Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for COVID-19-associated acute myocardial injury complicated by refractory cardiogenic shock.

Cardiovascular system involvement and its negative prognostic impact have been increasingly identified in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Optimal medical treatment allows for safe management of most of these cardiovascular presentations while COVID-19-associated refractory cardiogenic shock could be rescued by veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO). We present a case of acute myocardial injury related to COVID-19 complicated by refractory cardiogenic shock and treated by VA-ECMO implantation.

Beating versus arrested heart isolated tricuspid valve surgery: An 11-year experience in the current era.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: Data about the beating heart (BH) technique for isolated tricuspid valve (TV) surgery compared to the arrested heart (AH) technique are sparse. We compared the outcomes of isolated TV surgery between BH and AH technique. METHODS: We performed an observational analysis of our database of isolated TV surgery. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether surgery was performed without (BH group) or with (AH group) aortic cross-clamping and cardioplegic arrest. The primary endpoint was survival to hospital discharge. Risk factors for in-hospital mortality were searched with multivariate analyses. We undertook further comparisons after propensity-score matching. RESULTS: From January 2007 to December 2017, we performed 82 isolated TV surgery (BH group, n = 47, 57.3%; AH group, n = 35, 42.7%). The mean age was 59.1 years, 56.1% were female. BH group patients were older (61.8 vs. 55.4 years; p = .035), had greater impaired renal function (glomerular filtration rate, 61.1 vs. 74.6 ml/min; p = .012), were more frequently operated for secondary TR (61.7 vs. 31.4%; p = .008), underwent more frequently a reoperation (53.2 vs. 28.6%; p = .042) and exhibited a higher surgical risk (EuroSCORE II, 3.92 vs. 2.50%; p = .013). In-hospital mortality was not different between both groups, either considering unmatched (BH = 10.6 vs. AH = 5.7%; OR = 1.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.36-10.77) or matched populations (BH = 10.6 vs. AH = 6.4%; OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 0.36-9.97). Age was the only predictor of in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The BH technique showed comparable outcomes to the AH technique for isolated TV surgery despite a higher risk profile.

Changing management of cardiac myxoma based on a series of 40 cases with long-term follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac myxoma is generally considered to be a surgical emergency. However, as a result of progress in echocardiography and the increasing age of the patients presenting with this disease, the clinical presentation has changed and the management of cardiac myxoma now needs to be reviewed. METHODS: Between 1978 and 2001, 40 patients (16 men and 24 women) between the ages of 6 months and 82 years (mean age, 55.6 years) were operated on for cardiac myxoma. Signs of heart failure with pulmonary congestion (22%) or pulmonary embolism (20%) indicated a high-risk emergency situation in some cases, whereas, in other cases (58%), the patient's condition was stable and the clinical presentation was less worrying. However, the tumor was always removed within 24 hours of admission. Most cases of cardiac myxoma observed over the last decade correspond to stable forms, as echocardiography has revealed smaller tumors in generally elderly patients. RESULTS: The postoperative mortality was 7.5% (3 patients). No patients were lost to follow-up, and the mean follow-up was 13.6 years. One patient was reoperated for recurrence 3 years postoperatively. Five patients required further cardiac surgery: three mitral valve replacements, one coronary artery bypass graft, and one angioplasty. The 15-year survival rate was 69%. CONCLUSIONS: Myxoma tends to be observed in a more elderly and higher risk population, often at an early stage. The classic approach of emergency surgery is not always appropriate in these stable forms, allowing more thorough preoperative assessment of these patients.