[Valvuloplasties for acquired mitral insufficiency in children (Carpentier's technic). Long-term results in 87 cases]. / Valvuloplasties pour insuffisance mitrale acquise de l'enfant (technique de Carpentier). Résultats à long terme de 87 cas.

Between March, 1969 and March, 1984, 89 children aged from 2 to 12 years (mean: 8.3 +/- 2.5 years) and presenting with mitral valve regurgitation underwent valvuloplasty by the Carpentier technique. The cause of the regurgitation was rheumatic fever in 84 cases (94 p. 100), bacterial endocarditis in 4 cases and Barlow's disease in 1 case. Mitral valve regurgitation was divided into 3 types, namely: type I, normal valve motion (5 cases), type II, valve prolapse (74 cases) and type III, restricted valve motion due to fibrosis of the leaflets or chordae (20 cases). The hospital mortality rate was 2.3 p. 100 (2 deaths). The cumulative follow-up was 546 patients/years, and the actuarial survival rate at 10 years was 89.96 +/- 8.5 p. 100. At 10 years the actuarial thromboembolic complication rate was 2 p. 100, or 0.3 +/- 0.2 p. 100 per patient year, and the actuarial valvuloplasty deterioration rate was 27 +/- 8.5 p. 100. The risk of re-operation was 2.2 +/- 0.6 p. 100 per patient year. At 10 years 78.4 +/- 7.2 p. 100 of the children were free of all re-operation, and 69 p. 100 had no complication. Thus, whenever possible (i.e. in 90 p. 100 of the cases, according to our experience) and considering the satisfactory long-term results, all children with acquired mitral valve regurgitation should undergo mitral valvuloplasty as first-line treatment.

[Criteria of prognosis in apparently primary hypokinetic myocardiopathies (prospective study of 60 cases)]. / Critères de pronostic des myocardiopathies apparemment primitives hypocinétiques. Etude prospective de 60 cas.

The fate of 60 cases of apparently primary cardiomyopathy were studied by angiocardiography and coronary arteriography over a 2 to 6 year period, with a mean of 4 years. Correlations were established between the clinical, paraclinical, haemodynamic and angiocardiographic findings on the one hand, and the quality and length of survival on the other. Among the criteria leading to an improved prognosis, the most precise was the left ventricular ejection fraction.

[Effects of intravenous trinitrine on myocardial function in left ventricular insufficiency]. / Effets de la trinitrine intraveineuse sur la fonction myocardique dans l'insuffisance ventriculaire gauche.

The effects of intravenous trinitrin on myocardial function have been studied in 40 patients with heart failure (26 cases of coronary artery disease and 14 of apparently primary cardiomyopathy). Each patient had measurements made of left ventricular pressure, of cardiac output by the dye dilution method, of volume, of the left ventricular ejection fraction, and of the segmental parietal kinetics by means of left side ventriculography both before and after trinitrin. The following results were obtained after injection of trinitrin:--no change in rhythm and cardiac index;--an almost constant decrease in left ventricular end diastolic pressure (38 cases out of 40);--a decrease in arterial pressure and ventricular volume in about two thirds of cases;--improvement of the ejection fraction (25 cases out of 40), and of segmental parietal kinetics (26 cases out of 40) in the left ventricle. These findings were equally true in the patients with coronary artery disease and in the cardiomyopathies. In the light of these results, it appears that when used in left ventricular failure, trinitrin almost always decreases the load, but improves ventricular kinetics only in two thirds of cases, while it has no influence on cardiac output. In addition, given the difficulties in establishing a standard dose of trinitrin, the authors discuss the methods of establishing the optimal dose.