Anomalous coronary artery originating from the opposite sinus of Valsalva (ACAOS), fractional flow reserve- and intravascular ultrasound-guided management in adult patients.

Objectives: To describe the use of fractional flow reserve (FFR) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in the evaluation of patients with anomalous coronary arteries originating from the opposite sinus of Valsalva (ACAOS).

Background: ACAOS of the right and left coronary are rare, but may lead to symptoms and impose a risk for sudden cardiac death, depending on several anatomical features. Assessment and risk estimation is challenging in (nonathlete) adults, especially if they present without symptoms or with atypical complaints.

High incidence of Dacron conduit stenosis for extracardiac Fontan procedure.

Objectives: Extracardiac conduits are widely used to complete a Fontan circulation in patients with univentricular hearts. Although polytetrafluoroethylene conduits have proven good long-term patency, Dacron (polyethylene terephthalate) prostheses are still infrequently applied, with, as yet, no information on the long-term patency.

Methods: All patients who received an extracardiac Dacron conduit (n = 12) were retrospectively studied.

Cerebral ischemia initiates an immediate innate immune response in neonates during cardiac surgery.

Background: A robust inflammatory response occurs in the hours and days following cerebral ischemia. However, little is known about the immediate innate immune response in the first minutes after an ischemic insult in humans. We utilized the use of circulatory arrest during cardiac surgery to assess this.

FOXP3+ CD4+ Tregs lose suppressive potential but remain anergic during transient inflammation in human.

Tregs are crucial in controlling inflammation. Although the transcription factor FOXP3 is the most applicable phenotype marker of Tregs, it does not indisputably characterize suppressive function during T-cell activation in vitro. A question that remains is: what is the functionality of FOXP3(+) T cells during inflammation in vivo? We studied FOXP3(+) T cells in a human model of acute inflammation due to cardiac surgery.