Anatomy of the feeding arteries of the cerebral arteriovenous malformations.

BACKGROUND: Identification and anatomic features of the feeding arteries of the arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) is very important due to neurologic, radiologic, and surgical reasons. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-seven patients with AVMs were examined by using a digital subtraction angiographic (DSA) and computerised tomographic (CT) examination, including three-dimensional reconstruction of the brain vessels. In addition, the arteries of 4 human brain stems and 8 cerebral hemispheres were microdissected. RESULTS: The anatomic examination showed a sporadic hypoplasia, hyperplasia, early bifurcation and duplication of certain cerebral arteries. The perforating arteries varied from 1 to 8 in number. The features of the leptomeningeal and choroidal vessels were presented. The radiologic examination revealed singular (22.08%), double (32.48%) or multiple primary feeding arteries (45.45%), which were dilated and elongated in 58.44% of the patients. The feeders most often originated from the middle cerebral artery (MCA; (23.38%), less frequently from the anterior cerebral artery (ACA; 12.99%), and the posterior cerebral artery (PCA; 10.39%). Multiple feeders commonly originated from the ACA and MCA (11.69%), the MCA and PCA (10.39%), the ACA and PCA (7.79%), and the ACA, MCA and PCA (5.19%). The infratentorial feeders were found in 9.1% of the AVMs. Contribution from the middle meningeal and occipital arteries was seen in 3.9% angiograms. Two cerebral arteries had a saccular aneurysm. The AVM haemorrhage appeared in 63.6% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge of the origin and anatomic features of the AVMs feeders is important in the explanation of neurologic signs, and in a decision regarding the endovascular embolisation, neurosurgical and radiosurgical treatments.

Integrated evaluation of relation between coronary lesion features and stress echocardiography results: the importance of coronary lesion morphology.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyze, in the same group of patients, the relationship between multiple variables of coronary lesion and results of exercise, dobutamine and dipyridamole stress echocardiography tests. BACKGROUND: Integrated evaluation of the relation between stress echocardiography results and angiographic variables should include not only the assessment of stenosis severity but also evaluation of other quantitative and qualitative features of coronary stenosis. METHODS: Study population consisted of 168 (138 male, 30 female, mean age 51+/-9 years) patients, on whom exercise (Bruce treadmill protocol), dobutamine (up to 40 mcg/kg/min) and dipyridamole (0.84 mg/kg over 10 min) stress echocardiography tests were performed. Stress echocardiography test was considered positive for myocardial ischemia when a new wall motion abnormality was observed. One-vessel coronary stenosis ranging from mild stenosis to complete obstruction of the vessel was present in 153 patients, and 15 patients had normal coronary arteries. The observed angiographic variables included particular coronary vessel, stenosis location, the presence of collaterals, plaque morphology according to Ambrose classification, percent diameter stenosis and obstruction diameter as assessed by quantitative coronary arteriography. RESULTS: Covariates significantly associated with the results of physical and pharmacological stress tests included for all three stress modalities presence of collateral circulation, percent diameter stenosis and obstruction diameter, as well as lesion morphology (p < 0.05 for all, except collaterals for dobutamine stress test, p = 0.06). By stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis, the strongest predictor of the outcome of exercise echocardiography test was only percent diameter stenosis (p = 0.0002). However, both dobutamine and particularly dipyridamole stress echocardiography results were associated not only with stenosis severity - percent diameter stenosis (dobutamine, p = 0.04; dipyridamole, p = 0.003) - but also, and even more strongly, with lesion morphology (dobutamine, p = 0.006; dipyridamole, p = 0.0009). As all of stress echocardiography results were significantly associated with percent diameter stenosis, the best angiographic cutoff in relation to the results of stress echocardiography test was: exercise, 54%; dobutamine, 58% and dipyridamole, 60% (p < 0.05 vs. exercise). CONCLUSIONS: Integrated evaluation of angiographic variables have shown that the results of dobutamine and dipyridamole stress echocardiography are not only influenced by stenosis severity but also, and even more importantly, by plaque morphology. The results of exercise stress echocardiography, although separately influenced by plaque morphology, are predominantly influenced by stenosis severity, due to a stronger exercise capacity in provoking myocardial ischemia in milder forms of coronary stenosis.

Post-traumatic AV fistulas and pseudoaneurysms.

METHODS: The authors present the surgical treatment of 20 post-traumatic arteriovenous fistulas and 33 arterial pseudoaneurysms that have been treated in the last 5 years in the Centre for Vascular Surgery of the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases, Clinical Centre of Serbia in Belgrade. Five women and 45 men (mean age 31.7 years) were examined. There were 28 war and 22 non-combatant injuries. In most cases superficial femoral artery and vein were involved. The average time elapsed from the moment of injury until the operation started, was 9 months in patients with AV fistulas, and one month for patients with pseudoaneurysms. RESULTS: In all of the patients with AV fistulas, arterial and venous reconstructions were performed, except in 4 cases where the veins were ligated. Surgical reconstruction was performed in 26 patients with pseudoaneurysms, while in 7 cases the artery was ligated. There were no cases of postoperative ischemia in patients due to arterial ligation. Patients were followed for 2 years and 2 months postoperatively. As far as the reconstructive operations are concerned, the postoperative patency rate was 100%, while limb salvage was achieved in 96.9%. Namely, one amputation was done in spite of high arterial patency rate, which was indicated by massive bone-muscle tissue loss, occurring during mine explosive injury. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the rapid disease progress, the authors suggest that the operative treatment of post-traumatic AV fistulas and pseudoaneurysms should be performed as soon as possible. This was supported by good follow-up results in operatively treated patients.

Pharmacological radionuclide ventriculography for detection of myocardial contractile reserve in patients after myocardial infarction: head-to-head comparison of low dose dobutamine and low dose dipyridamole.

BACKGROUND: Low dose pharmacological stress echocardiography with either dobutamine or dipyridamole infusion has been proposed for recognition of myocardial viability. However, dependence on adequate acoustic window, observer experience, and the mild degree of wall motion changes make the viability assessment by stress echocardiography especially bothersome. The objective of the study was to evaluate the ability of low dose dobutamine and low dose dipyridamole radionuclide ventriculography to detect contractile reserve in patients after myocardial infarction and functional recovery after coronary angioplasty. METHODS: The study group consisted of 20 consecutive patients (52 +/- 10 years, 17 male, 3 female) with previous myocardial infarction and resting regional dyssynergy, in whom diagnostic cardiac catheterization revealed significant one-vessel coronary artery stenosis suitable for angioplasty. Each patient underwent equilibrium 99m-Tc radionuclide ventriculography which was performed at rest and during low dose dipyridamole (0.28 mg/kg over 2 minutes) and low dose dobutamine infusion (up to 10 mcg/kg/min). Left ventricular global and regional ejection fractions were determined. Increase of regional ejection fraction for > 5% (inferoapical and posterolateral regions) or > 10% (anteroseptal regions) during low dose dobutamine and dipyridamole in infarcted regions, as well as in the followup period, was considered as index of contractile reserve. After 8 weeks of successful angioplasty, resting radionuclide ventriculography was repeated in all patients in order to identify functional recovery of the infarct zone. RESULTS: Out of the 180 analyzed segments (20 x 9), 90 regional ejection fractions have shown depressed contractility. The mean of the regional ejection fractions showing depressed contractility increased from the resting value of 34 +/- 12% to 42 +/- 14% in the follow-up period (p = 0.06). Of the 90 with baseline dyssynergy, 46 were responders during low-dose dobutamine (51%), whereas 32 segments were responders (36%, p = 0.05 vs. dobutamine) during low dose dipyridamole. Positive predictive value of dobutamine and dipyridamole for predicting functional recovery was 72% and 75% (p = ns), respectively. Negative predictive value of dobutamine and dipyridamole was 48% and 69% (p = 0.05), respectively. In the group of patients with most severe dyskinesia (regional ejection fraction < 35%, 42 segments) positive predictive value was 73% and 82%, while negative predictive value was 42% and 64% for low dose dobutamine and low dose dipyridamole respectively (p = ns). CONCLUSION: Although low dose dobutamine induced higher rate of positive responses during radionuclide ventriculography imaging, dipyridamole radionuclide ventriculography has shown superior, particularly negative, prognostic value for predicting functional recovery of infarcted regions.

[Methods for the quantification of left ventricular volumes assessed by radionuclide ventriculography (first part)].

The purpose of this study was to point out the existing methods and to describe and evaluate the accuracy of new, original, "Geometric-count-based" (GCB) method, based on radionuclide ventriculography, for the measurement of left ventricular volumes compaired to the contrast ventriculography. By having done this, the aim was to compare the accuracy of GCB method and other two radionuclide methods available for left ventricular volume measurements: Count-bases Massardo method and gated blood pool SPECT method. In GCB method count based data from radionuclide ventriculography were combined with geometric ones assuming a prolate ellipsoid left ventricular's shape with identical short axes. The following equation for computing left ventricular end-diastolic volume was developed: EDV = 2 x c x M x C(tot)/C(max), (1) where: 2c--manually drown short axis of prolate ellipsoid (left ventricle) at end-diastolic frame, M-calibrated pixel size, C(tot)--total counts in left ventricular's region of interest at end-diastolic frame, C(max)--maximum pixel counts in left ventricular's region of interest. Physical experiments with two different heart shaped phantoms were used to compare volumes assessed by all three radionuclide methods with the true volumes. The true volumes of cylindrical and ellipsoid phantoms of 112.5 ml and 190.5 ml, were computed to be 114 ml and 196 ml by our GCB method, 168 ml and 180 ml by Massardo method and 142 ml and 222 ml by gated blood pool SPECT methods, respectively. In clinical study, in 65 patients volumes assessed by radionuclide methods were compared to volumes measured using single plane contrast ventriculography as a gold standard. A good correlation of our original method was obtained with a contrast ventriculography for both EDV/m2 and ESV/m2 (r = 0.94, r = 0.92), slightly lower for Massardo method (EDV/m2: r = 0.90, ESV/m2 : r = 0.89) and significantly lower for gated blood pool SPECT (EDV/m2: r = 0.85, ESV/m2: r = 0.81, p < 0.01). In conclusion, both, phantom and clinical studies indicate that GCB radionuclide method is accurate, noninvasive for left ventricular volumes' measurement and should be widely used in everyday clinical practice.

Dipyridamole-atropine-induced myocardial infarction in a patient with patent epicardial coronary arteries.

BACKGROUND: The diagnostic accuracy of the physical and pharmacological stress echocardiography tests is higher than routine exercise electrocardiography. They have an acceptable safety profile and have been rarely associated with severe adverse effects. CASE REPORT: We present a case of acute anterior myocardial reinfarction immediately after exercise and pharmacological (dipyridamole-atropine) stress echocardiography testing 1 month after successful stent implantation in LAD. Our patient was a 43-year-old man with a history of heavy smoking and hypertension. Remarkably, the stress echocardiogram was non-diagnostic few hours before the infarction occurred. Angiography performed 4 months after the reinfarction revealed neither a culprit lesion nor stent thrombosis. CONCLUSION: Aggressive "last generation" pharmacological stress testing may provide optimal diagnostic accuracy, but as in our case, complications may occur, even after negative stress testing. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of an acute myocardial infarction as a severe complication of stress testing, which developed in a patient after stent implantation.

Dipyridamole and dobutamine: competitors or allies in pharmacological stress echocardiography?

Stress echocardiography has become an accepted and cost-effective method for diagnosing coronary artery disease. However, as exercise stress echocardiography is a demanding technique, difficult to reproduce, pharmacological stress echocardiography has become very popular in recent years. The two most popular tests from the pharmacological stress echocardiography arena are dipyridamole and dobutamine. They have enabled the technical limitations inherent in exercise echocardiography to be overcome, and have provided the opportunity to obtain, during stress, images of unchanged quality in comparison to baseline. However, the sensitivity of both pharmacological stresses applied separately is less than ideal in patients with milder forms of coronary artery disease and in patients under therapy. To overcome this, a new generation of pharmacological stress tests, the combined dipyridamole-dobutamine tests were introduced. A combined dipyridamole-dobutamine echocardiography stress test should suggest that the agents are natural allies rather than competitors but in some instances they are applicable only in selected patients, and each pharmacological agent may be clinically contraindicated for administration. This is the message from a large scale study of recent years.

Coronary vasodilation without myocardial erection. Simultaneous haemodynamic, echocardiographic and arteriographic findings during adenosine and dipyridamole infusion.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate simultaneously echocardiographic, haemodynamic and angiographic changes that occur during adenosine and dipyridamole infusion, in patients with one-vessel coronary artery stenosis. This would assess whether deterioration in left ventricular haemodynamics during vasodilator agent infusion is influenced by vasodilation per se, or the development of myocardial ischaemia. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed adenosine (140 micrograms.kg-1.min-1 over 4 min) and dipyridamole (up to 0.84 mg.kg-1 over 10 min) stress echocardiography tests, together with angiographic and haemodynamic assessment, in 26 patients undergoing elective coronary angioplasty. In 12 of 26 patients, adenosine and dipyridamole tests were repeated 24 h after angioplasty. The criterion for echocardiography test positivity was the appearance of a new transient regional wall motion abnormality. Coronary angiograms were analysed with quantitative coronary arteriography. Adenosine and dipyridamole induced regional dysfunction in 18/26 (69%) and 14/26 (54%) patients before angioplasty, respectively (P = ns). In the echocardiography-positive patients, the percent diameter stenosis was significantly (P < 0.05) tighter stenosis than in the echocardiography-negative patients (adenosine, 66.6 +/- 8.3% vs 58.0 +/- 8.9%; dipyridamole, 69.2 +/- 7.1% vs 57.7 +/- 7.6%). During both tests, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure significantly increased (P < 0.05) in echocardiography-positive patients (adenosine, 9.8 +/- 2.7 mmHg to 13.5 +/- 4.1 mmHg; dipyridamole, 10.1 +/- 2.8 mmHg to 14.1 +/- 4.3 mmHg), but not in echocardiography-negative patients. In the patients who had undergone successful angioplasty (reduction to < 50% diameter stenosis), both adenosine and dipyridamole confirmed the arteriographic success of the procedure (echocardiography negative in all patients). In this group of patients, no significant change was observed in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure during adenosine or dipyridamole infusion. CONCLUSIONS: Intravenous infusion of either adenosine or dipyridamole was accompanied by an obvious increase in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure only in patients with induced wall motion abnormalities. Coronary vasodilation per se has no significant effect on left ventricular end-diastolic pressure when no ischaemia is induced, disproving any clinically significant 'erectile' and adverse effects of coronary vasodilation per se.