Proximal Aortic Dilatation and Pulmonary Valve Replacement in Patients with Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot: Is There a Relationship? A Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

Aortopathy is a known complication whose incidence is growing within the population of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) patients. Its pathology and relationship with other comorbidities remain unclear. This study was designed to determine the prevalence and predictors of proximal aortic dilatation after TOF repair.

The direct comparison of inhaled versus intravenous levosimendan in children with pulmonary hypertension undergoing on-cardiopulmonary bypass cardiac surgery: A randomized, controlled, non-inferiority study.

Study Objective: Pulmonary arterial hypertension is commonly seen in children with left to right intracardiac shunts and affects the outcomes of cardiac surgery. Our study aimed to compare the efficacy of inhaled levosimendan (LS) versus intravenous LS in reducing elevated pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) in children scheduled for cardiac surgery.

Design: Non-inferiority, prospective, randomized, blinded, controlled study.

Isolated drainage of right superior vena cava into left atrium: A rare etiology of childhood central cyanosis.

Isolated right superior vena cava drainage into the left atrium (RSVC-LA) is an extremely rare anomaly in the absence of other cardiac or extracardiac abnormalities. The clinical and echocardiographic diagnosis is considered challenging. We report a female infant with cyanosis on crying who was diagnosed as isolated RSVC-LA using conventional and contrast echocardiography, but further confirmation was possible via multidetector CT.

The relation between hepatitis C virus and coronary heart disease.

It is well known that chronic hepatitis C is associated with insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome which are risk factors for atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. As a result, chronic hepatitis C might be thought, through its association with metabolic syndrome, to increase the risk of myocardial infarction. However, unexpectedly it was found that HCV infection is not associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction.

Can thoracic paravertebral block replace thoracic epidural block in pediatric cardiac surgery? A randomized blinded study.

To compare the outcomes of thoracic epidural block with thoracic paravertebral block for thoracotomy in pediatric patients. A prospective double-blind study. 60 pediatric patients aged 1-24 months, ASA II, III scheduled for thoracotomy were randomly allocated into two groups.

Acute effects of lobectomy on right ventricular ejection fraction and mixed venous oxygen saturation.

Background: Traditional methods of assessing the operative risk for lung resection provide only a modest ability to predict postoperative morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of lobectomy on pulmonary hemodynamic and gas exchange variables using the RV thermodilution ejection fraction/oximetric catheter.

Methods: We evaluated the acute postoperative effects of lung resection on hemodynamic and gas exchange parameters in 30 patients.