Common carotid artery dissection in the course of acute aortic dissection De Bakey type I.

Extracranial artery dissection is a rare finding. It may be the result of acute aortic dissection. We present the case of a 50-year-old patient admitted to Department of Neurology CSK MSWiA with signs of transient ischaemic attack.

A case of candida albicans mediastinitis after heart transplantation successfully treated with caspofungin.

Reported here is a case of mediastinitis caused by candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus following a heart transplantation that was successfully treated with caspofungin, antibiotics and mediastinal lavage. A review of the literature revealed that Candida albicans as a cause of mediastinitis has been rarely described. In the few existing reports, evolution was generally fatal, especially in immunocompromised patients, despite treatment with antifungal drugs and antibiotics.

Conversion from cyclosporine to tacrolimus improves renal function and lipid profile after cardiac transplantation.

Background: Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) have become the cornerstone of immunosuppressive regimens following heart transplantation, but their use is associated with nephrotoxicity. The impact on renal function after conversion from cyclosporine (CsA) to tacrolimus (TAC) is reported.

Patients And Methods: Fifteen patients (men age 42 +/- 11 years) after cardiac transplantation (HTX) were switched from CsA to TAC (mean time after HTX 21 +/- 6 months).

Composite aortic root replacement using the classic or modified Cabrol coronary artery implantation technique.

Background: We report in this study our results with composite aortic root replacement (CVR) using the classic or modified Cabrol coronary implantation technique.

Material And Methods: From October 2001 to March 2005, 25 patients underwent aortic root replacement. In all cases, the indication for surgery was a degenerative aneurysm with a diameter of more than 6 cm.

Post-transplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM) in heart recipients.

In conclusion, comparative clinical studies with tacrolimus in heart recipients tend to show a similar or increased diabetogenic potential compared with cyclosporine-ME-based therapy. However, these changes are often accompanied by a reduced effect on lipid metabolism and hypertension suggesting a superior cardiovascular risk profile. The superior control of acute rejection also positions tacrolimus as an attractive alternative to cyclosporine for heart recipients.

May preservation solution affect the incidence of graft vasculopathy in transplanted heart?

Vasculopathy as a manifestation of chronic rejection of transplanted heart may limit long term patient survival. Development of vasculopathy can be associated with intima injury during ischemia and reperfusion. The purpose of this study was to determine whether preservation solution may improve posttransplant heart recovery and reduce the incidence of graft vasculopathy.

[Thyrotoxicosis in heart recipients].

Between 1992 and 2000 in the group of the patients before heart transplantation, amiodarone induced thyrotoxicosis occurred in 5 (4 male and 1 female, average age 45.5 years) patients. In four of the patients of that group orthotopic heart transplantation was done.