[Hybrisep, a new method for the diagnosis of blood culture-negative infective endocarditis: a case report].

Blood cultures were considered as the gold standard for the diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) but were frequently negative. This report describes an IE patient who successfully underwent aortic valve replacement; it discusses a new diagnostic method of blood culture-negative IE. Recently, Hybrisep (FUSO Pharmaceutical Industries, Japan), a rapid diagnostic method for bacteremia was developed using in situ hybridization, which is superior in sensitivity to conventional blood cultures.

[Novel echogenic needle for ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve block "Hakko type CCR"].

A novel echogenic insulated nerve block needle (CCR-needle: Echogenic Needle Type CCR; Hakko, Japan) is commercially available since 2006 in Japan. This needle has three echogenic dimples, namely corner cube reflectors (CCR) on its tip. The CCR-needle will potentially provide a significant advantage for detecting the needle tip.

[New method for accurate ECG trigger of intraaortic balloon counterpulsation during off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery].

Background: Retractions of the heart required for exposure and construction of distal anastomoses often decrease R-wave amplitude of ECG and interfere with intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) trigger during off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB). Missing R wave trigger results in asynchronous work of IABP and probably produces hemodynamic instability. We report our early experience with a new interface BPI 202 (Osypka Medical, Inc.