Pediatric liver transplant recipients: mortality analysis over 20 years.

Orthotropic liver transplantation (OLT) has become standard and accepted care for pediatric patients with end-stage liver disease. Two large pediatric OLT series are analyzed to determine excess death rates (EDR) over 20 years. The EDR decreases over time and is lower with more recent transplant recipients who have benefited from improved tacrolimus-based immunosuppression and transplant techniques.

Bariatric surgery: review of common procedures and mortality analysis.

Obesity is a growing epidemic, and its burden on the health care system and its impact on mortality are well known. Bariatric surgery is increasingly used worldwide to treat morbid obesity, generally defined as body mass index > or = 40 kg/m2. Common bariatric surgical procedures are described and mortality analyses of two recent clinical studies are presented.

Barrett's esophagus.

Barrett's esophagus is a premalignant condition associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease. This review will discuss the diagnosis, etiology and treatment of this common disorder.

Correlation between venous and capillary blood samples for cyclosporine monitoring in pediatric liver transplant patients.

Venipuncture has traditionally been required to monitor serum cyclosporine levels. This is a difficult if not impossible task in pediatric patients. Capillary blood sampling has eliminated the need for venous access in the majority pediatric laboratory investigations.