BACKGROUND/AIMS We evaluated the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of endoscopic papillary large balloon dilation (EPLBD) for large common bile duct (CBD) stone removal compared with endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST). METHODS A total of 1,580 patients who underwent endoscopic CBD stone extraction between January 2001 and July 2010 were reviewed. The following inclusion criteria were applied: chol...

INTRODUCTION Adrenal failure (AF) is associated with increased mortality in septic patients. Nonetheless, there is no agreement regarding the best diagnostic criteria for AF. We compared the diagnosis of AF considering different baseline total cortisol cutoff values and Deltamax values after low (1 microg) and high (249 microg) doses of corticotropin, we analyzed the impact of serum albumin on ...

Background/Aims There is no consensus for using endoscopic papillary large balloon dilation (EPLBD) in patients without dilatation of the lower part of the bile duct (DLBD). We evaluated the feasibility and safety of EPLBD for the removal of difficult bile duct stones (diameter ≥10 mm) in patients without DLBD. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the records of 209 patients who underwent EPLB...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of rapid maxillary expansion (RME) vs simply monitoring the eruption of permanent maxillary incisors following the surgical removal of obstacles to their eruption (supernumerary teeth, odontomas). METHODS Following surgical removal of the obstacles to incisor eruption (T1), 62 patients were randomly assigned to either the group...

BACKGROUND Traditionally chest tubes are set to -20 cm H2O wall suctioning until removal to facilitate drainage of blood, fluid, and air from the pleural or mediastinal space in patients after open heart surgery. However, no clear evidence supports using wall suction in these patients. Some studies in patients after pulmonary surgery indicate that using chest tubes with a water seal is safer, b...

OBJECTIVE Persistent air leakage following pulmonary resection is a major limiting factor for discharge from hospital. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sealing capacity of TachoSil for the closure of alveolar air leaks following parenchymal resections and to determine its effect on time to chest drain removal and duration of hospitalisation. METHODS A total of 173 patients undergoing...

an efficient method was employed for the ash and pyrite sulphur removal from bitumen using column flotation process. the bitumen samples containing 9.6% sulphur (6.81% in the pyrite sulphur form) and 26.4% ash were successfully showed up to 75.20% of pyrite sulphur (e.g.; 51.66% of total sulphur) and 70.81% of ash removal. the box-behnken design (bbd) was employed to design the experiments, to ...

The objectives of this experiment were to determine if treatment of beef heifers with progesterone (P4) using an intravaginal device alone or in combination with estradiol benzoate (EB) would induce estrus and cause development of corpora lutea (CL) with a typical life span. Peripubertal heifers (n = 311) were used when about 40% of the heifers had a functional CL. The heifers were assigned to ...

BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Complex antiplatelet and antithrombotic regimens used in conjunction with percutaneous coronary intervention may increase the risk of vascular complications. The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of vascular complications following sheath removal for percutaneous coronary intervention. SUBJECTS AND METHODS This prospective cohort study enrolled...

BACKGROUND Hyperventilation should speed up elimination of volatile anaesthetic agents from the body, but hyperventilation usually results in hypocapnia. We compared recovery from isoflurane anaesthesia in patients allowed to recover with assisted spontaneous ventilation (control) and those treated with isocapnic hyperpnoea. METHODS Fourteen patients were studied after approximately 1 h of an...