1/457. Competitive pulmonary flow in infancy: the effect of respiration. Superior caval flow during positive pressure mechanical ventilation and spontaneous breathing was investigated by Doppler echocardiography in a neonate with a coexisting superior cavopulmonary shunt and an aortopulmonary shunt. During positive pressure ventilation, retrograde systolic flow in the superior vena cava was recorded, with low velocity anterograde flow. This pattern was reversed during spontaneous respiration. Low intrathoracic pressure plays an important role in maintaining anterograde pulmonary blood flow in patients with this physiology. ( info) |
2/457. A case of fibrosing mediastinitis with obstruction of superior vena cava and downhill esophageal varices: a rare cause of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Fibrosing mediastinitis (FM) is an excessive fibrotic reaction that occurs in the mediastinum and may lead to compression of mediastinal structures (especially vascular or bronchial). In the present study we describe the first case report of FM, in a patient who developed downhill esophageal varices and bleeding, which was secondary to superior vena cava obstruction. ( info) |
3/457. Pacemaker-induced superior vena cava obstruction: bypass using the intact azygous vein. Superior vena cava thrombosis due to pacemaker leads is an uncommon but well-recognized complication. Its pathogenesis remains unclear and it is usually a benign condition. Superior vena cava occlusion can be successfully treated by thrombolysis and anticoagulation if the occlusion is recent, balloon venoplasty and stenting, and surgery. We describe a case of superior vena cava obstruction successfully bypassed using the intact native azygous vein, a technique that has not been described before, with excellent long-term results. ( info) |
| A rarely reported association of sleep apnea and superior vena cava stenosis from mediastinal fibrosis is described. A case is presented where substantial improvement in the sleep parameters and the symptoms of sleep apnea occurred subsequent to superior vena cava thrombolysis and stent angioplasty. ( info) |
5/457. Use of a metallic stent for relief of symptoms caused by superior vena caval obstruction in a patient with advanced cancer: a case report. This report describes the insertion of a metallic stent in the superior vena cava to relieve the symptoms of malignant superior vena caval obstruction in a 75-year-old woman with far-advanced lung cancer in whom other methods of symptom control had been ineffective. Her symptoms were quickly relieved by insertion of the stent. She died 1 month following the procedure, without recurrence of the symptoms. The technical aspects of the procedure and the issues affecting the clinical decision-making process in this case are discussed. ( info) |
| OBJECTIVES: To review the oncologic emergency of cardiac tamponade through a case study presentation/analysis and a discussion of the pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and nursing management. DATA SOURCES: research studies, review articles, book chapters, abstracts, and clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: cardiac tamponade is a potentially life-threatening condition that is not uncommon in the oncology setting. It can result directly from the malignant or metastatic process or from the treatment of the malignancy. observation and prompt intervention are mandatory to deal effectively with cardiac tamponade. IMPLICATIONS FOR nursing PRACTICE: Oncology nurses play important roles in identifying patients at risk for cardiac tamponade and in recognizing signs and symptoms of cardiac tamponade early so this life-threatening emergency can be treated promptly. ( info) |
| OBJECTIVES: To provide a review of the treatment and nursing management of superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS). DATA SOURCES: review articles, research studies, and book chapters. CONCLUSIONS: SVCS is primarily associated with small cell lung cancer. It usually has a chronic, insidious onset, but may present acutely with laryngeal or cerebral edema. Radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery, thrombolysis, and interventional radiology have provided effective treatment. IMPLICATIONS FOR nursing PRACTICE: Management of the patient with SVCS includes recognition of high-risk patients and initial symptomatology, accurate assessments, appropriate therapies, psychosocial support, and education regarding recurrent SVCS. ( info) |
8/457. The management of non-small-cell lung cancer: a case history. Accurate assessment and treatment of the patient with lung cancer requires a team approach involving respiratory physicians, cardiothoracic surgeons, oncologists and the palliative care team. Adequate staging and assessment of prognostic factors are essential before deciding what treatment is appropriate for an individual patient. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for early disease. patients with medically inoperable stage 1 (T1, T2, N0) tumours should be considered for radical radiotherapy; additional chemotherapy in early stage disease may offer an additional survival advantage, but its overall role can only be assessed by further clinical trials. In more locally advanced tumours radical radiotherapy has never been formally tested. It is however, often used in patients where the tumour can be encompassed safely within a radiation field. This will depend on total dose and fractionation schedule as well as the volume of tissue irradiated. Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy prolongs survival in these patients. As only a few patients are cured, symptom control and quality of life are usually the most important goals of management and can be achieved by a variety of interventions. It is disappointing that in such a common disease less than 5% of patients are entered into clinical trials. Without such evidence the therapeutic outcomes in NSCLC cannot be improved. ( info) |
9/457. Multimodality treatment of malignant superior vena caval syndrome. Malignant superior vena caval (SVC) syndrome due to non-small cell lung cancer is invariably fatal, with most therapy directed toward palliating the manifestations of the disease. A cure, by means of any modality, is unusual. We report a patient with SVC syndrome secondary to documented ipsilateral peritracheal nodal involvement (stage IIIB disease) who underwent neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and resection. At surgery, his superior vena cava was not involved and his tumor had been downstaged to stage I (T1 nanoseconds). He remains alive and free of disease 60 months after surgery. Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy may be used to downstage malignant SVC syndrome to resectable lesions in good functional candidates. ( info) |
| We encountered a fatal case of mediastinal fibromatosis in a 67-year-old female in whom there was aggressive infiltration into the large vessels, nerves and pericardium. She presented with the superior vena cava syndrome, Horner's syndrome, paralysis of bilateral vocal cords and diaphragm and heart failure. Mediastinoscopical examination revealed an extremely firm tumor adhering to the sternum, trachea and brachiocephalic artery. She died of severe heart failure due to the disturbed dilatation of the heart and ventilatory insufficiency. Although mediastinal fibromatosis is very uncommon and sometimes difficult to diagnose at an early stage, physicians should be aware of this disease for the differential diagnosis of mediastinal tumors. ( info) |