1,720,971 research outputs found
A new duodenal rendezvous technique for biliary cannulation in patients with T-tube after orthotopic liver transplantation (with video)
No full textBackground and Aims: Because a traditional rendezvous (RV) technique implies stretching of the papilla, possibly leading to post-ERCP pancreatitis, an alternative duodenal RV technique was evaluated. The aim was to assess the effectiveness, safety, and amount of time spent performing duodenal RV versus traditional RV cannulation in orthotopic liver transplantation patients with a T-tube. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data from a prospective ERCP database held by our university hospital. Twenty patients with a T-tube who had undergone ERCP for biliary adverse events after orthotopic liver transplantation were included. The successful cannulation rate, the amount of time spent performing cannulation, the post-ERCP pancreatitis rate, and hyperamylasemia 24 hours after the procedure were recorded. Results: Successful cannulation was achieved by the duodenal RV technique in 9 of 10 patients (90%), taking 146seconds (interquartile range 63-341 seconds) with a short learning curve effect. An unsuccessful duodenal RV procedure occurred because of the angulation of the hydrophilic tip of the guidewire while crossing the papilla, thus preventing cannulation. Successful cannulation was achieved by the traditional RV technique in all cases (N= 11), including the failed duodenal RV technique, taking 374 seconds (interquartile range 320-410 seconds) (P<.05 vs duodenal RV). However, no post-ERCP pancreatitis occurred after using the duodenal RV technique compared with 2 episodes of mild pancreatitis after using the traditional RV technique. Twenty-four hours after the procedure, the median amylasemia level was 84 IU/L (interquartile range 49-105 IU/L) and 265IU/L (interquartile range 73-2945 IU/L) for the duodenal versus traditional RV techniques, respectively (P= not significant). Conclusions: In patients with a T-tube after liver transplantation, the duodenal RV technique was not associated with post-ERCP pancreatitis, presumably because of the reduction of stress on the major papilla. Cannulation by using the duodenal RV technique was faster compared with the traditional RV technique. These preliminary data point out the use of the duodenal RV technique as the first option to choose in case of failed cannulation before attempting the traditional RV technique
Synovial fluid OX40T lymphocytes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis display a Th2/Th0 polarization
No full textRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease in which T-cell activation plays a pivotal role in the induction of articular damage. CD4+/OX40+ T cells accumulate in the synovial fluid (SF) of RA patients, which suggests that they are involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. In this study, we assessed the intracellular cytokine production of peripheral blood and SF CD4+ and CD4+/OX40+ T cells from RA patients in order to evaluate their role in this disorder. Our results show that SF CD4+ cells are predominantly interferon gamma (IFN-gamma)-positive and express a Th1-like cytokine pattern. In SF, significantly more CD4+/OX40+ T cells expressed interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL4/IFN-gamma than IFN-gamma alone. Our data demonstrate that SF CD4+/OX40+ T cells express a Th2/Th0 cytokine profile, which suggests that they are involved in inflammatory responses in RA joints
Can biliary endoscopy play a role in liver disease associated to cystic fibrosis?
No full textBiliopathy associated to cystic fibrosis (CF) is a relatively rare condition in adult patients. Recently, an increase in life expectancy for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) has been reported. Therefore, a new clinical picture related to CF- associated liver involvement is quite often observed [1]. The involvement of the biliary tree has been hypothesized as having a pivotal role in the pathogenesis and evolution of liver cirrhosis, but there is a lack of systematic data about it [1,2]. The impact of endotherapy on the biliopathy and liver disease in adult cystic fibrosis patients needs sistematic evaluation with a long-term follow-up
Covered metal stents in endoscopic therapy of biliary complications after liver transplantation
Full text linkThere is growing interest in using covered self-expandable metal stents for the treatment of benign biliary conditions, and the presence of anastomotic biliary strictures and leaks after liver transplantation provide a valuable opportunity for testing them. The performance of the stents is encouraging, and the technical success rate is high. They provide larger diameter dilation and are easily removed, and can potentially limit costs by reducing the number of procedures needed to treat anastomotic biliary strictures. However, drawbacks such as sub-optimal tolerability and migration may affect both patient management and costs. New stent designs are currently being evaluated. Randomized controlled trials and cost-effectiveness analyses comparing covered metal stents with multiple plastic stent endotherapy are warranted in order to define the role of the former as first-line or rescue treatment. (C) 2016 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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