Radiation Proctitis in Patients With Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer Treated by Chemoradiation: Analysis and Predictive Factors From a Retrospective Cohort.

Objectives: Radiation proctitis is a misunderstanding complication of chemoradiation in locally advanced cervical cancer. The objective of our study is to provide a detailed description and analysis of predictive factors associated with radiation proctitis in a retrospective cohort of patients treated by chemoradiation for locally advanced cervical cancer.

Methods: All patients treated by exclusive chemoradiation or chemoradiation followed by brachytherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer from 2011 to 2017 were included in the study.

Large scale experience of two ultrahypofractionated 5 fractions regimes after breast conserving surgery from a single centre.

Purpose: Ultra-hypofractionation breast radiotherapy is a safe alternative to moderate hypofractionation. This study reports the results of two ultrahypofractionated regimens used in clinical practice in a high-volume radiotherapy center in terms of efficacy and of tolerance.

Methods: we included all patients treated in an adjuvant setting with five fractions after breast conserving surgery (BCS), for a histologically-confirmed invasive or breast carcinoma.

[Radiotherapy of rare head and neck tumors].

Management of head and neck tumors is complex because of multiple anatomical locations and histologies possibilities. Rare tumors must be managed in a specialized center and be registered in the French network of expertise on ENT Cancers (Refcor). Despite heterogeneous levels of evidence, radiotherapy plays an essential role in their treatment.

Radiotherapy in the management of synchronous metastatic lung cancer.

Metastatic lung cancer classically portends a poor prognosis. The management of metastatic lung cancer has dramatically changed with the emergence of immune checkpoint inhibitors, targeted therapy and due to a better understanding of the oligometastatic process. In metastatic lung cancers, radiation therapy which was only used with palliative intent for decades, represents today a promising way to treat primary and oligometastatic sites with a curative intent.

Managing Diabetes in Pregnancy Using Cell Phone/Internet Technology.

In Brief For pregnant women with diabetes, using cell phone/Internet technology to track and report self-monitoring of blood glucose results improves compliance and satisfaction compared to using the more traditional methods of log books, telephone calls, and voicemail messages.

Umbilical cord blood and placental mercury, selenium and selenoprotein expression in relation to maternal fish consumption.

Seafood is an important source of nutrients for fetal neurodevelopment. Most individuals are exposed to the toxic element mercury through seafood. Due to the neurotoxic effects of mercury, United States government agencies recommend no more than 340g (12oz) per week of seafood consumption during pregnancy.

Methamphetamines and pregnancy outcomes.

Introduction: Methamphetamine (MA) is one of the most commonly used illicit drugs in pregnancy, yet studies on MA-exposed pregnancy outcomes have been limited because of retrospective measures of drug use; lack of control for confounding factors; other drug use, including tobacco; poverty; poor diet; and lack of prenatal care. This study presents prospective collected data on MA use and birth outcomes, controlling for most confounders.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of women obtaining prenatal care from a clinic treating women with substance use disorders, on whom there are prospectively obtained data on MA and other drug use, including tobacco.

A case of ruptured splenic artery aneurysm in pregnancy.

Background. Rupture of a splenic artery aneurysm is rare complication of pregnancy that is associated with a significant maternal and fetal mortality. Case.

Seafood consumption and umbilical cord blood mercury concentrations in a multiethnic maternal and child health cohort.

Background: Fish consumption is common among the cultures of Hawaii, and given public health attention to mercury exposure in pregnancy, it is important to better understand patterns of fish consumption and mercury in pregnancy. This study examined the influence of maternal fish consumption during pregnancy on umbilical cord mercury (Hg) concentrations in a multiethnic cohort of women in Hawaii.

Methods: This secondary analysis of a prospective cohort pilot study examined antenatal seafood consumption and neonatal outcomes in Hawaii.

The contribution of heart disease to pregnancy-related mortality according to the pregnancy mortality surveillance system.

Objective: The objective of this study was to demonstrate the increasing importance of heart disease as a cause of pregnancy-related mortality in Hawaii and the rest of the United States.

Study Design: Hawaii's Department of Public Health identified all pregnancy-associated death certificates from 1991 to 2007. Hospital records and autopsy reports were reviewed to determine whether deaths were pregnancy-related.

Criterion validity of Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire-20 Form B: a study of 63 alcoholic subjects.

The aim of the study was to set alexithymia cutoff scores on the 20-item Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire-20 Form B. Alexithymia is a clinical construct describing individuals who have difficulty identifying and reporting their specific emotions. 63 subjects meeting the DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence completed the questionnaire and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale.

Internal thoracic artery grafts for the entire heart at a mean of 12 years.

Background: There is consensus today that the long-term results of bypassing the left anterior descending artery with an internal thoracic artery (ITA) graft are superior to those of a saphenous vein graft. Our hypothesis for this study was that three-vessel revascularization with only ITA grafts would also give excellent results.

Methods: Using our previously described techniques to enhance the length of ITA grafts by skeletonization and high mediastinal mobilization, we were able to perform tension-free, three-vessel revascularization using only ITA grafts in 125 (83%) of a consecutive series of 150 patients with three-vessel occlusive coronary disease.

Utilizing granulocyte colony-stimulating factor to enhance vascular graft endothelialization from circulating blood cells.

Cells in the blood circulating through a vascular graft can contribute to endothelialization of its flow surface. We hypothesized that granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) could enhance this process by increasing circulating bone marrow progenitor cells. Ten dogs received composite grafts that were shielded from any source of endothelialization other than the circulating blood.

Development of a symmetric canine abdominal aortic aneurysm model with clinical relevance for endovascular graft studies.

This study was designed to develop a large-animal model to study and validate transluminally placed endovascular grafts and related techniques for treating abdominal aortic aneurysms with minimal trauma. In four dogs, a segment of infrarenal abdominal aorta was dissected and an endarterectomy was performed through an aortotomy to remove the entire intima of this controlled aortic segment. The opening was patched with chemically processed bovine pericardium, and an identical patch was applied after aortotomy of the opposite side of the aorta.

Favorable histologic findings and tensile strength at 14 years in knitted polyester aortofemoral and femoropopliteal grafts in the same patient.

Patent right and left limbs of an aortobifemoral knitted polyester graft and a patent left femoropopliteal graft, both implanted for 14 years, were removed 40 hr postmortem from a 63-year-old man. Healing studies were performed, using routine and immunocytochemistry staining scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on multiple samples taken from sites sufficiently far from the anastomoses to avoid pannus healing. Evaluation by weight-elongation comparison with a fresh graft demonstrated that structural stability and strength were well preserved.

[Rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation? A series of 103 patients].

Purpose Of The Study: The goal of this work was to evaluate outpatient rehabilitation after anterior curciate ligament reconstruction using the bone-tendon technique.

Material And Methods: This was a prospective non-randomized study of 103 consecutive patients participating in the same rehabilitation program, excepting for the first month. During the first postoperative month, 55 patients (group A) attended a physical therapy outpatient clinic near their home and 48 patients (group B) followed the same rehabilitation protocol at an inpatient facility of their choice.

Ticlopidine, Alka-Seltzer, or a combination of citric acid with aspirin: effects on platelet aggregation in individuals with an insufficient response to aspirin alone.

Aspirin (ASA) does not effectively lower platelet aggregation in all people. The platelet aggregation (PA) score is an easily used clinical method for measuring the effect in individuals of antiplatelet medications. Fifteen apparently healthy subjects (2 men and 13 women), selected for their resistance to ASA's antiaggregation effect, completed a sequential trial of ticlopidine, Alka-Seltzer, and ASA + citric acid (CTA).

Use of arm veins for lower extremity arterial bypass--results, anatomical features and technical considerations.

Forty lower limb bypasses using arm veins were performed on 37 patients. The indications for surgery were limb threat in 50% of cases, graft failure in 33%, aneurysms in 10% and claudication in 7%. Saphenous veins were absent because of prior use in 73% of cases, and because they were unsuitable in 27%.

Administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor enhances endothelialization and microvessel formation in small-caliber synthetic vascular grafts.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether systemic administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) would promote endothelialization for small-caliber Dacron vascular grafts.

Methods: We implanted 4-mm preclotted Dacron grafts in both carotids of 12 dogs. For a fair comparison, all dogs had a comparable platelet aggregation profile with platelet aggregation scores less than 30.

Dynamic Changes of Smooth Muscle and Endothelial Markers in the Early Healing Process of Dacron Vascular Grafts in the Dog, Using RT-PCR.

Previous studies of neointima formation on Dacron vascular grafts mainly focused on the late stages using immunohistochemistry staining for von Willebrand factor (vWF) and smooth muscle (SM) alpha-actin. However, it is impossible to use immunohistochemistry to study the early events of neointima formation, because graft samples lack sufficient cellular material. Therefore, we used reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to demonstrate dynamic changes of SM and endothelial markers during the early stages of neointima formation.

Enhanced endothelialization and microvessel formation in polyester grafts seeded with CD34(+) bone marrow cells.

The authors have shown accelerated endothelialization on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) grafts preclotted with autologous bone marrow. Bone marrow cells have a subset of early progenitor cells that express the CD34 antigen on their surfaces. A recent in vitro study has shown that CD34(+) cells can differentiate into endothelial cells.

Morphology and histology of human and canine internal thoracic arteries.

Background: We evaluated human and canine internal thoracic arteries (ITAs) to determine whether the latter is valid for studies relevant to clinical use.

Methods: We studied 19 human ITAs obtained from 1 female and 14 male victims of recent fatal accidents who had no evidence of cardiovascular disease (mean age = 39+/-19 years; range = 15 to 79 years), and ITAs of 21 randomly-selected mongrel dogs of both sexes, weighing 18-40 kg (average = 24.3+/-5.