Infected thoracic aortic graft in a woman with Darier disease: a case report.

Background: Patients with Darier disease often present with staphylococcal skin infections and are at risk for complications when they undergo cardiothoracic surgery, such as acute aortic dissection repair.

Case Summary: A 39-year-old woman with hypertension and Darier disease suffered an acute type A aortic dissection, requiring emergency operation with a Dacron graft. Twenty-five days post-operatively, she developed pneumonia and staph hominis was isolated in blood cultures and Bronchoalveolar Lavage.

Permanent Sinus Node Arrest Complicating Coronary Angioplasty.

Sinus node artery (SNA) occlusion is a rare complication of percutaneous coronary intervention and usually has a benign prognosis; sinus arrest may occur but frequently resolves. We report a case of unresolved SNA obstruction following percutaneous coronary intervention of the mid-right coronary artery, for which permanent pacemaker implantation was required. ().

A case report of fulminant primary streptococcal pericarditis.

Background: Bacterial pericarditis is a rare, rapidly progressive, and highly fatal infection, even with drainage and antibiotics. Gram-positive cocci, specifically , have been the most common cause of bacterial pericarditis from either haematogenous dissemination, or spread from another adjacent site of infection. Following the introduction of antibiotics in the 1940s and more recently the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, the incidence has drastically decreased.

WITHDRAWN: Invasive therapies in women.

The Publisher regrets that this article is an accidental duplication of an article that has already been published, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.

Multiple myocardial bridges causing severe ischaemia in adolescent with pulmonary stenosis.

Myocardial bridges are often asymptomatic but may need therapy when causing ischaemia. They have rarely been reported in children or in association with CHD, where symptomatology may be mistakenly attributed to the CHD. We report a case of multiple myocardial bridges causing ischaemia in an adolescent with pulmonary stenosis and discuss management.

68-year-old woman with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

We present the case of a 68-year-old woman, currently asymptomatic but with a history of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and tachycardia-bradycardia syndrome, for which she underwent a DDD pacemaker implantation and was started on oral anticoagulants. A recent chest X-ray (figure 1), for respiratory infection, was performed and the patient was referred to our institution for evaluation. Following diagnostic procedures, the patient was successfully operated on.

Platelet to lymphocyte ratio in acute aortic dissection.

Background: Inflammation plays an important role in the initiation and progression of acute aortic dissection (AAD). New inflammatory indices derived from full cell blood count and its differential may be associated with increased risk. We evaluated platelet-lymphocyte (PLR), red cell distribution width (RDW) and RDW/PLT's (platelets) (RPR) in AAD.

Dyspnoea on exertion in a 53-year-old woman.

Clinical Introduction: A 53-year-old woman with no previous medical history complained of easy fatigue over the last 6 months. She had a positive family history for coronary artery disease but no other risk factors. On physical examination, a 3/6 pansystolic murmur was heard over the apex, and the lung auscultation was unremarkable.

Osteopontin in relation to Prognosis following Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery.

Cardiovascular events may occur even after complete revascularization in patients with coronary artery disease. We measured preoperative osteopontin (OPN) levels in 131 consecutive patients (66.5 ± 10 years old, 117 men and 14 women) with left ventricular ejection fraction of 50.

Prognostic performance of critical care scores in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Background: Critical care management of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a major determinant of their outcome.

Aims: The aim of this study was to compare the prognostic performance of four general scoring systems [Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE), Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), and MultiOrgan Dysfunction (MOD) scores] in TAVI patients.

Methods: Between 1 June 2008 and 30 June 2014, 75 patients (81.

Four-year clinical results of transcatheter self-expanding Medtronic CoreValve implantation in high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis.

Background: transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has emerged as an alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement for patients with severe aortic stenosis considered inoperable or at high operative risk, but the long-term outcome remains unknown.

Hypothesis: we assessed the 4-year clinical and echocardiographic outcomes of patients undergoing TAVI with the self-expanding Medtronic CoreValve prosthesis.

Methods: sixty-three patients (mean age 80 ± 6 years) with severe aortic stenosis (AS) at high risk for surgical aortic valve replacement (Logistic EuroSCORE 28.

High neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio in type A acute aortic dissection facilitates diagnosis and predicts worse outcome.

Objective: The authors investigated whether neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (N/L) can contribute to the diagnosis and risk assessment in patients with type A acute aortic dissection (AAD).

Methods: The authors studied 120 consecutive patients with type A AAD (group I) and compared them with 121 consecutive patients with chronic aneurysms (group II) and 121 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects (group III).

Result: It was found that white blood cell count, N/L, D-dimer and C-reactive protein were significantly higher in group I versus both groups II and III (p < 0.

Heart rate and B-blockade in stable coronary artery disease in Greece.

Introduction: Heart rate (HR) is a strong prognostic indicator in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, there is only limited evidence on HR and the use of b-blockers in patients with CAD in contemporary clinical practice.

Methods: CLARIFY is an international, prospective, observational, longitudinal registry of outpatients with stable CAD, defined as prior myocardial infarction or revascularization procedure, evidence of coronary stenosis >50%, or chest pain associated with proven myocardial ischemia.

Clinical presentation and management of stable coronary artery disease: insights from the international prospective CLARIFY registry - results from the Greek national cohort.

Introduction: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is highly prevalent worldwide, yet there is a paucity of data regarding the clinical characteristics and management of outpatients with stable CAD. In this paper, we report the baseline data of the Greek cohort and we compare our national data with the global results of the entire registry, as well as the results from the western European countries.

Methods: CLARIFY is an international, prospective, observational, longitudinal registry of outpatients with stable CAD, defined as prior myocardial infarction or revascularization procedure, evidence of coronary stenosis >50%, or chest pain associated with proven myocardial ischemia.

High homocysteine and low folate concentrations in acute aortic dissection.

Background: Biomarkers for monitoring progression and prognosis of thoracic aneurysm are of great interest. Homocysteine (Hcy) induces elastolysis in arterial media and may directly affect fibrillin-1 or collagen whereas lipoprotein (Lp) (a) inhibits elastolysis by reducing activation of matrix metallopeptidase-9.

Methods: We studied 31 consecutive patients with acute aortic dissection (AAD) admitted for emergency surgery (group I, 60 ± 13 years old, 25 men), 30 consecutive patients with chronic aneurysms of the ascending aorta (group II, 67 ± 12 years old, 24 men) and 20 healthy controls (group III, 58 ± 15 years old, 14 men).

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation: restoring the qualities of life in old age.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a tremendous therapeutic advance for patients with severe aortic stenosis and high-surgical risk. Since TAVI-treated patients are elderly with multiple co-existing conditions, limited life expectancy and disproportionate health-care expenditures, the aspect of the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) benefits becomes of fundamental importance. Based on recent evidence, TAVI appears to improve significantly HRQoL measures compared with optimal standard care, which are restored to age-adjusted population norms over time.

Significant peri-operative reduction in plasma osteopontin levels after coronary artery by-pass grafting.

Objectives: Osteopontin (OPN) is a multifunctional protein associated with vascular injury and has been linked to atherosclerosis and inflammation. We sought to investigate whether OPN changes in relation to coronary artery by-pass grafting (CABG) surgery.

Design And Methods: We studied 50 consecutive patients (63 ± 10 years old, 6 women and 44 men) undergoing elective CABG.