Mutilating Purpura Fulminans in an Adult with Meningococcal Sepsis.

We report a dramatic case of meningococcal sepsis manifesting as purpura fulminans in an elderly diabetic woman. Hemodynamic instability and severe bilateral cutaneous lesions involving her hands and feet developed rapidly. Specific antibiotic therapy and the administration of inotropic and vasopressor drugs were initiated. The severity and extension of the cutaneous lesions (attributed to purpura fulminans) worsened because of the need for vasoconstrictors for the treatment of septic shock. Bilateral transmetatarsal and metacarpal amputations were required to stabilize the patient.

Survival after major cardiac surgery: performance and comparison of predictive ability of EuroSCORE II and logistic EuroSCORE in a sample of Mediterranean population.

BACKGROUND: The European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE) II has been recently introduced to improve mortality prediction in cardiac surgery. We compare the predictive ability of the new EuroSCORE II with that of the original logistic EuroSCORE and we made an evaluation of a sample of our population submitted to major cardiac surgery in the context of a Mediterranean country. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Predicted and observed mortality were recorded in 1,200 consecutive patients undergoing major cardiac surgery at our institution with both logistic EuroSCORE and EuroSCORE II. Patients were grouped according to type of surgery: isolated valvular (n = 538), isolated coronary (n = 322), combined (n = 192), and miscellaneous (n = 148). Predictive capacity of both scales was compared for overall population and for each group in terms of calibration and discrimination using the observed by expected mortality rate, Hosmer-Lemeshow test, and C-statistic. RESULTS: Overall mortality was 6.8%, whereas that predicted by logistic EuroSCORE and EuroSCORE II was 9.7 and 3.7%, respectively. Mortality in our population was higher than mortality expected according to the original EuroSCORE II database. For all groups included in our population, logistic EuroSCORE overestimated mortality and EuroSCORE II underestimated the outcome even more. However, EuroSCORE II showed better calibration than logistic EuroSCORE for overall, valvular, and combined surgery. In contrast, logistic EuroSCORE demonstrated better calibration for coronary surgery. Discrimination capacity was good for both risk scores, but it was superior for logistic EuroSCORE than for EuroSCORE II in all considered subgroups unless combined surgery. CONCLUSION: Mortality in our population was higher than the mortality that would have been expected by the new EuroSCORE II analysis. Although EuroSCORE II has good calibration and discrimination capacity, both are worse than those demonstrated by logistic EuroSCORE. Forthcoming evaluations are necessary when the new model will be widely used.

Unexpected entrapment during surgery of anomalous circumflex coronary artery arising from right coronary artery.

A patient with advanced rheumatic heart valve disease underwent aortic and mitral valve replacement with tricuspid ring annuloplasty. There was an anomalous left circumflex coronary artery (LCCA) arising from the right coronary artery (RCA) running along the anterior surface of an enlarged right ventricle (RV). During the immediate postoperative course, signs of inferior and lateral myocardial ischemia developed. An emergent coronary angiography revealed LCCA entrapment. An additional suture placed in the RV outflow tract used to optimize exposition of the aortic root during the aortotomy was determined to be the origin of the coronary entrapment. No similar case of LCCA occlusion has previously been reported. This is a description of successful management of this complication.

Survival After Mitral Valve Replacement for Leaflet Escape in a Contemporary On-X Mechanical Valve.

Leaflet escape in contemporary mechanical valves is an extremely rare and potentially lethal condition. We report the case of a 77-year-old man who presented with embolization of a leaflet from an On-X mitral valve (CryoLife, Kennesaw, GA) with Conform-X Sewing Ring prosthesis (CryoLife) after exercise. The patient recovered completely 6 months after surgery, and he is currently asymptomatic.

The hemostatic power of fat: An effective, inexpensive, and biocompatible method to achieve hemostasis in cardiac surgery.

Postoperative bleeding with its important socioeconomic cost is associated with an increased morbidity and mortality. It causes hemodynamic instability, increases blood loss, and multiplies the number of transfusions required. Especially in vascular or aortic surgery, postoperative bleeding can become a life-threatening complication due to anticoagulant or antiaggregation preoperative status or postoperative coagulation dysfunction after a high level of heparinization. Presently described is the case of a patient who underwent an aortic valve and ascending aorta replacement. A simple but effective method to achieve hemostasis, designed particularly for aortic surgery and the use of Dacron grafts, is presented. No residual adherence or contraindications exist, and it can potentially be applied to any kind of surgical process. This method offers a cheap, biocompatible, and highly effective means to achieve complete hemostasis without the use of extra sutures, or expensive synthetic or allogeneic hemostatic agents or sealants.

Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as a bridge for enabling surgery in a patient under cardiogenic shock due to acute mitral prosthesis dysfunction.

A 52-year-old male patient, who underwent mitral replacement with a mechanical prosthesis as a child, sustained a cardiac arrest which was successfully resuscitated. Further investigation showed prosthesis malfunction with significant regurgitation in the context of multi-organ failure. In such a life-threatening condition, veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was considered as a rescue procedure to achieve optimisation of clinical status to allow definitive surgical treatment. An unusual complete fracture of the prosthesis was subsequently identified as the cause of acute dysfunction.

Plasma levels and vascular effects of vasopressin in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have suggested that endogenous vasopressin (AVP) acts as a spasmogen during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Given that AVP could induce vasospasm in the grafted vessel, we assessed the release of this peptide during and after CABG, and explored ways of counteracting its contractile effect on the internal mammary artery (IMA). METHODS: Plasma levels of AVP were determined by radioimmunoassay in 16 patients before, during and after CABG. Using isometric force recording techniques, we also investigated the mechanisms involved in the contractile effect of AVP in ring preparations of IMA specimens taken from 95 patients. RESULTS: Plasma AVP levels peaked after the start of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and correlated well with serum osmolality (Pearson's r=0.9490; P<0.0001; n=16). An inverse correlation was observed between plasma AVP levels recorded at this stage and the maximal contraction induced in vitro by AVP in vascular rings from the same patients (Pearson's r=-0.6968; P<0.01; n=16). No change in the AVP response was produced by endothelium removal, exposure to the NO precursor (3 x 10(-4)M L-arginine), inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthase (3 x 10(-5) M L-NAME) or soluble guanylate cyclase (3 x 10(-6) M 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazol [4,3,-alpha]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ)), removal of the superoxide anion (100 U/ml superoxide dismutase (SOD) plus 1200 U/ml catalase) or hydroxyl radical (10(-4) M deferoxamine), or specific alpha1 - (10(-6) M prazosin) or endothelin (10(-5) M bosentan) receptor antagonism. In contrast, adenylate cyclase activation (3 x 10(-8) M forskolin) reduced the contractile response to AVP, while prostanoid synthesis (3 x 10(-6) M indomethacin) inhibition and blockade of Ca2+ -activated potassium channels (KCa) (10(-3) M tetraethylammonium (TEA)) enhanced AVP contraction. Age, gender and smoking also modified the AVP response. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest a role for AVP as a modulator of vascular tone in human IMA. The effect of AVP is dependent on prostanoids and Ca2+ -activated K+ channels, so its dysfunction in pathophysiological cardiovascular processes could mean that AVP, among other factors, produces vasospasm in IMA grafts.

Wrapping of the ascending aorta revisited-is there any role left for conservative treatment of ascending aortic aneurysm?

Dilatation of the ascending aorta (AA) is a common finding in patients with aortic valve disease. The clinical practice guidelines recommend replacing the AA whenever the diameter exceeds 45 mm. However, no consensus has been reached regarding the approach when the aorta is only moderately dilated. Although the risk in aorta replacement is generally low, it may be higher when associated with other complex surgical procedures or it is carried out in elderly patients or patients with significant comorbidity. This would justify the use of alternative surgical techniques, which reduce surgical risk and guarantee a durable correction of the aortic pathology. Conservative treatment of aneurysms of the AA via wrapping with different synthetic materials has been implemented for many years. The most commonly used technical variant is wrapping the dilated aorta with a vascular prosthesis with a predetermined diameter. When this technique is adequately applied, it immediately reduces the diameter of the AA and, to a lesser degree, the diameter of the aortic root and arch, while at the same time it reinforces the weak aortic wall. These effects lead to a drop-in wall shear stress and in the risk of aortic dissection and rupture, and persist over time. Although the low elasticity of the external support causes significant changes in the histologic structure of the aortic wall, mainly atrophy and alterations typical of a foreign body-induced reaction, this does not seem to involve a higher risk of complications. In some selected patients, this technique may be used in cases other than post-stenotic aortopathy, and also in aortas with a larger diameter.

Mediastinal paraganglioma fed by the left circumflex artery.

A 60-year-old male patient who previously underwent carotid and jugular paraganglioma resections was referred because of a mediastinal recurrence at the root of the great vessels. Coronary angiography confirmed the circumflex artery of the left coronary artery as the feeding artery of the tumour. The patient underwent surgery due to the tumour's location and malignant potential. Upon mass resection, histopathological examination characterized the tumour as a secondary paraganglioma. Neuroendocrine tumours arising from chromaffin tissues at the extra-adrenal paraganglions of the autonomic nervous system are termed paragangliomas. Clinically, they are divided into functional and non-functional types, depending on their catecholamine secretion. The mediastinal location is exceptional and its treatment is challenging.

Primary coarctation-related isthmus aneurysm in an adult.

A 56-year-old female patient was transferred due to the presence of a left supraclavicular pulsatile mass. Further work-up was performed to confirm diagnosis. Angiography and computed tomography were also performed. The anatomy of the thoracic aorta suggested an unknown and untreated aortic coarctation. A second aortic narrowing was identified at the aortic arch, a result of elongation of the aorta. Endovascular approach was not possible, due to complexity of the aortic anatomy, and tortuosity. Open surgical repair was successfully performed. A primary coarctation-related isthmus aneurysm is an exceptional finding in adults, and is a life-threatening condition when diagnosis is delayed. Management and treatment are controversial and challenging.

Postoperative recurrence of postinfarction true and false ventricular aneurysms.

Progressive dyspnea after myocardial infarction can suggests the presence of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction or a left ventricular aneurysm (LVA). Surgical treatment of LVA aims to reduce its volume and to restore the ventricle. Recurrence of LVA after previous repair is extremely rare and the occurrence of concomitant postoperative true and false aneurysms is extraordinary. Surgery is usually challenging because of LV dysfunction and cardiac adherences in reoperations. We describe the simultaneous occurrence in a patient of a recurrent true and false LVA after surgical repair of a postinfarction LVA. Five years postoperatively, the patient remains alive and healthy.

Complete Transversal Disc Fracture in a Björk-Shiley Delrin Mitral Valve Prosthesis 43 Years After Implantation.

A patient who underwent previous implantation of a mitral valve replacement with a Björk-Shiley Delrin (BSD) mitral valve prosthesis during infancy was admitted to our institution 43 years later after an episode of syncope and cardiac arrest. Under extreme hemodynamic instability, a mitral valve prosthetic dysfunction causing massive mitral regurgitation was identified. The patient underwent an emergent cardiac operation, and a complete disc fracture with partial disc migration was found. Exceptional cases of mechanical prosthetic heart valve fracture exist. We report the first case of complete transversal disc rupture of a BSD mitral valve prosthesis after the longest period of implantation ever reported in that position.

Intramedullary cervical abscess in the setting of aortic valve endocarditis.

Spinal cord tissue has a remarkable resistance to infection. An intramedullary abscess is an exceptional complication of infective endocarditis in the post-antibiotic era. We describe the case of a 42-year-old man who presented with fever and cephalea. Two days later, left-side numbness, lack of sphincter control, and a new aortic murmur were noticed. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated an 8 ×15-mm intramedullary cervical abscess. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed an aortic valve perforation as a result of infective endocarditis. Conservative management was decided for the intramedullary abscess.