Successful treatment of persistent postoperative air leaks following the placement of an endobronchial one-way valve.

Treatment of persistent air leaks due to pulmonary resection in pathological conditions of the lung involve a very large spectrum of available methods, from chest drainage and placement of Heimlich valves to surgical repair or pleural decortication. However, in some of these patients surgery may be contraindicated. This report describes an endobronchial approach to the control of marked and prolonged air leaks in four patients using a newly designed one-way airway valve (Pulmonx Corporation; Redwood City, Ca.USA) placed into the segmental bronchus that is the source of air leakage. As the device is a one-way inspiratory airway blocker, it can be used to control persistent air leaks while maintaining the drainage of mucus. This approach potentially provides an effective nonsurgical and minimally invasive alternative addition to the armamentarium of treatments for patients who suffer with persistent post-operative air leaks where other methods have failed or in frail patients who are categorised as a high surgical risk.

[Comparative study of 24-hour continuous gastric pH-measurements in healthy people and in patients with pancreatic neoplasms treated with duodeno-pancreatic head resection]. / Studio comparativo delle pHmetrie endogastriche continue nelle 24 ore tra soggetti sani e patologici, sottoposti a cefaloduodenopancreasectomia per neoplasia pancreatica.

The Authors compare pH measurements taken over a 24-h period to monitor, using an original method, a sample group of 11 healthy subject and a series of patients suffering from gastroenteropancreatic diseases. The data obtained confirm the utility of the functional study of gastrointestinal secretion.

[Continuous 24-hour intragastric pH monitoring. A new model of interpretation]. / La pHmetria endogastrica continua sulle 24 ore. Nuovo modello d'interpretazione.

Using the study as a basis for a novel interpretation of the pH-metric curve, the paper reports the results of a study carried out in a sample group of 11 normo-secretory subjects (students from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery). The pH-metric curve was assessed over 24 hours using a portable pH measuring device.