Brachial venous pressure measurement for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.

Background: Imaging methods for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) are not available at small medical or rural centres as well as during night time. Herein, we evaluated the diagnostic value of brachial venous pressure measurement in the diagnosis of PE in patients with deep vein thrombosis.

Materials And Methods: One-hundred and fifty consecutive patients with deep vein thrombosis and suspected PE were prospectively evaluated by measuring brachial vein pressure by CW Doppler.

Angiomegaly and arterial aneurysms.

Angiomegaly is characterized by an alteration in the elastic component of arterial and venous vessels determining their elongation and tortuousness. This involves an increased risk of thromboembolism and aneurysmal degeneration in affected subjects, even if they have been asymptomatic for a long time. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the correlation between angiomegaly and aneurysmal disease.

eHealth in Antarctica: a model ready to be transferred to every-day life.

Antarctic expeditions are an important testing area for technology and procedures, such as telemedicine, with analogies for space and other extreme, isolated and remote environments. Telemedicine has also implications in reducing risks and costs related to accidents and health-care in general in Antarctica. During the last 14 years, since the very beginning of Italian Antarctic activities, we have tested many different technological solutions, and set up a link between one of the largest Italian hospitals, San Camillo in Rome, and the principal Italian Antarctic Base at Terra Nova Bay.

The role of the renal resistive index ratio in diagnosing obstruction and in the follow-up of children with unilateral hydronephrosis.

Objective: To assess the role of the renal resistive index ratio (RIR) in discriminating equivocal upper urinary tract dilatation in children, and thus in establishing the need for surgery, in comparison with traditional diagnostic tools.

Patients And Methods: The study comprised 40 children with unilateral hydronephrosis unrelated to vesico-ureteric reflux, posterior urethral valves, megaureter or a duplex system. In all patients one or more of the following 'indices of obstruction' were positive; an anteroposterior renal pelvic diameter of >20 mm, a half-time diuretic 'washout' (T/2) of > 20 min, a separate renal function of < 40%, and symptoms of obstruction (pain, sepsis).