Intravascular ultrasound image subtraction: a contrast enhancing technique to facilitate automatic three-dimensional visualization of the arterial lumen.

At 30 MHz, the intravascular ultrasound backscatter of blood confounds the discrimination of the lumen from the arterial wall. This study validates a subtraction method which creates a still-frame image with a sharp demarcation of the lumen. The method involves subtraction of consecutive images and 2D ensemble averaging of the absolute pixel values.

Complete right bundle branch block after surgical closure of perimembranous ventricular septal defect. Relation to type of ventriculotomy.

The ECGs of a 100 consecutive children who had surgical repair of their ventricular septal defects (VSDs) were analyzed for postoperative right bundle branch block (RBBB). Seventy of them had an atriotomy and the other 23 also a ventriculotomy. The ventriculotomy always consisted of a transverse incision a short distance below the pulmonary annulus.

Intra-uterine tachycardia associated with multicystic encephalomalacia (MCE).

Multiple cystic brain lesions in neonates have been described as a result of a variety of causes. All events described thus far in association with multicystic encephalomalacia (MCE) seem to point to hypoxic-ischaemic injury as the common factor for this particular form of central nervous system damage. We describe a neonate in whom repeated, prolonged episodes of intrauterine tachycardia had been documented.

Actinobacillus actinomycetem-comitans endocarditis in a child with a prosthetic heart valve.

The first case of Actinobacillus actinomycetem-comitans endocarditis in a child with a prosthetic cardiac valve is reported. Endocarditis was possibly caused by dental work done without antibiotic prophylaxis four weeks prior to admission.