Universal newborn hearing screening: the experience of the University Hospital of Parma.

Background And Aim: Early diagnosis of congenital deafness is fundamental to minimize the negative consequences on a child's educational and psychosocial development. To lower the age of hearing-impaired children at the time of diagnosis, universal neonatal hearing screening (UNHS) is considered essential. The aim of this study was to review tha data of the first 4 years of implementation of UNHS in the University Hospital of Parma.

The influence of intraoperative central venous pressure on delayed graft function in renal transplantation: a single-center experience.

Introduction: Delayed graft function (DGF) is a common complication in kidney transplantation. We sought to evaluate possible correlates for DGF including intraoperative parameters, focusing on fluid replacement and central venous pressure (CVP) values among patients undergoing kidney transplantation at our center.

Methods: One hundred fifty-five cadaveric donor transplantations performed at our center between 2001 and 2005 were selected for the study.

Obesity and cardiac risk after kidney transplantation: experience at one center and comprehensive literature review.

Background: The cardiac implications of obesity in kidney transplant recipients are not well-described.

Methods: We examined associations of body mass index (BMI) at transplant with posttransplant cardiac risk among 1102 renal allograft recipients at a single center in 1991 to 2004. Cumulative posttransplant incidences of congestive heart failure (CHF), atrial fibrillation (AF), myocardial infarction, and a composite of these cardiac diagnoses were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method.

Post-coronarography application of continuous veno-venous hemofiltration in the prevention of contrast nephropathy in patients with complex multisystem deficiency.

Background: An increased admission of high-risk patients to diagnostic and interventional radiological procedures with contrast medium has resulted in an increase of contrast-induced nephropathy, which now represents the third main cause of hospital-acquired acute renal failure. The pathogenic mechanism of contrast-induced nephropathy (CN) is unclear, but there is much evidence which indicated an interaction between direct tubular cytotoxicity and osmotic/hemodynamic effects. Continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH) has shown possible benefits in preventing CN.

Variations in the risk for cerebrovascular events after kidney transplant compared with experience on the waiting list and after graft failure.

Background And Objectives: This study examined the risks, predictors, and mortality implications of cerebrovascular disease events after kidney transplantation in a national cohort.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: This analysis used United States Renal Data System registry data to study retrospectively Medicare-insured kidney transplant candidates (n = 51,504), recipients (n = 29,614), and recipients with allograft failure (n = 2954) in 1995 through 2002. New-onset cerebrovascular disease events including ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, and transient ischemic attacks were ascertained from billing records, and participants were followed until Medicare-end or December 31, 2002.

The pectoralis major myocutaneous flap in head and neck reconstructive surgery: 16 years of experience.

Wide defects resulting after resection of malignant tumors of the head and neck need an adeguate closure. In the last 16 years, 85 pectoralis major myocutaneous island flap procedures were carried out for the immediate reconstruction of surgical defects following extirpation of malignant tumors at various sites of the upper aerodigestive tract. The final functional and cosmetic results were satisfactory.

The value of CT scans in improving laryngoscopy in patients with laryngeal cancer.

This retrospective study assessed the value of computed tomography (CT) scan with contrast in improving the staging accuracy of indirect and direct laryngoscopy. We compared the preoperative staging obtained by the two latter procedures with postoperative histopathological findings in 187 patients operated on for laryngeal cancer. Of these cancers, 98 were supraglottic, 82 glottic and 7 subglottic in origin.

[Panendoscopy in the research of multiple malignant synchronous occult tumors in patients with cancer of the upper aero-digestive tract].

The Authors consider the result obtained in the diagnosis of malignancies simultaneous neoplasia in patients with a tumour of the head and neck. The study was conducted on 337 patients on 750 observed in the last seven years with a squamous-cell carcinoma at different stages of keratinization, who underwent an ORL examination, bronchoscopy and esophagogastroduodenoscopy, sometimes with intravital staining. Bronchoscopy was conducted on 297 patients, esophagogastruoduodenoscopy on 300.

[An anastomotic loop between the recurrent nerves--an anatomical description].

The authors present the results of twelve dissections of the neck carried out during autopsy on non-conserved human corpses. The investigation, centered on the anatomic study of the laryngeal nerve within the framework of the European Research Group on the Larynx (G.R.

[Chronic hyperplastic parathyroiditis: the anatomico-clinical and pathogenetic aspects].

The authors described a case of chronic hyperplastic parathyroiditis with hyperparathyroidism occurred in a patient undergone to surgery for laryngeal carcinoma. The morphological picture, the clinical date and the review of the previous studies suggest some hypothesis about the pathogenesis of the chronic hyperplastic parathyroiditis: parainfectious origin, anomalous embryonal development, environmental factors and autoimmune process are considered. The latter pathogenetic mechanism is likely to be involved in most of cases.

Surgical anatomy of the superior laryngeal nerve.

The authors report on their anatomic findings in 42 surgical dissections of the superior laryngeal nerve. Better knowledge of this anatomy should enable a more conservative cervical surgery and help in attempts at nervous rehabilitation of laryngeal paralysis.

Parathyroid surgery in primary hyperparathyroidism: an update.

The best approach to parathyroid removal in primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) is still a major topic in neck surgery. The present report reviews our experiences with 71 patients operated by parathyroidectomy (PTX) between 1978 and 1987. Preoperative computed tomography, sonographic and double-tracer subtraction scanning examination allowed a precise assessment of the number and the topography of the diseased glands.

[Use of the Montgomery prosthesis in the treatment and prevention of anterior commissural synechiae secondary to bilateral cordectomy].

The authors report the results obtained with the use of the Montgomery silicone prosthesis for the prevention or treatment of thick and sometimes partially stenosing synechiae of the anterior commissure following bilateral cordectomy by median thyrotomy. The umbrella-shaped prosthesis consists of two silicone sheets which are perpendicular to each other. The vertical sheet is of variable length and, once placed in position, it separates at the anterior commissure the two portions of larynx operated on, so that they may be adequately reepithelized.

[Comparative study of pre and post-operative dynamic respiratory indices in subjects undergoing total laryngectomy].

A spirometric measurement was carried out on patients with cancer of the laryn before and after surgery for total laryngectomy at the Istituto Policattedra of the University of Parma ENT Clinic. Postoperative spirometry was performed by means of a Vitalograph apparatus with the mouthpiece positioned right over the tracheal opening. The parameters considered were the dynamic respiratory indices (CV/MEVS - MEVS/CV).

[Laryngocele. Possibilities and limitations of surgical treatment under direct microlaryngoscopy].

Three cases of laryngocele are reported, which were managed by surgery under direct microlaryngoscopy with excellent clinical and functional results, both at short and long term. According to the classification of Y. Lacomme, two patients had an internal or vestibular laryngocele, which was of the low type in one of them and of the middle type in the other.