Long-term outcome after tricuspid valvectomy in a neonate with Candida endocarditis : a case report

Tricuspid valvectomy is a rare surgical intervention, and knowledge regarding long-term outcome in children is lacking. We report a favourable outcome 11 years after tricuspid valvectomy in early infancy without subsequent surgery or other cardiac interventions. Specific criteria for timing of re-intervention are lacking. Application of adult tricuspid and pulmonary regurgitation recommendations is helpful but has limitations

Is OpenSDE an alternative for dedicated medical research databases? An example in coronary surgery

Background. When using a conventional relational database approach to collect and query data in the context of specific clinical studies, a study with a new data set usually requires the design of a new database and entry forms. OpenSDE (SDE = Structured Data Entry) is intended to provide a flexible and intuitive way to create databases and entry forms for the collection of data in a structured format. This study illustrates the use of OpenSDE as a potential alternative to a conventional approach with respect to data modelling, database creation, data entry, and data extraction. Methods. A database and entry forms are created using OpenSDE and MSAccess to support collection of coronary surgery data, based on the Adult Cardiac Surgery Data Set of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Data of 52 cases are entered and nine different queries are designed, and executed on

Surgery in current therapy for infective endocarditis

The introduction of the Duke criteria and transesophageal echocardiography has improved early recognition of infective endocarditis but patients are still at high risk for severe morbidity or death. Whether an exclusively antibiotic regimen is superior to surgical intervention is subject to ongoing debate. Current guidelines indicate when surgery is the preferred treatment, but decisions are often based on physician preferences. Surgery has shown to decrease the risk of short-term mortality in patients who present with specific symptoms or microorganisms; nevertheless even then it often remains unclear when surgery should be performed. In this review we i) systematically reviewed the current literature comparing medical to surgical therapy to evaluate if surgery is the preferred option, ii) performed a meta-analysis of studies reporting propensity matched analyses, and iii), briefly summarized the current indications for surgery

Dynamic 3D echocardiography in virtual reality

BACKGROUND: This pilot study was performed to evaluate whether virtual reality is applicable for three-dimensional echocardiography and if three-dimensional echocardiographic 'holograms' have the potential to become a clinically useful tool. METHODS: Three-dimensional echocardiographic data sets from 2 normal subjects and from 4 patients with a mitral valve pathological condition were included in the study. The three-dimensional data sets were acquired with the Philips Sonos 7500 echo-system and transferred to the BARCO (Barco N.V., Kortrijk, Belgium) I-space. Ten independent observers assessed the 6 three-dimensional data sets with and without mitral valve pathology. After 10 minutes' instruction in the I-Space, all of the observers could use the virtual pointer that is necessary to create cut planes in the hologram. RESULTS: The 10 independent observers correctly assessed the normal and pathological mitral valve in the holograms (analysis time approximately 10 minutes). CONCLUSION: this report shows that dynamic holographic imaging of three-dimensional echocardiographic data is feasible. However, the applicability and use-fullness of this technology in clinical practice is still limited

Is OpenSDE an alternative for dedicated medical research databases? An example in coronary surgery-1

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Is OpenSDE an alternative for dedicated medical research databases? An example in coronary surgery"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6947/7/31</p><p>BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 2007;7():31-31.</p><p>Published online 22 Oct 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2173886.</p><p></p>alComplications_PS represents if a complication occurred or not