Current ablation strategies for persistent and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with an increased risk of cardiac and overall mortality. Restoration and maintenance of sinus rhythm is of paramount importance if it can be accomplished without the use of antiarrhythmic drugs. Catheter ablation has evolved into a well-established treatment option for patients with symptomatic, drug-refractory AF.

Epsilon-like waves and ventricular conduction abnormalities in subjects with type 1 ECG pattern of Brugada syndrome.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated an overlap between the arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy/dysplasia (ARVC/D) and Brugada syndrome (BS). Conduction delay in the right ventricle has been demonstrated in both entities.

Objective: This study investigated specific ARVC/D electrocardiographic (ECG) markers in subjects with spontaneous or drug-induced type 1 ECG pattern of BS.

Management of malignant parotid tumors.

Introduction: The aims of this study were to review our experience in the treatment of malignant parotid tumors in material from one center over a 12-year period and to assess treatment outcome and particularly survival.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-one patients treated primarily by surgery were included in the study. Complete data regarding the demographic details of the patients, tumor stage, presence of regional/distant metastases, treatment, tumor histology, grade, and follow up were compiled.

A case of severe asymptomatic aortic coarctation in an adult female.

Coarctation of the aorta is typically a disease of childhood and early adulthood, and there is a reduced life expectancy in patients who have not undergone correction. Survival to older age is rare, due to severe cardiovascular complications. We describe the case of a woman first diagnosed with coarctation of aorta at an advanced age.

Low back pain following intravenous administration of amiodarone.

Amiodarone is a widely used antiarrhythmic drug whose use is significantly limited by numerous undesirable effects following long-term administration. In the literature so far, it has been reported that the most common acute adverse effect of the intravenous administration of amiodarone requiring intervention is hypotension. We present the case of a female patient who experienced low back pain after an intravenous loading dose of amiodarone.

Risk factors for increased in-hospital mortality: a cohort study among cardiac surgery patients.

Background: Mortality is an important healthcare index for assessing the quality and the effectiveness of the provided nursing care.

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for increased in-hospital mortality among cardiac surgery patients.

Methods: We followed up prospectively 313 consecutive patients who were admitted to the cardiac surgery intensive care unit (ICU) of a general, tertiary hospital in Athens during a 1 year period.

Hypoxia-inducible factors in mantle cell lymphoma: implication for an activated mTORC1→HIF-1α pathway.

Aberrant activation of phosphoinositide-3 kinase/Akt (PI3K/Akt) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling is implicated in the pathogenesis of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). We previously showed oncogenic activation of PI3K/Akt pathway in a subset of MCL patients. In this study, we investigated downstream the immunohistochemical expression of (Ser2448)pmTOR [indicative of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) activation status] as well as of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α), hypoxia-inducible factor 2 alpha (HIF-2α), p53, and p21 in the same series of MCL patients.

Uric acid elevation in atrial fibrillation.

Introduction: Uric acid is a cardiovascular risk marker associated with oxidative stress and inflammation. Recently, atrial fibrillation (AF) has been associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. We therefore investigated the association between AF and uric acid levels.

Hip screw lateral migration with no cut-out or non-union implication: a case report.

Hip screw migration of peritrochanteric fracture fixation devices is a described complication in English literature. Medial migration occupies the majority of these cases whereas lateral migration is rare. We report the case of an 85-year-old woman whose intramedullary osteosynthesis of a trochanteric fracture was complicated by hip screw lateral migration.

Wide QRS complex supraventricular tachycardia with negative precordial concordance.

The authors describe the case of a 49-year-old man who experienced an episode of palpitations and dizziness. The results of 24-hour Holter monitoring demonstrated an episode of wide QRS complex regular tachycardia. During the electrophysiological study, a wide QRS complex tachycardia with negative precordial concordance was induced.

Cardiac amyloidosis and Brugada-like ECG pattern.

The Brugada syndrome is an inherited channelopathy associated with a high propensity of ventricular tachyarrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in individuals with structurally normal hearts. Recent data are indicative of mild structural changes, mainly involving the right ventricle, in patients with Brugada syndrome. We present the case of a patient with cardiac amyloidosis due to multiple myeloma who presented with pre-syncopal episodes and intermittent Brugada-like ECG pattern.

Potential-guided versus anatomic-guided approach for slow pathway ablation of the common type atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia: a randomized study.

Objective: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness and safety of the potential- and the anatomic-guided approach for slow pathway ablation in patients with recurrent episodes of symptomatic common type atrioventricular (AV) nodal reentrant tachycardia.

Methods: Two hundred and twenty-eight patients were randomly assigned to undergo either a potential- (n=114, 47% men, mean age 52.85 +/- 14.

Predictors of atrial fibrillation recurrence in patients with long-lasting atrial fibrillation.

Background: Limited data are available on the predictors of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence in patients with chronic AF.

Objectives: To evaluate potential clinical, echocardiographic and electrophysiological predictors of AF recurrence, after internal cardioversion for long-lasting AF.

Methods: A total of 99 consecutive patients (63 men and 36 women, mean age 63.

Acute acalculous cholecystitis - a rare complication of burn injury.

The aim of this study is to draw attention to acute acalculous cholecystitis, a rare complication that may occur during the post-burn period (usually within 20-30 days). A 42-yr-old male patient, the victim of 35% TBSA high-voltage electrical burns that caused the amputation of both upper extremities by day 45 post-burn, was brought to our operating theatre suffering from acute acalculous cholecystitis. Mild epigastric pain followed by reflex nausea, vomiting, and pain that shifts to the upper quadrant and considerably increases during the post-burn period should make the therapist think of acalculous cholecystitis and react immediately with an urgent operation.

Traumatic injuries with deep abrasion: "a burn".

This epidemiological study deals with 34 patients with friction burns sustained between January 2007 and January 2008. The age group most affected was that between 21 and 30 yr, with a male predominance. Road traffic accidents were the commonest cause of friction burns (31 patients) and the lower limb was body part most commonly affected.

Total parathyroidectomy without autotransplantation in dialysis patients and renal transplant recipients, long-term follow-up evaluation.

Background: Persistent secondary hyperparathyroidism not responding to medication is treated successfully with surgical excision of parathyroid glands (total parathyroidectomy [PTX]). PTX without autotransplantation of parathyroid glands excludes the risk for recurrence of hyperparathyroidism.

Methods: During the years 2002 to 2005, 36 total parathyroidectomies were performed in 33 patients: 21 dialysis patients because of end-stage renal disease and 12 renal transplant recipients.

Entire stent grafting of the thoracoabdominal aorta in a renal transplant recipient subsequent to extra-anatomical bypasses of the main abdominal vessels.

We present a complex case of a renal transplant recipient with ruptured suprarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm who had previously undergone endovascular repair of descending thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysm. This patient was treated successfully combining extra-anatomical bypasses of main abdominal arteries and subsequent endovascular stent grafting covering the entire thoracoabdominal aorta.

Vascular fractal dimension and total vascular area in the study of oral cancer.

Background: Microvessel quantification has been studied extensively as a factor reflecting angiogenesis in various malignant tumors. The aim of our study was to evaluate the vascular fractal dimension and the immunohistochemically positive total vascular area in oral cavity carcinomas in order to assess their potential value as factors reflecting angiogenesis.

Methods: Histologic sections from 48 carcinomas and 17 nonmalignant mucosa specimens were evaluated by image analysis using fractal analysis software.

Clinical characteristics of patients with drug-induced QT interval prolongation and torsade de pointes: identification of risk factors.

The present study aimed to investigate the causative medications and underlying risk factors that predispose to drug-induced QT interval prolongation. Twenty-one patients with drug-induced long QT (90% females, mean age 64.3 +/- 14.

Determinants of plasma NT-pro-BNP levels in patients with atrial fibrillation and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction.

Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the clinical and echocardiographic determinants of plasma NT-pro-BNP levels in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

Methods: NT-pro-BNP levels were measured in 45 patients with paroxysmal AF, 41 patients with permanent AF and 48 controls.

Results: NT-pro-BNP levels were found significantly elevated in patients with paroxysmal (215+/-815 pg/ml) and permanent AF (1,086+/-835 pg/ml) in relation to control population (86.

Use of a porcine dermal collagen graft (Permacol) in parotid surgery.

Our aim was to present the results of the use of porcine dermal collagen graft (Permacol) in the prevention of Frey's syndrome and face-contouring aesthetic deformities after operations on the parotid. We treated 19 patients with parotid tumours. After resection, a Permacol sheet was applied to the perimeter of the tissue deficit so that it was fully covered, and was sutured firmly.

Prospective monitoring of BK virus replication in renal transplant recipients.

Background: BK virus-associated nephropathy (BKVAN) can be diagnosed only with renal graft biopsy. Definitive diagnosis of BKVAN requires demonstration of BK virus (BKV) replication in renal allograft tissues. Non-invasive analysis of urine and blood is considered essential in screening renal transplant recipients.

Management of atrial fibrillation in patients with heart failure.

Background: There is a well-documented relationship and a complex interaction between atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure. The coexistence of these 2 clinical entities renders their management even more challenging.

Methods And Results: We searched current literature to review the management of AF in patients with heart failure.