Additional diagnostic value of multiplane echocardiography over biplane imaging in assessment of mitral prosthetic valves.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate how often multiplane transoesophageal echocardiography yields new or complementary data in mitral prostheses in comparison with the exclusive use of biplane imaging. PATIENTS: 73 consecutive patients with mitral prostheses who underwent multiplane transoesophageal echocardiograpy between January 1993 and December 1994. METHODS: Biplane images (transverse and longitudinal planes) and multiplane images (transverse, longitudinal, and intermediate planes) were recorded on two separate videotapes. The data provided by multiplane transoesophageal echocardiography were evaluated as (a) new data (abnormalities missed by biplane imaging); (b) complementary data (better delineating lesions already visualised by biplane imaging); or (c) redundant data (data already provided by biplane imaging). RESULTS: Multiplane transoesophageal echocardiography revealed new abnormalities in seven patients (9.5%) (thrombi in three and paraprosthetic leaks in the remaining four) and complementary data in nine (12.3%). In patients with paraprosthetic regurgitation, the possibility of continuously visualising the sewing ring by means of sequential angulations allowed the circumferential extension of the leak to be measured. In seven patients with paravalvar regurgitation who underwent surgery, the extension of the leak as measured by the multiplane approach closely corresponded with the surgical data. CONCLUSIONS: In comparison with the exclusive use of biplane imaging, the multiplane approach added new or complementary data in a significant proportion of patients with mitral prostheses. The ability to obtain the sequential adjacent planes allowed a more reliable appraisal of the extension of the leak and other abnormalities.

Active infective endocarditis: surgical approach.

From January 1982 to December 1991, 65 interventions were performed in 61 patients with active infective endocarditis (IE): 32 on native valves (Group 1) and 33 on prosthetic valves (Group 2). In Group 1, 23 patients had a known previous valve disease; major preoperative clinical complications occurred in 16 patients (50%); 84% were in NYHA classes III and IV. In Group 2 major preoperative clinical complications occurred in 13 patients (44.8%); 86% were in NYHA classes III and IV. The mean time interval between the onset of hemodynamic impairment of varying degrees and surgery was 13 +/- 15 days for Group 1, and 8 +/- 11 days for Group 2. In all cases, the native valves or prostheses were replaced by mechanical valve prostheses. Particular procedures were performed in three patients in Group 1 and five patients in Group 2. In Group 1 there were 8 hospital deaths (25%) and 11 (34.4%) non-fatal complications. In Group 2 there were 9 deaths (31%) and 14 (48.3%) non-fatal complications. Risk factors for hospital death were "preoperative low cardiac output syndrome" and "time interval between the onset of cardiac failure and surgery" in Group 1, "cardiac failure+sepsis" in Group 2, "time interval between the onset of cardiac failure and surgery" and "particular procedures" in all 61 patients. Sepsis alone and the type of pathogenic agent does not significantly affect the risk of death. The recurrence of acute IE was 12.6% in Group 1, and 20% in Group 2. The incidence of reintervention was 12.6% in Group 1 and 35% in Group 2.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Late reoperations after repair of tetralogy of Fallot.

Twenty-two patients underwent 23 late reoperations after total correction of tetralogy of Fallot from 1965 to 1990. Indications for reoperation included: isolated ventricular septal defect (VSD) in 9 patients (41%), isolated right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) obstruction in 3 patients (13.7%), VSD associated with a RVOT obstruction in 7 patients (31.8%), aneurysm of the pericardial RVOT patch in 1 patient (4.5%), aortic insufficiency with a residual VSD in 1 patient (4.5%), and tricuspid regurgitation in 1 patient (4.5%). The reoperation consisted of closure of a residual VSD in 17 patients, relief of a RVOT gradient in 11, insertion of a RVOT valve in 4, tricuspid valve replacement in 1 (reoperated twice), aortic valve replacement in 1, and excision of a RVOT aneurysm in 1. Two patients died in hospital (9%) but there were no early deaths in the 11 patients reoperated upon after 1978. Mean follow-up period was 135 months. There were 2 late deaths. The actuarial 20-year survival was 87%. Of the surviving patients, 16 (89%) were in New York Heart Association class I, 1 (5.5%) was in class II, and one (5.5%) was in class III. One patient required a second reoperation for tricuspid bioprosthesis degeneration and 1 patient had moderate recurrent RVOT gradient due to calcified pulmonary bioprosthesis. This study tends to support the policy of recommending reoperation in the presence of surgically significant residual defects. Reoperation is associated with a low early mortality and good long-term results.

Combined surgical approach to coexistent carotid and coronary artery disease.

Combined coronary artery bypass and carotid endarterectomy were performed in 52 patients (mean age 61 years) between 1981 and 1990. Of these, 36 (69%) had functional class III-IV angina pectoris, 33 (63%) had triple-vessel disease, 36 (69%) had one, or more, previous myocardial infarctions, and 33 (63%) had an abnormal left ventricular function. In 4 cases, additional cardiac procedures were performed. Asymptomatic carotid stenosis was documented in 29 patients (56%) and the remaining 23 (44%) had experienced cerebrovascular symptoms. All patients had hemodynamically significant stenosis of at least one carotid artery, 17 (33%) had severe bilateral carotid artery stenosis, and 6 (11%) had an additional occlusion of the contralateral internal carotid artery. There were no early deaths. Perioperative morbidity included: myocardial infarction in 4 patients (7.7%) and neurological deficit in 3 (5.7%) but functional impairment was not permanent. Late results have been obtained for all 52 patients at a mean postoperative interval of 35 months. Four patients (7.7%) have died, and the 5 year life-table survival rate was 83%. At five years, actuarial curves showed 67% of patients to be free of all serious events or death. Late mortality and morbidity were related above all to the progression of the coronary artery disease. We concluded that simultaneous endarterectomy of significant carotid artery stenosis in candidates for coronary bypass can be done safely and considered as more practical for the patient.

Successful resection of a tuberculous pseudoaneurysm of the descending thoracic aorta: case report and review of the literature.

An aneurysm of the descending thoracic aorta was found in a 55-year-old woman. She had hemoptysis, fever, and weight loss beginning 1 month before hospitalization. A miliary tuberculosis developed after angiography. The patient underwent surgical resection of the aneurysm, which proved to be tuberculous. The aortic wall was reconstructed with a Dacron patch. Antituberculosis pharmacotherapy, started before operation, was discontinued after 16 months of administration. The patient is doing well 19 months after operation. The English literature reports only 7 other cases of surgical treatment of tuberculous aneurysm of the thoracic aorta. According to previous reports, early surgical intervention, combined with preoperative and prolonged postoperative antituberculosis therapy and close postoperative follow-up, is mandatory in this group of patients.

The American Society for Testing Materials F-30 Committee on EMS.

The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) F-30 Committee on Emergency Medical Services (EMS) began creating voluntary consensus standards for EMS including air medical transport in 1984. The F-30 Committee is composed of more than 200 members who represent both the "producers" and the "users" of EMS. Approximately 10 of the 39 standards published by the F-30 Committee either deal directly or indirectly with air medical programs. The standards are refined through yearly evaluation and reviewed in detail every four years. Due to concerns with the ASTM process, several of the initial members resigned in 1988. Changes made to the scope and practice of the F-30 Committee have resulted in some of these participants returning to the process. New standards must be developed only after a "needs assessment" demonstrates that such a standard should exist. Relevant pre-existing standards must be reviewed. Clinical practice has been excluded from the work of the F-30 Committee. Air medical programs may participate as members of the F-30 Committee for a nominal yearly fee, which provides members with an updated book of standards. Meetings are held biannually. The Guide for Establishing the Qualifications, Education and Training of EMS Aeromedical Patient Care Providers is approaching its four-year review, and a number of other standards, which are of particular interest to the air medical community, are currently under development.

Comparison of aeromedical crew performance by patient severity and outcome.

STUDY PURPOSE: One of the continuing controversies in aeromedical transport involves crew composition. Since 1987, we have used both physician/nurse (P/N) and nurse/nurse (N/N) crews to staff two identically equipped helicopter ambulances. The purpose of this study was to compare the severity of illness or injury and outcomes of patients transported by P/N and N/N crews. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort. METHODS: Data were obtained from the air ambulance and medical records of all aeromedical transfers between September 1, 1987, and August 31, 1988. Patients less than 16 years old or transferred to other hospitals were excluded. Severity of illness or injury was measured by Revised Trauma Score, APACHE-II, and Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System; outcome measures were mortality, and ICU and hospital lengths of stay. Patients were categorized as cardiac, trauma, or other. Origin of transfer (scene, emergency department, or hospital) and transfer times were included in the analysis. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Six hundred fifty-nine patients were studied--418 P/N and 241 N/N. No differences were found between P/N and N/N groups with regard to sex, Revised Trauma Score, APACHE-II, or Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System, although P/N patients were younger (45.7 versus 50.9 years, P = .001), included more cardiac (40% versus 36%) and trauma (38% versus 30%) patients (P = .002), and were more likely to have been transferred from an ED (68% versus 51%) or scene (7% versus 2%) (P = .001). Mortality, ICU length of stay, and hospital length of stay of P/N and N/N patients were not different, nor was time spent at the scene or hospital. Subgroup analysis did not alter these results. CONCLUSION: No objective differences in outcome of patients were found between P/N and N/N teams. Although small differences were found in types of flights taken by P/N and N/N teams, there were no differences in objective measures of severity between the two teams. We find no objective evidence to prefer one crew composition over another.

Variation in air medical outcomes by crew composition: a two-year follow-up.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: In a previous 1-year retrospective study, we found no differences in outcomes of patients transported by physician/nurse (P/N) and nurse/nurse (N/N) air medical crews. To confirm this finding and to identify any trends in outcome that might be associated with changes in crew composition, we prospectively collected and analyzed 2 additional years of severity and outcome data. DESIGN: Prospective cohort. SETTING: University hospital-based air medical program. RESULTS: Severity measured by APACHE-II, the Revised Trauma Score, and the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System, and outcomes measured by mortality and the number of ICU and hospital days, were gathered prospectively on all adult air medical patients between July 1, 1990, and June 30, 1992. Patients less than 16 years old or those who were delivered to other hospitals were excluded. Patients were categorized as cardiac, acute trauma, and other. Origin of transfer and transfer times were included in the analysis. In all, 1,169 patients were studied--554 in the first year of the study, 615 in the second. In the first year, there were 185 P/N (33%) and 369 N/N (67%) flights. P/N patients were older (48.8 versus 44.5 years; P = .01) and were more likely to come from a scene (14% versus 5.7%; P = .001), but no differences were found with regard to sex or disease category. Mortality, the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System, APACHE-II, number of ICU days, and number of hospital days were no different; nor were total flight times or times spent at the hospital or scene. In the second year, 89% of flights were N/N. Differences in age or origin were not observed. Severity levels and outcomes remained unchanged. Between 1987 and 1992, the proportion of cardiac patients decreased, and overall illness severity of transported patients increased. CONCLUSION: Two years of detailed prospective measurement of air medical patient characteristics and outcomes confirmed the initial finding that no significant differences in clinical outcomes could be identified between patients managed by P/N versus N/N crews.

[Aortic valve replacement in old age. The results and follow-up echo-Doppler study of the prostheses]. / Sostituzione valvolare aortica in età geriatrica. Risultati e studio eco-Doppler delle protesi a distanza.

BACKGROUND: To analyze the results of aortic valve replacement in elderly patients and to evaluate the hemodynamic performance of valvular prostheses, we have retrospectively studied the patients 70 years of age or older, who consecutively underwent aortic valve replacement in our Center. METHODS: From January 1988 to December 1992, a series of 112 patients aged 70 to 88 years (mean 74.8 +/- 3.8 years) underwent aortic valve replacement; 49.1% of patients were male; aortic valvular lesion was: stenosis in 65.2%, insufficiency in 9.8% and mixed stenosis and insufficiency in 25.0%. In 73.2% isolated valve disease was present; in 25.0% coronary artery disease was associated. Preoperatively 58.9% were in New York Heart Association class III, and 29.5% were in class IV. Concomitant extracardiac diseases were present in 73.2%. The types of valve prostheses employed were: mechanical tilting disc (28 cases), mechanical bileaflet (40 cases), bioprosthesis (44 cases). A significantly favourable relationship between body surface area and size of prostheses was evident. RESULTS: Overall hospital mortality was 8.9% (5.4% for elective isolated aortic valve replacement) with significant difference (p = 0.006) related to criteria for surgical indication (elective 6.4%, urgent 10.0%, emergency 37.5%). Valvular lesion, age, sex, associated coronary artery bypass surgery, the values of peak and mean aortic valve gradient, the relative wall thickness and the presence of extracardiac disease have not been identified as risk factors for hospital mortality. The mean follow-up of the 102 discharged patients is 27.1 +/- 16.5 months (range 2 to 64 months). Eight late deaths (7.8%) occurred; the overall actuarial freedom from all deaths (excluding hospital mortality) was 95.6 +/- 2.2% at 1 year and 88.6 +/- 4.0% at 3 and 5 years. Five non fatal valve related complications occurred: hemorrhage in 4 cases (1.8% pt/yr) and hemolysis in 1 case (0.4% pt/yr). Ninety-seven percent of patients were found to be in NYHA functional class I or II. Comparative echocardiographic evaluation of the prostheses showed significant differences in mean gradient: regarding 21 mm size lower in bileaflet than in tilting disc and regarding 23 mm size lower in bileaflet than in tilting disc or bioprostheses. CONCLUSIONS: Aortic valve replacement has proved to be safe and effective in the elderly population and is considered the procedure of choice for aortic valve disease. Although we consider mandatory to choose the valve substitute matching different physiopathological and psychological attitudes of individual patient, mechanical prostheses and particularly bileaflet type for size < or = 21 mm should be preferred.