1/729. Anaesthetic considerations in a patient with lepromatous leprosy. PURPOSE: To consider the anaesthetic problems in a patient with lepromatous leprosy undergoing general anaesthesia. CLINICAL FEATURES: A 52 yr old man with lepromatous leprosy for five years was booked for elective radical nephrectomy. He received 100 mg dapsone per day po. The patient was asymptomatic for cardiovascular disease but his electrocardiogram showed complete left bundle branch block, inferior wall ischaemia with echocardiogram findings of 58% ejection fraction and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction. Other preoperative investigations (haemogram, serum urea and creatinine, liver function tests and chest X-ray) were normal. After premedication with diazepam, meperidine and promethazine, the patient received glycopyrrolate and anaesthesia was induced with thiopentone. atracurium was given to facilitate tracheal intubation. Anaesthesia was maintained with intermittent positive pressure ventilation using N2O in oxygen with halothane. Anaesthesia and surgery were uneventful except that the patient had a fixed heart rate that remained unchanged in response to administration of anticholinergic, laryngoscopy, intubation and extubation. CONCLUSION: patients with lepromatous leprosy may have cardiovascular dysautonomia even when they are asymptomatic for cardiovascular disease. ( info) |
2/729. Severe hyperkalemia with minimal electrocardiographic manifestations: a report of seven cases. Severe hyperkalemia with minimal or nonspecific electrocardiographic (ECG) changes is unusual. We report data on seven patients with renal failure, metabolic acidosis, and severe hyperkalemia (K > or =8 mmol/L) without typical ECG changes. Initial ECGs revealed sinus rhythm and PR and QT intervals in the normal range. QRS intervals were slightly prolonged in two patients (110 ms), and incomplete right bundle branch block was evident in one. Thus, the absence of typical ECG changes does not preclude severe hyperkalemia. ( info) |
3/729. Transient left posterior hemiblock during myocardial ischemia-eliciting exercise treadmill testing: a report of a case and a critical analysis of the literature. We describe a 75-year-old male patient with two-vessel coronary artery disease, who developed transient left posterior hemiblock (LPH) while undergoing an exercise treadmill test (ETT). The intraventricular conduction abnormality initially had the features of alternating LPH, which evolved to stable LPH prior to dissipating, and it occurred at the first minute of recovery. The exercise electrocardiogram and the associated thallium-201 myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (Tl) revealed severe reversible myocardial ischemia. This rare occurrence is discussed in the context of the observed coronary lesions, the distribution of the radionuclide-detected ischemia, and the previous experience from the literature. An insight regarding the low prevalence of transient LPH is afforded, since the described case derives from a series of 2,160 consecutive patients who underwent ETT in conjunction with Tl. Finally, a comment is provided on the complexities of deciphering the specific pathophysiologic mechanism(s) of transient LPH, occurring during ETT. ( info) |
4/729. Intermittent bundle branch blocks in a patient with uncommon-type atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia and enhanced atrioventricular nodal conduction. We report on a patient with uncommon-type atrioventricular (AV) nodal reentrant tachycardia with a short tachycardia cycle length (235-270 ms), in whom transient wide QRS tachycardia with both left bundle branch block and right bundle branch block aberrancy were followed by narrow QRS complexes. In addition, His-ventricular (H-V) block and a sudden prolongation of the H-V interval occurred during the tachycardia. As the determinant of these unusual findings, the possibility that the anterograde limb of the reentry circuit has an enhanced AV nodal conduction property is discussed, as is the clinical significance of this type of tachycardia. ( info) |
5/729. Left ventricular end-diastolic extrasystole with pseudonormalization of a left bundle branch block unmasking inferior ischemia. An electrocardiogram tracing of a patient in conducted sinus rhythm with left bundle branch block is shown, in which occasional pseudonormalization of intraventricular conduction is seen. This event is attributed to ventricular fusions with end-diastolic extrasystoles of the left His-Purkinje system distal to the block site. This type of extrasystole is discussed. In this case, normalization of ventricular activation allowed for diagnosis of inferior subepicardial ischemia. ( info) |
6/729. Radiofrequency catheter ablation of coexistent atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia and left ventricular tachycardia originating in the left anterior fascicle. Coexistence of supraventricular tachycardia and ventricular tachycardia is rare. A patient with no structural heart disease and wide QRS complex tachycardia with a right bundle block configuration and right-axis deviation underwent electrophysiological examination. A concealed left atrioventricular pathway (AP) was found, and atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia (AVRT) and left ventricular tachycardia (VT) originating in or close to the anterior fascicle of the left ventricle were both induced. Radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation of the concealed left AP was successfully performed. Ten months later, VT recurred and was successfully ablated using a local Purkinje potential as a guide. Coexistent AVRT and idiopathic VT originating from within or near the left anterior fascicle were successfully ablated. ( info) |
7/729. Left posterior fascicular tachycardia: a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. A wide QRS complex tachycardia with right bundle-branch block morphology and left axis deviation observed in a young patient without structural heart disease may pose a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. The surface ECG may provide several diagnostic clues to make a correct diagnosis of left posterior fascicular tachycardia and may help to differentiate it from both a supraventricular tachycardia with aberrant conduction and a typical ventricular tachycardia related to coronary artery disease. Although this tachycardia is sensitive to verapamil, this medication may probably cause transient infertility in males. The presence of a Purkinje potential preceding the QRS complex during tachycardia and optimal pace mapping may guide radio-frequency ablation resulting in a definite cure. ( info) |
8/729. Significant complications can occur with ischemic heart disease and tilt table testing. We present an elderly patient who had syncope, with known coronary artery disease and a conduction abnormality. Because of a possible vasovagal reaction, the patient underwent a tilt table test prior to evaluation of ischemia or her LV function. During the tilt table test on isoproterenol, the patient developed ventricular fibrillation which was corrected immediately by cardioversion. Subsequently, the patient was found to have significant coronary artery disease which was treated with stenting and angioplasty. After treatment, there were no inducible arrhythmias on full dose isoproterenol. This case reports a significant complication that may occur when tilt table testing with isoproterenol and ischemia. ( info) |
9/729. Progressive disease of the atrioventricular conduction axis in an infant of an anti-Ro positive mother. A child of a mother with maternal anti-Ro and anti-La antibodies presented antenatally with abnormal myocardial function, and was found to have a first degree heart block at birth. The extent of the abnormality in the conduction system progressed, with appearance of left bundle branch block in addition to further prolongation of PR interval. A pacemaker was implanted prophylactically, but patient has remained well, with no further deterioration in her atrioventricular conduction. ( info) |
10/729. Left bundle branch block in infants with dilated cardiomyopathy conveys a poor prognosis. We describe three infants <3 months of age seen consecutively with dilated cardiomyopathy who presented initially with left bundle branch block on the surface 12-lead electrocardiogram. Each infant subsequently had a poor outcome: two died and one required heart transplantation. These results suggest that the presence of left bundle branch block on the 12-lead electrocardiogram conveys a poor prognosis in infants with dilated cardiomyopathy. ( info) |