Publications by authors named "Matthew Laugharne"

Emphysematous gastritis is a severe form of gastritis caused by gas-forming infectious organisms and is most frequently encountered in critically unwell patients. Diagnosis rests on the radiographic appearances of air within the gastric wall, which may extend into the portal venous system. Not previously described in the context of neutropenic sepsis, our case involves a 77-year-old patient with emphysematous gastritis who was admitted to the intensive care unit with a neutrophil count of 0.

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Obstructed defecation syndrome (ODS) is a clinical syndrome manifest as difficulty in faecal evacuation despite no mechanical obstruction. It is the final clinical pathway of a number of anatomical and physiological pathologies they can result in considerable misery to the lives of the patients it afflicts. Herein, the authors seek to breakdown the syndrome into its component parts, looking first at normal pelvic floor anatomy and physiology; followed by each pathological element; clinical features and investigation; individual management and management of the patient as a whole.

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Background: Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) is a genetic disorder characterised by the development of benign tumours secondary to loss of inhibitory regulation of the mTOR (mechanistic Target of Rapamycin) intracellular growth pathway. Metformin inhibits the mTOR pathway. We investigated whether metformin would reduce growth of hamartomas associated with tuberous sclerosis complex.

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Aim: The causes of death in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) have rarely been studied, with only one published account, which was reported from the Mayo Clinic in 1991. We aimed to investigate mortality in a large cohort of patients with TSC from one of two national referral clinics in the UK.

Method: We identified 284 patients who attended Bath TSC clinic between 1981 and 2015, and ascertained causes of death by reviewing medical records, death certificates, and postmortem reports.

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Patients waiting more than 3 years for a renal transplant were ranked according to our novel Bristol and Region Allocation by Non-heart beating Donor Score (BRANDS). One kidney from 40 non-heart beating donors was allocated to the highest BRANDS long-waiter and the other kidney allocated according to the UK National Allocation Scheme (NAS). The scheme reduced the number of patients waiting more than 3 years by 20%.

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Presently, sirolimus (rapamycin) is used as both induction and maintenance immunosuppression in solid organ transplants, including whole pancreas and kidney, and islet transplantation. Sirolimus has been suggested to have deleterious effects on islet beta-cell and renal function. We investigated the effect of sirolimus on the viability of islets, podocytes, and renal tubular cells.

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The performance of multidetector computed tomography (CT) angiography was assessed in the pre-operative evaluation of live renal donors. Between July 1998 and March 2006, 156 consecutive patients underwent open donor nephrectomy following pre-operative multidetector CT angiography (MDCTA). Operative notes were compared with radiological reports and discrepancies identified.

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