[Diagnosis and treatment of feline persistent ductus arteriosus: a retrospective evaluation of 17 cats]. / Diagnose und Therapie eines persistierenden Ductus arteriosus: Eine retrospektive Evaluation bei 17 Katzen.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the signalement, clinical features, and echocardiographic findings of cats diagnosed with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) as well as short- and medium-term outcome after successful ligation of the PDA. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Over a 10-year period 17 cats were diagnosed with PDA by transthoracic echocardiography. Thirteen cats were surgically treated by thoracotomy and ligation of the PDA. RESULTS: In all cats, a heart murmur was detected. In 88.2% of the cases, this presented as grade 4 out of 6 murmur (15/17 cats). A continuous murmur was more common (10/17 cats; 58.9%) than a systolic murmur (7/17 cats; 41.1%). Echocardiography showed that left ventricular internal diameter end diastole (LVIDd) and left ventricular internal diameter end systole (LVIDs) were significantly above reference values in the majority of cats. Mean diameter of the PDA measured at the widest point of the vessel was 3.4 mm (± 1.08 mm) and mean maximum flow velocity amounted to 5,06 m/sec (2,6m/sec-6,4m/sec). Surgery was successfully performed in all cats treated by surgical ligation and all of these patients were discharged after postoperative inpatient therapy. One cat experienced perioperative bleeding from the PDA, which was stopped efficaciously. This cat exhibited a residual shunt directly postoperatively; this could no longer be visualized in a re-check echocardiography 3 months later. Six cats were followed over a longer period of time. CONCLUSIONS: The surgical prognosis in this case study is very good with a postoperative survival rate of 100%. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Surgical treatment of PDA is curative in animals not displaying advanced cardiac lesions. The auscultation of a heart murmur can provide initial findings indicative of PDA. Therefore, cardiac auscultation is warranted at every first presentation of a kitten. It must however be taken into consideration that not every cat with PDA necessarily has a continuous murmur but may display a systolic heart murmur. Therefore, it is important give utmost attention to the patients' clinical signs.

New holosystolic murmur after acute myocardial infarction.

In the era of primary percutaneous coronary intervention, mechanical complications after acute myocardial infarction are extremely rare, with an incidence of less than 0.5%. Rupture of the ventricular septum is the least frequent occurrence. Nevertheless, current mortality remains high and a prompt diagnosis and treatment are imperative to increase survival. Despite early surgical repair, mortality still remains high.

An incidental encounter of a rare high take-off right coronary artery: A case report.

RATIONALE: High take-off of the coronary arteries is a rare cardiac anatomic anomaly, which may occur independently or with other congenital heart defects. In the clinical setting, it is noteworthy as a cause of sudden cardiac death. Further, it is vital to identify such anomalies to avoid intraoperative catastrophes in surgeries for congenital heart defects. PATIENT CONCERNS: A II/6 systolic heart murmur on physical examination was incidentally found in a 9-year-old boy; he was confirmed to have a secundum-type atrial septal defect on echocardiography. He was referred to our institution for elective surgery. DIAGNOSES: The preoperative echocardiogram confirmed the presence of an atrial septal defect, and during the surgical procedure, a high take-off right coronary artery was found. INTERVENTIONS: The atrial septal defect was closed surgically, and care was taken to avoid clamping the anomalous right coronary artery when placing the aortic cross-clamp. OUTCOMES: Postoperative echocardiogram verified the presence of the high take-off right coronary artery and a satisfactory repair of the atrial septal defect. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 5. LESSONS: This case suggests that it is critical to perform echocardiography to assess the anatomy of the coronary arteries, especially in pediatric cardiac patients. In addition, multi-detector computed tomography may be considered if appropriate. Care should be taken to assess the coronary anatomy for anomalies during interventional therapy or surgery, especially in congenital cases.

Pericardial mass in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis.

A 65-year-old man presented with long-standing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), severe fatigue and mild arthritis of metacarpophalaneal joints. Physical examination revealed S3, II/IV decrescendo diastolic murmur and 2+ LL oedema. Anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies were >250 units. Echocardiogram showed an 8 cm pericardial mass with no atrial or ventricular collapse and mild to moderate aortic regurgitation. Cardiac MRI defined the mass as a heterogeneous entity attached to the right, anterior and inferior heart borders, with compression on right cardiac structures and the left ventricle. CT-guided biopsy demonstrated fibrinous material without granulomas or infection. Fatigue did not improve on immunosuppression with low-dose prednisone and leflunamide. Cardiac tamponade was confirmed by heart catheterisation and the mass was surgically excised with partial pericardiectomy. The patient had a dramatic improvement and, 4 years later, he remains asymptomatic cardiac wise. This case highlights the clinical significance of pericardial disease in RA and its response to therapy.

Right coronary artery dissection during intraoperative ostium cannulation. Presentation of successful treatment.

Right coronary artery dissection related to medical procedures is a very rare life-threatening complication caused by a combination of vessel occlusion and myocardial ischaemia. This paper presents a case of dissection which occurred during a Ross cardiac surgery procedure. The complication was observed after proximal right coronary constriction on the cannula used to administer cardioplegia. The damaged part of the internal membrane was resected during the operation. We present a five-year follow-up of this patient.

Late presentation of cor triatriatum with persistent levoatrial cardinal vein.

An asymptomatic 10-year-old boy presented with reduced exercise tolerance and an echocardiographic diagnosis of cor triatriatum. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography failed to reveal the persistent levoatrial cardinal vein discovered at surgery. In patients with late presentation of cor triatriatum with severe mitral inflow obstruction and a small patent foramen ovale, an alternative communication between the posterior collecting chamber and the systemic venous circulation should be sought with alternative imaging techniques.

Tratamento cirúrgico do túnel ventrículo esquerdo-aorta / Surgical treatment of aortic-left ventricular fistula

Criança do sexo masculino, oito meses, com quadro clínico de insuficiência cardíaca e sopro. Durante a investigação foi realizado ecocardiograma e estudo cineangiocardiográfico que evidenciou comunicação secundária tipo túnel entre o ventrículo esquerdo e a aorta, a qual apresentava regurgitação severa. O paciente foi submetido a tratamento cirúrgico com auxílio de circulação extracorpórea, sendo o túnel fechado com sutura direta através de aortotomia convencional. O ecocardiograma pós-operatório não evidenciou fluxo pelo túnel e o paciente apresenta-se em grau funcional I (NYHA).

Endarterectomía carotídea / Carotid endarcterectomy

La endarterectomía carotídea es el tratamiento de elección de la ateromatosis estenosante de la bifurcación carotídea, ya sea asintomática o se manifieste por isquemia cerebral. El objetivo de la cirugía es prevenir el infarto cerebral y, para que sea efectiva, es fundamental la ausencia de complicaciones en la ejecución del procedimiento. Se analizan 48 endarterectomías carotídeas sucesivas, realizadas por el autor en 40 pacientes en un período de 18 meses. Un 77,5 por ciento eran hombres y la edad promedio fue 69 años (margen 39-86). Dos pacientes (4,1 por ciento) presentaron complicaciones respiratorias. No hubo morbilidad neurológica o mortalidad operatoria. Se obtuvo 100 por ciento de seguimiento por 9 meses (margen 1-19). Durante el seguimiento un pacinete presentó un infarto cerebeloso, ningún paciente ha tenido eventos isquémicos de origen carotídeo. Un 77,1 por ciento de las reconstrucciones fueron controladas mediante ecografía dúplex, todas se encuentran permeables y sin estenosis. Estos resultados confirman que la endarterectomías carotídea es un procedimiento seguro y eficaz en la prevención del infarto cerebral