Saint Francis University

About: Saint Francis University is a education organization based out in Loretto, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Osteoblast. The organization has 1694 authors who have published 2038 publications receiving 87149 citations.

Non-pulmonary factors affecting survival in patients completing pulmonary rehabilitation.

Abstract: Patients referred to pulmonary rehabilitation usually have advanced chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) This disease is a common cause of death in developed countries, ranking fourth as a cause of death in the United States, behind heart disease, cancer, and stroke The three-year survival following outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation is approximately 80% Clearly, markers of disease severity such as the degree of airways obstruction, arterial blood gas abnormality, degree of pulmonary hypertension, and the need for hospitalizations predict mortality in this disease However, because of substantial co-morbidity, patients with COPD often die with their disease rather than from their disease Thus, only 45 to 63% of deaths in patients with advanced lung disease are directly due to the disease itself Factors other than primary disease severity that predict mortality in COPD include nutritional depletion, exercise endurance, functional performance, and even social factors such as marital status Thus, once the chronic lung disease progresses to the point where referral is made to pulmonary rehabilitation, non-pulmonary factors are also important predictors of survival This underscores the importance of a holistic approach to the patient with advanced lung disease, and the need for a comprehensive severity grading system that includes more than the forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1)

Cyclic CINE-balanced steady-state free precession image intensity variations: implications for the detection of myocardial edema.

Abstract: Purpose To evaluate the dependence of CINE-balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) image intensities on spatial location, cardiac phase, and disease state. Materials and Methods Eight subjects with recent myocardial infarctions and eight age- and sex-matched normal volunteers were studied using CINE-bSSFP imaging to describe cyclic image intensity variations as a function of the cardiac cycle and to optimize and assess the ability of CINE-bSSFP imaging to depict myocardial edema. Signal intensities of the left ventricular (LV) bloodpool and myocardium were measured using region-of-interest analysis across the cardiac cycle. The magnitude and time course of the cyclic variations were evaluated. Mixed-model analysis of variance was used to examine the influence of physical location, cardiac phase, and presence of myocardial infarction. Results The LV bloodpool and myocardial CINE-bSSFP signal intensities varied significantly with spatial location, cardiac phase, and disease (P < 0.001). Cardiac phase had a significant effect on the signal intensities after adjustments for spatial location. The LV bloodpool signal decreased slowly during systole and rose sharply during LV filling. There were two distinct myocardial intensity peaks, one occurring at peak systole and the other at the end of the LV rapid inflow phase. Myocardial edema was seen as a hyperintense region. Image contrast with adjacent myocardium was the greatest at the end of systole. Conclusion Detection of myocardial edema using the conventional CINE-bSSFP technique is feasible, but is complicated by normal cyclic changes in myocardial image intensities during the cardiac cycle. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2011;33:573–581. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Fluorodeoxyglucose-induced allergic reaction: A case report

Abstract: The number of diagnostic positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) procedures performed in the USA and worldwide is rapidly increasing. Although the benefits of these procedures are obvious, the increasing use of radiopharmaceuticals requires a better understanding of potential adverse affects and their proper management. We present herein the first report of an allergic reaction to fluorodeoxyglucose in the setting of repeated PET/CT scans for restaging purposes in a patient with pyriform sinus cancer.