Diagnostic Yield of ECG-Gated Cardiac CT in theAcute Phase of Ischemic Stroke vsTransthoracic Echocardiography.

Background And Objectives: Guidelines recommend echocardiography to screen for structural sources of cardioembolism in patients with ischemic stroke. Cardiac CT is a promising alternative as a first-line screening method. We aimed to determine whether cardiac CT, acquired during the initial stroke imaging protocol, has a higher yield for detecting high-risk cardioaortic sources of embolism than transthoracic echocardiography (TTE).

The inflammatory response to vascular surgery-associated ischaemia and reperfusion in man: effect on postoperative pulmonary function.

Objectives: To characterise the inflammatory response to vascular surgery and ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) in man, regarding release of inflammatory mediators, recruitment and activation of neutrophils, and their relation to postoperative pulmonary function.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Materials And Methods: Circulating neutrophil counts and plasma levels of elastase-alpha 1-antitrypsin (AT), a neutrophil degranulation product, were measured before and approx.

Effects of N-acetylcysteine and terbutaline treatment on hemodynamics and regional albumin extravasation in porcine septic shock.

We studied the therapeutic effects of continuously infused N-acetylcysteine, an O2 radical scavenger (N, n = 6), and terbutaline, a beta 2-agonist (T, n = 6), versus dextrose (controls C, N = 6) on hemodynamics and regional albumin extravasation in porcine septic shock. After instrumentation, injection of 99mTc-labeled red blood cells, and baseline measurements, pigs received a 90 min infusion of 11 +/- 9 X 10(8).kg-1 live Escherichia coli bacteria.