Emergency stent-graft placement for hemorrhage control in acute thoracic aortic rupture

Objective: To report mid-term results of stent-graft (SG) implantation in acute thoracic aortic rupture as alternative to conventional open surgery with its associated high morbidity and mortality rates. Methods: Out of a series of 69 patients undergoing thoracic aortic SG implantation since 1998, 24 (mean age 57±19 years, range 20-85-years-old) patients were treated on an emergency basis for hemorrhage control. The indication for SG placement was acute traumatic aortic rupture in 15 patients, type B dissection with contained rupture in 3 patients, penetrating aortic ulcer with periaortic hematoma in 3 patients, and thoracic aortic aneurysm rupture in 3 patients. Preoperative assessment was done by computed tomography (CT) scanning and echography. Patients were treated in the angiography suite by implantation of Excluder (n=18), Talent (n=4), Corvita (n=1), and Vanguard (n=1) self-expanding grafts. Local anesthesia was the most frequently used anaesthesiologic technique. Results: Technical success rate of SG deployment was 100%. The early postoperative mortality was 12.5% (3 of 24). One patient suffered temporary paraplegia (4%). There was no intervention-related mortality during the mean follow-up of 34.1 months. Two secondary endoleaks were successfully treated with additional SG placement at 2 and 12 months postoperative, respectively. Conclusions: Emergency SG repair to control hemorrhage in patients with an acute thoracic aortic rupture is a less-invasive attractive and rational treatment option, especially if associated lesions or co-morbidity may interfere with the surgical outcome. Long-term follow-up results will be helpful to clarify procedure durability bounded by material failure and postoperative aneurysm or aortic wall remodellin

Managing the risk of low falling numbers in wheat

Grain is purchased at a discount when falling numbers are below 300 seconds (sec). This can result in serious financial losses for farmers. This article addresses many commonly asked questions about the Hagberg-Perten Falling Number test, and provides some suggestions for reducing losses due to low falling numbers

Additional file 2: Figure S2. of Citrate shows protective effects on cardiovascular and renal function in ischemia-induced acute kidney injury

Urine output. Urine output calculated from samples collected during A 45 min before ischemia B 120–180 min of reperfusion. (PDF 22 kb