J Cardiothorac Surg
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J Cardiothorac Surg · Jan 2012
Pleurotomy with subxyphoid pleural drain affords similar effects to pleural integrity in pulmonary function after off-pump coronary artery bypass graft.
Exacerbation of pulmonary dysfunction has been reported in patients receiving a pleural drain inserted through the intercostal space in comparison to patients with an intact pleura undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Evidence suggests that shifting the site of pleural drain insertion to the subxyphoid position minimizes chest wall trauma and preserves respiratory function in the early postoperative period. The aim of this study was to compare the pulmonary function parameters, clinical outcomes, and pain score between patients undergoing pleurotomy with pleural drain placed in the subxyphoid position and patients with intact pleural cavity after off-pump CABG (OPCAB) using left internal thoracic artery (LITA). ⋯ Subxyphoid insertion of pleural drain provides similar effects to preserved pleural integrity in pulmonary function, clinical outcomes, and thoracic pain after OPCAB. Therefore, our results support the hypothesis that once pleural cavities are incidentally or purposely opened during LITA dissection, subxyphoid placement of the pleural drain is recommended.
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J Cardiothorac Surg · Jan 2012
Chest trauma experience over eleven-year period at al-mouassat university teaching hospital-Damascus: a retrospective review of 888 cases.
Thoracic trauma is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. In this study, we present our 11-year experience in the management and clinical outcome of 888 chest trauma cases as a result of blunt and penetrating injuries in our university hospital in Damascus, Syria. ⋯ New traffic laws (including seat belt enforcement) reduced incidence and severity of chest trauma in Syria. Violence was the most common cause of chest trauma rather than road traffic accidents in this series, this necessitates epidemiologic or multi-institutional studies to know to which degree violence contributes to chest trauma in Syria. The number of fractured ribs can be used as simple indicator of the severity of trauma. And we believe that significant neurotrauma, traffic accidents, hemodynamic status and GCS upon arrival, ICU admission, ventilator use, and complication of therapy are predictors of dismal prognosis.
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J Cardiothorac Surg · Jan 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialOndasetron versus haloperidol for the treatment of postcardiotomy delirium: a prospective, randomized, double-blinded study.
To investigate the controlling efficacy of ondasetron and haloperidol in regard to the postcardiotomy delirium. ⋯ Both ondasetron and haloperidol had very good delirium controlling effects, without statistically significant differences. DISCUSSION-CONCLUSIONS: Ondasetron and haloperidol are efficient agents as far as the treatment of postcardiotomy delirium is concerned. As, in addition, ondasetron bares milder side-effects, we believe this could be the agent of choice in patients developing postcardiotomy delirium in the future.
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J Cardiothorac Surg · Jan 2012
Comparative StudyEndobronchial ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration versus transcervical mediastinoscopy in nodal staging of non small cell lung cancer: a prospective comparison study.
At present only few studies directly compare the diagnostic yield of endobronchial ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration (EBUS-FNA) and transcervical video-assisted mediastinoscopy (TM) for mediastinal lymph node staging in patients with NSCLC. If and when EBUS-FNA may replace TM as Gold Standard remains controversial. ⋯ Compared to TM, EBUS-FNA had a lower diagnostic yield and resulted in systematic mediastinal nodal understaging. At this point we suggest corroborating negative EBUS-FNA results by transcervical mediastinoscopy.
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J Cardiothorac Surg · Jan 2012
Case ReportsAcute post-cardiopulmonary bypass left atrial thrombosis after mitral valvuloplasty and left atrial thrombectomy.
A patient with mitral stenosis and multiple left atrial thrombi underwent valvuloplasty and thrombectomy. While closing the sternum after completing the cardiopulmonary bypass, a new left atrial thrombus was detected by transesophageal echocardiography. We used heparin for the prevention of new thrombus formation and closed the wound after meticulous bleeding control. Three months later, there was no residual thrombus in the left atrium according to the echocardiographic study.