Retrospective data regarding 290 patients suffering from spontaneous aortic dissection between January 1976 and June 1987 are reported. Dissection was always documented by retrograde aortography and data were collected from 11 catheterization laboratories operating in North-East Italy. The results show that over a 12-year period there was an increase in cases, an increase in the number of operations and a decline in operative mortality. Multivariate discriminant analysis demonstrated that acute myocardial infarction, persistent shock and persistent central neurologic deficit were significant independent predictors of operative mortality in type A patients. Only persistent shock was significantly related to higher operative mortality in type B patients. Late deaths occurred in 14/118 operated patients, and were mostly secondary (directly or indirectly) to aortic dissection. Discharged patients underwent frequent medical checks and chronically received drugs to control hypertension and reduce inotropism. Most of them (73.7%) were asymptomatic: careful post-operative medical assistance is necessary to guarantee the long-term success of surgical treatment.
Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy have side effects that alter feeding and absorption of nutrients, compromising the nutritional status, causing discontinuation of treatment. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of chemotherapy on nutritional status of cancer patients. The methodologies consisted of non-standardizedquestionnaire, assessment of body mass index (BMI) and search of information on the patient's record. For data distribution analysis was used Kolmogorov Smirnov, correlation analysis was applied to Spearman's test with 5% significance level. The types of cancer that showed greater weight loss were laryngeal tumors, stomach, leukemia, intestine, lung and breast, respectively. Side effects that were associated with changes in nutritional status were change in appetite, dysphasia and enteritis. The conclusion is that weight loss is a frequent change in these patients, contributing to a poor prognosis and decreased quality of life
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.