NAFLD is common in PCOS patients and increased androgen bioavailability may be implicated, in combination with metabolic abnormalities. Liver evaluation is proposed in PCOS patients, especially in those with metabolic syndrome.
Background/aims: Rebound tonometry (RT) is performed without anaesthesia with a hand held device. The primary aim was to compare RT with Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT) and to correlate with central corneal thickness (CCT). The secondary aim was to prove tolerability and practicability of RT under ''study conditions'' and ''routine practice conditions.'' Methods: In group 1 (52 eyes/28 patients), all measurements were taken by the same physician, in the same room and order: non-contact optical pachymetry, RT, slit lamp inspection, GAT. Patients were questioned about discomfort or pain. In group 2 (49 eyes/27 patients), tonometry was performed by three other physicians during routine examinations. Results: RT was well tolerated and safe. Intraocular pressure (IOP) ranged between 6 mm Hg and 48 mm Hg. No different trends were found between the groups. RT tended to give slightly higher readings: n = 101, mean difference 1.0 (SD 2.17) mm Hg; 84.1% of RT readings within plus or minus 3 mm Hg of GAT; 95% confidence interval in the BlandAltman analysis 23.2 mm Hg to +5.2 mm Hg. Both RT and GAT showed a weak positive correlation with CCT (r 2 0.028 and 0.025, respectively). Conclusions: RT can be considered a reliable alternative for clinical screening and in cases where positioning of the head at the slit lamp is impossible or topical preparations are to be avoided.
In recent years special interest has been expressed for the contribution of small airways in the pathophysiology, clinical manifestations and treatment of asthma and COPD. Small airways contribute little to the total respiratory resistance so that extensive damage of small airways may occur before the appearance of any symptoms, and this is the reason why they are characterized as the "silent zone" of airways. Furthermore, the peripheral localization of the small airways and their small diameter constitutes difficult their direct assessment. Thus, they are usually studied indirectly, taking advantage of the effects of their obstruction, such as premature closure, air trapping, heterogeneity of ventilation, and lung volume dependence of airflow limitation. Today, several heterogeneous methods for the assessment of small airways are available. These can be either functional (spirometry, plethysmography, resistance measurements, nitrogen washout, alveolar nitric oxide, frequency dependence of compliance, flow-volume curves breathing mixture of helium-oxygen) or imaging (mainly through high resolution computed tomography). The above-mentioned methods are summarized in Table 1. However, no method is currently considered as the "gold standard" and it seems that combinations of tests are needed. Furthermore, it is not clear whether the small airways are affected in all patients with asthma or COPD and their clinical significance remains under investigation. Well-designed future studies with large numbers of patients are expected to reveal which of the methods for assessing the small airways is the most accurate, reliable and reproducible, for which patients, and which can be used for the evaluation of the effects of treatment.
Candida albicans is the most frequent cause of fungal keratitis in temperate regions. Caspofungin has potent activity against Candida spp. in a variety of clinical settings. Little is known, however, about its activity against fungal keratitis. We compared the efficacy of topical caspofungin with that of topical amphotericin B (AMB) in a rabbit model of experimental keratomycosis. Keratitis was induced with a standardized inoculum of Candida albicans (SC 5314) placed on the debrided cornea. Twenty-four hours after infection, animals were randomly assigned to treatment with 0.15% caspofungin, 0.5% caspofungin, 0.15% AMB, and a saline control (n ؍ 12 rabbits in each group). For the first 12 h, treatment was repeated every 30 min and, after a 12-h pause, was resumed at hourly intervals for another 12 h. The animals were examined and killed 12 h after administration of the last dose. Treatment effects were evaluated by clinical assessment, fungal culture, and histopathology. Drug treatment significantly reduced corneal fungal recovery from 3.78 log 10 CFU in saline-treated animals to 2.97, 1.76, and 1.18 log 10 CFU in animals treated with 0.15% caspofungin, 0.5% caspofungin, and 0.15% AMB, respectively. By histopathology, the mean hyphal density was significantly lower in the corneas of treated animals than in those of the controls; there was no difference in hyphal densities between the different treatment groups. The depth of corneal invasion was not significantly reduced by the antifungal treatments. By clinical assessment, keratitis progressed in animals treated with saline, whereas disease progression was inhibited by all drug treatment regimens. In our rabbit model, 0.5% caspofungin was as effective as 0.15% AMB for the topical treatment of Candida keratitis. The potential clinical efficacy of caspofungin awaits further investigation.
Background: Lignocaine is commonly used for local anesthesia during fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB). Several studies have reported the peak serum concentration of lignocaine in relation to time, but most of them did not specify the administered dose of lignocaine gel and its possible correlation with peak serum concentration. Objective: The aim of our study was to record the plasma concentrations of lignocaine before, during and after FOB and to evaluate whether the doses for nasal and tracheobronchial anesthesia have any correlation with the peak serum concentrations of the drug. Methods: Twelve patients with no comorbid conditions undergoing FOB were studied. Lignocaine was administered as a 2% solution using a larynx syringe, 2% gel (mean dose 182.5 ± 15 mg) and finally 2% solution through the bronchoscope (mean dose 339 ± 12 mg). Total dose was 622 ± 20 mg. Venous blood samples were taken before the beginning of local anesthesia and then at 5, 10, 20, 60, 90 and 120 min thereafter. Results: Our results showed that peak plasma concentrations of lignocaine were observed in 8 patients 20 min after the beginning of local anesthesia, in 3 patients 30 min afterwards and in 1 patient 60 min afterwards (2.15 ± 0.4 μg/ml, 1.9 ± 0.3 μg/ml, 1.81 μg/ml, respectively). None of our patients exceeded the critical level of toxicity (5 μg/ml). Both the total and tracheobronchial doses of lignocaine were significantly correlated with peak serum concentration (r = 0.63, p = 0.05 and r = 0.64, p = 0.02, respectively). No correlation was found between the dose for nasal anesthesia and peak serum concentration. No adverse reactions were observed. Conclusions: In conclusion our data show that although the amount of lignocaine used in this study exceeded the recommended highest dose (400 mg) in all patients, no toxic levels were observed. Peak plasma concentrations were found within 20–30 min from the beginning of local anesthesia. The dose for the anesthesia of nasal mucosa represented a significant percentage of the total dose, but did not correlate with the peak serum concentration of the drug.
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ConclusionReferences 12'209 Duration of implant surgery comparing free-hand & template-guided approaches. A controlled study.
year of treatment with mepolizumab was safe, resulted in significant reduction of the annual exacerbation rate, reduction (or even discontinuation) of the needed dose of OCS, and improvements of asthma control and lung function.
Full-arch CAD/CAM titanium screw-retained frameworks have a high accuracy. Porcelain firing procedure had no impact on the precision of fit of the final FDPs. All implant microgap measurements of each FDP showed clinically acceptable vertical misfit values before and after veneering. Thus, the results do not only show accurate performance of the milling and firing but show also a reproducible scanning and designing process.
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