Reply

non disponibil

Vascular Complications following Isolated Limb Perfusion for Local Recurrence of Extremity Melanoma: A Case Report and Literature Review

Introduction. To evaluate the role of hyperthermic isolated limb perfusion (HILP) in arterial thrombosis following melanoma-soft tissue sarcoma chemotherapy. Report. Here is presented one case of iliac-common femoral artery subacute thrombosis and a review of the appropriate literature performed using a MEDLINE search. Acute/subacute arterial occlusion is one of the most feared vascular complications of HILP, located nearly always in the external iliac-femoral artery axis, being those vessels cannulated for perfusion. Conclusions. The small number of reported cases indicates either the rarity of this complication or unawareness of its existence. The true incidence of this complication is probably underreported

Association between HindIII (rs320) variant in the lipoprotein lipase gene and the presence of coronary artery disease and stroke among the Saudi population

Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL) is known to be a key enzyme for lipid metabolism specifically in an enzymatic glycoprotein which provide tissues without fatty-acids and eliminates triglycerides (TG) by the circulation. Mutations in LPL were proven to cause alteration in fractions within lipoprotein, causing the development of atherosclerosis which predispose to weakening coronary artery disease (CAD) and stroke. We examined the linkage between genetic variant HindIII in LPL on lipoprotein fractions, stroke occurrences and CAD. In this case-control study, we have recruited 315 CAD cases and 205 age-matched controls. A total of 520 genomic DNA was digested with the purified PCR products for restriction fragment length polymorphism with HindIII restriction enzyme. The distribution of genotypes in a decreasing order were TT, 148 (47%), GT 135 (42.9%) and GG 32 (10.2%) in CAD groups of the study while the pattern in controls were GT 91 (44.4%), TT 86 (42%) and GG 28 (13.7%). None of all the allele or genotype frequencies were found to be significant in our study (p greater than 0.05), while the biochemical levels for both TG and LDL-c were shown to be prone in CAD patients when compare with the controls. Furthermore, the occurence of strokes were more in CAD groups vs. controls: 72 (22.9%) vs. 7 (3.4%) [p 0.000]. This could indicate the influence of HindIII variant on plasma lipid levels, and the possibility of considering it a risk factor for atherosclerosis leading to CAD and stroke occurrence

Usefulness of multimodality imaging approach in the diagnosis of mechanical prosthetic valve dysfunction

Background Although the long-term outcome of mechanical mitral and aortic prosthetic valve (M-PV, Ao-PV), PV dysfunction (PVD) remains a very serious complication associated with high morbidity and mortality. Thrombosis/pannus and paravalvular leak are the 2 main mechanisms of PVD. The diagnosis of PVD, based on clinical presentation may be challenging, but it is essential for referring the patient to the optimal treatment (clinical follow-up, thrombolysis, surgery). An integrated multimodality imaging approach, comprising several parameters by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and fluoroscopy (F), is mandatory to pursue the correct therapeutic pathway. Purpose This study aims to evaluate the incremental diagnostic value of combined TTE+F over each imaging modality alone in symptomatic pts with Ao-PV or M-PV and high suspicion of PVD. Methods 387 consecutive pts (63\ub111y, 213 Ao-PV, 173 M-PV) suspected for PVD, symptomatic for dyspnea, embolic events, fever or haemolysis were enrolled. All patients were imaged by TTE and F within 2 days after the admission to the hospital. TTE was defined positive for PVD in presence of intra/para-prosthetic regurgitation or high transprosthetic gradient (>20mmHg in Ao-PV, >8mmHg in M-PV) together with altered Doppler parameters (for Ao-PV: DVI <0.25, AT>95ms; for M-PV: Peak Mitral Velocity>2m/sec, VTIPrMV/VTILVO>2.5, PHT>130ms). F was defined positive for PVD when leaflet/s restriction occurs. PVD was confirmed by transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) or positive response of thrombolysis (T), or surgical inspection (S). Results PVD was found in 46% (99/213) of Ao-PV and in 53% (91/173) of M-PV at TOE/T/S. Sensitivity (SE), specificity (SP), negative predictive value (NPV), positive predictive value (PPV) and diagnostic accuracy (ACC) for TTE, F and combined TTE+F are reported in Table. The integration of TTE+F data significantly improved ACC both for Ao-PV and M-PV. At ROC analysis, the combined model of TTE+F showed the highest AUC for the detection of PVD compared with TTE and F alone (Figure). Table 1. Comparison of diagnostic accuracy between TTE, F, and TTE+F TTE-Ao-PV (n=211) F-Ao_PV (n=204) TTE+F-Ao-PV (n=202) TTE-M-PV (n=172) F-M-PV (n=158) TTE+F-M-PV (n=157) SE / SP / NPV / PPV / ACC (%) 86 / 89 / 88 / 88 / 88 59 / 99 / 72 / 98 / 79 94 / 88 / 94 / 88 / 91 74 / 90 / 75 / 89 / 81 49 / 96 / 60 / 93 / 70 81 / 86 / 78 / 88 / 83 Figure 1. ROC curves Conclusions In patients with clinical suspicion of PVD, TTE and F are both valid tools to evaluate the PV performance. However, the combined model of TTE+F had a significant incremental value over TTE or F alone to diagnose the presence of PVD. This multimodality imaging approach allows to overcome several weaknesses of the TTE or F alone and consequently provides a prompt recognition of PVD even though TOE remains the gold standard to diagnose paravalvular Leak and non-obstructive thrombosis

Corrigendum to “Identification of Patients Affected by Mitral Valve Prolapse with Severe Regurgitation: A Multivariable Regression Model”

In the article titled "Identification of Patients Affected by Mitral Valve Prolapse with Severe Regurgitation: A Multivariable Regression Model" [1], references [2, 3] should have been included as references 24 and 25 in the original article. Accordingly, in the introduction section, the text reading "Echocardiographically, MVP is defined as a single or bileaflet prolapse, at least 2mm beyond the long-axis annular plane, while the assessment of valve regurgitation takes into account the effective regurgitant orifice area (EROA) [2]" should be changed to "Echocardiographically, MVP is defined as a single or bileaflet prolapse, at least 2 mm beyond the long-axis annular plane, while the assessment of the severity of MR relies on several parameters according to the current recommendations [24, 25]." Additionally, the Acknowledgments section should be updated as follows: "The authors thank the entire Cardiac Surgery Unit at Centro Cardiologico Monzino for the clinical data and blood collection. The authors also would like to thank Dr. Paola Gripari for patient evaluation and critical review. This work was supported by the Fondazione Gigi e Pupa FerrariONLUS and the Italian Ministry of Health [RC2015-BIO30-2613051 to Centro CardiologicoMonzino].

Identification of patients affected by mitral valve prolapse with severe regurgitation : A multivariable regression model

Background. Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is the most common cause of severe mitral regurgitation. Besides echocardiography, up to now there are no reliable biomarkers available for the identification of this pathology. We aim to generate a predictive model, based on circulating biomarkers, able to identify MVP patients with the highest accuracy. Methods. We analysed 43 patients who underwent mitral valve repair due to MVP and compared to 29 matched controls. We assessed the oxidative stress status measuring the oxidized and the reduced form of glutathione by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) plasma levels were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The combination of these biochemical variables was used to implement several logistic regression models. Results. Oxidative stress levels and OPG concentrations were significantly higher in patients compared to control subjects (0.116\ub10.007 versus 0.053\ub10.013 and 1748\ub1100.2 versus 1109\ub145.3 pg/mL, respectively; p<0.0001). The best regression model was able to correctly classify 62 samples out of 72 with accuracy in terms of area under the curve of 0.92. Conclusions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show a strong association between OPG and oxidative stress status in patients affected by MVP with severe regurgitation

Endothelial Dysfunction in Patients with Severe Mitral Regurgitation

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is the most common cause of severe mitral regurgitation. It has been reported that MVP patients-candidates for mitral valve repair (MVRep)-showed an alteration in the antioxidant defense systems as well as in the L-arginine metabolic pathway. In this study, we investigate if oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction are an MVP consequence or driving factors. Forty-five patients undergoing MVRep were evaluated before and 6 months post surgery and compared to 29 controls. Oxidized (GSSG) and reduced (GSH) forms of glutathione, and L-arginine metabolic pathway were analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry methods while osteoprotegerin (OPG) through the ELISA kit and circulating endothelial microparticles (EMP) by flow cytometry. Six-month post surgery, in MVP patients, the GSSG/GSH ratio decreased while symmetric and asymmetric dimethylarginines levels remained comparable to the baseline. Conversely, OPG levels significantly increased when compared to their baseline. Finally, pre-MVRep EMP levels were significantly higher in patients than in controls and did not change post surgery. Overall, these results highlight that MVRep completely restores the increased oxidative stress levels, as evidenced in MVP patients. Conversely, no amelioration of endothelial dysfunction was evidenced after surgery. Thus, therapies aimed to restore a proper endothelial function before and after surgical repair could benefit MVP patients

Combined LASER and femoral approach to remove a previous failure of Riata lead extraction

Transvenous extraction of Riata lead could be a challenging procedure due to insulation failure and conductor cables' externalization through the eroded outer insulation. In this case, a complete lead extraction was achieved through a combined LASER and femoral approach because of the massive conductors' externalization