University of Milan

About: University of Milan is a education organization based out in Milan, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 58413 authors who have published 139784 publications receiving 4636354 citations. The organization is also known as: Università degli Studi di Milano & Statale.

Pulmonary Hypertension in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction A Target of Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibition in a 1-Year Study

Abstract: Background—The prevalence of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is increasing. The prognosis worsens with pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular (RV) failure development. We targeted pulmonary hypertension and RV burden with the phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor sildenafil. Methods and Results—Forty-four patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (heart failure signs and symptoms, diastolic dysfunction, ejection fraction 50%, and pulmonary artery systolic pressure 40 mm Hg) were randomly assigned to placebo or sildenafil (50 mg thrice per day). At 6 months, there was no improvement with placebo, but sildenafil mediated significant improvements in mean pulmonary artery pressure (42.013.0%) and RV function, as suggested by leftward shift of the RV Frank-Starling relationship, increased tricuspid annular systolic excursion (69.019.0%) and ejection rate (17.08.3%), and reduced right atrial pressure (54.07.2%). These effects may have resulted from changes within the lung (reduced lung water content and improved alveolar-capillary gas conductance, 15.84.5%), the pulmonary vasculature (arteriolar resistance, 71.08.2%), and left-sided cardiac function (wedge pulmonary pressure, 15.73.1%; cardiac index, 6.00.9%; deceleration time, 13.01.9%; isovolumic relaxation time, 14.01.7%; septal mitral annulus velocity, 76.49.2%). Results were similar at 12 months. Conclusions—The multifaceted response to phosphodiesterase-5 inhibition in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction includes improvement in pulmonary pressure and vasomotility, RV function and dimension, left ventricular relaxation and distensibility (structural changes and/or ventricular interdependence), and lung interstitial water metabolism (wedge pulmonary pressure decrease improving hydrostatic balance and right atrial pressure reduction facilitating lung lymphatic drainage). These results enhance our understanding of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and offer new directions for therapy. Clinical Trial Registration—URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01156636. (Circulation. 2011;124:164-174.)

Diagnosis and treatment of acute appendicitis: 2020 update of the WSES Jerusalem guidelines

Abstract: Acute appendicitis (AA) is among the most common causes of acute abdominal pain. Diagnosis of AA is still challenging and some controversies on its management are still present among different settings and practice patterns worldwide. In July 2015, the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) organized in Jerusalem the first consensus conference on the diagnosis and treatment of AA in adult patients with the intention of producing evidence-based guidelines. An updated consensus conference took place in Nijemegen in June 2019 and the guidelines have now been updated in order to provide evidence-based statements and recommendations in keeping with varying clinical practice: use of clinical scores and imaging in diagnosing AA, indications and timing for surgery, use of non-operative management and antibiotics, laparoscopy and surgical techniques, intra-operative scoring, and peri-operative antibiotic therapy. This executive manuscript summarizes the WSES guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of AA. Literature search has been updated up to 2019 and statements and recommendations have been developed according to the GRADE methodology. The statements were voted, eventually modified, and finally approved by the participants to the consensus conference and by the board of co-authors, using a Delphi methodology for voting whenever there was controversy on a statement or a recommendation. Several tables highlighting the research topics and questions, search syntaxes, and the statements and the WSES evidence-based recommendations are provided. Finally, two different practical clinical algorithms are provided in the form of a flow chart for both adults and pediatric (< 16 years old) patients. The 2020 WSES guidelines on AA aim to provide updated evidence-based statements and recommendations on each of the following topics: (1) diagnosis, (2) non-operative management for uncomplicated AA, (3) timing of appendectomy and in-hospital delay, (4) surgical treatment, (5) intra-operative grading of AA, (6) ,management of perforated AA with phlegmon or abscess, and (7) peri-operative antibiotic therapy.

Thyrotropin-Secreting Pituitary Tumors*

Abstract: I. Introduction The term “TSH-secreting pituitary tumors” includes two opposite clinical conditions: true thyrotroph neoplasia that results in secondary hyperthyroidism, also called “central hyperthyroidism,” and pituitary hyperplasia resulting from longstanding primary hypothyroidism. The latter condition was first recognized 145 yr ago (1), while the former was not clearly identified until the RIA era (2–8). However, in the 1950s and 1960s, while it became clear that Graves' disease was not caused by hyperpituitarism (9, 10), scattered reports suggested a possible association between pituitary tumors and hyperthyroidism (11–15), although no measurement of TSH levels was available during this time. The first case of TSH-secreting pituitary adenoma (TSH-oma) was documented in 1960 by measuring serum TSH levels with a bioassay (16). In 1970, Hamilton et al. (17) reported the first case of TSH-oma proved by a RIA that was much more sensitive and specific than the previously used bioassays. Classically, TSH-...