[False aneurysm associated with mitral insufficiency due to rupture of the heart at the point of insertion of the anterior papillary muscle. A successfully operated case]. / Association faux anévrisme - insuffisance mitrale par rupture du coeur au point d'insertion du pilier antérieur. A propos d'un cas opéré avec succès.

Although rupture of a mitral papillary muscle during myocardial infarction is well known, and post-infarction transmural ruptures causing false aneurysms occasionally reported, the association of rupture of the anterior papillary muscle and a underlying transmural parietal rupture giving rise to a false aneurysm is quite exceptional, and, to the best of our knowledge, has not previously been reported. Despite the serious nature of the disease, surgical cure of the aneurysm with mitral valve replacement was successful, due to the limitation of the anatomical disruption by early pericardial symphysis.

[Are calcium inhibitors useful in the treatment of effort angina pectoris]. / Les inhibiteurs calciques sont-ils utiles dans le traitement de l'angine de poitrine d'effort?

Effort angina is the result of acute myocardial ischemia on exercise due to an imbalance between myocardial oxygen demand and supply. During exercise, ischemia is provoked by an increase in myocardial oxygen needs (tachycardia, increased blood pressure, etc.) which cannot be met by increased coronary blood flow. The commonest cause of insufficient flow is coronary atherosclerosis. Coronary spasm does, however, play a role, whether it occurs during exercise on normal or atheromatous coronary vessels. Classical anti-anginal therapy is directed towards a reduction in the intense adrenergic activity associated with exercise, and to the limitation of myocardial oxygen consumption. Calcium inhibitors which cause peripheral vasodilation, decrease ventricular wall tension and coronary resistance, are usually reserved for unstable or resistant angina. We studied 10 patients with stable effort angina for over 2 years with significant (greater than 70 per cent) atheromatous lesions on coronary angiography unsuitable for surgical treatment. The patients underwent a randomised double blind trial to compare the effects of propranolol, diltiazem and placebo. Exercise ECG was performed after a treatment period of one week, 3 hours after drug administration. The results showed a significant improvement of work capacity with propranolol and diltiazem as compared to placebo. Propranolol (160 mg/day) was more effective than diltiazem (180 mg/day) in 6 patients. In 4 cases, the improvement with diltiazem and propranolol was the same. The association of the two drugs in one open study in 5 patients was even more effective in 3 patients. The small number of patients studied makes it impossible to draw any firm conclusions. Although calcium inhibitors are the treatment of choice in coronary spasm and betablockers in effort angina, diltiazem exerts an anti-anginal effect by reduction of myocardial oxygen consumption without depression of myocardial contractility, as other workers have shown.

[Oral propafenone in resistant auricular arrhythmia]. / Etude de la propafénone orale dans les arythmies auriculaires rebelles.

Paroxysmal episodes of atrial frequently cause severe functional disturbance because of their recurrent nature. Propafenone (Rythmol) is a very active anti-arrhythmic at the ventricular level which acts by decreasing the rate of atrio-ventricular and intra-ventricular conduction and by prolonging the refractory period of the right atrium and the accessory pathways. The authors conducted an open study of this drug in 20 cases with resistant, recurrent atrial fibrillation. All of the patients were known to have recurrent episodes of atrial fibrillation which could not be prevented by a variety of antiarrhythmic agents. They performed a clinical, electrocardiological and laboratory evaluation of these patients. Holter monitor recordings were performed prior to entry into the study, during the first week of treatment, between the 4th day and the 8th day, on the 20th day, at the 2nd month and between the 3rd and 6th months. Propafenone was prescribed at a dose of 900 mg per day and the initial dose was reduced to 600 mg after the 3rd month of treatment. Five patients can be classified as therapeutic failures, as the arrhythmia recurred. These patients presented a "vagal" atrial fibrillation preceded by an episode of bradycardia. 15 patients can be considered to have obtained a successful result, as no recurrences were detected during the 6 month observation period. The electrical and laboratory tolerance was satisfactory. The most frequent side effects were minor transient gastrointestinal disturbances.

Analysis of return to competition and repeat rupture for 298 anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions with patellar or hamstring tendon autograft in sportspeople.

OBJECTIVES: To establish the influence of the type of surgical technique, competitive level, type of sport and the time before returning to competition on the reinjury rate after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery. METHODS: The authors followed-up 540 competitive sportspeople who had undergone ACL surgery via patellar or hamstring tendon autograft (HTA) techniques in 2003 and 2004. The sportspeople (all of whom had competed at a regional or higher level) were asked to fill out a questionnaire during their fourth postoperative year. RESULTS: The 298 respondees (reply rate: 55.1%) had the same characteristics as the initial (operated) population. The reinjury rates after HTA and patellar tendon autograft (PTA) were 12.7 and 6.1%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between these two values (P=0.14). Age and gender were not correlated with the frequency of reinjury. The reinjury rate rose slightly with increasing competitive level (regional level: 8.1%; national level: 10.4%; international level: 12.5%) but these differences were not statistically significant. Soccer had the highest reinjury rate (20.8%). Regardless of the surgical technique, sportspeople returning to competition within seven months of surgery had a greater risk of reinjury than those returning after this time point (15.3 versus 5.2%, P=0.014). The risk dropped from 13.9 to 2.6% (P=0.047) for PTA and from 16.6 to 7.6% (P=0.2) for HTA. Of the four reinjuries in sportspeople returning to competition with the first six months postoperative, three occurred within one month of resumption. CONCLUSION: Post-HTA reinjury rates are higher than post-PTA rates but the difference is not statistically significant. For sportspeople at a regional or higher level, the time interval before the return to competition has an influence on the risk of reinjury.

Controlled evaluation of the antitussive activity of viminol p-hydroxybenzoate.

A double-blind cross-over trial was carried out to evaluate the antitussive activity of viminol p-hydroxybenzoate; the comparison was done with three preparations: a placebo and the drug at two doses, 70 and 140 mg respectively. The responses were scored hourly up to 4 hours after the administration of single doses in the morning to subjects with persistent cough. The highest dose of viminol showed a definite antitussive activity, whereas the lowest did not differ from the placebo. The antitussive effect appears clinically useful for the treatment of cough, but further studies are indicated to define optimal dosage schedules.

Echocardiographic diagnosis of mobile left ventricular tumour.

Echocardiography detected a mobile left ventricular tumour. The tracing showed a cluster of echoes in the left ventricular outflow tract corresponding to the location of the tumour as confirmed by cineangiograms. At operation, a thrombus was discovered, attached to a chorda tendineae.

[Clinical, haemodynamic and biochemical effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition in chronic refractory cardiac failure (author's transl)]. / Effets cliniques, hémodynamiques, biologiques de l'inhibition de l'enzyme de conversion dans l'insuffisance cardiaque chronique réfractaire.

Twenty patients with chronic congestive heart failure resistant to conventional treatment with digitalis, diuretics and vasodilators received captopril, an oral inhibitor of the angiotensin-converting enzyme, in daily doses of 200 mg and were followed up for 2 months or more. At 2 months, there was a significant reduction in functional symptoms (NYHA classification), bodyweight and left ventricular filling pressure, with an equally significant rise in cardiac output and sodium urinary excretion. There was no fall in systemic blood pressure, nor tachycardia. These effects were sustained in 8 patients followed up for 6 months. They seem to indicate that captopril is both effective and well tolerated in chronic congestive heart failure.

[Bacterial endocarditis due to Staphylococcus epidermidis. Two cases (author's transl)]. / Endocardites bactériennes à Staphylococcus epidermidis. Deux observations.

Bacterial endocarditis due to Staphylococcus epermidis is rare and severe. In a first patient, a 58-year-old-man, it developed 40 days after the insertion of a double prosthesis (mitral and aortic). Cure was obtained by medical treatment using a combination of vancomycin and gentamicin, followed by pristinamycin and tobramycin. The second patient, a 50-year-old-woman, suffering from cirrhogenic hepatitis and treated with corticosteroids. Staphylococcus epidermidis endocarditis developed without any portal of entry being discovered. After the failure of various antibiotic combinations (even though bactericidal in vitro), a mitral Starr valve was inserted which resulted in cure. None of the patients showed any sign of valvular mutilations or disinsertion of prosthesis.

[Isosorbide dinitrate in the treatment of threatening myocardial infarction (author's transl)]. / Le dinitrate d'isosorbide dans le traitement du syndrome de menace (author's transl)]

Thirty patients with threatening myocardial infarction were treated with intravenous isosorbide trinitrate. Eight patients had increasingly severe angina, 6 had de novo crescendo angina, 3 had Prinzmetal angina and 13 had signs of impending extension of a previous infarct. In all cases the anginal attacks occurred spontaneously. The drug was administered in association with a beta-blocker or a calcium antagonist. The initial dosage was 33 mcg/min and dosage adjustments ranged from 16 to 130 mcg/min. the main duration of treatment was 3.6 days. Pain was controlled in all patients. Anginal attacks ceased completely and permanently in 24, but the remaining 6 became isosorbide dinitrate-dependent and could only be weaned by aortocoronary bypass. The effects on the drug on heart rate and blood pressure remained moderate and never interfered with dosage adjustments. Coronary artery angiography was performed without any trouble in 25 patients, 21 of whom underwent myocardial revascularization by venous grafts.