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Endovascular lung perfusion (ELP) is a technique designed to deliver high doses of cisplatin via the pulmonary artery for the treatment of lung tumors. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate variables that affect adduct formation.Thirteen swine underwent ELP. The first group (n = 6) underwent infusion of 150 mg cisplatin diluted to 0.5 mg/mL via a balloon occlusion catheter in the left pulmonary artery. Uptake was compared with that seen with systemic infusion. A second group (n = 7) underwent bilateral sequential infusion of the left pulmonary artery, followed by the right. Cisplatin (150 mg) was infused at one of three concentrations: 1 mg/mL (n = 5 lungs), 0.67 mg/mL (n = 5 lungs), or 0.5 mg/mL (n = 4 lungs). The Pearson coefficient was used to correlate uptake with infusion time, infusate concentration, animal weight, and initial mean pulmonary artery pressure.In the first group, cisplatin uptake in the control lung was less than 8% of that in the study lung. Infusion times for both groups ranged from 3 minutes to 56 minutes. Increases in infusion time correlated with increased adduct levels (r = 0.831; P.0001). Mean uptake at concentrations of 0.5, 0.67, and 1 mg/mL were 25.79, 12.43, and 13.12 fmol/mug, respectively. There was no significant correlation between pulmonary adduct levels and infusate concentration (r = 0.106; P = .72). Animal weight and initial mean pulmonary artery pressure were not correlated with adduct formation.ELP with longer infusions of cisplatin may lead to greater adduct formation in pulmonary tissues. Changes in concentration of the infusate do not affect uptake of cisplatin. Hemodynamic parameters do not affect cisplatin uptake.

PURPOSE The optimal embolic agent for transhepatic arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been identified. This study reports outcomes of TACE for HCC with Gelfoam powder and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighty-one patients underwent 152 TACE sessions with Gelfoam powder( n = 41) or polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and Ethiodol ( n = 40) as the embolic agent. Chemotherapeutic drugs were the same for all patients (50 mg cisplatin, 20 mg doxorubicin, 10 mg mitomycin-c). The groups were compared based on number of TACE sessions, maximum tumor size, bilirubin level, aspartate and alanine aminotransferase levels, Child-Pugh score, Model for End-stage Liver Disease score, and hepatitis B or C virus positivity. The number of cases of each Child class in each group was also evaluated. Survival starting from the first TACE session was calculated according to Kaplan-Meier analysis. Forty-eight patients died during the study period, 19 received transplants, and 14 were alive at the end of the study period. RESULTS The groups were statistically similar in all categories regarding liver function, Child-Pugh score, tumor size, hepatitis status, and percentage of patients with Child class A, B, and C disease. The number of TACE sessions was significantly greater for the Gelfoam powder group (mean, 2.2) versus the PVA group (mean, 1.6; P = .01). Overall survival was similar between groups whether patients who received transplants were included in the analysis (mean, 659 days ± 83 with Gelfoam powder vs 565 days ± 71 with PVA; P = .42) or were excluded (mean, 519 days ± 80 with Gelfoam powder vs 511 days ± 75 with PVA; P = .93). CONCLUSION In similar patient groups, survival after treatment of HCC with TACE with Gelfoam powder or PVA and Ethiodol was similar.

To compare the value of the Child-Pugh and Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores to predict patient survival rates after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Eighty-seven patients underwent 169 TACE sessions. Child-Pugh and MELD values were calculated before initial treatment. Survival length was tracked from the date of the first TACE procedure. Transplant recipients were censored from the study at the time of surgery. Child-Pugh and MELD scores as well as bilirubin and albumin levels and International Normalized Ratio were placed in high and low categories defined by their respective medians. Patient survival was compared at 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months, and patterns were tested with chi2 or Fisher exact tests. Survival over the entire period was examined with Kaplan-Meier analysis and differences were tested with log-rank tests.Mean and median survival times for all patients were 24 and 17 months, respectively. Sixteen patients were censored for transplantation at a mean of 12.9 months. MELD and Child-Pugh scores correlated well with each other (r = 0.68). Child-Pugh score (r = -0.35, P = .04) correlated more strongly with 12-month survival than did MELD score (r = -0.26, P = .12). After high/low score category division, a significantly greater survival difference was predicted by Child-Pugh score (27.2 months vs 10.3 months; P = .03) versus MELD score (27.5 months vs 15.8 months; P = .19). An albumin level greater than 3.4 g/dL was also associated with significantly improved survival (29.3 months vs 10.1 months; P = .0032). Survival differences between high-risk and low-risk groups at the 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-month intervals were significant for low Child-Pugh scores and for albumin levels greater than 3.4 g/dL. Statistical significance was not approached at any of the time lengths with MELD scores.Child-Pugh score correlates better than MELD score to overall patient survival and is a better predictor than MELD score of survival at specific time points. Of the components of the Child-Pugh and MELD systems, albumin level is the most useful predictor of survival.

Background: Unilateral coronal craniosynostosis has characteristic osseous dysmorphology that persists into adulthood if untreated. Knowledge of the long-term in vivo osseous morphologic outcome of surgically treated unilateral coronal craniosynostosis patients is limited. The purpose of this study was to define the osseous morphology of adolescent patients who underwent surgery for unilateral coronal craniosynostosis in infancy, compared with both their 1-year postoperative morphology and the morphology of other individuals with untreated unilateral coronal craniosynostosis. Methods: Three populations of unilateral coronal craniosynostosis were studied: group 1, patients with surgical treatment of unilateral coronal craniosynostosis in infancy who had reached dentoskeletal maturity, ranging in age from 13.5 to 32.7 years (n = 9); group 2, individuals with untreated unilateral coronal craniosynostosis, ranging in age from 1.1 to 21 years (n = 11); and group 3, a subset of group 1 patients 1 year after surgical correction of unilateral coronal craniosynostosis, ranging in age from 1.2 to 2.6 years (n = 6). Data from high-resolution, thin-slice computed tomographic scans of the head were analyzed. Thirty-five reproducible osseous landmarks were recorded as three-dimensional coordinates using ETDIPS imaging software. Nonmidline landmarks were designated as either ipsilateral or contralateral to the synostosis. One researcher performed all landmarking with high intrarater reliability (average error