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Background: Primary gastric lymphomas are distinct entities with an indolent clinical course and biologic behavior. They account for 2-8% of all gastric malignancies. We conducted this study to evaluate the role of gastroscopy as the principal diagnostic method in detecting gastric MALT lymphomas.Methods: Sixty-three consecutive patients with gastric MALT lymphomas, who were evaluated and treated at our institution between January 1978 and December 1997, are retrospectively reviewed. There were 36 males and 27 females, with a mean age of 53 years (range 20-80 years). All patients underwent the standard diagnostic evaluation, including gastroscopy and biopsy. Patients were staged according to revised Musshof modification of the Ann Arbor classification system, whereas histological evaluation was made according to the Isaacson classification system for gastric MALT lymphomas.Results: According to endoscopic findings, the antrum harbored the neoplasm in 31 patients (49%), the body in 38% (24 patients), and the fundus in 4% (3 patients), whereas in 5 patients (8%) the neoplasm occupied the entire stomach. The macroscopic appearance was not in most cases pathognomonic of the disease. Three macroscopic patterns were recognized at endoscopy: (a) the ulcerative in 51% (32 patients), (b) the polypoid in 33% (21 patients) and (c) the diffuse infiltrative in 16% (10 patients). The neoplasm was characterized as a benign disease in 24 patients (38%), with malignancy being suspected in 62% (39 patients). Endoscopy displayed a sensitivity of 61% in detecting malignancy; however, the sensitivity dropped to 27% when endoscopic diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was hypothesized.Conclusions: Although the impact of gastroscopy as a diagnostic tool in the patients of our study was of limited value, due to the nonspecific gross pattern of gastric MALT lymphomas, it should be maintained in the diagnostic intervention of the upper GI tract pathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of laparoscopic technique has gained popularity in the past decade. Numerous studies have qualified and quantified the systemic impact of acutely elevated intra-abdominal pressure during pneumoperitoneum at time of laparoscopy. The major hemodynamic effects are increased central venous pressure, increased systemic vascular resistance and systemic hypertension. Reductions in splanchnic and renal blood flow have also been documented, but the clinical significance of these observations is not clear and required further investigation. In our previous work we demonstrated intracranial hypertension secondary to acute elevation in intra-abdominal pressure and described the pathophysiology. Elevated intra-abdominal pressure during induced pneumoperitomeum can serve as a basic model for other disease processes which are characterized by acute or chronic abdominal hypertension. Here we review the current literature and describe our own experience to suggest a unifying model, with emphasis on the key role of the central nervous system in mediating the systemic response to increased intra-abdominal pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]