Correlation of endoscopic ultrasound-guided portal pressure gradient measurements with hepatic venous pressure gradient: a prospective study.

Background: Hepatic venous portal gradient (HVPG) measurement remains the gold standard for estimating portal pressure gradient (PPG). This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided PPG and HVPG in patients with chronic portal hypertension.

Methods: Patients with chronic portal hypertension in whom HVPG assessment was clinically indicated were invited to undergo transjugular HVPG and EUS-PPG with a 22-G needle in separate sessions for comparison.

Enhanced recovery after low- and medium-risk liver transplantation. A single-center prospective observational cohort study.

Background & Aims: Few studies have fully applied an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol to liver transplantation (LT). Our aim was to assess the effects of a comprehensive ERAS protocol in our cohort of low- and medium-risk LT patients.

Methods: The ERAS protocol included pre-, intra-, and post-operative steps.

Vasculogenesis from Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells Grown in Matrigel with Fully Defined Serum-Free Culture Media.

The generation of vasculature is one of the most important challenges in tissue engineering and regeneration. Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) are some of the most promising stem cell types to induce vasculogenesis and angiogenesis as they not only secrete vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) but can also differentiate in vitro into both endotheliocytes and pericytes in serum-free culture media. Moreover, hDPSCs can generate complete blood vessels containing both endothelial and mural layers in vivo, upon transplantation into the adult brain.

Surveillance and diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) appears in most of cases in patients with advanced liver disease and is currently the primary cause of death in this population. Surveillance of HCC has been proposed and recommended in clinical guidelines to obtain earlier diagnosis, but it is still controversial and is not accepted worldwide.

Aim: To review the actual evidence to support the surveillance programs in patients with cirrhosis as well as the diagnosis procedure.

The ART-SCORE is not an effective tool for optimizing patient selection for DEB-TACE retreatment. A multicentre Spanish study.

Introduction: The appropriate selection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who are eligible for transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) remains a challenge. The ART score has recently been proposed as a method of identifying patients who are eligible or not for a second TACE procedure.

Objective: To assess the validity of the Assessment for Retreatment with TACE (ART) score in a cohort of patients treated with drug-eluting bead TACE (DEB-TACE).

New advances in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the leading cause of deaths in cirrhotic patients and the third cause of cancer related deaths. Most HCC are associated with well known underlying risk factors, in fact, HCC arise in cirrhotic patients in up to 90% of cases, mainly due to chronic viral hepatitis and alcohol abuse. The worldwide prevention strategies are conducted to avoid the infection of new subjects and to minimize the risk of liver disease progression in infected patients.

Optimal technique and response of doxorubicin beads in hepatocellular cancer: bead size and dose.

Background/aims: It has been shown that the drug-eluting beads loaded with doxorubicin (DEBDOX) are effective for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the optimal safety and efficacy still remain to be established by using various bead sizes, doxorubicin doses, and the degree of stasis.The aim of this study was to determine the optimal safety and efficacy of DEBDOX in the treatment of HCC.

Acute and chronic hemodynamic changes after propranolol in patients with cirrhosis under primary and secondary prophylaxis of variceal bleeding: a pilot study.

Background And Aim: Prophylactic treatment of variceal bleeding in cirrhotic patients with beta-blockers is effective in only some patients. Our aim was to determine whether the response of the hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) to the intravenous administration of propranolol predicts the response after chronic oral propranolol treatment.

Patients And Methods: We included prospectively cirrhotic patients with esophageal varices under primary prophylaxis (PP) and secondary prophylaxis (SP).

Clinical response to ertapenem in severe community-acquired pneumonia: a retrospective series in an elderly population.

To evaluate in routine hospital practice the clinical response to ertapenem in comparison with other parenteral antibiotics in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), clinical records from patients with severe CAP treated with ertapenem from July 2002 to June 2006 in seven Spanish hospitals were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were classified according to the Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI). Each ertapenem-treated patient was matched with two patients in the same hospital treated with other antibiotics, according to age (difference View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Successful endovascular treatment of a large idiopathic azygos arch aneurysm.

Idiopathic azygos vein aneurysms are rare and typically present as incidentally discovered mediastinal masses. Treatment is advisable when the aneurysm enlarges or is complicated by compression symptoms, rupture, or thromboembolic disease. The authors describe successful endovascular treatment of a symptomatic azygos vein aneurysm by means of embolization with coils at the azygos vein close to the dilated arch but respecting the bulb itself.

Usefulness of surveillance programmes for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in clinical practice.

Background/aims: Surveillance programmes (SPs) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with cirrhosis intend to diagnose the tumour in its early stages when an effective therapy can be applied. The aims of this study have been to compare the survival of patients with HCC being diagnosed or not in SPs, and to establish a more accurate profile of the best target population.

Methods: From January 1996 to June 2005, 290 patients with HCC were included.

Comparison of staging systems to predict survival in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: Some new staging systems in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have been described in the last years. The aim of this study was to compare the survival-predicting capacity of some variables and the prognostic classifications.

Methods: Demographic, clinical, analytical variables and tumour characteristics were collected in a study including 115 patients with HCC.

Functional status of beta-2-adrenoceptor in isolated membranes of mature erythrocytes from patients with cirrhosis and oesophageal varices.

Propranolol is a widely used drug for prophylaxis of variceal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis, but not all patients show an adequate clinical response. This variability may be in relation to beta adrenoceptor activity, but no information is available in this setting. Thirty-nine patients with advanced cirrhosis and presence of oesophageal varices were sequentially included.

Effectiveness and safety of balloon dilation of the papilla and the use of an occlusion balloon for clearance of bile duct calculi.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe a technique for percutaneous bile duct stone clearance by pushing the stones into the small bowel after balloon dilation of the papilla.

Subjects And Methods: During a 2-year period, 38 patients were treated percutaneously for stones in the biliary tree. Twenty-one patients were treated through a T tube or transcystic tract.

Doppler duplex color localization of osteoid osteomas.

We present two cases of osteoid osteoma in adolescent boys. The lesions were located in the proximal metaphysis of the right tibia and left femoral diaphysis respectively. Doppler duplex color study demonstrated clearly the highly vascular nidus and its feeding artery in one case and only the feeding artery in the second.

[Single teeth on Brånemark fixtures. A new esthetic approach. Presentation of a clinical case].

The reliability of the Brånemark implant system has been well documented. In addition, the technique has been employed in the anterior portion of the mouth with good cosmetic results. Fundamental to the success of these procedures is the multidisciplinary approach.