Endoscopic resection of "giant" colorectal lesions: long-term outcome and safety.

BACKGROUND: Today, endoscopic resection is a standard procedure for the resection of colonic polyps. Before the establishment of endoscopic techniques, the surgical approach was a clearly preferred method for removal of polyps with a size larger than three centimeters. The safety and effectiveness concerning endoscopic resections of colorectal polyps also with a size of more than 3 cm have been demonstrated in numerous studies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data from 165 patients (age: 68 +/- 10.4 years) harboring 167 polyps with a minimum diameter of 3 cm were retrospectively evaluated. Objects of interest were macroscopic morphology and histopathology of the polyps, their localization in the colon, the modality of endoscopic resection and follow-up. In those cases with macroscopic signs of malignancy the patients were excluded. RESULTS: Successful endoscopic resections were obtained in 72.5 %. Therefrom, resection in the piecemeal-technique was necessary in 73.6 %. Recurrence polyps after endoscopic complete resections occurred in 26.3 % after a mean follow-up of 16 +/- 12.5 months. We registered a complication rate of 19.2 %. Relevant bleeding and perforation were registered as early complications in 18.6 %. We observed no intervention-related mortality. CONCLUSION: Endoscopic mucosal resection is a safe and efficient method even for removing giant colorectal polyps. Controls are recommended at defined intervals for detecting polyp recurrence.

Follow-up after endoscopic snare resection of duodenal adenomas.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Premalignant duodenal polyps are considered to be rare. Recurrence after local excision is reported to be frequent, so many authors propose radical surgical treatment of these tumors. The aim of this study was to determine the long-term outcome after endoscopic resection of duodenal adenomas. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 1990 and April 2003 we retrospectively evaluated a group of patients who presented with nonampullary duodenal villous tumors but who did not have a polyposis syndrome. RESULTS: Duodenal polyps were diagnosed in 21 patients during routine endoscopy during the study period. Of these, 18 patients (6 men, 12 women; median age 67, range 50 - 81), with a total of 20 duodenal adenomas, were enrolled into the study. The median size +/- SD of the tumors was 27.5 +/- 12 mm (range 8 - 50 mm). Of these 20 tumors, 18 adenomas were tubulovillous, one was tubulous and one was villous. Nineteen polyps were treated by snare excision and one adenoma was treated with argon plasma coagulation alone. Argon plasma coagulation was applied to polyps in six patients after snare excision during this initial treatment phase. The success rate for endoscopic adenoma removal after a 3-month interval was 55 %. After a median follow-up period of 71 months (range 22 - 151 months), 12 patients remained in remission. Local recurrences of the lesion occurred in five patients (25 %) and these were re-treated. None of the patients developed carcinoma during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic snare excision of duodenal adenomas is an effective mode of treatment but an endoscopic surveillance program is mandatory in order to detect and treat recurrence.

[Heavy diarrhea by low malignant B cell lymphoma]. / Schwere Durchfälle bei niedrig malignem B-Zell-Lymphom.

A 52-year old female presented with a low, malignant centroblastic-centrocytic lymphoma. After splenectomy and under steroid therapy it came to the eruption of a latent Strongyloides stercoralis infection, which the patient had presumably been suffering from for several years. Due to the immunodeficient condition and under continued steroid therapy even three courses of high dose anthelmintic therapy could not eradicate the parasites. The patient died of fulminant sepsis.

Successful treatment of pancreatobiliary fistula by endoscopic stenting.

An unusual pancreatobiliary fistula occurred as a complication of chronic pancreatitis. Endoscopic papillotomy was performed and a plastic endoprosthesis was inserted into the main pancreatic duct. The pancreatic stenting led to the closure of the fistula and no additional surgical treatment was necessary.

[Symptomatic pericardial effusion as initial manifestation of gastric signet ring cell carcinoma]. / Symptomatischer Perikardergussals Erstmanifestation eines Siegelringzell-Magenkarzinoms.

HISTORY: A 78-year-old woman presented at our hospital with palpitation, tachycardia and progressive dyspnea. The health history included the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. INVESTIGATIONS: The ECG showed atrial fibrillation, later changing with sinus rhythm and low voltage. The echocardiography revealed pericardial effusion. The cytology showed signet ring cells from the stomach. Endoscopic study revealed a 3 cm tumor in the posterior wall of the upper part of the body. The histopathological examination diagnosed cancer of diffuse type according to Lauren, with signet-ring cells. TREATMENT AND CLINICAL COURSE: After treating the atrial fibrillation a pericardial drainage was performed. The pericardiocentesis yielded 500 ml of serous fluid. In an echocardiogram after pericardial drainage, pericardial effusion was no longer present. During the clinical course the patient suffered a stroke and the chemotherapy could not be initiated. The patient died 2 months after diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Cardiac involvement with clinical manifestations and pericardial effusion may be associated with a malignant neoplasm. Echocardiography and pericardiocentesis are helpful for the diagnosis of cardiac metastases.

Photodynamic therapy with 5-aminolevulinic acid is not effective in bile duct cancer.

BACKGROUND: The results of preliminary studies of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for palliation of patients with bile duct cancer with hematoporphyrin derivative have been good. Rapid elimination of a photosensitizer could potentially shorten the time requirement for shielding from light. This would enhance the benefit of this form of palliative treatment. Therefore the feasibility of PDT was investigated for nonresectable bile duct cancer by using 5-aminolevulinic acid. METHODS: Four patients with nonresectable bile duct cancer underwent cholangiography, cholangioscopy, and intraductal US before PDT. Light activation was performed 5 to 7 hours after oral administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid. All patients had an endoprosthesis placed in the bile duct after PDT. RESULTS: Cholangioscopy 72 hours after PDT revealed superficial fibrinoid necrosis. However, 4 weeks after PDT there was no significant reduction in bile duct stenoses. Two patients had infectious complications develop, but phototoxicity was not observed. CONCLUSIONS: Although superficial tumor necrosis was evident, PDT with 5-aminolevulinic acid failed to significantly reduce malignant bile duct obstruction. Therefore 5-aminolevulinic acid-PDT cannot be recommended for the palliative treatment of bile duct cancer.

Reversible pancreatic duct stricture after a blunt abdominal trauma.

A 32-year-old man developed acute pancreatitis with a main duct stricture resulting from blunt abdominal trauma sustained during a car accident 11 weeks before admission. No interventions were performed and unusually, after 3 months' follow-up, the pancreatic main duct stricture resolved and the patient remained asymptomatic. There are no other reports in the literature demonstrating resolution of pancreatic main duct stricture without any endoscopic or surgical treatment subsequent to a blunt abdominal trauma.

Photodynamic therapy for palliation of nonresectable bile duct cancer--preliminary results with a new diode laser system.

OBJECTIVES: Preliminary results of photodynamic therapy (PDT) of bile duct cancer have shown astonishingly good results in the reduction of cholestasis, improvement of quality of life, and even prolongation of the survival time. Unfortunately, the existing dye laser systems are large and costly, and their maintenance is expensive. Therefore, we investigated the feasibility of a diode laser system for PDT of nonresectable bile duct cancer. METHODS: Eight patients with nonresectable bile duct cancer were treated. Forty-eight hours after i. v. application of 2 mg/kg body weight of Photosan-3, light activation was performed by a transpapillary (four patients) or percutaneus (four patients) access. We used a cylindrical diffusor tip and illuminated using a wavelength of 633+/-3 nm and a total energy of 200 J/cm2. All patients were additionally provided with bile duct endoprostheses after PDT. RESULTS: Four weeks after initial PDT all patients showed a marked reduction of bile duct stenosis. The median serum bilirubin value declined from 5.8 mg/dl (2.0-10.1) to 1.0 mg/dl (0.8-4.4). The median survival time at the time of writing is 119 days (52-443). Five patients are still alive. In four patients we could change from percutaneous to transpapillary drainage after PDT, two patients showed infectious complications. CONCLUSION: PDT with the diode laser system seems to be effective in reducing malignant bile duct stenosis. This treatment is minimally invasive and has a low specific complication rate. Randomized, controlled studies comparing PDT with the insertion of endoprostheses and long term follow-up of results are needed to confirm the promising short term results.

[Photodynamic therapy of dysplasias and early carcinomas in Barrett esophagus with a diode laser system--a pilot study]. / Photodynamische Therapie von Dysplasien und Frühkarzinomen bei Barrett-Osophagus mit einem Diodenlasersystem--eine Pilotstudie.

BACKGROUND: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) of dysplasia and early cancer of the esophagus could show good results in the potential of ablation. Unfortunately, the existing expensive and temperamental dye laser systems foiled a broad clinical use. In this pilot study, we investigated the feasibility of an inexpensive and maintenance-free diode laser system for PDT of dysplasia and early cancer in Barrett's esophagus. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eight patients with Barrett's esophagus and/or early cancer were treated. As light source we used a diode laser system with a maximum power output of 2 W and a wavelength of 633 +/- 3 nm. One patient was treated initially with Photosan-3, seven patients received 5-aminolevulinic acid. RESULTS: In all patients we could achieve reduction in length and/or histologically proven downgrading. In three quarters of the patients, complete eradication of adenocarcinoma could be attained. Columnar-lined metaplastic epithelium could also be completely eradicated. CONCLUSION: PDT using a diode laser system is comparably effective in Barrett's esophagus/early cancer as PDT with dye laser systems. PDT is a gentle and effective technique with little side effects.

Emergency endoscopy.

The need for emergency endoscopy is a matter of debate. The time interval for emergency procedures remains to be defined. Most authors propose a time span of 24 h as emergency time, while some define a period of 72 h (especially in acute pancreatitis). Several studies have shown a possible benefit for a select group of patients. Four main indications are established for emergency endoscopy: acute gastrointestinal bleeding (variceal and nonvariceal), acute biliary pancreatitis and acute cholangitis. In the case of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, emergency endoscopy enables exact diagnosis and appropriate therapy, and provides important prognostic information. There is some evidence that emergent endoscopic injection therapy improves clinical outcome and reduces mortality in patients with acute ulcer bleeding. Patients do not benefit if endoscopy is performed only as a diagnostic procedure. Controversial results were published recently for emergency endoscopy in acute biliary pancreatitis. There is good evidence that emergency endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is helpful in patients with severe pancreatitis and stone impaction if performed within the first 24 h after onset of symptoms. However, emergency endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is not beneficial for patients with mild pancreatitis if performed later than 72 h (or 24 h) after onset of symptoms. There is a limited number of well established evidence-based indications for emergency endoscopy. Some other indications are still a matter of debate, and controversial opinions have been published.

Electrohydraulic lithotripsy treatment of gallstone after disimpaction of the stone from the duodenal bulb (Bouveret's syndrome).

A 75-year-old man with right upper quadrant abdominal pain was diagnosed by gastroscopy to have an impacted gallstone in the duodenal bulb. Using the polypectomy loop, the stone was extracted from the bulbus and mobilized into the stomach. After failure to remove the stone from the stomach as well as fragmentation by mechanical lithotripsy, electrohydraulic lithotripsy was used to break up the stone, parts of which passed spontaneously through the bowel. Thus, it was unnecessary to proceed with surgical enterolithotomy to remove, from the duodenal bulb, the impacted gallstone responsible for the gastric outlet obstruction.

Normal postoperative febrile response in the pediatric orthopaedic population.

Postoperative fever in the pediatric orthopaedic population remains a clinical concern even though prior studies concluded that fevers are a poor predictor of surgical complications. In this retrospective study of 177 patients, we established guidelines regarding the degree and time course of fever we should expect based on the perioperative conditions of magnitude of surgery, duration of surgery, need for intraoperative transfusion, estimated blood loss, age, and gender. To provide a more sensitive assessment of fever, we developed composite temperature curves for each patient and defined the area under these curves as the total febrile response (TFR). This allowed us to assess fever as a cumulative event, taking into account both its magnitude and duration. A multivariate model then determined that of the perioperative conditions studied, intraoperative transfusion status and estimated blood loss were most helpful in predicting a patient's TFR. The results of this study can be used as an additional tool for assessing postoperative progress and whether a fever is within the normal limits indicated by a patient's perioperative variables.

[Preliminary treatment results of relapsed or refractory acute leukemia using two and three drug regimens]. / Wstepne wyniki leczenia ostrych bialaczek opornych i nawrotowych przy zastosowaniu schematów dwu--oraz trzylekowych.

36 patients with relapsed (29) or refractory (7) acute lymphoblastic or nonlymphoblastic leukaemia received regimens employing 1-3 courses of mitoxantrone (or idarubicin), intermediate doses of cytarabine and etoposide. Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 30% of patients (5/15 ALL, 6/21 AML, 5 cases of refractory and 6 of relapsed leukaemia). Duration of CR was 3-6+ months (3 patients are still alive). Toxicity of the treatment was acceptable, however 5 patients with severe granulocytopenia died from sepsis.

Nursing staff responses to violent events in closed psychiatric wards: a comparison between attributional and cognitive-neo-associationistic analyses.

This paper examines the behavioural response of nursing staff in psychiatric wards to a patient's violent behaviour towards a staff member as a function of whether the patient's behaviour was presented as arbitrary or not. The participants were 133 nurses. They were given two vignettes describing an arbitrary and a non-arbitrary behaviour of a patient and were asked what the typical response in their ward to each event would be. The results show that when the patient's behaviour was perceived as arbitrary, staff was believed to respond with a therapeutic reaction more frequently than to non-arbitrary behaviour. Moreover, participants' professional characteristics played a greater role in the non-arbitrary scenario. It is suggested that a therapeutic response to a patient's violent behaviour requires a recognition that the patient's behaviour is consistent with his/her role as a patient. The implication of these results for Berkowitz & Heimer's (1989) cognitive-neo-associationistic analysis is discussed.

[Unclassified chronic myeloproliferative Ph(-); i(17q); +8 syndrome with mixed myelo-megakaryoblastic crisis--case report]. / Niesklasyfikowany przewlekly zespól mieloproliferacyjny Ph(-); i(17q); +8 z transformacja mielo-megakarioblastyczna--opis przypadku.

We present a case of a 17-year old patient with extreme hepatosplenomegaly, hyperthrombocytosis, hyperleucocytosis and the presence of myelo- and megakaryoblasts in the peripheral blood film. Numerous complications that occurred in the course of the disease made cytostatic treatment difficult. Since Ph chromosome and hybrid gene bcr/abl were absent, the diagnosis of unclassified chronic myeloproliferative syndrome in the phase of blast crisis was established. Immunophenotyping confirmed a mixed myelo- megakaryoblastic character of the crisis. In the differential diagnosis other myeloproliferative syndromes were taken into account including i(17q) syndrome. The patient died after a 13-month observation due to neoplasm progression and sepsis.

[Diagnostic value of acidified glycerol lysis test (AGLT) in hereditary spherocytosis and selected hematologic diseases]. / Wartosc diagnostyczna testu lizy krwinek czerwonych w zakwaszonym glicerolu (AGLT) we wrodzonej niedokrwistosci sferocytowej i wybranych zespolach hematologicznych.

AGLT and osmotic fragility test (method according to Dacie) were performed in patients with hereditary spherocytosis, their relatives and in patients with other hematological diseases. Abnormal results of both tests were observed not only in all cases of hereditary spherocytosis but also in other patients with spherocytes present in the peripheral blood film. In our opinion, AGLT is a good screening test for hereditary spherocytosis and can replace the more time consuming Dacie's method.

Clinical comparison of all-polyethylene and metal-backed tibial components in total knee arthroplasty.

Based primarily on in vitro biomechanical studies, most total knee arthroplasty (TKA) manufacturers have abandoned the all-polyethylene tibial component (APT) in favor of the metal-backed tibial component (MBT). There is little clinical evidence to support this decision. A retrospective review of cemented TKA using the total condylar prosthesis was performed. One hundred eighteen patients with 131 TKAs were evaluated. Sixty-two of these knee prostheses had tibial components made entirely of polyethylene while 69 had the MBT. There were 13 cases of bilateral TKA in which the APT was used for one knee and the MBT for the other. All patients were examined by the authors for an average follow-up period of six years. Hospital for Special Surgery knee scores and a comprehensive roentgenographic evaluation were obtained. No significant difference was noted between the patients with APT and those with MBT, raising serious doubt on the need for the MBT in patients being treated with primary, cemented TKA.

Avoiding paraplegia during anterior spinal surgery. The role of somatosensory evoked potential monitoring with temporary occlusion of segmental spinal arteries.

Three patients paraplegic following anterior spinal fusion for congenital kyphoscoliosis were noted to have complete somatosensory evoked potential signal loss shortly after segmental arterial ligations at the apex of their respective kyphosis. This has prompted us to use temporary segmental arterial occlusion with somatosensory evoked potential monitoring prior to ligation during anterior spinal fusion. As a result, we have noted seven additional cases, out of a total of 44 cases monitored in this fashion, in which complete loss of somatosensory evoked potential signals, reversible by release of vascular clips, has occurred. For each of these additional cases the critical segmental arteries were identified and were not ligated, usually resulting in some modifications in the planned surgical procedure, and the patients remained neurologically intact. We recommend temporary segmental arterial occlusion with somatosensory evoked potential monitoring during thoracolumbar anterior spinal fusion to potentially avert ischemic neurologic injury. Based on published data and the experience described herein, this technique should be especially important in anterior spinal fusion for congenital kyphoscoliosis.