1/38. Expanding indications for the Ross procedure.The pulmonary autograft procedure has been shown to provide excellent hemodynamic results in young patients with aortic pathology. However, the use of this procedure in those with more complex aortic disease has not been extensively evaluated. The purpose of this report is to present the application of the Ross procedure in a 21-year-old man with extensive acquired aortic root pathology, both subannular and supraannular, and prosthetic valve dysfunction after two previous procedures.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = dysfunction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/38. Emergency correction of coagulation for mitral valve replacement in an orally anticoagulated 17-year-old patient with pronounced hepatic dysfunction.A 17-year-old patient with Shone's disease had to be readmitted to the hospital 3 months after implantation of an artificial aortic valve because of extreme mitral insufficiency with consecutive pulmonary edema and hepatic dysfunction. He had been orally anticoagulated and presented with a high international normalized ratio of 6.7. Emergency replacement of the mitral valve was possible only after administration of prothrombin-complex concentrate, as vitamin k(1) and fresh frozen plasma did not correct the hemostatic defect sufficiently.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5keywords = dysfunction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/38. microvascular angina in a patient with aortic stenosis.A 39-year-old woman had exercise-induced ST segment depression associated with chest pain. Cardiac evaluation revealed moderate aortic stenosis (AS), related to the bicuspid valves, with an aortic mean pressure gradient of 22 mmHg, a calculated aortic valve area of 1.3 cm2 and normal left ventricular (LV) peak systolic and end-diastolic pressures, but no LV hypertrophy, resulting in normal LV wall stress. Although the coronary arteries were angiographically normal, rapid atrial pacing and an intracoronary papaverine injection revealed a significantly decreased coronary flow reserve (CFR), which may have played an important role in the pathogenesis of angina pectoris in this patient. Though the CFR is usually decreased in patients with AS, as well as in microvascular angina, in this particular case, it appeared to have decreased as a consequence of microvascular dysfunction rather than of AS-related mechanisms.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = dysfunction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/38. pulmonary edema associated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.We report three cases of pulmonary edema associated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, including one fatality. All three patients had cardiac disease and reduced left ventricular (LV) ejection fractions (EFs). Two patients had diabetes, and one patient had severe aortic stenosis. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may contribute to pulmonary edema by increasing LV afterload, increasing LV filling pressures, increasing oxidative myocardial stress, decreasing LV compliance by oxygen radical-mediated reduction in nitric oxide, altering cardiac output between the right and left hearts, inducing bradycardia with concomitant LV dysfunction, increasing pulmonary capillary permeability, or by causing pulmonary oxygen toxicity. We advise caution in the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in patients with heart failure or in patients with reduced cardiac EFs.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = dysfunction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/38. Use of desmopressin and erythropoietin in an anaemic Jehovah's Witness patient with severely impaired coagulation capacity undergoing stentless aortic valve replacement.Cardiac surgery in Jehovah's Witness patients remains a challenge in the presence of concomitant congenital or acquired coagulation disorders and anaemia. We report a case of a 66-year-old female Jehovah's Witness suffering from severe calcified aortic valve stenosis requiring aortic valve replacement. The anaemic patient suffered from concomitant platelet dysfunction and deficiency of factors V and VII due to gammopathy of immunoglobulin g. The patient was preoperatively treated with recombinant erythropoietin in combination with folic acid and iron, which resulted in an increase of the haematocrit from 0.335 to 0.416 after 22 days of treatment. Haemostasis was improved by high dose aprotinin and additional desmopressin, which could be demonstrated to be effective by a preoperative test. The patients intra- and postoperative course was uneventful, her total chest tube loss was 130 ml, and she was able to be discharged without the need of any blood transfusions. The beneficial properties of erythropoietin and desmopressin in Jehovah's Witness patients are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = dysfunction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/38. Mechanisms of coronary microcirculatory dysfunction in patients with aortic stenosis and angiographically normal coronary arteries.BACKGROUND: Development of left ventricular hypertrophy in aortic stenosis (AS) is accompanied by coronary microcirculatory dysfunction, demonstrated by an impaired coronary vasodilator reserve (CVR). However, evidence for regional abnormalities in myocardial blood flow (MBF) and the potential mechanisms is limited. The aims of this study were to quantitatively demonstrate differences in subendocardial and subepicardial microcirculation and to investigate the relative contribution of myocyte hypertrophy, hemodynamic load, severity of AS, and coronary perfusion to impairment in microcirculatory function. methods AND RESULTS: Twenty patients with isolated moderate to severe AS were studied using echocardiography to assess severity of AS, cardiovascular magnetic resonance to measure left ventricular mass (LVM), and PET to quantify resting and hyperemic (dipyridamole 0.56 mg/kg) MBF and CVR in both the subendocardium and subepicardium. In the patients with most severe AS (n=15), the subendocardial to subepicardial MBF ratio decreased from 1.14 /-7 at rest to 0.92 /-7 during hyperemia (P<0.005), and subendocardial CVR (1.43 /-3) was lower than subepicardial CVR (1.78 /-35; P=0.01). Resting total LV blood flow was linearly related to LVM, whereas CVR was not. Increase of total LV blood flow during hyperemia (mean value, 89.6 /-6%; range, 17% to 233%) was linearly related to aortic valve area. The decrease in CVR was related to severity of AS, increase in hemodynamic load, and reduction in diastolic perfusion time, particularly in the subendocardium. CONCLUSIONS: CVR was more severely impaired in the subendocardium in patients with LVH attributable to severe AS. Severity of impairment was related to aortic valve area, hemodynamic load imposed, and diastolic perfusion rather than to LVM.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5keywords = dysfunction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/38. Noncompaction of left ventricular myocardium in the presence of calcific aortic stenosis in an adult.We describe an adult patient with a hitherto unreported association of severe aortic stenosis with extensive noncompaction of the left ventricular myocardium without any hypertrophy; however, there was severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction in the presence of a normal-sized left ventricular cavity on two-dimensional echocardiography. This condition was differentiated from persistence of embryonic intramyocardial sinusoids by selective coronary angiography.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = dysfunction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/38. Left atrial free-floating ball thrombus with recent cardioembolic stroke.A 67-year-old man was admitted to a local hospital complaining of hemiparesis. Because of coexisting arrhythmia, he was examined by echocardiography and found to have an oval free-floating thrombus in the left atrium concomitant with mitral and aortic stenosis. He was transferred to our hospital for emergency surgery. He underwent an operation on the ninth day from the onset of neurological dysfunction, when a 2.5 x 2.5 x 3.0 cm ball thrombus was removed, and the diseased mitral and aortic valves were replaced. His postoperative course was uneventful, with no neurological sequelae. Though left atrial ball thrombus is rarely found in patients with mitral valve disease, when it is found, then immediate surgical intervention is recommended to avoid sudden death. However, there is a high risk that any cerebral lesion may worsen due to systemic heparinization. Therefore, the optimal time of surgery in a patient with a recent neurological deficit is controversial.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = dysfunction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/38. Neuraxial morphine may trigger transient motor dysfunction after a noninjurious interval of spinal cord ischemia: a clinical and experimental study.BACKGROUND: A patient underwent repair of a thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm. Epidural morphine, 4 mg, was given for pain relief. After anesthesia, the patient displayed lower extremity paraparesis. This effect was reversed by naloxone. The authors sought to confirm these observations using a rat spinal ischemia model to define the effects of intrathecal morphine administered at various times after reflow on behavior and spinal histopathology. methods: spinal cord ischemia was induced for 6 min using an intraaortic balloon. morphine or saline, 30 microg, was injected intrathecally at 0.5, 2, or 24 h after reflow. In a separate group, spinal cord temperature was decreased to 27 degrees C before ischemia. After ischemia, recovery of motor function was assessed periodically using the motor deficit index (0 = complete recovery; 6 = complete paraplegia). RESULTS: After ischemia, all rats showed near-complete recovery of function by 4-6 h. Intrathecal injection of morphine at 0.5 or 2 h of reflow (but not at 24 h) but not saline caused a development of hind limb dysfunction and lasted for 4.5 h (motor deficit index score = 4-6). This effect was reversed by intrathecal naloxone (30 microg). Intrathecal morphine administered after hypothermic ischemia was without effect. Histopathological analysis in animals that received intrathecal morphine at 0.5 or 2 h after ischemia (but not at 24 h) revealed dark-staining alpha motoneurons and interneurons. Intrathecal saline or spinal hypothermia plus morphine was without effect. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that during the immediate reflow following a noninjurious interval of spinal ischemia, intrathecal morphine potentiates motor dysfunction. Reversal by naloxone suggests that this effect results from an opioid receptor-mediated potentiation of a transient block of inhibitory neurons initiated by spinal ischemia.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 6keywords = dysfunction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/38. Transmission of hepatitis a via WBC-reduced RBCs and FFP from a single donation.BACKGROUND: Currently, individuals donating whole blood and cellular components are not screened for hepatitis a (HA). However, transfusion-transmitted HA can occur, albeit very rarely. Although infection is typically mild and self-limited, it may be catastrophic in a small percentage of cases. Two cases of HA transmission from a single donation to two patients with subsequent variable morbidity are reported. case reports: A 50-year-old, asymptomatic, volunteer blood donor made a whole-blood donation. He was found to have HA 18 days later. When notified, the donor center initiated a recall of the components produced from the donated unit. However, the RBCs and FFP had already been transfused. Subsequently, both recipients developed HA as documented by IgM anti-HA serology. The RBC recipient was a 49-year-old woman, transfused after a hysterectomy, who was found to have HA at the time of unit recall (20 days after transfusion). Her condition required the use of medical disability leave. The FFP was infused to a 52-year-old female cardiac surgical patient. Her course was marked by multiple complications, including postoperative development of mild hepatic dysfunction. After testing negative for HA, hepatitis b, and hepatitis c (24 days after transfusion), she suffered a second bout of more severe hepatic dysfunction and was documented to have HA at Day 55 after transfusion. Evaluation of both recipients' close contacts revealed no evidence for exposure to HA by any route other than transfusion. CONCLUSION: HA can be transmitted by transfusion of units obtained from asymptomatic, infectious donors. Two patients contracted HA from components obtained from a single whole-blood donation. The RBC recipient had a typical self-limited course of HA. The FFP recipient developed HA of relatively delayed onset. Both recovered from HA.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = dysfunction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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