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Determination of mortality from cystic fibrosis.

Assessing the prognosis of cystic fibrosis (CF) and evaluating the effect of indicators of mortality is very important in predicting the life expectancy of the CF patients.

OBJECTIVE: Determining the effect of seven variables including sex, Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1), Body Mass Index (BMI), bacteriology, hemoglobin (Hb), pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) and the number of previous admissions on the survival of 27 patients admitted in Pediatric Pulmonary Ward of Masih Daneshvari Hospital in 2007-2009.

METHODS: 27 CF patients were enrolled in a retrospective cross-sectional study. Patients data were collected during 2 years of study. Data of patients who died and those who remained alive were compared by independent samples t-tests and Chi-square.

RESULTS: Twenty seven CF patients (11 female, 10 male) with age range of 5-19 years and mean age of 13.11 +/- 4.69 were studied. There was no difference in age, sex, FEV1, BMI, Hb between the deceased and alive group (p > 0.05). Mean PAP for expired patients and alive patients was 40 +/- 15.1 and 68 +/- 11.5 respectively. The number of admissions during last 6 months was dominant in those patients who died. 50% of the alive patients were colonized with Pseudomonas. This is compared to deceased patients which 100% were colonized with Pseudomonas. There was a strong correlation between death and number of previous admissions, PAP and Pseudomonas infection (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: Pseudomonas infection, number of previous admissions and the severity of pulmonary hypertension has shown to be the major predictors of mortality in our study.

Pneumocystis jirovecii and cystic fibrosis.

Pneumocystis jirovecii is an atypical opportunistic fungus with lung tropism and worldwide distribution that causes pneumonia in immunosuppressed individuals. The development of sensitive molecular techniques has led to the recognition of a colonization or carrier state of P. jirovecii, in which low levels of the organism are detected in persons who do not have pneumonia.

Pneumocystis colonization has been described in individuals with various lung diseases, and accumulating evidence suggests that it may be a relevant issue with potential clinical impact. Only a few published studies carried out in Europe have evaluated the prevalence of Pneumocystis colonization in patients with cystic fibrosis, reporting ranges from 1.3-21.6%. The evolution of P. jirovecii colonization in cystic fibrosis patients is largely unknown. In a longitudinal study, none of the colonized patients developed pneumonia during a 1-year follow-up.

Since patients with cystic fibrosis could act as major reservoirs and sources of infection for susceptible individuals further research is thus warranted to assess the true scope of the problem and to design rational preventive strategies if necessary. Moreover, it's necessary to elucidate the role of P. jirovecii infection in the natural history of cystic fibrosis in order to improve the clinical management of this disease.

Catheter-directed thrombectomy and thrombolysis for symptomatic lower-extremity deep vein thrombosis: review of current interventional treatment strategies.

Deep vein thromboses (DVT) along with its clinical sequelae represent a major health care challenge in our society. An acute massive DVT can result in pulmonary embolism resulting in sudden death. Although oral or systemic anticoagulation therapy may minimize thrombus propagation, it remains ineffective in removing thrombus burden and consequently does not prevent postthrombotic syndrome.

Recent advances in catheter-based interventions have led to the development of a variety of minimally invasive endovascular strategies to remove venous thrombi. These technologies use various principles, including catheter-directed thrombolytic infusion, rheolytic thrombectomy, mechanical fragmentation, or ultrasound energy to remove intraluminal thrombi. This article reviews the current advances in this technology and discusses the techniques of percutaneous treatment strategies of venous thrombotic conditions using various devices, including the AngioJet Power Pulse system, Trellis, and ultrasound-accelerated EkoSonic system.

Finally, the authors' institutional experiences using these interventional treatment strategies in patients with acute and chronic DVT are discussed.

Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography developments in imaging of venous thromboembolism.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a disease that causes high morbidity and mortality in the population.

At present the first-line imaging test for a suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) is computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiography, and ultrasonography is widely used for the diagnosis of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT). Although these modalities are proven to be safe and accurate, unresolved issues remain, such as whether CT scanning in patients with a suspected PE should be extended to the legs. Another issue is the diagnosis of recurrent DVT.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers a number of advantages in the imaging of VTE. Recent developments of scanning protocols with shorter acquisition times, sometimes complemented by navigator gating or making use of endogenous contrast, offer new perspectives for the use of MRI.

This review provides an overview of state of the art MRI techniques for the diagnosis of PE and DVT. Furthermore, the use of new contrast agents such as fibrin labeling to detect thrombi are addressed.

Venous thromboembolism in pregnancy.

The risk of venous thromboembolism is increased during pregnancy. Although the absolute overall risk of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) in pregnancy is low, clinicians are highly vigilant to the development of this disease in pregnancy because of the severe consequences to both mother and child if this condition is not diagnosed, treated and prevented.

Although prompt recognition and diagnosis of DVT or PE is critical to reduce maternal morbidity, diagnosis of both DVT and PE currently relies on data from studies in nonpregnant patients. However, there are some recent studies offering new insights in this area. The development of venous thromboembolism during pregnancy is influenced by inherent patient risk factors, pregnancy-associated risk factors, and the mode and type of delivery. The degree of risk increase from these factors individually and in combination, to warrant routine thromboprophylaxis, weighed against bleeding risks, is not yet defined.

With increased use of assisted reproductive techniques to achieve pregnancy, clinicians must also be vigilant to the development of venous thrombosis in early pregnancy, occurring in unusual sites such as the upper extremities.

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