Portal vein thrombosis and arterioportal shunts:Effects on tumor response after chemoembolization of hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM: To evaluate the effect of portal vein thrombosis and arterioportal shunts on local tumor response in advanced cases of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma treated by transarterial chemoembolization. METHODS: A retrospective study included 39 patients (mean age: 66.4 years, range: 45-79 years, SD: 7) with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who were treated with repetitive transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in the period between March 2006 and October 2009. The effect of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) (in 19 out of 39 patients), the presence of arterioportal shunt (APS) (in 7 out of 39), the underlying liver pathology,Child-Pugh score, initial tumor volume, number of tumors and tumor margin definition on imaging were correlated with the local tumor response after TACE. The initial and end therapy local tumor responses were evaluated according to the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST) and magnetic resonance imaging volumetric measurements. RESULTS: The treatment protocols were well tolerated by all patients with no major complications. Local tumor response for all patients according to RECIST criteria were partial response in one patient (2.6%), stable disease in 34 patients (87.1%), and progressive disease in 4 patients (10.2%). The MR volumetric measurements showed that the PVT, APS, underlying liver pathology and tumor margin definition were statistically significant prognostic factors for the local tumor response (P = 0.018, P = 0.008, P = 0.034 and P = 0.001, respectively). The overall 6-, 12- and 18-mo survival rates from the initial TACE were 79.5%, 37.5% and 21%, respectively. CONCLUSION: TACE may be exploited safely for palliative tumor control in patients with advanced unresectable HCC; however, tumor response is significantly affected by the presence or absence of PVT and APS.

Doppler ultrasonography in living donor liver transplantation recipients: Intra- and post-operative vascular complications

Living-donor liver transplantation has provided a solution to the severe lack of cadaver grafts for the replacement of liver afflicted with end-stage cirrhosis, fulminant disease, or inborn errors of metabolism. Vascular complications remain the most serious complications and a common cause for graft failure after hepatic transplantation. Doppler ultrasound remains the primary radiological imaging modality for the diagnosis of such complications. This article presents a brief review of intra- and post-operative living donor liver transplantation anatomy and a synopsis of the role of ultrasonography and color Doppler in evaluating the graft vascular haemodynamics both during surgery and post-operatively in accurately defining the early vascular complications. Intra-operative ultrasonography of the liver graft provides the surgeon with useful real-time diagnostic and staging information that may result in an alteration in the planned surgical approach and corrections of surgical complications during the procedure of vascular anastomoses. The relevant intraoperative anatomy and the spectrum of normal and abnormal findings are described. Ultrasonography and color Doppler also provides the clinicians and surgeons early post-operative potential developmental complications that may occur during hospital stay. Early detection and thus early problem solving can make the difference between graft survival and failure.

Critical assessment of R410A alternatives for mini-split air conditioners in the Egyptian market

In this study,the potential implementation of three different low-GWP refrigerants(R32,R452B,and R454B)as replacements for R410A was investigated.The study was performed using a simulation tool developed by the authors called RACHP-Lab,which is a vapor compression system simulation tool developed based on physics-based simulation for typical mini-split air conditioners.The simulation study was carried out and validated using experimental performance data of 10 different air conditioning units available in the Egyptian market.The units included fixed-speed or variable-speed compressors and operated in cooling or heating modes.Drop-in replace-ment with the new refrigerants was carried out.For R32,the capacity increased between 4.9%and 13%for cooling cases,and 6.3%and 12.4%for heating cases.However,COP did not improve in all cases.For R452B and R454B with direct replacement,the capacity nearly remained the same,with an increase of COP between 1.6%and 8.0%.Soft optimization was also conducted on cooling cases where compressor suction superheat,condenser subcooling,and compressor volumetric speed were optimized to maximize COP while maintaining the original capacity of R410A.R32 showed an improvement of COP over R410A between 4.6%and 15.5%,while for R452B and R454B between 2.2%and 13.2%.