ABSTRACT
In order to improve the care of Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) patients, a system has been developed for monitoring symptoms and document subjective judgments on health conditions in a home environment. Since system usability is an important issue, a two step evaluation of the solution was conducted. First a ten-patient survey was conducted, which was aimed at spotting possible problem areas. The second step involved a small trial in a home setting with CHF patients. The results are promising, indicating that the system is user friendly and easy to use, and that it is suitable as a prototype for the intended use.
Subject(s)
Heart Failure/diagnosis , Heart Failure/therapy , Monitoring, Physiologic/instrumentation , Telemedicine/instrumentation , Aged , Chronic Disease , Equipment Design , Equipment Failure Analysis , Home Care Services , Humans , Patient Satisfaction , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
In order to increase the accuracy of preoperative "type-diagnosis" fifty meningiomas in various sites were investigated by brain-scan, and routine angiography. Some cases in addition had external carotid angiography and angioscintigraphy of the external and internal carotid. By tabulating the findings, it is possible in 90% of cases to provide a pre-operative "type-diagnosis" of meningioma. Details are given regarding the influence of the tumour site on the ability to demonstrate the tumour through branches of the external or internal carotid, as well as "filling defects" or isotope uptake in angioscintigraphy. The reasons are discussed for the lack of agreement about the size of the tumour, in angiogram and angioscintigram, as well as in the brain-scan, in 15 out of 34 meningiomas.
Subject(s)
Meningioma/diagnosis , Angiography , Brain , Carotid Artery, External/diagnostic imaging , Carotid Artery, Internal/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Meningioma/diagnostic imaging , Radionuclide ImagingABSTRACT
Seven cases are reported of anaplastic cerebral gliomas with metastases outside the neuraxis, seen among about 1500 gliomas. There were two children with anaplastic ependymomas, one adult with oligodendroglioma, and four young to middle-aged adults with astrocytomas grade III and IV. All patients had one or more craniotomies, and four had radiotherapy prior to the appearance of distant tumour deposits. The survival times ranged from 7 to 31 months in cases with gliomas grade II, and from 8 to 18 months with high grade astrocytomas. All seven tumours showed invasion of the meninges, ventricular walls, or both, and in four cases they transgressed the dura and surrounding bone or soft tissues. In six autopsy cases there was widespread dissemination of gliomas through the CSF pathways. Distant metastases involved regional or distant lymph nodes in six patients, the lungs in two, and the vertebrae, pleura, liver, or mediastinum in one patient each. The possible pathways for distant spread or intracranial gliomas and the factors which are considered responsible are briefly discussed.
Subject(s)
Brain Neoplasms/pathology , Glioma/pathology , Adolescent , Adult , Astrocytoma/pathology , Child , Ependymoma/pathology , Female , Humans , Liver Neoplasms/pathology , Lung Neoplasms/pathology , Lymphatic Metastasis , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Metastasis , Oligodendroglioma/pathology , Spinal Neoplasms/pathologyABSTRACT
Reflux of 131I-human serum albumin with a dilated ventricle from the contralateral ventricle was observed in a patient with an abnormal cisternogram.
