Cardiologia (Rome, Italy)
-
Cardiologia (Rome, Italy) · Sep 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialTransesophageal echocardiography in critically-ill patients using a miniaturized probe: feasibility, efficacy and indications.
Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) with standard probes may be unsuccessful in emergencies, and in critically-ill or non collaborative patients. A miniaturized pediatric probe was used to overcome these limitations. Thirty-nine patients (age 18-87 years, height 155-184 cm, weight 45-102 kg) were studied with the pediatric probe, and 21 of them were studied using both the pediatric and adult probes in a random sequence. ⋯ Imaging projections and diagnostic accuracy in a wide range of cardiac, aortic and mediastinal diseases were similar for both the pediatric and adult probes. Patient's compliance was much improved by the pediatric probe. In conclusion, TEE by pediatric probes can be used in critically-ill adult patients when the approach with the standard probe is unfeasible or when sedation is undesirable.
-
Cardiologia (Rome, Italy) · Jul 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialTreatment of hypertension associated with stable angina pectoris: favourable interaction between new metoprolol formulation (OROS) and nifedipine.
This was a double-blind, within-patient, crossover study to evaluate the effects of a new formulation of metoprolol on blood pressure (BP) and myocardial ischemia. Twenty outpatients with mild to moderate essential arterial hypertension, chronic stable angina pectoris and positive exercise test, after a 2-week baseline placebo period, were randomized to receive long-acting metoprolol (OROS) 14/190 mg o.d., nifedipine SR 20 mg b.i.d. or their combination in a sequence of a 3 x 3 Latin square design. Two patients withdrew from the study (1 for adverse event during metoprolol and 1 for rise of BP during nifedipine). ⋯ ST depression at peak exercise was significantly reduced by each treatment. The slopes of correlations between the ST-segment variation and systolic BP, HR and rate-pressure product during exercise, significantly decreased after all treatments with respect to placebo baseline, more with the combination therapy than with nifedipine alone and metoprolol alone. In conclusion, based on our results the favourable interaction of metoprolol OROS and nifedipine given concomitantly, is likely to be due to a better control, respect to each individual therapy, of the pathogenetic mechanism of myocardia ischemia: BP and HR increases during exercise and during symptomatic ischemic episodes are controlled by the beta-blocker and coronary vasoconstriction during silent ischemia is prevented by the calcium-antagonist.
-
Cardiologia (Rome, Italy) · Jun 1991
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial[The acute, chronic continuous after treatment and chronic intermittent with a variable therapeutic window (4 and 6 hours) hemodynamic effects induced with transdermal nitroglycerin in patients with congestive heart failure].
The aim of this study was to assess the minimum time interval necessary to avoid the development of tolerance during nitroglycerin patch application. We studied 24 patients, aged 23 to 73 years, with ischemic or idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (LV EF less than 0.40) and stable clinical conditions during 30 days before the study. All patients had significant reduction of systemic and pulmonary arterial pressure after sublingual nitroglycerin. ⋯ Hemodynamic parameters were significantly changed after the first nitroglycerin patch application: particularly, mean systemic arterial (MAP), right atrial (RAP) and pulmonary wedge pressures (PWP) declined from 96 +/- 10, 8.9 +/- 1.8 and 20.1 +/- 5 to 81 +/- 6, 4.7 +/- 1.5 and 12.2 +/- 3 mmHg (-15.6, -47.2 and -59.3%, respectively); systemic vascular resistance (SVR) and heart rate (HR) were reduced from 1645 +/- 121 to 1288 +/- 89 dyne.s.cm-5 and from 85 +/- 7 to 81 +/- 7 b/min; lastly, cardiac index (CI), stroke volume (SVI) and stroke work index (SWI) increased from 2.3 +/- 0.3, 28.2 +/- 5 and 28.7 +/- 9 to 2.7 +/- 0.3 l/min/m2, 33.3 +/- 5 ml/min/m2 and 31.5 +/- 8 g.m/m2 (+17.4, 18.1 and 9.7%). After 1 month of either continuous or intermittent patch application with 4 hours intervals, hemodynamic parameters returned to control values with no significant change after patch application. In contrast, after intermittent patch application with 6 hours intervals, a persistent hemodynamic response to nitroglycerin patches was still present.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)