The POEMS syndrome (coined to refer to polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M protein, and skin changes) remains poorly understood. Ambiguity exists over the features necessary to establish the diagnosis, treatment efficacy, and prognosis. We identified 99 patients with POEMS syndrome. Minimal criteria were a sensorimotor peripheral neuropathy and evidence of a monoclonal plasmaprolife...

AIM To assess the long term outcome of a new trabeculectomy technique. METHODS Trabeculectomy was performed using a fornix based conjunctival flap, an anterior chamber maintainer, a standardised punch technique, and a combination of adjustable and releasable sutures in 56 eyes of 53 patients. The main outcome measures were the postoperative intraocular pressure (IOP) and the frequency of earl...

What we know: The outcome of childhood asthma is dependent on the pattern of asthma through childhood. Episodic asthma in childhood tends to resolve in adolescence and through mid-adult years, with no impairment of lung function. Persistent asthma in childhood is more likely to persist into adult years, with modest impairment of lung function. The impairment of lung function occurs early in the...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Until recently, little was known about the long-term outcome of pulmonary embolism. Long-term mortality and recurrence rates, the case fatality rate of recurrent events, and the frequency of persistent vascular defects remained largely unknown. Improvements in our knowledge of these aspects may help to define the optimal long-term treatment of pulmonary embolism. This review w...

BACKGROUND Weight loss and nutritional status 5 or more years after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass was prospectively documented. The hypothesis was that even after clinical adaptation, imbalances might still occur. METHODS Seventy-five consecutive patients (age 49.3 +/- 10.6 years, 89.3% females) were recruited 83.4 +/- 14.3 months after the intervention. Weight loss and nutritional abnormalities w...

The present review assesses the data on long-term outcome after coronary stenting. Histological, angiographical and intravascular imaging data have shown that the insertion of stents constitutes only a transient stimulus to lumen renarrowing, that this process is almost complete at 6 months and that a certain degree of neointima regression is also possible after this time. Clinical data have co...

OBJECTIVE It is unclear whether children with cystic fibrosis (CF) who present with neonatal meconium ileus have a different long-term outcome from those presenting later in childhood with pulmonary complications or failure to thrive. We examined a cohort of patients with meconium ileus, and compared their long-term outcome with children who had CF without meconium ileus and neonates who had me...

OBJECTIVE To examine long-term outcome in children with trichotillomania. METHOD We conducted follow-up clinical assessments an average of 2.8 ± 0.8 years after baseline evaluation in 30 of 39 children who previously participated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) for pediatric trichotillomania. Our primary outcome was change in hairpulling sever...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper was to analyze the results of treatment of anal fistulas using a radiowave device retrospectively. METHODS Between 2000 and 2008, 976 patients were operated on for perianal fistula. A Ellman radiowave generator was used to carry out the complete surgical procedure. In the follow-up period 155 patients were lost, remaining 821 patients were analyzed in the study...

UNLABELLED The treatment of otosclerosis is eminently surgical. Good immediate results have been well documented when stapedotomy or stapedectomy are chosen. OBJECTIVES This study aims to assess long term audiometric performance after otosclerosis surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS this retrospective study enrolled stapedotomy and partial stapedectomy patients seen at our service with proven he...