Cardiac rest and reserve function in patients with Fontan circulation.

Objectives: In the present study, we systematically tested cardiac rest and reserve function in patients with Fontan physiology to check for inherent limitations of this circulation.

Background: Details of the mechanisms of cardiac performance that could account for adverse outcome after Fontan surgery are not well understood.

Methods: The subjects were 17 Fontan patients with good functional status (Fontan group) and 20 patients with normal two-ventricle circulation (control group).

[Successful salvage of a patient with cardiac arrest caused by multiple pulmonary emboli and lung abscesses due to infective endocarditis of the tricuspid valve: a case report].

A 28-year-old female developed infective endocarditis in the tricuspid valve and multiple lung abscesses due to septic pulmonary emboli early after intensive therapy for ulcerative colitis. The pathogen was methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Usual antibiotic agents and linezolid were administered.

Impact of postoperative blood pressure control on regression of left ventricular mass following valve replacement for aortic stenosis.

Objective: Considerable left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy sometimes remains after aortic valve replacement (AVR) for aortic stenosis. For this issue, most previous studies have focused solely on transprosthetic pressure gradient, although true problem is not the pressure gradient itself but an elevated LV pressure. This study investigated the impact of blood pressure on postoperative LV mass regression, which had been overlooked in previous studies.

Arterial hemodynamics in patients after Kawasaki disease.

Background: Histopathological findings in the acute stage of Kawasaki disease (KD) indicate widespread vascular inflammation that involves not only coronary arteries but also systemic arteries. This may cause changes in systemic arterial wall properties after KD, which could have adverse effects on arterial hemodynamics (an important predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality).

Methods And Results: Systemic arterial hemodynamics were investigated by measuring aortic input impedance during cardiac catheterization in 42 KD patients who had developed coronary artery lesions (CALs) in the acute stage of KD.

Usefulness of selective contrast echocardiography and selective scintigraphy for the evaluation of pulmonary arteriovenous fistula in a patient with systemic arterial supply to a normal lung.

To determine a surgical procedure for the correction of a systemic arterial supply to a normal lung, it is important to evaluate whether the patient has a pulmonary arteriovenous fistula. In this article, the authors report for the first time a patient in which selective contrast echocardiography and selective perfusion scintigraphy from an abnormal artery clearly demonstrated and quantified the pulmonary arteriovenous fistula. The authors believe that these methods are useful in determining the appropriate operative procedure for this condition.

Vasopressin in the treatment of vasodilatory shock in children.

Background: Many recent studies suggest that vasopressin deficiency is an important cause of catecholamine-resistant hypotension with vasodilation in adults, but little is known about vasopressin deficiency in children.

Methods: To clarify the usefulness of vasopressin administration in pediatric cathecolamine-resistant hypotension with preserved ventricular contractility, urinary output and blood pressure response to vasopressin were retrospectively analyzed in 12 consecutive patients (15 instances) who were treated with vasopressin. The causes of vasodilation were central nervous system disturbance (n = 5), side-effect of drug (n = 5), and infection (n = 5).

[Coronary artery bypass grafting in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis: importance of wound healing and hypoproteinemia].

Objectives: Outcome of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis was studied.

Methods: Between January 1996 and August 2004, 49 consecutive hemodialysis patients [38 males and 11 females, mean age 60.0 years (range 47-74 years)] underwent CABG using cardiopulmonary bypass.

[Aortic root replacement using an allograft for active infective endocarditis with periannular abscess: single center experience].

Objectives: Results of aortic root replacement using an allograft for active infective endocarditis in the aortic position and periannular abscess were studied.

Methods: Aortic root replacement using a cryopreserved aortic allograft was performed 13 times in 12 patients (9 men, 3 women, mean age 52.8 years) at Saitama Medical School.

Combined coronary artery bypass grafting and abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

The purpose of this paper was to assess the results and feasibility of simultaneous coronary artery bypass grafting and abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Twenty nine patients with a mean age of 65 years underwent simultaneous coronary artery bypass grafting and abdominal aortic aneurysm repair between June 1990 and March 2002. All patients had significant coronary artery disease and were considered as indicated for coronary artery bypass grafting.

Mid-term results of aortoplasty for dilated ascending aorta associated with aortic valve disease.

Background: Dilatation of the ascending aorta concomitant with aortic valve disease is occasionally associated with progressive enlargement of the ascending aorta or acute aortic dissection (AAD). However, surgical procedure of choice for the aorta and its indication are controversial.

Patients And Methods: From July 1995 to August 2001, 10 patients with a moderately dilated ascending aorta (mean diameter, 52+/-4.

Dilated cardiomyopathy in a 3-year-old girl with a terminal deletion, 46,XX,del(3)(q27-qter), of the long arm of chromosome 3.

Unlabelled: We report a case in which a 3-year-old girl with terminal deletion of the long arm of chromosome 3 had dilated cardiomyopathy, a complication that has not previously been reported in association with this chromosome abnormality. In addition to cardiomyopathy, she had intrauterine growth retardation, small eyes and mouth, a broad nose, thin lips, low-set ears, a short neck and overlapping second toes.

Conclusion: due to the paucity of reported cases of 3q deletion, and the clinical variability of such cases, identification of a distinct 3q phenotype (including cardiac complications) remains elusive.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in patients with Kawasaki disease: diagnostic value for the prediction of coronary artery lesion and implication for a new mode of therapy.

Kawasaki disease (KD) in children takes the form of acute systemic vasculitis, which causes coronary artery dilation and aneurysm formation in 10% to 15% of the patients. We have recently shown that matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are intimately involved in coronary arterial wall destruction and the resultant formation of coronary artery lesions (CALs) in this disease. Plasminogen activators (PAs) are known to be a major pathway of MMP activation, and this suggests that their inhibitor, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), also plays important roles in the development of CALs in KD.

Noncardioplegic surgery for ischemic mitral regurgitation.

Twenty-seven consecutive patients underwent surgery for ischemic mitral regurgitation (MR): papillary muscle rupture (1), papillary muscle dysfunction (11) and annular dilatation (15). The grade of MR was moderate or severe, and the ejection fraction (EF) was less than 30% in 8 patients (mean, 43%). Three cases were reoperation and 3 were emergencies.

Allograft pulmonary artery root replacement for refractory isolated pulmonic valve endocarditis.

A 45-year-old diabetic woman was subjected to percutaneous cardiopulmonary support for a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. One month later, she developed isolated pulmonic valve endocarditis. The causative organism was methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Ventricular afterload and ventricular work in fontan circulation: comparison with normal two-ventricle circulation and single-ventricle circulation with blalock-taussig shunts.

Background: Recent studies have indicated that there are inherent limitations associated with Fontan physiology. However, there have been no quantitative analyses of the effects of right heart bypass on ventricular afterload, hydraulic power, and resultant overall hemodynamics. Methods and Results- During routine cardiac catheterization, aortic impedance and ventricular hydraulic power were determined, both at rest and under increased ventricular work induced by dobutamine, in 17 patients with Fontan circulation, 15 patients with a single ventricle whose pulmonary circulation was maintained only by Blalock-Taussig shunts, and 13 patients who had normal 2-ventricle circulation.

Mitral valve surgery under perfused ventricular fibrillation with moderate hypothermia.

The safety and myocardial protective effect of perfused ventricular fibrillation (VF) under moderate hypothermia were investigated. Through a midline sternotomy and opening the left atrium from the right side, isolated mitral valve surgery was performed under aortic cross-clamping (ACC) and cardioplegic arrest using Bretschneider HTK solution in 96 patients, and under perfused VF in 20 patients (VF Group). Patient characteristics, clinical outcomes, and perioperative variables were compared.

The efficacy and safety of additional bypass graft during isolated coronary artery bypass grafting.

In 19 patients with an undesirable hemodynamic condition (n=15) or with regional asynergy and coexistent ST-T change (n=4) during isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery, one (n=17) or two (n=3) additional saphenous vein grafts were placed onto left anterior descending (LAD) (n=16), right (n=4), and left circumflex (LCx) (n=2) coronary arteries. Diagnosis of the cause of the suboptimal condition was insufficient graft flow in 16 patients, and spasm of the ungrafted coronary artery in 3. Additional myocardial ischemic time was 17 9 minutes, and the graft flow was 59 25 ml/min.