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Biomedical subjects

M Coletti

Publications and source records attributed to M Coletti.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Thoracic outlet syndrome in paediatrics: clinical presentation, surgical treatment, and outcome in a series of eight children.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: This report reviews the clinical presentation, surgical treatment, and outcome of 8 children treated for the thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) during the last 3 years. METHODS: From 1998 through 2001 31 patients were admitted to our Vascular Surgery Unit with TOS. Eight of them (25.8%) were in the paediatric age group, 8 to 16 years (mean, 13 years). No sex prevalence was found. The presenting symptoms were neurologic in 2 patients (25%) and secondary to venous flow impairment in 6 (75%). At phlebography, venous thrombosis was seen in 2 cases, and functional intermittent obstruction was seen in 4. Seven patients underwent decompressive surgical partial resection of the first rib with transaxillary or supraclavicular access. One patient was treated conservatively. RESULTS: There were no major postoperative complications. Mean hospital stay was 2.7 days. In no patient were there signs of recurrence after a mean follow-up of 18 months (range, 3 to 36 months). CONCLUSIONS: In the authors' experience TOS in paediatric patients occurs with the same symptoms and thrombotic complications as in adults. The same surgical strategy adopted in adult patients is advisable for affected children.

Adolescent↗

Early surgical management of Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome in childhood can prevent long-term haemodynamic effects of distal venous hypertension.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the authors' preliminary experience in early surgical treatment of distal venous hypertension (DVH) in children affected by Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS). METHODS: Clinical assessment, surgical management, and outcome of 29 children (18 girls, 11 boys) affected by KTS observed from October 1998 to October 2000 were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Patients ranged in age from 8 months to 17 years (median age at surgery, 10.3 years). The clinical findings are presented. Surgical treatments included stripping of persistent marginal vein (n = 16), multiple legation of bulky varicosities (n = 10), complementary sclerotherapy (n = 14) and laser photocoagulation (n = 13), and excision of associated lymphatic malformations (n = 5). No mortality or major postoperative morbidity occurred. Follow-up period ranged from 6 months to 2 years. CONCLUSION: These preliminary results suggest that early surgical management of DVH in KTS is safe and could be effective in preventing or minimising the long-term haemodynamic effects of DVH in absence of associated deep venous system anomalies.

Adolescent↗

The design and effectiveness of therapeutic community research in Europe: an overview.

An overview of the state of the art of research on the treatment services of the therapeutic community for drug addicts in Europe is presented. This research tradition has largely been fragmented and local in its implementation. There has been a scientific gap concerning evaluation research and the treatment services offered by the therapeutic community. The American research antecedents to the European tradition are reviewed. The essential European groups, research designs and results are presented for each country with something greater than an ad hoc study experience. The strengths and weaknesses of the research designs, results and organizations are critically assessed. Recommendations for future research are presented and referenced to specific recommendations for therapeutic community research coming out of an American National Institute on Drug Abuse Technical Review. Among the conclusions of the overview is the need for more qualitative phenomenological research to complement the existing quantitative approach.

Community Mental Health Services↗

Intramural mesenteric venulitis. A new cause of intestinal ischaemia.

Venous damage is an uncommon cause of intestinal ischaemia. We report on a 44-year-old woman who presented signs and symptoms of acute intestinal ischaemia requiring surgical treatment. Histological examination of the resected right colon showed features of an intramural lymphocytic venulitis with no other demonstrable causes of ischaemic injury of the bowel. Extramural mesenteric veins appeared dilated and congested, without evidence of thrombotic occlusion or of inflammatory involvement. The patient, who was not taking any long-term medication and had no clinical evidence of collagen-vascular disease, promptly recovered after surgery. Follow-up for 7 months with no recurrences suggested a self-limited or indolent process. We propose the name 'intramural mesenteric venulitis' for this condition and believe that it could represent one extreme (the microscopic variant or intramural phase) of the spectrum comprising entero-colic phlebitis and mesenteric inflammatory veno-occlusive disease. The immunohistochemical evidence of a marked preponderance of T phenotype in the perivenular lymphocytes suggests lymphocyte-mediated vascular damage as the pathogenesis of the lesion.

Adult↗

[Usefulness of microbial investigations in community-acquired pneumonia].

Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common and well known disease, however there is no definite agreement on a common diagnostic-therapeutic strategy. To evaluate the usefulness of microbial investigations in the clinical practice we performed a prospective study on 93 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of CAP. Group I consisted of 46 patients that underwent a diagnostic protocol including sputum, blood cultures and detection of specific antibodies against M. pneumoniae, adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and L. pneumophila. Group II consisted of 47 patients, in which only sputum samples were collected and cultured. No significant differences concerning the aetiologic diagnosis, the outcome and the length of hospitalization were observed in the two groups. The aetiological diagnosis was obtained in 17 patients (18.3%). As result of information obtained from microbiol tests, antibiotic therapy was changed only in 6 patients. Among the prognostic factors only a low albumin level was correlated with the length of hospitalization (p less than 0.01). From our data, the detection of microbial aetiology should not be routinely performed in patients with CAP, but should be reserved only to the severe forms.

Adult↗

[Uric acid analysis in thalassemia trait carriers].

The results of a uric acid analysis on Beta Thalassaemia Heterozygotes compared with healthy or microcytic non Beta Thalassaemia Heterozygotes are reported. Identical uric acid levels, higher than in the control group, were found in Beta Thalassaemia Heterozygotes: therefore the difference does not appear to be specific for thalassaemic carriers but consequent to increased erythrocytic catabolism in microcytic anemias.

Anemia↗

Thoracic outlet syndrome. Proposed protocol for diagnosis and treatment.

The clinical and aetiopathogenetic features of thoracic outlet syndrome are reviewed, and 51 cases treated by us over the last 10 years are analysed. A long-term follow-up (from 6 months to 10 years) was obtained in 24 patients, 19 of whom had been submitted to surgery. The long-term results were excellent or good in 15 patients and unchanged or worse in the remaining 9 cases. A careful retrospective survey of the history and clinical findings was carried out, including in particular the relevance of radiography of the cervical spine, EMG and Doppler tests. The type of surgery employed, which included both the supraclavicular and transaxillary approaches, was also taken into account. Based on this retrospective analysis the authors propose a protocol for diagnosis and treatment in a syndrome which is not always easy to interpret and which often crosses boundary lines in several specialist fields of medicine and surgery.

Adult↗

[Non-secretory plasmacytoma. Bibliographic review and immunohistochemical study of a case].

After a brief examination of the recent literature on non-secretory multiple myeloma, the Authors describe the immunohistologic study (peroxidase-antiperoxidase method) of a case of truly non producing plasmacytoma, interesting because of the presence of a small polyclonal plasma cell population within the neoplastic clone. Several possible explanations are considered.

Aged↗

[Plasma cell leukemia. Bibliographic review and ultrastructural study (by transmission and scanning electron microscopy) in 2 cases].

After a brief examination of the recent literature on plasma cell leukemia, the Authors describe the clinical features and the ultrastructural findings of the peripheral blood plasma cells, examined with transmission (T.E.M.) and scanning (S.E.M.) electron microscopes, of two patients with acute plasma cell leukemia. Both of them had a previous history of myeloma. T.E.M. confirmed the diagnostic value of the asynchronous plasma cells, and S.E.M. showed the characteristic microvilli and blebs, previously observed.

Aged↗

[Autoantibodies and respiratory allergy: immunologic case study].

Sera obtained from 212 patients with rhinopathy and/or asthma of allergic origin (pollens and/or mites) and from 87 apparently healthy controls were studied for the presence of organ and non organ specific autoantibodies. These were determined by indirect immunofluorescence techniques (5) using test tissue from monkeys (thyroid) and rats (stomach, liver and kidney). Two groups were matched for age and sex and the tests were performed using the double-blind method. The incidence observed was not dissimilar to that detected in healthy subjects, with the exclusion of smooth-muscle antibodies. These were present to a lesser extent in patients with respiratory allergies (0.94%) in contrast with the incidence of 5.73% in normal subjects (P less than 0.01). On the basis of our findings, it seems possible to hypothesize that allergic patients have a lesser tendency to autoimmune diseases because the immune system is committed to the IgE-mediated immunoreactions. In conclusion, autoantibodies do not seem to play a role in the pathogenesis of respiratory allergies to inhaled allergens.

Adult↗

[Hypocholesterolemia in multiple myeloma. Inverse relation to the component M and the clinical stage].

The following parameters were studied in 41 Durie & Salmon staged patients with multiple myeloma: M component, bone lesions, marrow plasma cell %, Hb, leukocytes/mm3, lymphocytes/mm3, platelets/mm3, blood calcium, serum albumin, blood creatinine, BUN, total blood cholesterol. Linear correlation was adopted for the relation between two variables, using Pearson's coefficient, and Student's t test for unpaired data for comparison between the means. A significant (slight to excellent) inverse correlation was noted between total blood cholesterol and the M component. There was also a significant difference between the 1st and 2nd stage of the disease in this respect (P less than 0.05), between the 1st and 3rd (P less than 0.01), and between the 1st and the 2nd and 3rd combined (P less than 0.01). Progress of the disease appears to result in a fall in blood cholesterol. This parameter may be of assistance in differentiating slow-progressing forms from the more aggressive forms requiring treatment. The reasons for this change are discussed. Since cholesterol is an essential part of the cell membranes, attention is given to theories postulating a disorder in intracellular membrane metabolism.

Blood Platelets↗

[Prognostic factors and response to chemotherapy in breast cancer. bibliographic review].

The recent literature on prognostic factors in breast cancer was examined with regard to: early or delayed diagnosis, age, menopause, tumour site and size, histological type and grading, involvement of lymph nodes, clinical stage, local recurrence, and distant metastasis. With respect to prognostic factors connected with the response to therapy, the following points were considered: menopause, involvement of lymph nodes, dimensions, clinical stage, free interval, performance and loss of weight, particular sites of metastasis, radiotherapy, oestrogen receptors, prior endocrine management, and certain body fluid parameters (haemoglobin, total lymphocytes, platelets, and white cells, albumin, LDH, SGOT, alkaline phosphatase, blood bilirubin and calcium). Radiotherapy appears to make patients less responsive to subsequent antiblastic treatment, whereas premenopausal status, good psychological and physical efficiency, and prior endocrine management seem to play a positive role in the response to chemotherapy.

Adult↗

Atrophy of the primary lymphoid organs of meat pigeons in Italy associated with circoviruslike particles in the bursa of Fabricius.

During a survey effected in a meat pigeon slaughterhouse of central Italy, atrophy of primary lymphoid organs (bursa of Fabricius and thymus) and hypoplasia of bone marrow were observed. Histologic, ultrastructural, and hematologic examinations were performed on a total of 80 randomly selected 30-day-old meat pigeons. By histologic studies, lymphocytic depletion and necrosis with cyst formations in the bursa of Fabricius were detected in all subjects that showed thymus and bursa atrophy at necropsy. Basophilic intranuclear inclusions were also observed in bursal cells. After ultrastructural studies, these inclusions were proved to be viral particles resembling circoviruslike particles in morphology and size. Severe lymphocytic depletion of the bursa was plausibly associated with the presence of the viral particles.

Animals↗

Retrospective ultramicroscopic investigation on naturally cryptosporidial-infected commercial turkey poults.

The morphometric characteristics and the ultramicroscopic findings of Cryptosporidium spp. at various stages of their life cycle in the intestinal and bursal epithelial cells of naturally infected 30-day-old commercial turkeys are reported. Small, sporulated oocysts, observed in the small intestinal content after flotation, were identified as Cryptosporidium meleagridis on the basis of morphometric characteristics (round in shape and 4.5-5.0 microm in size) and the small intestinal localization. Light section examinations revealed the presence of the protozoon in multiple organs, but its prevalence was highest in the intestinal and bursal epithelial cells. Ultramicroscopic studies on ileum and bursal samples showed the presence of all the life cycle stages in the microvillar brush epithelial cells in both the organs examined. On the basis of the comparison of the morphology and the sizes of the microorganisms parasitizing the ileum and the bursa, hypotheses are considered on the possible species involved.

Animals↗