[Management of post-sternotomy mediastinitis in cardiac patients].

Post-sternotomy mediastinitis is a severe complication of cardiac surgery and accompanied by high mortality and cost of treatment. To date, there are no large clinical trials defining treatment of these patients. In this study the authors offer early postoperative wound sanitation, use of vacuum drainage in all cases and surgical repair with local tissues.

Functional activity of varicose human great saphenous vein at different sites.

Experiments on isolated preparations of varicose human great saphenous vein revealed different sensitivity of the distal and proximal portions to P2X receptor agonist α,β-methylene-ATP, but not to norepinephrine and histamine. It is suggested that restructuring of the P2 receptor system plays an important role in the pathogenesis of varicose veins, which affects the trunk of the great saphenous vein in varying degrees.

Increased concentrations of serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in blood plasma from patients with pulmonary hypertension due to mitral valve disease.

Serotonin content in the plasma and platelets and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentration in the plasma were shown to increase in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension due to mitral valve disease. A positive correlation was found between the severity of pulmonary arterial hypertension and concentrations of serotonin (r=0.48) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in the plasma (r=0.

Adrenergic and serotoninergic regulation of myocardial contractility in patients with various morphofunctional changes in the heart resulting from chronic heart failure.

A relationship between morphofunctional changes in the heart and predominance of adrenergic or serotoninergic influences on the strength of myocardial contraction in the right atrium was revealed in patients with chronic heart failure. During left ventricular hypertrophy, the strength of myocardial contraction in response to serotonin exceeded that induced by epinephrine and was realized via 5-HT2 receptors.

Myocardial contractility after in vitro treatment with class III antiarrhythmic drug Nibentan.

Myocardial contractility was studied in vitro in response to treatment with class III antiarrhythmic drug Nibentan. The contractile response to Nibentan in increasing concentrations of 1.66, 2.