Long-term outcomes of elderly patients receiving continuous flow left ventricular support.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure is an epidemic affecting over 6 million people in the United States. Eighty percent of all heart failure patients are older than 65 years of age. Heart transplant is the gold standard treatment for patients suffering advanced heart failure, but only 18.5% of patients receiving heart transplant in the United States are 65 years of age or older. Continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices are a safe and effective therapy for patients with advanced heart failure, and can be used to bridge patients to a heart transplant or to support patients long-term as destination therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We sought to characterize long-term outcomes of elderly patients receiving continuous-flow left ventricular support in our program. CONCLUSION: Elderly patients with advanced heart failure presented comparable operative results to those of younger patients. The rate of complications up to 6 years of support was low, and comparable to those of younger patients. An effective and safe alternative for patients whom are less likely to receive heart transplantation.

Heparineless off-pump coronary artery bypass in a patient with gunshot wound to chest and heart.

OBJECTIVES: Administration of heparin is standard in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with or without cardiopulmonary bypass (OPCABG). In some circumstances, the risk of heparinization may outweigh its benefits, and there is scarce literature on how to proceed in these cases. We describe the technique used for OPCABG without heparin. METHODS: We report the case of a patient with a gunshot wound to the chest resulting in multiple lung lacerations and transection of the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) leading to hemorrhagic shock with tamponade, and cardiogenic shock due to myocardial ischemia who received OPCABG without heparin. RESULTS: A 23-year-old patient suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and was admitted in shock with massive left hemothorax. Emergency left thoracotomy revealed multiple lung lacerations and transection of the proximal left anterior coronary artery. The patient presented acute myocardial ischemia and progressed to cardiogenic shock requiring insertion of intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) to try to support hemodynamics. OPCABG with a segment of reversed saphenous vein graft to the LAD coronary artery was performed using standard techniques but without heparinization. The graft was flushed with normal saline before completing both anastomosis. Myocardial ischemic changes reversed, and the patient stabilized immediately after completing OPCABG, allowing to wean off IABP in the operating room. Postoperative recovery was unremarkable, and the patient was discharged home on postoperative day 9. CONCLUSION: Benefits of OPCABG include decreased bleeding and lower requirement of blood transfusions. This experience shows that OPCABG can be performed without systemic heparinization in selected cases.

Hypertensive crisis during spinal anesthesia due to undiagnosed pheochromocytoma.

Undiagnosed pheochromocytoma poses significant intraoperative challenges to the anesthesiologist. These tumors generally cause profound hypotension after spinal anesthesia. We present an unusual case of a hypertensive crisis occurring in a patient under spinal anesthesia. Due to intraoperative hemodynamic instability, the case was converted to general anesthesia with a volatile anesthetic. Postoperative workup was consistent with a pheochromocytoma. Pheochromocytomas are rare, but given their significant intraoperative morbidity and mortality, they should be considered in the differential diagnosis of unexpected intraoperative hemodynamic changes.

A Case Report of Suspected Malignant Hyperthermia: How Will the Diagnosis Affect a Patient's Insurability?

The purpose of this case report is to increase awareness that a diagnosis of malignant hyperthermia may have long-lasting or permanent effects on a patient's insurance eligibility or premiums despite legislation providing varying levels of protection from preexisting conditions or genetic discrimination. We present a case of severe rigors, unexplained severe metabolic acidosis, and severe hyperthermia in a patient after general anesthesia for extensive head and neck surgery. The patient was treated for malignant hyperthermia and demonstrated a significant clinical improvement with the administration of dantrolene. Even with an "almost certain" diagnosis of malignant hyperthermia by clinical presentation, genetic testing was negative and the gold-standard caffeine-halothane contracture test has yet to be performed. Laboratory results, clinical grading scales, and genetic testing support a diagnosis of malignant hyperthermia but the gold standard is a live muscle biopsy and caffeine-halothane contracture test. A clinical diagnosis of MH or a positive caffeine-halothane contracture test could result in exclusion from genetic discrimination legislature due to the fact that diagnosis can be confirmed without genetic testing. The fate of the Affordable Care Act may also affect how insurance companies scrutinize this disease. Improving accuracy of MH diagnosis in hospital discharge records will be crucial.