Development and Validation of a Comprehensive Model to Estimate Early Allograft Failure Among Patients Requiring Early Liver Retransplant.

Importance: Expansion of donor acceptance criteria for liver transplant increased the risk for early allograft failure (EAF), and although EAF prediction is pivotal to optimize transplant outcomes, there is no consensus on specific EAF indicators or timing to evaluate EAF. Recently, the Liver Graft Assessment Following Transplantation (L-GrAFT) algorithm, based on aspartate transaminase, bilirubin, platelet, and international normalized ratio kinetics, was developed from a single-center database gathered from 2002 to 2015.

Objective: To develop and validate a simplified comprehensive model estimating at day 10 after liver transplant the EAF risk at day 90 (the Early Allograft Failure Simplified Estimation [EASE] score) and, secondarily, to identify early those patients with unsustainable EAF risk who are suitable for retransplant.

Clinical and Functional Characteristics of COPD Patients Across GOLD Classifications: Results of a Multicenter Observational Study.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous disease. The severity grading systems proposed by the Global initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) have changed over time. The aim of the study was to evaluate if the different GOLD classifications can capture the complexity of the disease by investigating the distribution of lung function and clinical parameters across the GOLD classification systems.

Comparing a fixed combination of budesonide/formoterol with other inhaled corticosteroid plus long-acting beta-agonist combinations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a review.

: Inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) plus long-acting β-agonist (LABA) combinations are commonly used in the treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). At least four fixed-dose ICS/LABA combinations are available, including budesonide/formoterol, beclomethasone/formoterol, fluticasone/vilanterol and fluticasone/salmeterol, but there is little guidance for clinicians on which of these combinations to prescribe. : The aim of this in-depth review was to identify studies that compared budesonide/formoterol with the other ICS/LABA combinations and assess the data on exacerbations, safety, and patient quality of life.

Acute Tubular Injury is Associated With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: in Vitro Study on Human Tubular Epithelial Cells.

Acute kidney injury following traumatic brain injury is associated with poor outcome. We investigated in vitro the effects of plasma of brain injured patients with acute tubular kidney injury on kidney tubular epithelial cell function. we performed a prospective observational clinical study in ICU in a trauma centre of the University hospital in Italy including twenty-three ICU patients with traumatic brain injury consecutively enrolled.

Non-invasive ventilation in acute respiratory failure of patients with obesity hypoventilation syndrome.

Introduction: Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has been used successfully for the management of acute respiratory failure (ARF) more often in the last two decades compared to prior decades. There are particular groups of patients that are more likely to benefit from NIV. One of these groups is patients with obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS).

How bothersome double-J ureteral stents are after semirigid and flexible ureteroscopy: a prospective single-institution observational study.

Purpose: To evaluate in details the actual extent of double-J stent-related symptoms after semirigid (URS) and flexible (RIRS) ureteroscopy using a validated questionnaire.

Methods: We asked to complete the Ureteric Stent Symptoms Questionnaire (USSQ) to all stone patients undergoing URS or RIRS with stent placement from 2010 to 2015. Stent-related symptoms' prevalence, severity, and impact on daily life were analyzed using descriptive statistics and five-order Likert scales.

Dabigatran etexilate: appropriate use in patients with chronic kidney disease and in the elderly patients.

Dabigatran etexilate (DE) is a direct thrombin inhibitor, which has been approved for the treatment of non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF), and for the prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Despite large randomized clinical trials and independent observational studies providing robust data concerning DE safety and efficacy, some physicians still perceive mild-to-moderate renal impairment and old age as a relative contraindication to its use. In this article, we review the available scientific evidence supporting the use of DE in these clinical situations.

The exciting "bench to bedside" journey of cell therapies for acute kidney injury and renal transplantation.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is characterized by an increasing incidence and poor outcomes in both developed and undeveloped countries. AKI is also acquiring importance in the setting of kidney transplantation (KT): besides all the classical forms of AKI that KT patients may undergo, several transplant-specific injuries can also lead to the loss of graft function. The mechanisms of tissue damage in native and grafted kidneys share several common pathogenic elements.

C1 anterior arch preservation in transnasal odontoidectomy using three-dimensional endoscope: A case report.

Background: The transoral ventral corridor is the most common approach used to reach the craniovertebral junction (CVJ). Over the last decade, many case reports have demonstrated the transnasal corridor to the odontoid peg represents a practicable route to remove the tip of the odontoid process. The biomechanical consequences of the traditional odontoidectomy led to the necessity of a cervical spine stabilization.

Prognostic Model for Predicting Survival in Patients with Disease Recurrence Following Radical Cystectomy.

Background: Although the natural history of urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) from radical cystectomy (RC) to disease recurrence (DR) has been investigated intensively, the course of patients who have experienced DR after RC for UCB remains poorly understood.

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic value of the Bajorin criteria that consists of two risk factors: Karnofsky performance status (KPS) and the presence of visceral metastases (VMs) in patients with DR after RC for UCB. Furthermore, to identify additional factors associated with cancer-specific mortality (CSM) and thus build a multivariable model to predict survival after DR.

Lung ultrasound predicts well extravascular lung water but is of limited usefulness in the prediction of wedge pressure.

Background: Pulmonary congestion is indicated at lung ultrasound by detection of B-lines, but correlation of these ultrasound signs with pulmonary artery occlusion pressure (PAOP) and extravascular lung water (EVLW) still remains to be further explored. The aim of the study was to assess whether B-lines, and eventually a combination with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) assessment, are useful to differentiate low/high PAOP and EVLW in critically ill patients.

Methods: The authors enrolled 73 patients requiring invasive monitoring from the intensive care unit of four university-affiliated hospitals.

Diagnostic performance of the aortic dissection detection risk score in patients with suspected acute aortic dissection.

Aims: The aortic dissection detection (ADD) risk score has been proposed by guidelines to standardise the approach to patients with suspected acute aortic dissection (AD). However, the ADD risk score has not been validated so far.

Methods And Results: Patients with suspected AD from two clinical centres were prospectively enrolled in a registry from 2008 to 2012.

Liver transplantation after severe hepatic trauma: a sustainable practice. A single-center experience and review of the literature.

Severe hepatic trauma is a rare indication for liver transplantation (LT). We report our single-center experience of LT for hepatic trauma. Four new cases are discussed in light of a literature review in order to depict the pathways leading from hepatic trauma to LT and to assess the outcomes of this practice.

Embolization of a complete prosthetic aortic valve to the abdominal aorta. Long-term survival after surgery.

We describe a case of complete embolization of an aortic valve prosthesis to the abdominal aorta. To our knowledge, this patient is the 1st asymptomatic long-term survivor of this catastrophic event. In such cases, we recommend emergency surgery on the basis of echocardiographic results alone.