[Inversion of the sequence of surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for synchronous liver metastases from colorectal cancer].

In some patients with colorectal cancer and synchronous liver metastases, chemotherapy and current combinations of chemotherapy allow the size of these metastases to be reduced so that they can be surgically resected. However, in many patients, the initial systematic treatment of the primary tumor is associated with growth of the metastases (which predict the patient's life expectancy). This metastatic growth contraindicates surgical treatment that might otherwise be curative.

[Use of the sentinel lymph node in gastrointestinal disease].

The concept of the sentinel node (SN) arises from the consideration that lymphatic dissemination of tumoral cells is produced in an initial nodular focus before affecting the remaining lymphatic regions. Although this concept has been validated in malignant melanoma and breast cancer, its application to other solid tumors, including gastrointestinal neoplasms, remains controversial. SN detection may play an important role in avoiding the systematic performance of highly invasive surgery.

[Pulmonary and nonpulmonary alterations in Duchenne muscular dystrophy].

Objective: To describe our experience in managing patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Patients And Methods: We analyzed the following variables in a group of 27 patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: arterial blood gases, lung function before and after mechanical ventilation, oxygen saturation (measured by pulse oximetry), nocturnal PaCO2 (measured transcutaneously by capnography), heart function, and dysphagia.

Results: The mean (SD) age was 26 (6) years and the mean age at which mechanical ventilation had initiated in the patients was 21 (5) years.

Modulation of the motor response to dopaminergic drugs in a parkinsonian model of combined dopaminergic and noradrenergic degeneration.

Besides dopaminergic deficiency, other neurotransmitter systems such as noradrenergic nuclei are affected in Parkinson's disease. Locus coeruleus degeneration might influence the response to dopamine replacement and the presence of long-term complications such as dyskinesias. In this scenario of noradrenergic and dopaminergic neurodegeneration, behavioural effects induced by dopaminergic-interacting drugs are incompletely known.

[Risk factors for mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].

Objective: Although the factors predictive of survival in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been widely studied, full consensus has yet to be reached. The objective of this study was to further clarify how lung function parameters, exercise tolerance, and quality of life influence survival in patients with COPD.

Patients And Methods: This prospective study included 60 patients diagnosed with COPD.

Anti-inflammatory effects of high-dose inhaled fluticasone versus oral prednisone in asthma exacerbations.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the kinetics of high doses of inhaled steroid fluticasone in comparison with oral steroid prednisone on plasma protein leakage and bronchial eosinophilia in adults with moderate asthma exacerbations. The study design was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled prospective trial. In total, 45 patients treated at the emergency department for moderate asthma exacerbations were recruited and 39 were assigned to receive fluticasone and placebo of prednisone (19 patients), or prednisone and placebo of fluticasone (20 patients).

[High frequency of anemia in COPD patients admitted in a tertiary hospital].

Introduction: Anemia is related to chronic and inflammatory diseases. Moreover, it is a factor of worse outcome in heart failure or myocardial infarction. Despite the importance of hemoglobin as a globular oxygen carrying protein, there are few studies on anemia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

[Pulmonary calcifications and chronic kidney failure].

Pulmonary calcification is relatively uncommon and typically asymptomatic. A number of diseases are associated with this disorder, including chronic kidney failure, infections, and lung amyloidosis. There are, moreover, a number of conditions, such as hypercalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, alkalosis, and alveolar damage, which predispose a patient to calcification.

[Asthma and smoking: an unfortunate combination].

Asthma is an inflammatory disease of the airways in which a key role is played by certain cells and mediators (T-helper 2 cells, mast cells, eosinophils, interleukin 4 and 5). In certain disorders such as irritant-induced asthma, reactive airways dysfunction syndrome, and asthma due to toluene diisocyanate, inflammation is mediated predominantly by T-helper 1 cells, macrophages and neutrophils. Smoking also produces bronchial inflammation, in this case mediated primarily by macrophages and neutrophils although eosinophil predominance has also been observed in some smokers (an allergic response to certain antigens).

[Monitoring of breathing pattern at rest by electrical impedance tomography].

Objective: Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) involves the application of a small alternating current to produce a series of chest images that can be used to monitor breathing pattern. The relation between chest images and tidal volume has not been sufficiently validated. The aim of the present study was to analyze the correlation between EIT images and the volume-time signal measured with a pneumotachometer in 13 healthy volunteers.

[Choroidal detachment associated with delayed spontaneous ocular hypotony].

Case Reports: We report two cases of delayed spontaneous hypotony associated with choroidal detachment and hypotony maculopathy. Both patients had undergone uneventful cataract extractions 10 and 6 years prior to the occurrence of apparently spontaneous hypotony. Trabeculectomy was combined with phacoemulsification in one of them.

[Noninvasive, indirect measurement of pulmonary artery pressure].

Objective: The gold standard for measuring pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) is right heart catheterization. However, the usefulness of this technique is limited in patients with lung disease because of a poor acoustic window. The aim of this study was to assess PAP in a group of healthy persons using a noninvasive, indirect measurement procedure derived from the venous return flow velocity wave.

[Impact of a rescue program on the operability of patients with bronchogenic carcinoma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].

Objective: Bronchogenic carcinoma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are strongly associated in our setting, occurring together in around 70% of cases. Approximately 60% of COPD patients who require resection for bronchogenic carcinoma are considered unfit for surgery because of seriously impaired lung function. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which a rescue program could improve lung function in COPD patients who had previously been considered unfit for surgery because of poor lung function.

[Proposed terms for endobronchial lesions in patients suspected of having a bronchial neoplasm].

Endoscopists describe lung cancer lesions using varying terminology. This study aimed to assess the probability of neoplastic disease in terms of endoscopic findings expressed in an original classification system. The endoscopic lesions were classified as infiltrations (superficial lesions without a clear border with normal mucosa) or masses (exophytic lesions easily distinguished from the bronchial wall).

[Domiciliary respiratory muscle training in myotonic dystrophy].

A 42-year-old man diagnosed with myotonic dystrophy experienced loss of respiratory muscle strength over a period of 6 months. We report the application of a domiciliary training program targeting both inspiratory and expiratory muscles. Maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures, forced vital capacity, and forced midexpiratory flow rate were measured 6 months before start of training, just before commencement of the program, and immediately after 12 weeks of training.

Control of ventilation, breathlessness perception and alexithymia in near-fatal asthma.

Several studies have demonstrated impaired control of ventilation in some patients with near-fatal asthma (NFA). The objective of our study was to determine a possible relationship between alexithymia (a cognitive processing disorder), control of ventilation, and breathlessness perception in patients who had an NFA attack. We analyzed data from 100 subjects: 50 with NFA, 25 asthmatics without NFA, and 25 non-asthmatic controls.

Clinical outcomes of expiratory muscle training in severe COPD patients.

Unlabelled: The most common symptoms in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients are breathlessness and exercise limitation. Although both general and inspiratory muscle training have shown clinical benefits, the effects of specific expiratory muscle training remain controversial.

Objective: To investigate the effects of expiratory training on lung function, exercise tolerance, symptoms and health-related quality of life in severe COPD patients.

[Electrical impedance tomography: standardizing the procedure in pneumology].

The following conditions are optimal for obtaining an adequate number of informative images by electric impedance tomography: a) patient seated or standing with hands at the nape of the neck; b) breathing at rest; c) recording of at least 300 images (at a frequency of 10 Hz), and d) readings taken at the sixth intercostal space.

[Markers of airway remodeling in induced sputum from healthy smokers].

Objective: Airway remodeling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been linked to the equilibrium between matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 9 and its inhibitor, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) 1. However, that equilibrium has not been analyzed in healthy smokers. The aim of this study was to assess the equilibrium between MMP-9 and TIMP-1 in induced sputum from healthy smokers, healthy nonsmokers (controls), and patients with COPD.

[The relationship between lung function and health-related quality of life in patients with generalized myasthenia gravis].

Objective: To study lung function abnormalities and health-related quality of life (HRQL) in a group of patients diagnosed with generalized myasthenia gravis, and to analyze the relationship between these 2 sets of variables.

Patients And Methods: In a prospective study of 20 patients diagnosed with generalized myasthenia gravis, the following parameters were measured: spirometry, static lung volumes, breathing pattern, maximal respiratory pressures, and maximum voluntary ventilation. HRQL was assessed using the 36-item short form general health questionnaire (SF-36).

Impact of pulmonary rehabilitation on psychosocial morbidity in patients with severe COPD.

Study Objective: To assess the effect of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) on psychosocial morbidity, functional exercise capacity, and health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with severe COPD.

Design: A prospective, randomized, controlled trial with blinding of outcome assessment and data analysis.

Setting: A tertiary-care respiratory service.

[Efficacy of the 6-minute walk test in evaluating ambulatory oxygen therapy].

Objective: To compare oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2) observed during the 6-minute walk test with that of pulse oximetry carried out during activities of daily living (ADLs). The efficacy of the 6-minute walk test for determining adequate oxygen flow to prevent arterial desaturation during ADLs was also analyzed.

Patients And Methods: We studied 37 patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)--mean (SD) forced expiratory volume in 1 second, 26% (9%) of predicted--and compared SpO2 values obtained in the 6-minute walk test with those obtained with ambulatory pulse oximetry during ADLs.

[Exhaled breath condensate: standardized collection of samples from healthy volunteers].

Expired breath condensate collection is a noninvasive technique for obtaining a sample in which to analyze substances that reflect the functional status of the lung and other tissues. Twenty healthy volunteers provided 3 expired breath samples: the second was collected 20 minutes after the first and the third 48 hours after the first. The air and condensate volumes were assessed.

[Complex cardiac surgery in a patient with dextrocardia and polysplenia].

Dextrocardia with polysplenia is one of a large spectrum of situs anomalies. In most cases, there are associated cardiovascular abnormalities. We report the case of a patient with dextrocardia, polysplenia, situs ambiguous, and interruption of the inferior vena cava, with an azygos vein continuation.

[Morphologic study of the pulmonary veins by magnetic resonance angiography].

Accurate knowledge of the anatomy of the pulmonary veins is important in clinical electrophysiology. In order to evaluate the usefulness of magnetic resonance angiography for this purpose, we studied 17 unselected patients. All the pulmonary veins were visualized in each individual.