An angry cat causing Pasteurella multocida endocarditis and aortic valve replacement—A case report

AbstractIntroductionCat bite infections usually involve a mix of anaerobic and aerobic bacteria including species of Pasteurella, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Bacteroides, and Fusobacterium. We report a case of Pasteurella multocida infection from cat bites leading to endocarditis and subsequent aortic valve replacement.Presentation of caseA 70-year-old male was admitted because of fever, tachycardia, and malaise. He had a history of alcohol abuse and was living alone with a cat in a rural area. A sepsis of unknown origin was suspected, and intravenous treatment with gentamicin and cefotaxime was initiated. Blood cultures yielded Pasteurella multocida, and the patient history revealed repeated cat bites. After four days, the patient was discharged with oral penicillin V treatment. Two weeks later, the patient returned with fever and a new systolic murmur. An aortic valve endocarditis was diagnosed, and it became clear that the patient had not completed the prescribed penicillin V treatment. The patient underwent a biological aortic valve replacement with debridement of an annular abscess, and the postoperative course was uneventful.DiscussionEndocarditis due to Pasteurella is extremely rare, and there are only a few reports in the literature. Predisposing factors in the present case were alcohol abuse and reduced compliance to treatment.ConclusionCat bites are often deep, and in rare circumstances can lead to life-threatening endocarditis. Proper surgical revision, antibiotic treatment, and patient compliance are necessary components in patient care to avoid this complication

Clinical Course of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery and Long-term Outcome

Funding Information: The study was supported by the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation (grant 20180560 to AJ), the Swedish state (ALFGBG-725131 to AJ) under the agreement between the Swedish government and the county councils concerning economic support of research and education of doctors (ALF agreement), Region Västra Götaland (grant VGFOUREG-847811 to AJ and grant VGFOUREG-648981 to AT), and Wilhelm and Martina Lundgrens Foundation (grant 2019-3110 to AT). The authors had full freedom of investigation and full control of the design of the study, analysis of data, and production of the written report. Dr Jeppsson discloses a financial relationship with Boehringer-Ingelheim, XVIVO, Portola, Baxter, and LFB; Dr Taha with Bayer; Dr Bergfeldt with Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Sanofi. Funding Information: The study was supported by the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation (grant 20180560 to AJ), the Swedish state (ALFGBG-725131 to AJ) under the agreement between the Swedish government and the county councils concerning economic support of research and education of doctors (ALF agreement), Region Västra Götaland (grant VGFOUREG-847811 to AJ and grant VGFOUREG-648981 to AT), and Wilhelm and Martina Lundgrens Foundation (grant 2019-3110 to AT). The authors had full freedom of investigation and full control of the design of the study, analysis of data, and production of the written report. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Society of Thoracic SurgeonsBackground: New-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) after cardiac surgery is associated with worse short- and long-term outcomes. Although the clinical presentation of POAF varies substantially, almost all studies model it with a dichotomous yes or no variable. We explored potential associations between the clinical course of POAF and long-term outcome. Methods: This retrospective, observational, single-center study included 6435 coronary artery bypass grafting and/or valve patients between 2010 and 2018. POAF patients were grouped into spontaneous/pharmacologic conversion to sinus rhythm, sinus rhythm after electrical cardioversion, and sustained AF at discharge. Multivariable Cox regression models adjusted for age, sex, type of surgery, comorbidities, and early-initiated oral anticoagulation were used to study associations between the clinical course of POAF and long-term risk for mortality, ischemic stroke, thromboembolic events, heart failure hospitalization, and major bleeding. Median follow-up time was 3.8 years (range, 0-8.3). Results: POAF occurred in 2172 patients (33.8%), 94.9% of whom converted to sinus rhythm before discharge. Of these, 73.6% converted spontaneously or with pharmacologic treatment and 26.4% after electrical cardioversion. Both sustained AF and electrical cardioversion were independently associated with an increased long-term risk for heart failure (adjusted hazard ratio for sustained AF at discharge, 2.55 [95% confidence interval, 1.65-3.93; P < .001]; adjusted hazard ratio for electrical cardioversion, 1.28 [95% confidence interval, 1.00-1.65; P = .049]) but not with increased long-term risk for death, thromboembolic complications, or bleeding. Conclusions: A more complicated POAF course is associated with increased long-term risk for heart failure hospitalization but not for all-cause mortality or thromboembolic complications.Peer reviewe

Effects of Sex on Early Outcome following Repair of Acute Type A Aortic Dissection:Results from The Nordic Consortium for Acute Type A Aortic Dissection (NORCAAD)

Background Female sex is known to have increased perioperative mortality in cardiac surgery. Studies reporting effects of sex on outcome following surgical repair for acute Type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) have been limited by small cohorts of heterogeneous patient populations and have shown diverging results. This study aimed to compare perioperative characteristics, operative management, and postoperative outcome between sexes in a large and well-defined cohort of patients operated for ATAAD. Methods The Nordic Consortium for Acute Type A Aortic Dissection study included patients with surgical repair of ATAAD at eight Nordic centers between January 2005 and December 2014. Independent predictors of 30-day mortality were identified using multivariable logistic regression. Results Females represented 373 (32%) out of 1,154 patients and were significantly older (65 ± 11 vs. 60 ± 12 years, p < 0.001), had lower body mass index (25.8 ± 5.4 vs. 27.2 ± 4.3 kg/m 2, p < 0.001), and had more often a history of hypertension (59% vs. 48%, p = 0.001) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (8% vs. 4%, p = 0.033) compared with males. More females presented with DeBakey class II as compared with males with dissection of the ascending aorta alone (33.4% vs. 23.1%, p = 0.003). Hypothermic cardiac arrest time (28 ± 16 vs. 31 ± 19 minutes, p = 0.026) and operation time (345 ± 133 vs. 374 ± 135 minutes, p < 0.001) were shorter among females. There was no difference between the sexes in unadjusted intraoperative death (9.1% vs. 6.7%, p = 0.17) or 30-day mortality (17.7% vs. 17.4%, p = 0.99). In a multivariable analysis including perioperative factors influencing mortality, no difference was found between females and males in 30-day mortality (odds ratio: 0.92, 95% confidence interval: 0.62-1.38, p = 0.69). Conclusions This study found no association between sex and early mortality following surgery for ATAAD, despite females being older and having more comorbidities, yet also presenting with a less widespread dissection than males

Acute type A aortic dissection – a review

Objectives. Acute type-A aortic dissection (ATAAD) is still one of the most challenging diseases that cardiac surgeons encounter. Design. This review is based on the current literature and includes the results from the Nordic Consortium for Acute Type-A Aortic Dissection (NORCAAD) database. It covers different aspects of ATAAD and concentrates on the outcome of surgical repair. Results and conclusions. The diagnosis is occasionally delayed, and ATAAD is usually lethal if prompt repair is not performed. The dynamic nature of the disease, the variation in presentation and clinical course, and the urgency of treatment require significant attentiveness. Many surgical techniques and perfusion strategies of varying complexity have been described, ranging from simple interposition graft to total arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk and valve-sparing root reconstruction. Although more complex techniques may provide long-term benefit in selected patients, they require significant surgical expertise and experience. Short-term survival is first priority so an expedited operation that fits in with the surgeon’s level of expertise is in most cases appropriate.</p

Temperature effects on incidence of surgery for acute type A aortic dissection in the Nordics

Peer reviewe

Impact of national holidays and weekends on incidence of acute type A aortic dissection repair

Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).Previous studies have demonstrated that environmental and temporal factors may affect the incidence of acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD). Here, we aimed to investigate the hypothesis that national holidays and weekends influence the incidence of surgery for ATAAD. For the period 1st of January 2005 until 31st of December 2019, we investigated a hypothesised effect of (country-specific) national holidays and weekends on the frequency of 2995 surgical repairs for ATAAD at 10 Nordic cities included in the Nordic Consortium for Acute Type A Aortic Dissection (NORCAAD) collaboration. Compared to other days, the number of ATAAD repairs were 29% (RR 0.71; 95% CI 0.54–0.94) lower on national holidays and 26% (RR 0.74; 95% CI 0.68–0.82) lower on weekends. As day of week patterns of symptom duration were assessed and the primary analyses were adjusted for period of year, our findings suggest that the reduced surgical incidence on national holidays and weekends does not seem to correspond to seasonal effects or surgery being delayed and performed on regular working days.Peer reviewe

Micronutrient intakes affect early growth in extremely preterm infants : preliminary results from a Swedish cohort

Background: Extremely preterm infants generally experience postnatal growth failure. It is still unclear if this is related to micronutrient intakes.Aim: To investigate the effect of micronutrient intakes (calcium, zinc, iron, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, folate and vitamin B12) on growth during the first 28 days of life in extremely preterm infants.Method: From the EXPRESS cohort (all infants born &lt; 27 gestational weeks between 2004-2007 in Sweden), those who survived the first 28 days were included (n=524). Daily parenteral and enteral intakes and anthropometric measurements were retrieved from hospital records.Results: Preliminary analyses of data from 333 infants (mean&plusmn;SD gestational age 25.2&plusmn;1.0 weeks, birth weight 753&plusmn;168g) showed that macronutrient intakes were lower than recommended (energy 98&plusmn;13kcal/kg/day, protein 2.9&plusmn;0.4g/kg/day). Infants showed postnatal growth failure: mean standard deviation scores decreased by 2.2 for weight, 2.3 for length and 1.4 for head circumference. Intakes of micronutrients were generally low, e.g. adjusted enteral intakes of calcium were 66.6&plusmn;21.4 mg/kg/day. The exception was iron, with a high parenteral intake of 2.7&plusmn;1.6 mg/kg/day, mainly from blood transfusions. Adjusting for protein intake and other confounders, calcium intakes were positively correlated with head growth (r=+0.19, p=0.006) and iron intakes were negatively correlated with length gain (r=-0.18, p=0.009).Conclusions: Low calcium intakes and high iron intakes were associated with poor growth with regard to head circumference and length, respectively. If these results are confirmed, optimized micronutrient intakes may improve early growth in extremely preterm infants

Effects of Sex on Early Outcome following Repair of Acute Type A Aortic Dissection: Results from The Nordic Consortium for Acute Type A Aortic Dissection (NORCAAD)

Background Female sex is known to have increased perioperative mortality in cardiac surgery. Studies reporting effects of sex on outcome following surgical repair for acute Type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) have been limited by small cohorts of heterogeneous patient populations and have shown diverging results. This study aimed to compare perioperative characteristics, operative management, and postoperative outcome between sexes in a large and well-defined cohort of patients operated for ATAAD.Methods The Nordic Consortium for Acute Type A Aortic Dissection study included patients with surgical repair of ATAAD at eight Nordic centers between January 2005 and December 2014. Independent predictors of 30-day mortality were identified using multivariable logistic regression.Results Females represented 373 (32%) out of 1,154 patients and were significantly older (65 ± 11 vs. 60 ± 12 years, p Conclusions This study found no association between sex and early mortality following surgery for ATAAD, despite females being older and having more comorbidities, yet also presenting with a less widespread dissection than males.</p

Once after a full moon : acute type A aortic dissection and lunar phases

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery.OBJECTIVES: Acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) is a rare but severe condition, routinely treated with emergent cardiac surgery. Many surgeons have the notion that patients with ATAAD tend to come in clusters, but no studies have examined these observations. This investigation was undertaken to study the potential association between the lunar cycle and the incidence of ATAAD. METHODS: We collected information on 2995 patients who underwent ATAAD surgery at centres from the Nordic Consortium for Acute Type A Aortic Dissection collaboration. We cross-referenced the time of surgery with lunar phase using a case-crossover design with 2 different definitions of full moon (>99% illumination and the 7-day full moon period). RESULTS: The period when the moon was illuminated the most (99% definition) did not show any significant increase in incidence for ATAAD surgery. However, when the full moon period was compared with all other moon phases, it yielded a relative risk of 1.08 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00-1.17, P = 0.057] and, compared to waxing moon, only the relative risk was 1.11 (95% CI 1.01-1.23, P = 0.027). The peak incidence came 4-6 days after the moon was fully illuminated. CONCLUSIONS: This study found an overrepresentation of surgery for ATAAD during the full moon phase. The explanation for this is not known, but we speculate that sleep deprivation during full moon leads to a temporary increase in blood pressure, which in turn could trigger rupture of the aortic wall. While this finding is interesting, it needs to be corroborated and the clinical implications are debateable.Peer reviewe

Outcome after surgery for acute type A aortic dissection with or without primary tear resection

Background: The outcome in patients after surgery for acute type A aortic dissection without replacement of the part of the aorta containing the primary tear is undefined.Methods: Data of 1122 patients who underwent surgery for acute type A aortic dissection in eight Nordic centers from Jan 2005 to Dec 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients with primary tear location either unfound, unknown, not confirmed or not recorded (n=243, 21.7%) were excluded from the analysis. The patients were divided into two groups according to whether the aortic reconstruction encompassed the portion of the primary tear (TR group, n=730) or not (TNR group, n=149). The restricted mean survival time ratios adjusted for patient characteristics and surgical details between the groups were calculated for all-cause mortality and aortic reoperation-free survival. The median follow-up time was 2.57 (inter-quartile range 0.53-5.30) years.Results: For the majority of the patients in the TR group, the primary tear was located in the ascending aorta (83.6%). The reconstruction encompassed both aortic root and the aortic arch in 7.4% in the TR group as compared with 0.7% in the TNR patients (PConclusions: Primary tear resection alo</p