PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R Berté

Publications and source records attributed to R Berté.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Clinical efficacy of ultrasound guided percutaneous drainage of abscesses in patients with leukaemia and lymphoma.

Ultrasound guided percutaneous drainage (US-PD), a minimally invasive technique, has been reported as highly effective for the treatment of deeply located abscesses, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Therefore, we retrospectively studied its therapeutic efficacy and safety in a series of 14 patients with leukaemia and lymphoma. We collected the clinical and sonographic data of 14 patients with various types of leukaemia and lymphoma. These patients were consecutively observed in four clinical centres with long-term experience with ultrasound guided therapeutic techniques. The cases were analysed according to underlying disease, clinical features, location of the abscess, drainage technique, microbiological data and both short- and long-term outcome. In our series, 11 patients were treated with repeated ultrasound guided needle aspirations (US-NA) and 3 underwent catheter drainage (US-PCD). In 12/14 cases the procedure was successful (86%): the mortality rate was 14%. 5 patients died during the follow-up period because of the underlying disease, without abscess recurrence. No complications were reported. Our data suggest that ultrasound guided percutaneous drainage should be considered the first choice, minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of deeply located abscesses in patients with leukaemia and lymphoma.

Abdominal Abscess↗
PubMed1996

Vinblastine, bleomycin, and methotrexate chemotherapy plus extended-field radiotherapy in early, favorably presenting, clinically staged Hodgkin's patients: the Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio dei Linfomi Experience.

PURPOSE: To ascertain whether vinblastine, bleomycin, and methotrexate (VBM) (CT) combined with extended-field radiotherapy (EF RT) is effective enough to spare laparotomy in early, favorably presenting Hodgkin's disease (HD) patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty patients with clinical stage IA or IIA HD with favorable histology and no bulky masses entered a prospective multicenter study started in January 1988. The median follow-up time was 38 months. RESULTS: All patients achieved a complete remission (CR). Five relapsed after 3 to 40 months and underwent successful salvage therapy. The actuarial remission rate was 0.89% at 3 years and 0.82% at 5 years. Two patients died in CR: one of severe pulmonary toxicity, the other of a second neoplasia (adenocarcinoma of the lung), 2 and 43 months after the end of therapy, respectively. The hematologic toxicity recorded during VBM CT was mild on the whole. Major toxicity was represented by pulmonary side effects and neurologic symptoms. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that pulmonary toxicity was significantly related only to the amount of RT delivered to the mediastinum and not to the relative dose of bleomycin, to the dose-intensities of the three drugs in the regimen, or to patient age or sex. The same statistical technique showed that the only clinical factor related to grade of neurotoxicity was vinblastine dosage. CONCLUSION: VBM CT combined with EF RT is an effective treatment for early, clinically staged, favorable HD patients. However, the toxicity of this combination suggests that certain modifications should be evaluated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Autoimmune thyroid dysfunctions in hematologic malignancies treated with alpha-interferon.

The widespread use of alpha-interferon (IFN-alpha) therapy in different diseases draws attention to its side effects, such as autoimmune-related diseases, especially thyroid autoimmune dysfunctions. Data about hepatitis and nonhematologic neoplasia are available, while data about hematologic malignancies are fragmentary. We studied the incidence of autoimmune-related disturbances and thyroid dysfunctions in 54 consecutive patients suffering from hematologic malignancies, treated with recombinant human IFN-alpha for a mean time of 15.9 +/- 8.9 months. Our results minimize the incidence of autoimmune dysfunctions in hematologic malignancies as side effects of IFN-alpha therapy. We registered the appearance of autoantibodies in only 3 females (5% of total): 2 patients (1 affected with essential thrombocythemia and one with multiple myeloma) presented antithyroglobulin antibodies with no clinical symptoms; 1 patient, affected with essential thrombocythemia, developed antinuclear antibodies with arthralgia and myalgia. ARA criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus were not fulfilled but the therapy had to be interrupted. No patient developed thyroid dysfunction. In patients with hematologic malignancies, the dosage and the duration of IFN-alpha treatment do not seem to influence the appearance of autoantibodies, while female sex appears to be a risk factor.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Exposure to asbestos in Monfalcone, Italy. A necropsy-based study.

The Monfalcone area in north-eastern Italy (total population, about 60,000) is a small industrial district in which shipbuilding is the main industry. We examined thoracic cavities for hyaline pleural plaques and routine lung sections for asbestos bodies in 1765 necropsies performed at Monfalcone Hospital. In 553 cases, we also isolated and quantified asbestos bodies in the lungs (Smith-Naylor's method). Occupational histories were obtained from the relatives of 798 patients. The prevalence of pleural plaques was significantly higher (p less than 0.001) among residents of the Monfalcone region (73.6% of men, 26.7% of women) than among nonresidents. Similarly, asbestos bodies were found more frequently in lung sections from residents. A good correlation was observed between pleural plaques and the asbestos body content of the lung (Spearman's correlation coefficient, 0.53). Different occupational groups showed very marked differences in the prevalence of plaques in general, in the prevalence of large plaques and in the numbers of asbestos bodies in the lung. Subjects who had worked in the shipyard or in a sodium carbonate factory had the highest indices. Exposure to asbestos had occurred at work for the large majority of men for whom data on occupation had been collected and through domestic contacts for the large majority of women. In a small portion of cases, environmental exposure could not be excluded as the cause of the objective signs. Pleural plaques, the asbestos body content of the lungs and occupational history must be considered together in monitoring exposure to asbestos in a given geographical area.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Extrahepatic primary malignant neoplasms associated with hepatocellular carcinoma: high occurrence of B cell tumors.

In a consecutive series of 317 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 32 (10.1%) had 35 extrahepatic primary malignant neoplasms (PMNs) (3 patients had triple cancers). Twenty-five PMNs occurred before the diagnosis of HCC, 7 were synchronous and 3 metachronous. These 35 PMNs were: 6 cancers of the colon, 3 of the stomach, 1 of the rectum, 4 of the breast, 2 of the lung, 1 of the larynx, 3 of the prostate, 1 of the penis, 1 of the urinary bladder, 1 of the uterus, 2 of the skin, and the remaining 10 were immunoproliferative cancers, all of B cell origin (7 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 2 multiple myeloma, and 1 chronic lymphocytic leukemia). Thus, in this series, B-lymphocyte-derived neoplasms were the most frequent PMNs associated with HCC. These 10 patients showed no difference for age, male:female ratio, HCC cytotype, presence of cirrhosis, alcohol abuse, markers related to hepatitis B and C virus, and serum level of alpha-fetoprotein when compared with the 22 patients with HCC and other PMNs and the 285 with HCC alone. B cell neoplasms constitute half of the synchronous or metachronous cancers, and must, therefore, be kept in mind in the management of HCC patients.

Aged↗