Chest
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Case Reports
Fatal association of mechanical valve thrombosis with dabigatran: a report of two cases.
Several new oral anticoagulants have been approved for thromboembolism prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. However, they are not yet approved for anticoagulation use in patients with prosthetic mechanical valves, and no randomized data have been published so far on their safety of use in these patients. We present two cases of patients with prosthetic mechanical mitral valves who were switched from warfarin and acenocoumarol to dabigatran and within 1 month experienced severe valve complications resulting in death. One patient experienced stroke and later cardiogenic shock and death, and the other experienced pulmonary edema, cardiogenic shock, and subsequent death.
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Comparative Study
Trendelenburg position does not increase cross-sectional area of the internal jugular vein predictably.
The Trendelenburg position is used to distend the central veins, improving both the success and safety of vascular cannulation. The purpose of this study was to measure the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the internal jugular vein (IJV) in three different positions using surface ultrasonography. ⋯ Trendelenburg positioning augments the CSA only modestly, on average, compared with the supine position, and in some patients it reduces the CSA.