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Biomedical subjects

N Rotman

Publications and source records attributed to N Rotman.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Physicians' implementation of dietitians' recommendations: a study of the effectiveness of dietitians.

OBJECTIVE: To determine how often dietitians' recommendations were implemented by physicians and to identify workplace and demographic factors that correlated with successful implementation of recommendations. DESIGN: A cohort of hospitals was surveyed by mail. Dietitians recorded recommendations written in five consecutive medical record entries and sent them to the chief clinical dietitian. Seventy-two hours later, physicians' order sheets were reviewed to assess implementation. Dietitians completed demographic questionnaires. SUBJECTS: Forty-four general hospitals in Philadelphia and the surrounding area were surveyed. To ensure similar standards of nutrition care, only hospitals approved by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations were selected. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS PERFORMED: chi 2, Fisher's exact test, and the Kruskall-Wallis test were used to correlate demographic variables with implementation rate. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Implementation of the dietitians' recommendations by physicians' orders. RESULTS: Responses were obtained from 35 of the 44 hospitals and 98 (70%) of the clinical dietitians. Of the 865 recommendations, 42% were implemented. Significantly higher implementation rates were noted for recommendations solicited by (50%) or discussed with the physician (65%). Dietitians were more successful in teaching hospitals and when they reported to a hospital-operated foodservice rather than a contract foodservice. Success correlated with a lower workload when measured by the ratio of admissions to staff but not when measured by the ratio of beds to staff. CONCLUSIONS: Dietitians could have a greater effect on nutrition care by discussing recommendations with physicians. Further research is needed about staffing formulas and methods to improve the effectiveness of dietitians.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

The recipient splenic artery for arterialization in orthotopic liver transplantation.

Adequate hepatic arterial reconstruction is essential for successful liver transplantation. In the case of insufficient recipient hepatic arterial flow, most surgeons recommend the use of the aorta for arterialization of the graft. We report here on a technique in which the recipient splenic artery is used in such a setting. The splenic artery is dissected from its origin on a 3-to-4 cm segment and divided. The proximal segment is flipped to the right and anastomosed to the graft's celiac axis in an end-to-end fashion. This technique was used in 7 of 79 orthotopic liver transplantations (9%) because the native hepatic artery was deemed to be inadequate for anastomosis. There were no complications related to the use of this technique and no arterial thromboses. Arterialization of hepatic grafts using the recipient proximal splenic artery is a simple, safe, and efficient technique that can be recommended in the presence of an inadequate recipient hepatic arterial flow.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

[Antibiotic prophylaxis of penetrating injuries of the abdomen].

Antibiotic prophylaxis for a penetrating injury of the abdomen has a distinctive feature as contamination occurs before administration of antibiotics and because important blood loss can modify the pharmacokinetics of antibiotics. Due to the rate and severity of infectious complications, no controlled study has been undertaken. All authors agree to use prophylactic antibiotics in patients with penetrating injury of the abdomen. Various antibiotic regimens have been administered, but it seems that those using an antibiotic active against anaerobes are more efficient to prevent postoperative infectious complications than without them. There is no benefit to administer antibiotics for more than 24 hours.

Abdominal Injuries↗
PubMed1994

[Surgical treatment of severe acute pancreatitis. Results of a prospective multicenter study of the Associations of Research in Surgery].

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this prospective study was to appreciate, in severe acute pancreatitis, the therapeutic choice of the surgeons for the treatment of pancreatic necrosis and the timing of operation in biliary pancreatitis. METHODS: Forty-six centers participated in the study. For every included patient, cause and severity criteria of the pancreatitis, timing of surgery, surgical management and necrosis features were recorded. Mortality and morbidity, number of surgical operations and clinical course were analyzed depending on necrosis infection. RESULTS: From August 1986 to January 1990, 143 patients were included in the present study. The main causes of pancreatitis were gallstones in 66 patients and alcohol in 45. Other causes were found in 32 patients. Overall mortality was 23.8%. Mortality was higher in 38 patients with infected necrosis than in 41 patients with sterile necrosis (39% vs 27%). In patients with severe acute biliary pancreatitis operated on within the first seven days of pancreatitis, mortality and number of reoperations were higher than in patients operated on later (30% vs 14% and 40% vs 21% respectively). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that clinical trials on the treatment of pancreatic necrosis and on the timing of the treatment of biliary pancreatitis are needed. The analysis of mortality shows that it will be difficult to organize these trials.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1994

[Liver transplantation with preservation of portacaval flow: comparison with the conventional technique].

A modified technique of liver transplantation was used in 46 adults. This technique consisted of: a) construction of a temporary end-to-side porto-caval shunt, b) total hepatectomy with preservation of the inferior vena cava, c) closure of the graft inferior vena cava at both ends, d) partial clamping of the recipient's inferior vena cava followed by side-to-side cavocaval anastomosis, e) suppression of the temporary porto-caval shunt with completion of the operation according to the conventional technique. The results obtained with this technique were compared to those of 40 transplantations performed with the conventional technique. The use of veno-venous extracorporeal circulation was able to be avoided in every case with the modified technique, but was necessary in 70% of cases with the conventional technique. A significant reduction of the operating time (7.2 vs 9.3 hours) and transfusional requirements (11.4 vs 20.3 units of packed cells) was observed. The principal characteristic of this technique was the haemodynamic stability of the patients throughout the operation. These results suggest that this technique is an reliable and effective alternative to the use of veno-venous extracorporeal circulation during liver transplantation in adults.

Extracorporeal Circulation↗
PubMed1994

Prognostic value of early computed tomographic scans in severe acute pancreatitis. French Association for Surgical Research.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of computed tomographic (CT) scans in differentiating mild from severe forms of acute pancreatitis is well established. Nonetheless, in patients with a severe form of the disease, some will have a relatively uneventful course while others will have severe complications. This prospective, multicenter study was done to evaluate the prognostic value of early CT scan in a homogenous group of patients with a first attack of severe acute pancreatitis. STUDY DESIGN: Dynamic CT scans were performed within 48 hours after admission. A standardized form was completed for each CT scan, recording the following data: abnormal enhancement of the pancreas itself, characteristics of extrapancreatic collections, and visualization of the portal and splenic veins. Statistical analysis was based on the log rank test and Cox's model and used death and abscess occurrence as the two end points. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty-eight patients from 46 centers were included in the study. The median Ranson and Imrie scores were 3 and 4, respectively. Forty-seven patients died and 72 had an abscess. The CT scan findings indicating an increase in mortality rate were nonenhancement of the neck of the pancreas (p = 0.04) and extrapancreatic collections within the left (p = 0.001) and right (p = 0.02) pararenal posterior spaces. The risk of abscess increased when there was nonvisualization of the splenic vein (p = 0.0001), in the presence of extrapancreatic collections in the right pararenal posterior space (p = 0.03) and when the extrapancreatic collections were heterogenous (p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that the location of extrapancreatic collections and nonvisualization of the splenic and portal veins on CT scans were not previously recognized prognostic factors of complicated outcome in patients with severe acute pancreatitis.

Abdominal Abscess↗
PubMed1994

[Value of a powerful initial immunosuppression after liver transplantation. Prospective study of 60 cases].

With usual immunosuppression, the incidence of acute rejection after liver transplantation is higher than 60% in most series. The aim of this prospective study was to assess the value of a powerful initial immunosuppression on acute rejection, mortality and morbidity. REGIMEN. Group 1: patients with normal postoperative renal function (serum creatinaemia < 150 mumol/L) received cyclosporine from day 1 to day 15 by continuous i.v. infusion to reach a whole blood level of 400 to 500 ng/mL; after day 15, cyclosporine was reduced. Group 2: in cases of postoperative renal failure (serum creatinine > or = 150 mumol/L), anti-thymocyte globulins were used for 10 days; cyclosporine was introduced after recovery of renal failure at usual doses. In addition, all patients received steroids and azathioprine according to usual regimens. RESULTS. From January 1989 to June 1992, 60 cases were studied in 59 patients: 45 (75%) entered group 1 and 15 (25%) entered group 2. In group 1, there were 11 acute rejection episodes (24%) and one postoperative death at three months (2.3%). In group 2, two early deaths (within 5 days) were excluded from the study of rejection. Among the 13 remaining cases, there were three episodes of acute rejection (23%) and one hospital death at three months. Overall, there were 14 episodes of acute rejection (24%), 12 of which were steroid-responsive (86%), no chronic rejection, a usual rate of infections (57%), one retransplantation (1.7%) and a hospital mortality of 6.8% (4 of 59 cases). One year survival was 78%, with 5 of 7 late deaths due to recurrent cancer. CONCLUSIONS. Our results suggest that, after liver transplantation, a) high initial cyclosporine dose in patients with normal postoperative renal function is associated with reduced incidence and severity of acute rejection without increased mortality and morbidity, b) antithymocyte globulins are an efficient alternative to cyclosporine in patients with postoperative acute renal failure and saves OKT3 for the treatment of steroid-resistant rejection.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Emergency liver resection for spontaneous rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma complicating cirrhosis.

From 1983 to 1991, 42 patients were operated on for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) complicating cirrhosis. Five presented with spontaneous rupture of the tumour: three had posthepatitis B and two non-A non-B cirrhosis. By contrast, 65 per cent of patients with non-ruptured HCC had alcoholic cirrhosis (P < 0.01). Laparotomy was carried out on an emergency basis (four patients) or after a 12-h delay (one) because of haemodynamic instability. Liver resection was performed in four cases (two wedge resections, one segmentectomy III, one extended right hepatectomy) and in the fifth patient hepatic artery ligation was performed. Bleeding was controlled after all four resections with one postoperative death, while the patient treated by ligation died during operation. Of the three surviving patients after liver resection, two died, 6 and 12 months after surgery. One patient is alive with recurrent tumour 43 months after extended right hepatectomy. The present data, combined with analysis of 250 cases of ruptured HCC from the literature, indicate that emergency resection is the treatment of choice in patients with limited tumour and preserved liver function. Transcatheter hepatic artery embolization, if available, is the next choice for high-risk patients or before surgical resection of the tumour. More conservative surgical approaches are the last choice because of poor reported results.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Medial pancreatectomy for tumors of the neck of the pancreas.

BACKGROUND: The surgical treatment of benign tumors of the pancreas usually consists of enucleation or formal pancreatectomy. Nonetheless, enucleation is not always feasible, and extended pancreatectomies may result in impaired endocrine and exocrine function. METHODS: For these reasons we proposed a limited resection centered on the neck of the pancreas with complete excision of the tumor. The cephalic section was sutured, and a Roux-en-Y jejunal loop was anastomosed to the distal section of the pancreas. Fourteen patients were operated on by this technique. The tumors were mainly cystadenomas (n = 6) and endocrine tumors (n = 4). The other lesions were one epithelial cyst, one necrotic pseudocyst, one Castleman disease, and one cystadenocarcinoma diagnosed after surgery on histologic examination. RESULTS: No patients died. Two patients underwent reoperation: one for a postoperative acute pancreatitis and one for a pancreatic fistula. All patients were followed up from 4 months to 8 years. No patients had exocrine insufficiency or diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSIONS: Medial pancreatectomy does not carry a higher operative risk than formal pancreatectomy and avoids extensive pancreatic resection when enucleation is not feasible.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1992

[Liver transplantation associated with combined adjuvant treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma. Feasibility and preliminary results].

Combined adjuvant therapy was prospectively assessed in 7 patients receiving orthotopic liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma complicating cirrhosis. The protocol included hepatic arterial chemotherapy while waiting for transplant, immediate preoperative liver irradiation, and early postoperative chemotherapy. There were no postoperative deaths, and morbidity included mainly hematologic toxicity of chemotherapy. Two patients died of tumor recurrence 6 and 14 months after transplant. The remaining 5 patients are alive and free of disease with a follow-up of 7 to 26 months. These results show the feasibility of aggressive adjuvant therapy in patients transplanted for hepatocellular carcinoma and suggest a possible effect of such a protocol on the prevention of tumor recurrence.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Polyadenylic-polyuridylic acid as an adjuvant in resectable colorectal carcinoma: a 6 1/2 year follow-up analysis of a multicentric double blind randomized trial.

In a double blind study, patients with operable carcinoma of the colon and the upper rectum, who have undergone a macroscopically complete resection of their tumor, were randomized to receive either (i) polyadenylic-polyuridylic acid (AU), one i.v. injection of 60 mg (in 50 ml of solution) once a week for 6 weeks, or (ii) a placebo (P) one i.v. injection of 50 ml of a saline solution with the same schedule. From January 1983 to December 1986, 288 patients were enrolled: 145 in AU group and 143 in P group. The main clinical and pathological characteristics were equally distributed throughout the two groups. There was a significant difference (P < 0.02) in the overall survival (OS) between the two groups, in favor of the P group. The 5-year OS rate was 68% (SD = 4%) in the AU group versus 81% (SD = 3%) in the P group. Thus, AU as a single adjuvant, appears to be ineffective and therefore has no indication in the treatment of colorectal carcinoma.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Failure of percutaneous drainage of pancreatic abscesses complicating severe acute pancreatitis.

From 1981 to 1990, 14 of 70 patients hospitalized at our institution for severe acute pancreatitis were selected to undergo percutaneous drainage of pancreatic abscess, under computed tomographic (CT) scan guidance. Pancreatic abscess was defined, on contrast-enhanced CT scan, as an infected fluid collection without pancreatic necrosis. There were nine men and five women, ranging in age from 28 to 46 years. The main cause of pancreatitis was alcohol abuse (eight patients). Other causes were gallstones (two patients), hyperlipidemia (two patients), postoperative (one patient) and one unknown. Ranson criteria were available in ten patients and ranged from three to six. Percutaneous drainage was performed as the primary treatment in 13 patients and for removal of a residual collection postoperatively in one patient. In two critically ill patients, percutaneous drainage was performed as a temporizing measure. In 12 patients with well-limited hypodense collections, percutaneous drainage was expected to result in the definitive cure of the abscess. Pigtail drains (No. 14F), were inserted using local anesthesia and CT scan guidance. Two patients had two drains and 12 patients had only one drain. Two patients were definitively cured by percutaneous drainage and all other patients were operated upon for removal of infected necrosis. In this study, the lack of accuracy of contrast-enhanced CT scan in the diagnosis of peripancreatic necrosis is highlighted and that percutaneous drainage has a better efficiency in the treatment of residual collections postoperatively than as a primary treatment of infected fluid collections is illustrated.

Abscess↗
PubMed1991

[Antibiotic prophylaxis in abdominal surgery. Prospective randomized study organized by the French Surgical Research Association].

The effectiveness of cefazolin or cefotaxime as antibiotic therapy was compared with that of ceftriaxone in a multicentre prospective randomized trial involving 1,254 consecutive patients operated upon for abdominal diseases. Patients about to undergo surgery of the colon or who had localized or generalized peritonitis at the time of operation were excluded from the study. The patients entered were divided into 4 strata according to the degree of operative contamination and to risk factors. In each stratum, the patients were allocated at random to one or the other of 2 treatment groups. Group 1 patients received cefazolin or cefotaxime in 3 doses of 1 g administered 8-hourly, the first dose being injected during induction of general anaesthesia. Group 2 patients received one single 1 g dose of ceftriaxone injected during induction of anaesthesia. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the wound infection rate and in the frequency of post-operative intra-abdominal abscesses. Although the percentage of post-operative pulmonary and urinary tract infections was lower in the ceftriaxone group than in the cefazolin/cefotaxime group, no significant difference was observed between the two groups in the number of patients who required curative antibiotic therapy. This study shows that one single dose of ceftriaxone is as effective as three doses of cefazolin or cefotaxime in preventing would infections and post-operative intra-abdominal abscesses, and that it is more effective in preventing extra-abdominal infections complicating surgery.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography for pulmonary embolectomy without cardiopulmonary bypass.

This case report describes a patient with massive pulmonary embolism and acute circulatory failure in whom transesophageal echocardiography permitted the diagnosis of thrombi in the main pulmonary truncus and in the right branch and guided intraoperatively the surgical embolectomy performed under simple venous inflow occlusion because of a contraindication to heparin administration. Transesophageal echocardiography seems to be a very helpful technique to diagnose promptly massive pulmonary embolism and a very useful tool at the time of operation to guide the embolectomy.

Cardiopulmonary Bypass↗