Alan Šustić

Sonographic measurement of absolute and relative renal length in adults

The aim of this study was to evaluate sonographically measured absolute and relative lengths of normal kidneys according to subject height, sex, and age.

Surgical tracheostomy versus percutaneous dilational tracheostomy in patients with anterior cervical spine fixation: preliminary report

Study Design. A prospective, randomized study. Objectives. To compare the incidence of perioperative and early postoperative complications of surgical tracheostomy (ST) vs. ultrasound-guided percutaneous dilational tracheostomy (PDT) in patients with anterior cervical spine fixation (ACSF). Summary of Background Data. The patients with ACSF after acute spinal cord injury often require tracheostomy. Surgical tracheostomy is burdened with relatively high incidence of peristomal infections, and, recently, ultrasound-guided PDT is proposed in patients with ACSF. Methods. Sixteen adult patients who underwent tracheostomy after acute spinal cord injury and ACSF were analyzed. The patients were randomly assigned to two groups: eight patients (six males; age range, 24–59 years) who underwent ST and eight patients (seven males; age range, 19–47 years) who underwent ultrasound-guided PDT with dilatational forceps technique. The incidence of peri- and early postoperative complications was followed up, as well as the stoma infections and the duration of the procedure. Results. Not one patient from either group had any major perioperative complication of tracheostomy. In each group, there was one case of prolonged bleeding, which stopped spontaneously inside 24 hours. In two patients (25%) from the ST group, purulent infection of the stoma was verified during subsequent treatment at an intensive care unit. The average time of ST was 21 ± 7 minutes; the average time of ultrasound-guided PDT was 8 ± 6 minutes (P < 0.05). Conclusions. Our preliminary data demonstrate that ultrasound-guided PDT as regards to complications is at least equally safe as ST; at the same time, it is much quicker method, probably with less late infections of the stoma, which could be an important advantage in patients with ACSF.

Cardiac biomarkers predict outcome after hospitalisation for an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

PURPOSE In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular system is involved but less is known about role of specific cardiac biomarkers. We aimed to investigate associations between N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and troponin T during hospitalisation with 6-month outcome. METHODS This was a prospective study conducted in consecutive patients hospitalized for an acute exacerbation of COPD. On admission, and at discharge, NT-proBNP and troponin T were measured, and echocardiography was performed. Hospitalisations and mortality were recorded for 6 months after discharge. RESULTS We included 127 patients (70 ± 10 years, 70% men, GOLD III/IV 87%). Left ventricular dysfunction was detected in 70 (55%) patients and diastolic dysfunction was the most common type (53 patients-42%). NT-proBNP and troponin T were elevated on admission in 60% and 36%, and at discharge in 28% and 19% of patients. During follow-up, 53 (42%) patients were hospitalized and 17 (13%) patients died. In Kaplan Meier analysis of survival curves, NT-proBNP on admission distinguished between deceased and surviving patients (p=0.011) whilst troponin T at discharge separated hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients (p=0.017). The adjusted Cox proportional hazard model confirmed these findings: discharge troponin T predicted hospitalisations (hazard ratio 2.89, 95% confidence interval 1.13-7.36) and admission NT-proBNP predicted mortality (hazard ratio 4.20, 95% confidence interval 1.07-14.01). CONCLUSIONS Elevated NT-proBNP at discharge and troponin T on admission predict outcome in patients hospitalized for an acute exacerbation of COPD.

Early Changes in Frequency of Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte Subpopulations in Severe Traumatic Brain‐Injured Patients

Infections are leading causes of increased morbidity and mortality of severe traumatic brain‐injured (STBI) patients. The mechanism underlying the susceptibility to the infections is still unexplained. The purpose of the study was to investigate changes in frequency of leucocytes subpopulations in peripheral blood of patients with STBI during the course of intensive care treatment. Twenty patients with STBI were included in the study. Healthy age‐ and sex‐ volunteers served as control. Peripheral blood samples were taken from these patients at day 1, 4 and 7, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated. The percentage of T, B lymphocyte, NK and NKT cells as well as monocytes was analysed by simultaneous detection of surface antigens using fluorochrome‐conjugated monoclonal antibodies. The two major subsets of T lymphocytes (CD3+CD56−CD4+ and CD3+CD56−CD8+) and NK cells (CD3−CD56+dim and CD3−CD56+bright) were also analysed by flow cytometry. Extracranial infections were presented in 55% patients with STBI. At day 4, the percentage of T lymphocytes with cytotoxic phenotype significantly diminished and their numbers restored at day 7. The frequency of NKT cells showed the identical time‐dependent pattern, whereas the percentage of NK cells diminished on day 4 but did not restore after 7 days. The frequency of B lymphocytes did not change significantly during the time investigated, whereas the percentage of monocytes increased immediately after the injury and gradually diminished. The decrease in cells with cytotoxic phenotype might explain high incidence of susceptibility to infection of patients with STBI.

Resistance and pulsatility indices in acute renal obstruction

The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of Doppler waveform alterations in diagnosing acute unilateral renal obstruction.

Effects of enoxaparin in the rat hippocampus following traumatic brain injury

Purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of low molecular weight heparin, enoxaparin, on different parameters of the hippocampal damage following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the rat. TBI of moderate severity was performed over the left parietal cortex using the lateral fluid percussion brain injury model. Animals were s.c. injected with either enoxaparin (1mg/kg) or vehicle 1, 7, 13, 19, 25, 31, 37, and 43 h after the TBI induction. Sham-operated, vehicle-treated animals were used as the control group. Rats were sacrificed 48h after the induction of TBI. Hippocampi were processed for spectrophotometric measurements of the products of oxidative lipid damage, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) levels, as well as the activities of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). Moreover, the Western blotting analyses of the oxidized protein levels, expressions of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), pro- and mature-interleukin-1β (pro-, and mature-IL-1β), and active caspase-3 were performed. COX-2 expressions were also explored by using immunohistochemistry. Glial fibrillary acidic protein immunochistochemistry was performed with the aim to assess the level of astrocytic activity. Fluoro-Jade B staining was used to identify the level and extent of hippocampal neuronal injury. TBI caused statistically significant increases of the hippocampal TBARS and oxidized protein levels as well as COX-2, pro-IL-1β, and active caspase-3 overexpressions, but it did not significantly affect the SOD and GSH-Px activities, the iNOS, and mature-IL-1β expression levels. TBI also induced hippocampal reactive astrocytosis and neurodegeneration. Enoxaparin significantly decreased the hippocampal TBARS and oxidized protein levels, COX-2 overexpression and reactive gliosis, but it did not influence the SOD and GSH-Px activities, pro-IL-1β and active caspase-3 overexpressions as well as neurodegeneration following TBI. These findings demonstrate that enoxaparin may reduce oxidative damage, inflammation and astrocytosis following TBI in the rat and could be a candidate drug for neuroprotective treatment of this injury.

Kidney length in postoperative acute renal failure

The aim of this study was to evaluate kidney length in patients with postoperative acute renal failure (PARF).

Expression of cytolytic protein–perforin in peripheral blood lymphocytes in severe traumatic brain injured patients

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes of cytotoxic protein-perforin in peripheral blood lymphocytes in severe TBI patients and possible correlation between severity of TBI and perforin expression. METHODS Flow cytometry was used for simultaneous detection of intracellular perforin and cell surface antigens of peripheral blood lymphocytes of 20 severe TBI patients on day 1, 4 and 7 after the onset of injury. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 20 healthy volunteers were used as control. Clinical and laboratory parameters were also recorded. RESULTS There was a statistically significant decrease of perforin-positive lymphocytes including T, natural killer (NK) and NKT cells on day 4 as compared with day 1 after the brain injury or healthy controls. On day 7, perforin expression was restored in lymphocyte of cytotoxic phenotype (CD8(+) T lymphocytes, NK cells, and NKT cells) compared with day 1. High positive correlation was found between the severity of TBI and frequency of perforin-positive cells on day 4 when the occurrence of the intra-hospital infections was the highest. CONCLUSION Severe TBI significantly decreases perforin expression in T lymphocytes, NK and NKT cells, which indicate a possible mechanism underlying the high susceptibility to infections.

A brief reeducation in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation after six months-the benefit from timely repetition

Objectives. Sudden cardiac death is a major cause of death in today’s world. During the minutes passing from the onset of cardiac arrest to the arrival of professional help, the cardiac arrest victim can only rely upon cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) provided by educated bystanders. Our aim was to explore the possibility of whether a short and affordable course of CPR reeducation could have a significant effect on skills retention and quality of CPR delivered. Methods. We performed a prospective randomized study that included 72 first and second year medical students who had no clinical experience and no prior training in CPR. Subjects were educated in CPR in accordance with a standardized CPR education protocol. Six months later, half of the studied group (randomly chosen) underwent short reeducation in CPR. One year after initial education they were all tested for CPR skills. The results were printed and filmed. Results. Students who attended the short reeducation were significantly better in approaching the victim safely, in obtaining a clear airway and in checking the pulse of the victim. Conclusions. A short and inexpensive course of reeducation, carried out six months after initial education, may render CPR performance more effective for the victim and safer for the rescuer.

Fulminant Endogene Gas Gangrene in a Previously Healthy Male

Spontaneous or non-traumatic gas gangrene is a rare condition. The present report refers to a previously healthy 57-y-old male who developed gas gangrene in the left lumbar region, left flank, left scapular, inguinal and suprapubic regions. Despite surgical, intensive care treatment, and antibiotic therapy, the patient died 32 h after the onset of the first symptoms.