Relationship between pathogenic, clinical, and virulence factors of Staphylococcus aureus in infective endocarditis versus uncomplicated bacteremia: a case-control study.

Pathogenic factors of Staphylococcus aureus (SA) in the development of infective endocarditis (IE) have not been sufficiently investigated. The purpose of this study was to analyze the pathogenesis and virulence factors of SA in patients with IE as compared to patients with uncomplicated bacteremia (un-BAC). This is a retrospective case-control study (2002-2014) performed at a tertiary hospital in Spain. Clinical and epidemiological factors were analyzed. We assessed the presence of toxin genes [toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (tst-1) and enterotoxins A (etA), B (etB), and D (etD)] and the potential relationship between accessory gene regulator (agr) groups and the development of IE confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Twenty-nine patients with IE were compared with 58 patients with uncomplicated S. aureus bacteremia (SAB). As many as 75.9 % of patients had community-acquired IE (p < 0.005). Multivariate analysis revealed that there is a significant relationship between community-acquired infection and severe sepsis or septic shock and IE. Also, a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of vancomycin ≥1.5 µg/ml was found to be associated with IE. The agr group I was prevalent (55.2 % vs. 31.0 %; p = 0.030). No association was observed between toxin genes (tst-1, etA, etB, and etD) and IE. The superantigen (SAg) most frequently found in SA isolates was tst-1 (12.6 %). We found no association between toxin genes and IE, probably due to the small sample size. However, a direct relationship was found between agr I and the development of IE, which suggests that agr I strains may have more potential to cause IE.

Síndrome de Déjerine-Roussy de origen isquémico en un adolescente con foramen oval permeable / Déjerine- Roussy Syndrome of an ischaemic origin in an adolescent with patent forament ovale

Resumen. Introducción. El síndrome de Déjerine-Roussy o síndrome talámico se caracteriza por hemiparesia leve transitoria, hemicoreoatetosis, hemihipoestesia, hiperalgesia, alodinia y hemiataxia con astereognosia de intensidad variable, y se presenta ante lesiones de los núcleos posteriores del tálamo. Puede producirse por infarto cerebral estratégico, descrito en pacientes de edad avanzada con factores de riesgo vascular. El foramen oval permeable se ha sugerido como factor de riesgo de ictus isquémico en jóvenes, especialmente cuando se asocia a ‘aneurisma’ del septo auricular y sobre todo a estado procoagulante. Caso clínico. Varón de 18 años de edad con antecedentes familiares de enfermedad de Behçet, que presenta infartos cerebrales talámico e hipocampal derechos, siendo un foramen oval persistente con ‘aneurisma’ septal el único factor de riesgo encontrado tras un estudio exhaustivo. En ese momento no cumplía los criterios de la enfermedad de Behçet, y tras un amplio rastreo sistémico no se hallaron signos directos ni indirectos de trombosis venosa. Se realizó cierre percutáneo del foramen. Conclusión. Se trata del primer caso publicado de síndrome de Déjerine-Roussy como manifestación de infarto cerebral criptogénico asociado a foramen oval permeable en un adolescente. El conjunto de datos clínicos y complementarios permiten realizar una reconstrucción de la secuencia fisiopatológica que sitúan al foramen oval con ‘aneurisma’ septal asociado como único factor de riesgo objetivable, lo que asociado al estrés del paciente y de la familia motivó su cierre (AU)

Summary. Introduction. Déjerine-Roussy syndrome, or thalamic syndrome, is characterised by transient mild hemiparesis, hemichoreoathetosis, hemihypoesthesia, hyperalgesia, allodynia and hemiataxia with astereognosia that varies in intensity, and it appears in the presence of lesions in the posterior nuclei of the thalamus. It can be produced by strategic cerebral infarction, reported in elderly patients with vascular risk factors. Patent foramen ovale has been suggested as a risk factor for ischaemic stroke in young people, especially when associated to aneurysm of the auricular septum and above all to a procoagulating status. Case report. An 18-year-old male with a family history of Behçet’s disease, who presented right-side thalamic and hippocampal cerebral infarction; following an exhaustive study, patent foramen ovale with septal aneurysm was found as the only risk factor. At that time he did not satisfy criteria for Behçet’s disease, and thorough systemic screening did not reveal direct or indirect signs of venous thrombosis. Percutaneous closure of the foramen was performed. Conclusions. This is the first reported case of Déjerine-Roussy syndrome as a manifestation of cryptogenic cerebral infarction associated to patent foramen ovale in an adolescent. Taken as a whole, the clinical and complementary data enable us to reconstruct the pathophysiological sequence that position foramen ovale with an associated septal ‘aneurysm’ as the only detectable risk factor, which, when linked to the stress of the patient and the family, triggered its early closure (AU)

[Déjerine-Roussy syndrome of an ischaemic origin in an adolescent with patent foramen ovale]. / Síndrome de Déjerine-Roussy de origen isquémico en un adolescente con foramen oval permeable.

INTRODUCTION: Déjerine-Roussy syndrome, or thalamic syndrome, is characterised by transient mild hemiparesis, hemichoreoathetosis, hemihypoesthesia, hyperalgesia, allodynia and hemiataxia with astereognosia that varies in intensity, and it appears in the presence of lesions in the posterior nuclei of the thalamus. It can be produced by strategic cerebral infarction, reported in elderly patients with vascular risk factors. Patent foramen ovale has been suggested as a risk factor for ischaemic stroke in young people, especially when associated to aneurysm of the auricular septum and above all to a procoagulating status. CASE REPORT: An 18-year-old male with a family history of Behçet's disease, who presented right-side thalamic and hippocampal cerebral infarction; following an exhaustive study, patent foramen ovale with septal aneurysm was found as the only risk factor. At that time he did not satisfy criteria for Behçet's disease, and thorough systemic screening did not reveal direct or indirect signs of venous thrombosis. Percutaneous closure of the foramen was performed. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first reported case of Déjerine-Roussy syndrome as a manifestation of cryptogenic cerebral infarction associated to patent foramen ovale in an adolescent. Taken as a whole, the clinical and complementary data enable us to reconstruct the pathophysiological sequence that position foramen ovale with an associated septal 'aneurysm' as the only detectable risk factor, which, when linked to the stress of the patient and the family, triggered its early closure.

[The influence of angina the week before a first myocardial infarction on short and medium-term prognosis]. / Influencia de la angina en la semana previa al primer infarto agudo de miocardio sobre su pronóstico intrahospitalario y a medio plazo.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The implications of early angina on the prognosis of myocardial infarction are controversial. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of angina one week before the first myocardial infarction on short and medium-term prognosis. PATIENTS AND METHOD: A total of 290 consecutive patients (107 with previous angina and 183 without it) with the first myocardial infarction were studied to determine the effect of preceding angina on short and medium-term prognosis. Further criteria for inclusion were no previous history of angina > 1 week before the first myocardial infarction, and no evidence of prior structural cardiopathy. The end points studied were death and congestive heart failure in the acute phase of myocardial infarction and during the follow-up. RESULTS: Patients with a history of prodromal angina were less likely to experience in-hospital death, heart failure or combined end-point (3.7 vs 11.5%; 4.6 vs 15.8%; 7.5 vs 21.3%) (p = 0.002). There was also a difference between groups in the follow-up (4.1 vs 13.2%; p = 0.03). Multivariate analysis confirmed that the presence of preinfarction angina was an independent predictor of death and heart failure in the acute phase of myocardial infarction as well as in the follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence of angina one week before the first myocardial infarction protects against death and heart failure in the acute phase of myocardial infarction as well as in the medium follow-up.

[Heart failure as the initial cardiac manifestation of Steinert's myotonic dystrophy]. / Insuficiencia cardíaca como manifestación cardiológica inicial de la distrofia miotónica de Steinert.

The relationship between neuromuscular diseases and the heart has been well known for many years. Cardiac lesions tend to involve the specialized conducting system. We report the case of a 36-year-old male diagnosed with Steinert's myotonic dystrophy whose initial cardiovascular symptom was heart failure and not symptoms related to alterations of the specialized conducting system.

[Large myxoma of the right atrium]. / Mixoma de gran tamaño en la aurícula derecha.

We describe the case of a patient in whom two-dimensional echocardiography, performed due to dissociated cholestasis and jugular ingurgitation, demonstrated a huge mass in the right atrium which prolapsed in the right ventricle. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography was performed to further assess the dimension and characteristics of the mass and to discard the involvement of associated structures. The patient underwent a cardiopulmonary bypass surgery and the mass (12 * 5 cm) was removed without complications. Histologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of myxoma. This case is of interest because of the size of the mass, and is centered in the diagnosis following clinical suspicion due to the pattern of dissociated cholestasis and jugular ingurgitation leading to surgery to prevent the potential embolic complications.

Does angina the week before protect against first myocardial infarction in elderly patients?

Mortality rates for coronary artery disease are greater in elderly patients. Although prodromal angina occurring shortly before an acute myocardial infarction (MI) has protective effects against ischemia, this effect has not been well documented in older patients. This study investigated whether angina 1 week before a first MI provides protection in this group of patients. A total of 290 consecutive elderly (>64 years old, n = 143) and adult patients (<65 years old, n = 147) with a first MI were examined to assess the effect of preceding angina on the short- and long-term prognosis. Elderly patients with a history of prodromal angina were less likely than those without angina to experience in-hospital death, heart failure, or the combined end point of in-hospital death and heart failure (6% vs 20.4%, p = 0.02; 10% vs 23.7%, p = 0.07; 14% vs 32.3%, p = 0.01, respectively). Left ventricular function was more frequently depressed (ejection fraction <40%) in elderly patients without (44.8%) than with (26%, p = 0.04) preinfarction angina, and the incidence of arrhythmias (complete heart block and ventricular fibrillation) was greater in the former group (16.1% vs 4%, p = 0.03). Multivariate analysis confirmed that the presence of preinfarction angina was an independent predictor of in-hospital death and heart failure in older patients (odds ratio 0.28, p = 0.009). The occurrence of angina 1 week before a first MI may confer protection against in-hospital adverse outcomes, and may preserve left ventricular function in older patients.

[Quality control and improvement of the care provided to the patient with acute myocardial infarction. Implementation of a quality assurance program]. / Garantía y mejora de calidad de la atención al paciente con infarto agudo de miocardio. Implantación de un programa de calidad.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Hospital care of patients with acute myocardial infarction involves a series of therapeutic measures and risk stratification which are a must since their efficacy has been clearly demonstrated. The aim of this study was to develop an internal program to guarantee and improve the quality of hospital care to acute myocardial infarction patients. METHODS: A medical audit was carried out for evaluation. Seven evaluation criteria considered as class I by the guidelines on the management of acute myocardial infarction patients were analyzed in the discharge report of 163 consecutive patients. Following analysis of the results corrective measures were implemented. In the second phase reevaluation of 40 patients was performed to determine the efficacy of the adopted measures. RESULTS: Following the first evaluation the use of AAS, IECAS and the beta-blockers was found to be correctly indicated in 95, 80 and 72% of the patients, respectively. A strategy of the adequate stratification of risk was carried out and ventricular function was evaluated in 93 and 96% of the cases. Correct hypolipemia treatment was indicated in 54% of the cases with an adequate diet being prescribed in 100%. Three months after the intervention, 40 new patients were evaluated with all the criteria analyzed being fulfilled in 100% of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: The use of evaluation techniques and improvement in the quality of health care provided to cases of acute myocardial infarction allows the determination of the care undertaken and its correction if necessary in order to follow the guidelines recommended for the care of these patients.

Measurement of fractional flow reserve to assess moderately severe coronary lesions: correlation with dobutamine stress echocardiography.

BACKGROUND: New techniques to evaluate coronary artery disease, such as calculation of myocardial fractional flow reserve (FFR) with a guidewire and pressure transducer, provide a functional assessment of coronary lesions. The present study was designed to determine the correlation between FFR and dobutamine stress echocardiography in patients with moderately severe coronary stenosis in order to judge the usefulness of FFR for commonly encountered clinical problems. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 21 patients with 23 moderately severe coronary artery stenoses on angiography. The FFR was calculated and dobutamine stress echocardiography was performed to detect ischemia. Of the 16 stenoses with a negative FFR (> or = 0.75), dobutamine echocardiography also was negative. In the seven stenoses with a positive FFR (< 0.75), dobutamine echocardiography was positive in three. The efficacy of FFR in detecting ischemia that was confirmed with stress echocardiography was sensitivity 100%, specificity 80%, positive and negative predictive value 42.8%, and 100%, respectively, with a global predictive value 82.6%. A moderate degree of correlation was found between the two diagnostic tests (kappa [kappa] = 0.51). CONCLUSIONS: FFR correlates moderately well with dobutamine stress echocardiography in the assessment of moderately severe lesions in patients for whom coronary arteriography is usually indicated. However, its high negative predictive value makes FFR a useful aid in reaching clinical decisions promptly in the hemodynamics laboratory.

Clinical management of patients with coronary syndromes and negative fractional flow reserve findings.

AIMS: New interventional techniques to diagnose coronary artery stenosis, such as calculation of myocardial fractional flow reserve (FFR) with a guidewire and pressure transducer, provide a functional assessment of coronary lesions. The present study was designed to investigate the occurrence of cardiac events in patients with coronary syndromes and negative FFR findings in moderately severe coronary stenosis in order to determine the usefulness of this technique in predicting coronary events during follow-up for problems commonly encountered in clinical practice. A further objective was to evaluate the safety of deferring angioplasty in patients with a negative FFR result. METHODS: We studied 43 patients with 44 moderately severe coronary artery stenoses on angiography and FFR > or = 0.75. Mean age of the patients was 58 +/- 11.4 years. The indications for coronary angiography included recent unstable angina in 24 (55.8%) patients, recent acute myocardial infarction in 10 (23.2%) patients, 5 (11.6%) patients with a coronary stent who had symptoms of uncertain cause, and stable angina in 4 (9.3%) patients. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up period of 10.7 +/- 5.9 months, clinical events (unstable angina) occurred in five patients. In three patients, the initially investigated artery was involved, and in the two patients who required coronary revascularization, unstable angina was related with an artery different from the one studied initially. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with recent coronary syndromes and negative FFR findings in moderately severe coronary stenosis were unlikely to have cardiac events during a 10-month follow-up period. Our findings suggest that FFR is a potentially useful indicator of the likelihood of cardiac events and thus represents a useful aid in clinical decision-making in the hemodynamics laboratory. This diagnostic technique also is potentially useful in identifying patients for whom angioplasty can be safely deferred.

[Valvular regurgitation caused by anorectic agents]. / Regurgitación valvular causada por fármacos anorexígenos.

Valvular heart disease associated with the use of anorectic agents is a recently described clinical entity. We report the case of a 46-year-old woman with severe regurgitation of the mitral, aortic and tricuspid valves who had been taking fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine for two years. Surgical treatment was required with replacement of three valve by mechanical prostheses. The previous history of treatment with anorectic agents, the echocardiographic morphology of the injured valves and the macroscopic and histopathologic findings strongly suggested an association between the anorectic agents and the valvular disease of the patient.

[Preoperative coronarography in heart valve disease patients. A probability analysis of coronary lesion]. / Coronariografía preoperatoria en pacientes valvulares. Análisis de probabilidad de lesión coronaria.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The indication of preoperative coronary angiography is routinely performed for patients who are going to valve replacement surgery. The need of coronary angiography is based on age, gender and previous angina, but it is not usually based on risk factors. The purpose of this study has been to find markers to predict the probability of coronary lesion in this group of patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied retrospectively a population of 541 patients with valvular heart disease who underwent preoperative coronary angiography from 1989 to 1994. Mean age was 61.8 (range 34-82). There were 301 men and 240 women. We analyzed in each patient different variables such as age, gender, previous angina, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, tobacco and familial predisposition. We correlated these variables with the presence of coronary lesion by multivariate analysis. RESULTS: There were 73 patients with coronary lesion greater than 50%. The prevalence of significant coronary artery disease was 13.4%. Angina was present in 34.6%. The risk of coronary lesion was defined as odds ratio: previous angina 3.3; tobacco 2.6; diabetes 2.2; hypertension 1.8 and age 1.4. The others variables were not predictor of coronary lesion. The probability of coronary lesion in patients without those variables (angina, tobacco, diabetes, hypertension) was 4%. If we analyzed age, the probability of coronary lesion was 3% in patients under 65 years and 6% above 65 years. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of previous angina and at least the three risk factors described as predictors of coronary lesion (hypertension, tobacco and diabetes) can define a group of patients with a very low prevalence of coronary lesion, especially if they are under 65 years. It can allow us to avoid preoperatory coronary angiography in patients who undergo valve replacement.

[Aortico-left ventricular tunnel. Clinical and surgical considerations]. / Túnel aortoventricular izquierdo. Consideraciones clínicas y quirúrgicas.

We report the case of an infant operated on at 11 months, having been clinically, echocardiographically and hemodynamically diagnosed when 2 days at the age. In the Echo-Doppler study the visualisation of the tunnel and the presence of aortic regurgitation within it and in the left ventricular outflow tract confirmed the diagnosis. Surgical access to both orifices, aortic and left ventricular, through the tunnel (after incision in the same) allowed it to be closed with two Goretex patches from its external face. This technique has a double advantage: a) it avoids annular distortions or aortic valvular lesions, b) excluding the tunnel (partial resection of edges and subsequent continuous suture) any possibility of subpulmonary stenosis through compression is eradicated.

Thrombolytic treatment for massive thrombosis of prosthetic cardiac valves.

OBJECTIVE: To present the efficacy of thrombolytic treatment in place of emergency surgery in massive thrombosis of prosthetic cardiac valves (TPCV), and to set out the diagnostic criteria and the patients' evolution. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Coronary Care Unit of a Spanish reference hospital. PATIENTS: 7 patients admitted into the ICU with 10 episodes of TPCV and with advanced functional class. INTERVENTIONS: The diagnosis of TPCV was arrived at through clinical data and was confirmed by Doppler-echocardiography before treatment. Thrombolytic treatment (streptokinase, urokinase or rt-PA) was used. The analysis of paired samples between the data before and after treatment was used. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: All the patients underwent an improvement in their clinical condition. A reduction of sPAP and in the mean transprosthetic gradient and an increase in the effective valvular area was achieved. Four patients needed surgical intervention during their follow-up. No case required emergency surgery. One patient died after surgery and the other 6 patients are alive after follow-up of 6-33 months. With the fibrinolytic treatment hemorrhagic complications were always controlled. None of the treated patients presented embolic complications. CONCLUSIONS: Fibrinolytic treatment is the recommended initial treatment in cases of massive TPCV. When fibrinolysis is only partially successful, reoperation can be performed at lower risk. Doppler echocardiography is fundamental in the diagnosis of TPCV and in monitoring the response to fibrinolytic treatment.

[A mid-term clinical and hemodynamic evaluation of the Wessex and Hancock II bioprostheses]. / Valoración clínica y hemodinámica a medio plazo de las bioprótesis de Wessex y Hancock II.

The purpose of this study is to compare clinically and hemodynamically the Wessex and Hancock II porcine bioprostheses. We compared functional class and data from echo-Doppler in 34 Wessex bioprostheses (group A) with those in 42 Hancock II bioprostheses (group B). We subdivided group A into A1 and A2. A1 was made up of 23 Wessex manufactured since 1986. A2 constituted 11 Wessex made before 1986 which belonged to a series with some variations in the manufacturing process, and in which some early dysfunctions have been described. We compared data from these sub-groups between each other as well as with those of group B. The groups were homogeneous in age, sex, patients body surface and the time elapsed since the prosthetic implant. The mean mitral gradient, the mitral area, the peak aortic gradient and the regurgitation incidence were similar in groups A and B. In A2 the mean mitral gradient was significantly superior to that of group B (7.1 +/- 1.1 mmHg vs 5.4 +/- 1.4 mmHg; p less than 0.01), and the mitral area showed a tendency to be inferior, although with no statistical significance. The functional class of the patients was similar in all the groups. We conclude that the Wessex bioprosthesis presents hemodynamic data and functional class similar to those of the Hancock II, with the exception of a sub-group of Wessex manufactured before 1986 which presents mean mitral gradients superior to the others and which would warrant further studies.

[Double subvalvular aortic stenosis (fixed and dynamic) diagnosed by ECHO-Doppler]. / Doble estenosis subvalvular aórtica (fija y dinámica) diagnosticada con ECO-Doppler.

Fixed subvalvular aortic stenosis is an uncommon cause of left ventricular outflow obstruction which occasionally can be found in association with dynamic muscular obstruction. In the past, the diagnosis of this association has been difficult and relied upon cardiac catheterization and angiography. To our knowledge, no case of this pathology diagnosed by echo and Doppler has previously been reported. We present a case of double subvalvular aortic stenosis in a 35 years old patient which illustrates the feasibility of detection with echo and Doppler of both types of subvalvular aortic obstruction.