RETINAL MORPHOMETRY CHANGES MEASURED WITH SPECTRAL DOMAIN-OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY AFTER PAN-RETINAL PHOTOCOAGULATION IN PATIENTS WITH PROLIFERATIVE DIABETIC RETINOPATHY.

Purpose: To identify the effects of pan-retinal laser treatment on the integrity of neurosensory retinal layers.

Methods: Patients were examined with fluorescence angiography after a standardized examination for diabetic retinopathy and a peripapillary ring scan with spectral domain optical coherence tomography. A single-session pan-retinal photocoagulation was performed using the PASCAL pattern scanning argon laser applying a minimum of 1,500 spots.

Admission blood glucose predicted haemorrhagic shock in multiple trauma patients.

Introduction: Admission blood glucose is known to be a predictor for outcome in several disease patterns, especially in critically ill trauma patients. The underlying mechanisms for the association of hyperglycaemia and poor outcome are still not proven. It was hypothesised that hyperglycaemia upon hospital admission is associated with haemorrhagic shock and in-hospital mortality.

Multicenter phase II study evaluating docetaxel and cisplatin as neoadjuvant induction regimen prior to surgery or radiochemotherapy with docetaxel, followed by adjuvant docetaxel therapy in chemonaive patients with NSCLC stage II, IIIA and IIIB (TAX-AT 1.203 Trial).

Objectives: Neoadjuvant therapy with a platinum based doublet is an option in NSCLC patients with upfront resectable disease. However, the role of neoadjuvant induction in stages IIIA and IIIB and in initially not resectable patients is unclear.

Patients And Methods: In this phase II trial, 78 patients with locally advanced NSCLC, of whom 56 were considered not resectable at initial diagnosis, were treated with three neoadjuvant cycles of docetaxel and cisplatin and subjected to radical surgery if resectable.

OphthalNet Vienna: constructive quality assurance and resource optimization in ophthalmology.

Significant improvements in the field of diagnostic methods and therapeutic options achieved during the last decade allow the early diagnosis, accurate follow-up and individual indication for the treatment with highly efficacious therapeutic agents in a wide range of ophthalmological pathologies. The burden on health care systems is extremely high, as treatment and diagnostic follow up has to be repeated in a regular manner. Whereas the treatment can only be applied in tertiary care centers (eye clinics), follow-up and management mainly depends on the OCT technology, which is becoming available at many field ophthalmologists' practices.

Repair of oronasal fistulae by interposition of multilayered amniotic membrane allograft.

Background: Oronasal fistulas are a frequent complication after cleft palate surgery. Numerous repair methods have been described, but wound-healing problems occur often. The authors investigated, for the first time, the suitability of multilayered amniotic membrane allograft for fistula repair in a laboratory experiment (part A), a swine model (part B), and an initial patient series (part C).

Radionuclide therapy beyond radioiodine.

For decades, Iodine-131 has been used for the treatment of patients with thyroid cancer. In recent years, increasingly, other radiopharmaceuticals are in clinical use in the treatment of various malignant diseases. Although in principle these therapies-as in all applications of radionuclides-special radiation protection measures are required, a separate nuclear medicine therapy department is not necessary in many cases due to the lower or lack of gamma radiation.

Three-dimensional ultrasound as a predictor of pregnancy in patients undergoing ART.

Different ultrasound parameters have been used to assess endometrial receptivity during ART treatment, including endometrial thickness, endometrial pattern, endometrial volume, Doppler of uterine arteries and endometrial blood flow. However, conflicting results have been reported with regard to their role in the prediction of pregnancy in ART treatment. The 3D ultrasound with power Doppler provides a unique tool with which to examine the blood supply of the whole endometrium and subendometrial region.

[99mTc]demotensin VI: biodistribution and initial clinical results in tumor patients of a pilot/phase I study.

Purpose: Neurotensin subtype 1 receptor overexpression is found in a variety of human tumors. The aim of this pilot/phase I study was to assess the safety profile, pharmacokinetics, and imaging characteristics of (99m)Tc-Demotensin VI in tumor patients.

Methods: Scintigraphy with (99m)Tc-Demotensin VI was performed in 14 patients (2 female and 12 male) with advanced tumor stages.

Simple trachelectomy of early invasive cervix carcinoma in the second trimester.

Although cervical carcinoma is among the most frequently encountered malignancies during pregnancy only a small number of cases during pregnancy have been reported. Usually, the patients have been treated by radical trachelectomy with or without chemotherapy during the pregnancy. Laparoscopic pelvic lymph node dissection with frozen section, simple trachelectomy and cerclage were performed in the 22(nd) week of pregnancy.

Serum leptin is correlated to high turnover in osteoporosis.

Objective: Clinical data have suggested that obesity protects against osteoporosis. Leptin, mainly secreted by white adipose tissue, might be involved by mediating an effect on bone metabolism. This study was conducted to investigate a possible relationship of leptin and bone turn-over in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

Three-dimensional ultrasound to assess the response to treatment in gynecological malignancies.

Objective: To report the potential role of 3D ultrasound to assess the response to treatment in gynecological malignancies.

Methods: The volumes and three 3D power Doppler indices are measured in one case of cervix carcinoma and in one case of ovarian carcinoma with primary radio- and/or chemotherapy before and after treatment.

Results: After treatment, tumor volume, vascularization index (VI), flow index (FI), and vascularization-flow index (VFI) were reduced in both two cases.

Accuracy of three-dimensional transvaginal ultrasound in uterus volume measurements; comparison with two-dimensional ultrasound.

The purpose of this study was to document the accuracy of 3-D uterus volume and to compare it with 2-D measurements. Transvaginal ultrasound (US) examinations were performed in 48 consecutive patients before hysterectomy. The examinations were stored digitally on an internal disk drive for subsequent measurements in virtual organ computer-aided analysis (VOCAL) program.

Laparoscopic resection of an accessory spleen in a patient with chronic lower abdominal pain.

During a diagnostic laparoscopy in a patient with chronic lower abdominal pain we found a pediculated accessory spleen (AS) near the left adnex. The pedicle was dissected by ultrascision, it was cut by an Endo GIA, and the AS was extracted. AS occurs in 25-40% of the population.

Evaluation of remifentanil as single drug for awake fiberoptic intubation.

Background: Awake fiberoptic intubation is the standard of care for difficult airway management. Quality and success of this technique depend on the experience of the intubating physician and the proper preparation of the patient. The aim of this study was to compare remifentanil (R) as single agent to the combination of fentanyl (F) and midazolam (M), which have been the drugs for analgesia and sedation for this procedure.

Videothoracoscopy for the management of mediastinal mass lesions.

Background: The indications for video-assisted thoracoscopy have steadily expanded during recent years and include now the management of various mediastinal disorders.

Methods: Until now we have used videothoracoscopy for the diagnosis or treatment of mediastinal mass lesions in 28 patients. The indication for the procedure was bilateral or unilateral mediastinal adenopathy in 16, a suspected malignant anterior mediastinal mass lesion in six, and a presumable benign tumor of the posterior or anterior mediastinum in six patients.

Pancreatic microcirculation in the monkey with special reference to the blood drainage system of Langerhans islets: light and scanning electron microscopic study.

The microcirculation of the pancreas in 20 monkeys (Macaca mulatta) was further studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of vascular corrosion casts and light microscopy (LM) of Chinese ink-injected/cleared tissues. The results revealed that 91% of islets observed received arterial blood from the terminal branches of the intralobular arteries--the afferent arterioles, and 9% received no arterial blood, being entirely supplied by the efferent vessels of the intermediate or large islets. Some islets received blood from the translobular afferent arterioles of the adjacent lobule.

Yield of prospective, noninvasive evaluation of the common bile duct combined with selective ERCP/sphincterotomy in 1390 consecutive laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients.

The role of noninvasive evaluation of the common bile duct combined with selective preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiography and sphincterotomy was prospectively evaluated in 1390 consecutive patients subjected to laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Preoperative common bile duct testing included liver chemistries, transcutaneous ultrasonography, and intravenous cholangiography. When indicated by various sets of abnormal studies, prelaparoscopic endoscopic retrograde cholangiography was attempted in 129 patients (9.

Selective use of ERCP in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

With the advent of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LCH) various strategies have been proposed for the management of common bile duct (CBD) stones. In a consecutive series of 1140 patients subjected to LCH, preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was attempted in 128 patients (11.2%) and successfully accomplished in 121 (94.