The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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Improvements in mechanical support for profound circulatory collapse have resulted in increasing survival of these critically ill patients. Since 1980, 27 patients aged 3 days to 69 years (mean 34.9 years) who required mechanical circulatory assistance have been followed up after discharge from the hospital. The refractory cardiogenic shock necessitating mechanical support occurred postoperatively in 22 patients (coronary artery bypass in nine, valve replacement in four, correction of congenital heart defects in nine) and with end-stage cardiomyopathy in five. ⋯ Eight patients are employed full time, three are retired, four attend school, three are in preschool, one is a housewife, and one is unemployed but free of symptoms. Only four patients have significant cardiac disability, and one of these still works. In conclusion, mechanical circulatory assistance allows adequate support to permit satisfactory long-term survival in patients with refractory cardiogenic shock.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jul 1988
Case ReportsAn outbreak of Pseudomonas cepacia bacteremia associated with a contaminated intra-aortic balloon pump.
In January 1983, symptomatic Pseudomonas cepacia bacteremia developed in two patients in the cardiothoracic intensive care unit within 3 days after cardiac operation and insertion of an intra-aortic balloon pump. An epidemiologic and microbiologic investigation revealed that both patients required intra-aortic balloon pumping for circulatory support and that the water reservoir of the intra-aortic balloon pump (SMEC, Inc., Cookeville, Tenn.) contained more than 10(5) Pseudomonas cepacia per milliliter. This organism was also recovered from the purge button and on-off switch of the pump and from the hands of a health care worker who manipulated the water reservoir of the intra-aortic balloon pump. ⋯ Transmission from the worker's hands to patients presumably occurred by inoculation of the intravascular lines during management. No additional cases of Pseudomonas cepacia bacteremia were observed after the unit was replaced with a nonwater reservior intra-aortic balloon pump. This report substantiates the ability of Pseudomonas cepacia to multiply in water and to cause epidemic bacteremia, identifies the water reservoir of the SMEC intra-aortic balloon pump as a previously unrecognized hazard for the patient requiring intra-aortic balloon pumping, and documents the value of plasmid analysis in elucidating the mode of transmission of nosocomial Pseudomonas cepacia infections.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jul 1988
Survival, functional status, and reoperations after repair of tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia.
Among 139 patients who underwent repair of tetralogy with pulmonary atresia, survival rates at 1 month and at 1, 5, 10, and 20 years were 85%, 82%, 76%, 69%, and 58%, respectively. The hazard function (instantaneous risk of dying) was greatest immediately after operation and declined thereafter, but a low constant hazard persisted for as long as the patients were followed up. Multivariately, the postrepair ratio between peak right ventricular and left ventricular pressures measured in the operating room provided the most information relative to the probability of death after repair, and cardiopulmonary bypass time the next. When morphologic abnormalities of the pulmonary circulation were considered in the multivariate analysis for risk factors for death, the size of the pulmonary arteries provided the most information, followed by the number of large aortopulmonary collateral arteries. The postrepair peak right ventricular/left ventricular pressure ratio was lower the day after operation than in the operating room in 65% of the patients in whom the measurements were made. Recurrent or residual ventricular septal defects necessitating rerepair occurred in four patients (3% of hospital survivors). Most surviving patients were in New York Heart Association class I at the time of follow-up. ⋯ Early, intermediate, and long-term survival is less good after repair of tetralogy with pulmonary atresia than after repair of tetralogy with pulmonary stenosis. This is related primarily to the greater prevalence of high peak right ventricular/left ventricular pressure ratio measured in the operating room in the former group. Both the postrepair peak right ventricular/left ventricular pressure ratio in the operating room and the probability of death are inversely related to the size of the pulmonary arteries and directly to the number of large aortopulmonary collateral arteries. This and inferences from other risk factors may be helpful in achieving better results in the future.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jul 1988
A new reconstructive operation for Ebstein's anomaly of the tricuspid valve.
Ebstein's anomaly is a complex malformation involving the tricuspid valve and the right ventricle. Various surgical techniques, either repair or replacement of the abnormal tricuspid valve, have been used with variable results. In an attempt to enlarge the indications of conservative procedures, we developed a technique of repair that comprises the reconstruction of a normally shaped right ventricle and the repositioning of the tricuspid valve at the normal level. ⋯ There were two hospital deaths and no late deaths in this series. All surviving patients displayed a marked improvement over their preoperative status with regard to functional class (92% are in class I or II) and rhythm disturbances. Echocardiographic and Doppler studies demonstrated a normal shape of the right ventricle and good tricuspid valve function in all the patients but one.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jul 1988
Isolated left ventricular assist as bridge to cardiac transplantation.
The electrically driven Novacor implantable left ventricular assist device has been implanted in six patients (four men and two women) since Sept. 7, 1984. In four of the six patients (67%) the device was a successful bridge to cardiac transplantation. One patient died of multiple organ failure and Candida sepsis after 16 days of support with the device. ⋯ No embolic events (cerebrovascular or systemic) occurred during assistance with the device. Minimal red cell hemolysis was documented during the period of support. The Novacor left ventricular assist device is a safe and effective bridge to cardiac transplantation in patients with refractory cardiogenic shock.