Preoperative Biliary Drainage for Cancer of the Head of the PancreasNiels A. van der Gaag, Erik A.J. Rauws, Casper H.J. van Eijck, Marco J. Bruno, Erwin van der Harst, Frank J.G.M. Kubben, Josephus J.G.M. Gerritsen, Jan Willem Greve, Michael F. Gerhards, Ignace H.J.T. de Hingh, Jean H. Klinkenbijl, Chung Y. Nio, Steve M.M. de Castro,…
Variability in the upper limit of normal for serum alanine aminotransferase levels: a statewide study. Dutta A, Saha C, Johnson CS, Chalasani N. Hepatology. 2009 Dec;50(6):1957-62. We conducted a study to characterize the variability in the upper limit of normal (ULN) for alanine aminotransferase (ALT) across different laboratories (labs) in Indiana and to understand factors leading…
Predicting Mortality in Non-Variceal Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeders: Validation of the Italian PNED Score and Prospective Comparison With the Rockall Score.Marmo R, Koch M, Cipolletta L, Capurso L, Grossi E, Cestari R, Bianco MA, Pandolfo N, Dezi A, Casetti T, Lorenzini I, Germani U, Imperiali G, Stroppa I, Barberani F, Boschetto S, Gigliozzi A, Gatto G,…
Systematic review of tumour number and outcome after radical treatment of colorectal liver metastases.Smith MD, McCall JL. Br J Surg. 2009 Oct;96(10):1101-13. BACKGROUND: Resection of colorectal liver metastases (CLMs) is potentially curative but the effect of tumour number on prognosis is uncertain. This study compared the prognosis after resection and/or ablation of between one and three,…
Incremental advance or seismic shift? The need to raise the bar of efficacy for drug approval.Sobrero A, Bruzzi P. J Clin Oncol. 2009 Dec 10;27(35):5868-73. Epub 2009 Oct 13. Targeted agents have improved outcomes in many common solid tumors and are available for clinical practice in most countries. There are many more drugs in the developmental…
Pentoxifylline for alcoholic hepatitis.Whitfield K, Rambaldi A, Wetterslev J, Gluud C. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009 Oct 7;(4):CD007339. BACKGROUND: Alcoholic hepatitis is a life-threatening disease, with an average mortality of approximately 40%. There is no widely accepted, effective treatment for alcoholic hepatitis. Pentoxifylline is used to treat alcoholic hepatitis, but there has been no systematic review…