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Biomedical subjects

M Munari

Publications and source records attributed to M Munari.

36 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

EEG monitoring of carotid endarterectomy with routine patch-graft angioplasty: an experience in a large series.

Four hundred and thirty-nine carotid endarterectomies (CEAs) with routine use of patchgraft angioplasty were performed in 375 patients; the indwelling shunt was used only in patients showing clamp-related EEG abnormalities. Five patients showed EEG abnormalities just after head positioning, which reversed after removal of head hyperextension; three cases suffered EEG flattening due to severe bradycardia or cardiac arrest before carotid clamping, which promptly reversed after treatment. Clamp-related EEG abnormalities appeared in 106 operations (24.2%) and all reversed after the insertion of the indwelling shunt; patients with occlusion of the contralateral internal carotid artery showed a 68.8% rate of EEG clamp-related changes. The short term follow-up (one month after the operation) showed six minor strokes with complete recovery (1.37%), one intraoperative stroke (0.23%), three delayed major strokes (0.69%) and three neurological deaths (0.69%). The long-term follow-up over an average of 42 months showed a 3.7% rate of relevant neurological complications (ie permanent deficits + death) and a 3.16% rate significant restenosis or occlusion of the operated carotid artery. Our results show that the routine use of EEG monitoring and patch-graft angioplasty allow to perform CEAs with a very high degree of safety, improving the clinical course of the disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Spatial mapping of SEP in comatose patients: improved outcome prediction by combined parietal N20 and frontal N30 analysis.

The aim of this study is to evaluate whether SEP spatial mapping can improve outcome prediction in comparison to the conventional SEP recordings. Twenty patients comatose as a result of head injury or cerebral vascular disorders were submitted to 19-channel SEP mapping from median nerve stimulation. SEP recording were performed within the 4th hospital day in 18 cases and over one month from the insult in the remaining two. Nine patients (45%) showed a good recovery or a mild disability, 3 (15%) a severe disability and the rest (40%) died or remained in a vegetative state. Five patients (28%) had bilaterally normal SEP, 5 (28%) the absence of both parietal N20 and frontal N30, while the others (44%) had a dissociation N20/N30 (namely, preserved N20 with absent N30). The SEP mapping was significantly related to the outcome (P = 0.0087) and improved the outcome prediction in comparison to the conventional SEP recordings, allowing to check the presence of frontal N30: in patients with bilaterally present N20 the outcome appeared to depend upon the N30. SEP mapping proved to be a far superior prognostic indicator than the Glasgow Coma Scale. In 3 patients with midline shift on CT scan an abnormal spatial distribution of N20 was disclosed by SEP mapping. Our preliminary results suggest that SEP mapping may improve the assessment of comatose patients in comparison to the use of parietal derivations only.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Short latency evoked potentials: new criteria for brain death?

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the auditory brain stem responses (ABR) and short latency somatosensory potentials (SEP) from median nerve stimulation are effective tools in the confirmation of brain death. Thirty six brain dead patients were submitted to ABR and 24 to SEP in the same session. All waves of the ABR were absent in 28 (77.8 per cent) patients, while only wave I was present in the others (22.2 per cent). In SEP recordings the components later than P13 were absent in 17 (70.8 per cent) of cases; in the remaining seven patients (29.2 per cent) a N13/P13 dissociation (namely, retention of the cervical N13 and absence of the far-field P13) was found. The results suggest that SEP and ABR are reliable tools in the diagnosis of brain death and should be included in the criteria: they enable the functional status of two pathways in the brainstem to be checked, which cannot be explored by the clinical examination.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Serial recordings of auditory brainstem responses in severe head injury: relationship between test timing and prognostic power.

ABRs have proved to be very accurate prognostic indicators in severe head injury, even when predictions are based on single ABR recordings. In this study we submitted 30 severely head-injured patients to serial ABR recordings (during the clinical course of posttraumatic coma) in order to verify whether the ABR prognostic power may depend on test timing in relation to the injury. 15 patients (50%) died, 5 (16.7%) remained vegetative, 2 (6.6%) severely disabled and 8 (26.7%) recovered. All recovered patients had normal ABR throughout clinical course, while severely disabled and vegetative patients showed at least transently ABR abnormalities (namely, an interpeak latency of waves V-I greater than 4.48 ms). Among dead patients, 8 showed steady and 3 transient ABR abnormalities during the clinical course, while 2 of 3 patients with normal ABR dead from extracranial complications. ABRs were significantly related to the outcome at any time, but gave more accurate prognostic indications on days 3-6 after the injury. The use of serial ABR recordings appeared to improve the outcome predictions in comparison with single ABR tests. Finally our result confirm the previously reported existance of a breakpoint between reversible brainstem dysfunction and irreversible brainstem damage defined by an IPL V-I of about 4.50 ms.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sensorimotor central conduction time in comatose patients.

Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) following magnetic stimulation were recorded in 22 patients comatose as a result of head injury (13 cases), stroke (7 cases) or anoxia (2 cases). Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) from median nerve were recorded as well in 19 cases in the same session. Thirteen patients died or remained vegetative (59.1%), 3 were severely disabled (13.6%) and 6 showed a good recovery (27.3%). MEPs were significantly related to the outcome; they appeared to be a more accurate prognostic indicator than the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). However, 1 out of 6 patients with bilaterally absent MEPs (16.7%) showed a good recovery. SEPs were significantly related to the outcome as well, but the combined use of SEP and MEP improved the outcome prediction, decreasing the rate of false negatives. Two patients had normal sensorimotor function, 13 a combined sensorimotor dysfunction, while 4 had a pure motor dysfunction. Our results suggest that SEPs and MEPs may improve the assessment of sensorimotor dysfunction in comatose patients. A significant relationship between MEPs and outcome appears to exist, but the assessment of MEP reliability requires further study.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Left ventricular volume reduction for end-stage heart disease.

Partial left ventriculectomy (PLV) was recently introduced for end-stage dilated cardiomyopathy to improve ventricular function. Since November 1996 we have performed PLV in 14 patients; preoperatively 4 patients had idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and 10 had ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. 57.1% of patients were in New York Heart Association functional Class IV. The mitral valve was replaced in 11 patients. Postoperative echocardiography showed a reduction of left end-diastolic diameter (55.4 +/- 5.4 mm) and an increase in forward ejection (cardiac index from 2.19 +/- 0.571 min/m2 to 2.67 +/- 0.931/min/m2). The 30-day mortality was 28.6% and 20-month survival was 57.2%. Only one patient was not in NYHA functional class due to postoperative progressive mitral incompetence. Prognostic factors should be identified to avoid early failure. However, even if the mortality rate for PLV high, this operation is a valid choice for the treatment of end-stage dilated cardiomyopathy.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Auditory and somatosensory evoked potentials in brain-dead patients.

The short latency evoked potentials, allowing to assess the brain stem's function, can supply useful information in the diagnosis of Brain Death (BD). 15 BD patients were submitted to the auditory brain stem response (ABR); in 7 cases somatosensory evoked potentials from the medial nerve (SEP) were also recorded. The ABR was absent in 11 cases (73.3%), while in 3 cases only the I wave was present (20%); in one case the low-voltage I-V waves were present. Regarding the SEP, in 3 cases (42.9%) only the N9-N13 and P9-P13 waves were present, while in another 3 cases (42.9%) a N13/P13 dissociation was observable. In the remaining case, which presented a still reproducible I-V interval, the SEP was normal, thus excluding the diagnosis of BD. The ABR and the SEP, which are not roughly influenced by general anaesthetics and sedatives, are thus helpful in diagnosing BD. The SEP seems able to supply useful information more frequently than the ABR, but their combined use can guarantee maximum security of excluding false positives.

Adolescent↗