More tests for Bolante--hospital exec
Previous tests show varied findings
By Thea Alberto
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 17:01:00 11/03/2008
Filed Under: Health, Joc-joc Bolante
MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE) Former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante who is still confined at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City will undergo more tests, a hospital official told media Monday.
Marites Lagniton, SLMC vice president for customer affairs, said Bolante had undergone a series of tests over the weekend, which showed the "presence of multiple gastric ulcers, esophagitis and erosive gastritis, which tested positive for H-plylori."
H-pylori is a type of bacteria that inhabits various parts of the stomach, according to medical websites.
In a medical bulletin prepared by Dr. Romeo Saavedra, Bolante’s doctor, Lagniton said the former agriculture undersecretary, who has been at the SLMC since Tuesday last week, would undergo “coronary angiogram” to determine if his blood flow was normal.
A Coronary angiography is a procedure involving the use of a special dye (contrast material) and X-rays to see how blood flows through the heart and "is usually done in conjunction with cardiac catheterization," according to medical website Medline Plus.
The bulletin said “multiple polyps” had been removed from Bolante after these were revealed by a colonoscopy.
The bulletin said Bolante underwent a CT coronary angiogram that validated initial findings of "atheromatous coronary arteries in the chest CT scan" and showed an over 50 percent "narrowing of a segment of one of the coronary arteries."
"Mr. Bolante's complaint of chest pains may be attributed to the findings of gastric ulcers and esophagitis, but it could also be due to the presence of possible significant narrowing of his coronary arteries," the bulletin said.
An abdominal CT scan also showed a "suspicious solitary nodule on the right adrenal gland" which needs further examination.
Bolante also underwent a stress test but failed to complete the procedure because he "complained of unsteadiness." As advised by his neurologist, Bolante might undergo an MRI (Magnetic Resonant Instrumentation) and MRA (Magnetic Resonant Angiogram) Monday night.
The former agriculture official is taking several medicines such as anti-hypertensives, anti-cholesterol, proton pump inhibitor, antibiotics, and ceterizine, an antihystamine, said Lagniton.
It was not immediately clear how long Bolante would remain at the hospital.
Lagniton refused to answer questions from the media, citing her inability to explain medical terms because she is not a doctor.
Bolante was admitted to St. Luke’s right after his return to the country last week from the United States, from where he was deported after his bid for asylum was rejected.
The former official, accused of engineering the alleged diversion of P728 million in fertilizer funds to the 2004 campaign kitty of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, is considered under Senate custody after an arrest order from the chamber was served on him at the airport on his arrival.
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