ABSTRACT
Delayed detection of ischemia is one of the most feared postoperative complications. Early detection of impaired blood flow and close monitoring of the organ-specific metabolic status may therefore be critical for the surgical outcome. Urea clearance is a new technique for continuous monitoring of alterations in blood flow and metabolic markers with acceptable temporal characteristics. We compare this new microdialysis technique with the established microdialysis ethanol technique to assess hepatic blood flow. Six pigs were used in a liver ischemia/reperfusion injury model. Microdialysis catheters were placed in liver segment IV and all circulation was stopped for 80 min, followed by reperfusion for 220 min. Urea and ethanol clearance was calculated from the dialysate and correlated with metabolic changes. A laser Doppler probe was used as reference of restoration of blood flow. Both urea and ethanol clearance reproducibly depicted changes in liver blood flow in relation to metabolic changes and laser Doppler measurements. The two techniques highly correlated both overall and during the reperfusion phase (r = 0.8) and the changes were paralleled by altered perfusion as recorded by laser Doppler.
Subject(s)
Liver Circulation , Liver/blood supply , Liver/injuries , Microdialysis/methods , Reperfusion Injury/physiopathology , Urea/metabolism , Animals , Disease Models, Animal , Humans , Laser-Doppler Flowmetry , Liver/surgery , Male , Metabolic Clearance Rate , Monitoring, Physiologic , Postoperative Complications/diagnosis , Reperfusion , Reperfusion Injury/metabolism , Sus scrofaABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There is lack of consensus in Europe regarding the management of patients with benign goitre. This study evaluated the long-term results of recommending no surgery for clinically and cytologically benign goitre. METHODS: Some 261 patients (median age 56 years) referred for surgical evaluation for goitre were followed prospectively for a median of 130 months. All hospital and primary care charts were reviewed and living patients interviewed by telephone. RESULTS: During follow-up, 36.4 per cent of patients were re-referred for a new surgical evaluation, mainly because of growth of the goitre and/or worsening of local symptoms. Fifty-seven (21.8 per cent) of the patients had surgery, and 13 developed thyrotoxicosis. Five patients (1.9 per cent) were diagnosed with thyroid carcinoma, three of whom (all elderly women) died from the disease. Some 95.0 per cent of patients were satisfied with the expectant policy, but 13.1 per cent had been worried about thyroid cancer despite the reassurance of a benign diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Patients with benign goitre can be treated conservatively with good results. However, there is a small risk that aggressive carcinoma will develop and about a quarter of patients may need surgery within 10 years of the decision to wait and see.
