Empyema Necessitatis-A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Pleural empyema necessitatis caused by is a rare but severe infection. predominantly and represent the second most common pathogen for empyema necessitans after mycobacteria. The incidence is reported in the literature to be 1:300,000.

[Laparoscopic Treatment of Splenic Artery Aneurysm].

Objective: Visceral artery aneurysms are a rare but dangerous vascular pathology. The branches of the coeliac trunc are most frequently affected, especially the splenic artery. A visceral aneurysm is usually diagnosed only when a bleeding complication occurs due to rupture.

Survival of diabetes patients with major amputation is comparable to malignant disease.

Introduction: Almost all studies on diabetic foot syndrome focused on prevention of amputation and did not investigate long-term prognosis and survival of patients as a primary outcome parameter.

Methods: We did a retrospective cohort study including 314 patients who had diabetic foot syndrome and underwent amputation between December 1995 and January 2001.

Results: A total of 48% of patients received minor amputation (group I), 15% only major amputation (group II) and 36% initially underwent a minor amputation that was followed by a major amputation (group III).

Neoadjuvant therapy in pancreatic cancer: review article.

Context: Pancreatic cancer is still associated with a high mortality and morbidity for affected patients. To this date the role of neoadjuvant therapy in the standard treatment of pancreatic cancer remains elusive. The aim of our study was to review the latest results and current approaches in neoadjuvant therapy of pancreatic cancer.

Regulation mechanisms of the hedgehog pathway in pancreatic cancer: a review.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fourth most common cause of death from cancer. Its 5-year survival rate is less than 5%. This poor prognosis is mostly due to the cancer's early invasion and metastasis formation, leading to an initial diagnosis at an advanced incurable stage in the majority of patients.