Search results for " tests"
showing 10 items of 3284 documents
Guinea pig transglutaminase immunolinked assay does not predict coeliac disease in patients with chronic liver disease
2001
BACKGROUND—It has been suggested that serological screening for coeliac disease (CD) should be performed in patients with chronic unexplained hypertransaminasaemia. AIMS—To evaluate the specificity for CD diagnosis of serum IgA antitissue transglutaminase (tTG) determination in consecutive patients with chronic hypertransaminasaemia using the most widely utilised ELISA based on tTG from guinea pig as the antigen. PATIENTS AND METHODS—We studied 98 patients with chronic hypertransaminasaemia, evaluated for the first time in a hepatology clinic. Serum anti-tTG and antiendomysial (EmA) assays were performed. Patients positive for EmA and/or anti-tTG were proposed for intestinal biopsy. Finally…
Predicting Mortality Risk in Patients With Compensated HCV-Induced Cirrhosis: A Long-Term Prospective Study
2009
OBJECTIVES: The identification of prognostic factors associated with mortality is crucial in any clinical setting. METHODS: We enrolled in a prospective study 352 patients with compensated hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced cirrhosis, consecutively observed between 1989 and 1992. At entry, patients underwent upper endoscopy to detect esophageal varices, and were then surveilled by serial clinical and ultrasonographic examination. The model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score was calculated with information collected at enrollment. Baseline predictors and intercurrent events associated with mortality were assessed using the Cox regression model. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 14.4 y…
RIFLE classification as predictive factor of mortality in patients with cirrhosis admitted to intensive care unit.
2009
Background and Aim: To evaluate the association of the Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss and End-stage renal failure (RIFLE) score on mortality in patients with decompensated cirrho- sis admitted to intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: A cohort of 412 patients with cirrhosis consecutively admitted to ICU was classified according to the RIFLE score. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the factors associated with mortality. Liver-specific, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) and RIFLE scores on admission, were compared by receiver-operator characteristic curves. Results: The overall mortality during ICU st…
Serum nitrotyrosine and psychometric tests as indicators of impaired fitness to drive in cirrhotic patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy
2013
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Cirrhotic patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) show impaired driving ability and increased vehicle accidents. The neurological deficits contributing to impair driving and the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Early detection of driving impairment would help to reduce traffic accidents in MHE patients. It would be therefore useful to have psychometric or biochemical parameters reflecting driving impairment. The aims of this work were as follows: (i) to shed light on the neurological deficits contributing to impair driving; (ii) to assess whether some psychometric test or biochemical parameter is a good indicator of driving impairment. METHODS: We a…
Early Lung Function Abnormalities in Acromegaly.
2014
BACKGROUND: Acromegaly is an insidious disorder caused by a pituitary growth hormone (GH)-secreting adenoma resulting in high circulating levels of GH and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). Respiratory disorders are common complications in acromegaly, and can severely impact on quality of life, eventually affecting mortality. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to explore structural and functional lung alterations of acromegalic subjects. METHODS: We enrolled 10 consecutive patients (M/F: 5/5) affected by acromegaly. In all patients, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed the presence of pituitary tumor. All patients underwent clinical, lung functional, biological, and radiological as…
Lung Compartmentalization of Increased TNF Releasing Ability by Mononuclear Phagocytes in Pulmonary Sarcoidosis
1989
The TNF is a monokine with cytotoxic and tumor-necrosing activities; in addition, TNF may play a role in inflammatory processes. The present study evaluates spontaneous and LPS-mediated release of TNF by AMs and autologous peripheral BMs of normal subjects and patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. A recently developed cytotoxicity assay, specific for detection of TNF activity, was applied. This study demonstrates that (1) unstimulated mononuclear phagocytes released low levels of TNF with no differences between groups; (2) when effector cells were stimulated with LPS, AMs from patients with active pulmonary sarcoidosis released more TNF than AMs recovered from normal subjects and from patien…
Type B Niemann-Pick Disease: Findings at Chest Radiography, Thin-Section CT, and Pulmonary Function Testing
2005
To evaluate findings at radiography, computed tomography (CT), and pulmonary function testing in patients with type B Niemann-Pick disease.The study was approved by the institutional review board or ethics committee at each study site and was compliant with HIPAA at the U.S. site. Written informed consent was obtained from each patient or guardian and minor assent was obtained from all children before any study-related procedures. Pulmonary involvement in 53 patients (27 male and 26 female patients; age range, 7-65 years; mean age, 23.3 years) with type B Niemann-Pick disease was evaluated with imaging and pulmonary function tests. All patients underwent chest radiography and thin-section C…
Focal airtrapping at expiratory high-resolution CT: comparison with pulmonary function tests
2000
This study was undertaken to determine prevalence, extent, and severity of focal airtrapping at expiratory high-resolution CT, and to compare focal airtrapping with age, gender, pulmonary function tests, and blood gas analysis. Two-hundred seventeen patients with and without pulmonary disease underwent paired inspiratory/expiratory high-resolution CT. Six scan pairs with corresponding scan levels were visually assessed for focal – not diffuse – airtrapping using a four-point scale. Pulmonary function tests and blood gas analysis were available for correlation in all patients (mean interval 5 days). Focal airtrapping with lower lung predominance was observed in 80 % of patients. Twenty-six o…
HRCT and scleroderma: semiquantitative evaluation of lung damage and functional abnormalities.
2007
This study sought to validate the Warrick score in the assessment of lung involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and correlate the results with functional abnormalities. In addition, we propose the use of high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) indices of alveolitis and fibrosis to discriminate between different stages of the disease.Thirty-one patients with SSc (16 with the diffuse form and 15 with the limited form) underwent functional and HRCT evaluations of the lung. The semiquantitative evaluation of radiological involvement, as proposed by Warrick, provides a score for each lesion based on the severity and the extent of the pulmonary damage. In addition to the total score, indices…
Imaging of the lungs using 3he MRI: Preliminary clinical experience in 18 patients with and without lung disease
1997
The purpose of this study was to describe the 3He MRI findings of normal pulmonary ventilation in healthy volunteers and to evaluate abnormalities in patients with different lung diseases. Hyperpolarized 3He gas (300 ml, 3 x 10(5) Pa, polarized to 35-45% by optical pumping, provided in special glass cells) was inhaled by 8 healthy volunteers and 10 patients with different lung diseases. Imaging was performed with a three-dimensional fast low-angle shot (FLASH) sequence (TR = 11.8 msec; TE = 5 msec; transmitter amplitude, 5-8 V; corresponding flip angle, < 5 degrees) in a single breath-hold (22-42 seconds). Clinical and radiological examinations were available for correlation. The studies we…