The Annals of thoracic surgery
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For effective palliation of patients with malignant pleural effusion due to advanced neoplastic disease, any proposed treatment should have low procedure-related mortality and morbidity. ⋯ The VATS talc pleurodesis is appropriate for palliation of patients with malignant pleural effusions and should be performed once the diagnosis has been confirmed. Patients with lungs trapped by visceral carcinomatosis may benefit from placement of a pleuroperitoneal shunt as an alternative.
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Dendriform pulmonary ossification, defined as "widespread heterotopic bone formation within the lungs," is a rare entity, which is usually diagnosed upon postmortem examination. The case of a 43-year-old man with dendriform pulmonary ossification is presented. In this patient's case, thoracoscopic biopsy was an excellent diagnostic modality for identifying dendriform pulmonary ossification. Although this entity has been reported rarely, with improved technology and survival we might expect its prevalence to increase.
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Coronary arteriovenous fistula is a relatively rare congenital malformation. The course of this malformation is generally benign, and rupture of the fistula is thought to be very rare. We report a case of rupture of an aneurysm of a coronary arteriovenous fistula that originated from the distal left circumflex coronary artery and drained into the right atrium; this rupture was successfully treated with an operation.
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Congenital anomalies of the superior vena cava are rare and often coexist with other cardiac abnormalities. In this report, we present a case of absent bilateral superior vena cava with no associated cardiac anomaly. Blood from the arms, head, and upper torso returned to the right atrium through the azygos vein and the inferior vena cava, mimicking chronic superior vena cava obstruction.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Antiinflammatory effects of colforsin daropate hydrochloride, a novel water-soluble forskolin derivative.
To evaluate the effects of colforsin daropate hydrochloride (colforsin), a water-soluble forskolin derivative, on hemodynamics and systemic inflammatory response after cardiopulmonary bypass, we conducted a prospective randomized study. ⋯ Intraoperative administration of colforsin daropate hydrochloride had potent inotropic and vasodilatory activity and attenuated cytokine production and respiratory dysfunction after cardiopulmonary bypass. The results indicate that the technique can be a novel therapeutic strategy for the systemic inflammatory response associated with cardiopulmonary bypass.