Professionals', patients' and families' views on the use of opioids for chronic breathlessness: A systematic review using the framework method and pillar process.

Background: In combination with non-pharmacological interventions, opioids may safely reduce chronic breathlessness in patients with severe illness. However, implementation in clinical practice varies.

Aim: To synthesise the published literature regarding health professionals', patients' and families' views on the use of opioids for chronic breathlessness, identifying issues which influence implementation in clinical practice.

[Surgical techniques in ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm].

In recent years we are observing an increasing number of authors. The surgical results, in the elective cases, are improved drammatically, and now, in many Centers, the mortality rate is less than 5%. We haven't observed the same improvements for the emergency cases.

[Aneurysms of the popliteal artery. Our clinical and therapeutic contribution].

The authors report their experience in 10 cases of popliteal artery aneurysms. By the data of the literature the popliteal artery is the second place most affected by aneurysmatic injuries, immediately after the abdominal aorta. The authors think that the optimal treatment is the by-pass with the autologous vein graft versus all other types of prostheses.

Variations in human taste bud density and taste intensity perception.

Some variations in human taste sensitivity may be due to different numbers of taste buds among subjects. Taste pores were counted on the tongue tips of 16 people with videomicroscopy, and the subjects were divided into two groups (N = 8) by the rank order of their taste bud densities. The "higher" density group averaged 374 +/- 134 taste pores/cm2, while the "lower" density group averaged 135 +/- 43 tp/cm2.

[Aortic pseudo-valvular image with diastolic eccentricity of the semilunaris. A specific sign of aortic dissection?].

M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiograms were obtained in a patient with aortic dissection (De Bakey type 1). The M-mode echocardiogram showed an image resembling to an aortic valve with a left coronary cusp and eccentric diastolic echoes. The M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiograms recorded at a more distal level showed that this image was produced by the systo-diastolic movements of the torn intima.

[Uncommon evolution of aneurysm of the ascending aorta in Marfan syndrome. A case report (author's transl)].

The Authors report a case of aneurysm of the ascending aorta in Marfan syndrome, with fatal outcome (2 months after the onset of the symptoms), caused neither by dissection nor by rupture of the aorta, but by serious myocardial involvement due to anoxic damage and acute volume overload of left ventricle. The Authors describe the possible mechanisms of this evolution and point out the usefulness of the identification of this uncommon evolution for a useful and opportune surgical therapy.