etiologic factors in the more northern countries studied, whereas cholelithiasis alone predominated in the more southern ones. Mortality was high for necrotic pancreatitis; it was similar among the various etiologic groups, and there was no relationship between mortality and age.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2002

An update on recurrent acute pancreatitis: data from five European countries.

OBJECTIVE: A great number of studies have been published on acute pancreatitis, but few have focused on the recurrent form. In this study, we have sought to determine the relative frequency and mortality of recurrent acute pancreatitis, and also to update our knowledge of its etiological factors. METHODS: Patients were selected from a total of 1068 persons included in a previous European study of acute pancreatitis. All were admitted to a hospital with an attack of acute pancreatitis between January, 1990 and December, 1994. Data for each patient was recorded on a standardized form. RESULTS: Of the 1068 with acute pancreatitis, 288 (27%) had recurrent pancreatitis; the majority (78.8%) were men, with a mean age of 43 yr (range 16-95 yr). Regarding etiology, alcohol was the most frequent factor (57%), followed by gallstones (25%), other factors (7.6%), and no identified factor (10.4%). Of the 288 patients, 17 (5.9%) died, all of whom had necrotizing pancreatitis; among all of the patients with necrotizing pancreatitis (141 of 288), the mortality was 12.1%. These percentages are lower than those for patients who had a single attack (8.5% and 18.6%, respectively), but not to a statistically significant degree. Mortality was significantly lower among patients with alcoholic pancreatitis (6.9%) than among those with biliary (30%) (p < 0.002) or idiopathic pancreatitis (25%) (p < 0.04). Most of the deaths (82.4%) occurred at the second attack of pancreatitis. CONCLUSION: Acute recurrent pancreatitis remains a frequent disease, with alcohol being the most frequent etiological factor. Mortality is similar to that of a single episode of acute pancreatitis, and it is significantly lower among patients with alcohol as the etiology.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2002

Carcinoid of the pancreas.

Pancreatic carcinoids are very rare and usually have a poor prognosis. We describe a case of a pancreatic carcinoid with liver micrometastases in a female of 54 years of age in whom the tumor was without pronounced symptoms apart from rare episodes of flushing. The patient had been treated since November 1995 with the somatostatin analogue octreotide 200 micrograms twice daily for the first 2 years, with the long-acting analogue lanreotide 30 mg every 10 days for the following year, and then with octreotide LAR 20 mg every 28 days until the present. The flushing episodes disappeared completely, and the patient was well. Moreover, the dimensions of the tumor and the liver micrometastases remained stable during the observation period. As far as we known, this is the first case of a pancreatic carcinoid treated successfully with somatostatin analogues and having a satisfactory prognosis.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

PubMed2002

Apoptosis in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells as a self-limitation process in human acute pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Acute pancreatitis is primed and sustained by a chain of immuno-inflammatory factors. In this study, we investigated the possible existence of peripheral blood mononuclear cell apoptosis as a self-limitation mechanism in acute pancreatitis. METHODS: Peripheral blood mononuclear cell apoptosis was determined cytofluorometrically daily for 10 days from the onset of the illness in 27 consecutive patients (18 having mild uncomplicated acute pancreatitis and 9 having pancreatitis with complications) and was related to peripheral blood counts, including reticulocytes and reticulocyte fractions, and albumin, fibrinogen, and C-reactive protein levels. RESULTS: In the 18 patients with uncomplicated acute pancreatitis, the rate of peripheral blood apoptosis increased progressively until days 5-6 and then decreased. The 9 patients who developed complications showed levels of peripheral blood apoptosis stable across the five periods and lower than those with uncomplicated disease during the first four periods. This difference was statistically significant (p = 0.002) only on days 7-8. On days 9-10, the patients with complications showed higher levels of peripheral blood apoptosis than those with mild uncomplicated acute pancreatitis (p = 0.0005). Peripheral blood apoptosis was not significantly related to the other laboratory parameters, but there was a trend towards an inverse relation to reticulocytes and total leucocytes (p < 0.09). CONCLUSIONS: Peripheral blood apoptosis may act as a mechanism of self-limitation of the process of acute pancreatitis. Its effects, however, seem to be hampered and delayed by the presence of complications.

Acute Disease↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A search for acute necrotic pancreatitis in early stages of alcoholic chronic pancreatitis.

OBJECTIVES: Various investigators believe that alcoholic chronic pancreatitis is the result of recurrent episodes of acute necrotic pancreatitis. The aim of this work is to study pancreatic histology in early stages of the disease to search for evidence of these acute episodes. STUDY: Of about 650 patients with alcoholic pancreatitis seen during the 30-year period from 1972 to 2002, 45 underwent surgery for this disease, all within 2 years of clinical onset. Of these 45, tissue samples adequate for study were obtained from 42, and this was the study material. Tissue samples were prepared for histologic examination by standard procedures. RESULTS: Areas of pancreatic necrosis were seen in tissue samples of only three (7%) of the 42 patients, and in all three cases chronic lesions were also present. No evidence of localized scarring that could be attributed to prior episodes of focal necrotic pancreatitis was found. A typical feature was the patchy distribution of the lesions in largely normal pancreatic tissue. The main lesions observed were perilobular and intralobular fibrosis, dilation of acini and ducts, and protein plugs in dilated ducts surrounded by periductal fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that, in the early stages of alcoholic chronic pancreatitis, signs of acute necrotic pancreatitis are very infrequent and, when present, they are associated with chronic lesions. These findings suggest that alcoholic pancreatitis begins as a chronic disease.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of intravenous infusion of amino acids on pancreatic secretion.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The effect of intravenous administration of amino acids on exocrine pancreatic secretion is controversial. Since amino acids are used in parenteral nutrition of patients with acute pancreatitis or other pancreatic diseases, it seemed useful to establish whether or not they affect pancreatic secretion. METHODOLOGY: Four patients having an external transduodenal drainage of the main pancreatic duct performed after sphincteroplasty for common bile duct stones were studied. Two of them had undergone a Billroth II gastrectomy in the past. Pancreatic secretion was stimulated with low doses of secretin (0.1 CU/kg/h) and cerulein (10 ng/kg/h); after 75 min of stimulation, when pancreatic secretion was stable, a solution of L-amino acids (Freamine III 8.5%) was infused intravenously at a rate of 150 mL/h, for two hours. The volume of pancreatic secretion, bicarbonate and total protein was measured. RESULTS: The infusion of amino acids did not cause significant changes in pancreatic secretion. However, considering the results individually, they caused a clear increase of pancreatic secretion, mainly of bicarbonates (mean increase of 36%) in the two subjects who had not undergone previous surgical procedures and no increase in the two who had had a Billroth II gastrectomy. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that intravenous administration of amino acids stimulates exocrine pancreatic secretion in normal subjects but not in those who underwent previous gastrectomy. This stimulatory effect could be mediated by stimulation of gastric acid. This effect should be taken into consideration when amino acids are used in patients with acute pancreatitis or other pancreatic disorders.

Aged↗