The Annals of thoracic surgery
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Aprotinin modulation of platelet activation in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass operations.
Aprotinin significantly decreases postoperative blood loss, yet its exact mechanism of action remains unproven. ⋯ This study demonstrates that in the presence of aprotinin, platelets remain unstimulated during CPB and the von Willebrand GPIb-mediated activatability of platelets is preserved, thus maintaining a viable platelet population. Most important, this study reveals that these mechanisms are more related to platelet-leukocyte than to platelet-platelet interactions.
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Pulmonary hypertension secondary to increased pulmonary vascular resistance may greatly complicate the perioperative management of patients having cardiac operations. Adenosine may have a therapeutic role as a selective pulmonary vasodilator. The purpose of this study was to examine the pulmonary hemodynamic effects of a central venous infusion of adenosine in cardiac operative patients with pulmonary hypertension. ⋯ Adenosine may be used clinically as a selective pulmonary vasodilating agent to optimize pulmonary hemodynamic indices without adverse systemic hemodynamic effects in patients with pulmonary hypertension having cardiac operations. It may be particularly valuable in patients with right heart dysfunction by selectively lowering right ventricular afterload.
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Comparative Study
Preoperative two- and three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiographic assessment of heart tumors.
Two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography is the most widely used diagnostic approach in the rare entity of heart tumors. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic usefulness of three-dimensional echocardiography in comparison with the two-dimensional technique in a rare clinical setting. ⋯ Three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography yields important additional clinical information and improves the operative planning. Three-dimensional echocardiography may become the best approach to study the anatomy and pathology of the heart as it provides an objective display of cardiac size and shape in heart tumors.
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Isolated mitral valve injury after blunt chest trauma is a very rare event. This disruption, causing sudden and severe mitral regurgitation, will rapidly lead to congestive heart failure and death unless operatively corrected. A high index of suspicion coupled with appropriate diagnostic tests will provide the diagnosis and allow operative correction. We report a patient who survived this injury and review all previous reports of blunt traumatic disruption of the mitral valve.