[A case of secondary valve replacement caused by pulmonary bioprosthetic valve endocarditis]

A 42-year-old male with pulmonary bioprosthetic valve endocarditis accompanied by residual minor leakage through a previously closed patch for ventricular septal defect (VSD), underwent reoperation with a Carpentier-Edwards bioprosthetic valve. The patient had a history of pulmonary valve replacement and VSD in 1973. A massive vegetation on the pulmonary valve was demonstrated by echocardiography. Five repeated blood cultures yielded Eikenella corrodens. After medical treatment, reoperation was performed. The patient was free of complications after the procedure. Although bioprosthetic valves have potential problems of dysfunction and calcification in long-term use, these problems develop at a significantly slower rate in right-sided positions compared with left-sided positions and bioprosthetic valve thrombosis in the pulmonary position has apparently not been reported. Mechanical prostheses for pulmonary valve replacement have a poor prognosis, with a high incidence of valve thrombosis despite adequate anticoagulant therapy. For the replacement of prosthetic valves in right-sided positions (tricuspid and pulmonary), bioprosthetic valves are now our first choice.

Surgical treatment of infective endocarditis

From February, 1975 through October, 1990, 26 patients underwent surgical treatment for infective endocarditis at Tokai University Hospital. The overall operative mortality rate was 11.5% (3/26). The three patients who died were suffering from aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) in the active stage. Among 16 patients in the active stage, the mortality rate was 18.7% (3/16) Among 10 patients with native valve endocarditis (NVE) in the healed stage, all survived. Among the total of 21 patients with NVE, the mortality rate was zero and among those with PVE, the rate was 60% (3/5). Various species of streptococci were the most common organisms encountered, followed by Staphylococcus epidermides. The two PVE patients with S. epidermides died. Nine of the 11 NVE cases in the active stage were of the localized type. Only one case of the localized type of PVE suffered from an infected mitral bioprosthetic valve. The 6 extensive-type cases had aortic valve endocarditis (2NVE, 4PVE). Three patients with the extensive type of PVE died. We conclude that patients with infective endocarditis who develop progressive congestive heart failure, recurrent embolization, or progressive sepsis despite antimicrobial treatments, should undergo prompt valve replacement within 7 days after institution of therapy.

[An evaluation study on arbekacin for MRSA-infectious diseases including pneumonia, septicemia and others]

Availability of arbekacin (ABK) was analyzed in the chemotherapy of 24 MRSA-infected patients with symptoms of pneumonia (12), sepsis (6) and others (6). Most patients had background diseases such as malignant tumors or cerebrovascular disorders. 47% (7/15) of them were immunologically abnormal. 17 of them had been previously treated with cephems, imipenem, minocycline or fosfomycin. The ABK therapy was performed with doses ranging 50-400 mg a day, divided into 1-3 times (mostly 100 mg x 2), and for 5-24 days. (18 patients were treated between 5 and 14 days). 14 patients (58%) received combined therapy with other antibiotics (mostly with beta-lactams, 12). The clinical efficacy rate of the ABK therapy was 62% (good, 13; fair, 4; ineffective, 4; unknown, 3). The bacteriological efficacies were: eradicated, 7 (44%); decreased, 4; no change, 5; unknown, 8. Side effects were found in 3 patients (oliguria, 2; eruption due to drug, 1) and one case resulted in serious renal disorder. Abnormal laboratory data were found in 7 cases. Above results have indicated that ABK is a useful antibiotic in chemotherapy of MRSA-infections.

[Surgical management for atrial septal defect secundum in aged patients]

Between 1989 and 1992, atrial septal defect secundum (ASD) were closed in 8 patients aged 51 to 77 years with the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. The notable characteristics in our cases were; 1) All but one had slight or moderate left to right shunt ratios. Although pulmonary hypertension was present, the obstructive pulmonary vascular change had not progressed so far. 2) Atrial fibrillation was present in 6 patients (75%) and some other cardiac lesions (atrioventricular insufficiency, ischemic heart disease, intracardiac anomaly) coexisted with ASD in a high frequency. And surgical procedures other than ASD closure were required in 5 patients. 3) We must take care to prevent cardiac complications (i.e., arrhythmia) as well as extracardiac malfunctions in postoperative care, because aged patients had some organic dysfunctions of respiratory, renal and hepatic systems. 4) Post-operative courses were satisfactory and there was no operative mortality. All patients obtained improvements in their quality of life. Consequently, we concluded that surgical closure is recommended even for aged patients with ASD, except for Eisenmenger's syndrome.

Right atrial myxoma developing 4 years following patch closure of an atrial septal defect: report of a case

We report herein the rare case of a 13-year-old boy in whom a right atrial myxoma developed 4 years following patch closure of an ostium secundum atrial septal defect, at which time no other atrial abnormality had been observed. The myxoma arose from the atrial septum in the area between the orifices of the coronary sinus and inferior vena cava. The suture line was not involved. Gross and histopathological findings were characteristic of atrial myxoma. Atrial myxomas are usually considered to be slow-growing neoplasms; however, this case demonstrates that the initial period of growth may be quite rapid in some cases.

Artificial valve replacement for congenital bicuspid aortic valves

The congenital bicuspid aortic valve functions almost normally provided degeneration does not occur, but complications of infective endocarditis and calcification of the cusps with aging are indications for surgical intervention. We compared 22 cases with an incompetent bicuspid aortic valve (14 cases with stenosis and eight with regurgitation) with 96 cases of acquired tricuspid aortic valve (30 cases with stenosis and 66 with regurgitation) who were treated by aortic valve replacement (AVR) during the same period. Compared with the stenotic tricuspid aortic valve cases, the stenotic bicuspid aortic valve cases: 1) were older at AVR (59.3: 51.7 years, P < 0.05), 2) had a smaller diameter of preoperative valve orifice (6.9: 9.2 mm, P < 0.05), 3) had a smaller valve ring diameter (23.0: 24.3 mm, P < 0.05), 4) used artificial valves of almost identical size (22.0: 22.5), and 5) included no operative deaths (0: 10%). In contrast, compared with the tricuspid aortic valve cases with regurgitation, the bicuspid aortic valve cases with regurgitation: 1) were younger at AVR (39.5: 45.8 years), 2) had a higher incidence of infective endocarditis (62.5: 19.6%, P < 0.02) as a complication, and 3) showed a higher operative death rate (25.0: 6.1%), although this difference was not statistically significant. Suture repair of the incised portion of the aorta must be performed meticulously in patients with prominent poststenotic dilatation of the ascending aorta.

[Transvenous pacemaker implantation for sick sinus syndrome with mirror-image dextrocardia]

A case of sick sinus syndrome with mirror-image dextrocardia which was associated with bilateral superior vena cava and an absent inferior vena cava with azygos continuation is reported. A 45-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with the chief complaints of dizziness and palpitation. The electrocardiogram showed a atrial fibrillation with a 4-second period of asystole. A permanent endocardial bipolar demand pacemaker was inserted through the left superior vena cava. Since anomaly of venous system is commonly associated with mirror-image dextrocardia, the angiogram is necessary prior to permanent pacemaker implantation.

Three-staged graft replacement for multifocal aortic aneurysms in the Marfan syndrome

A three-staged operation for multifocal aortic aneurysms was conducted over a period of 8 months in a 52-year-old woman with the Marfan syndrome. The aortic valve and ascending aorta, the abdominal aorta and the upper half of the descending thoracic aorta were replaced. As of 9 months after the third operation, the patient's course has been uneventful, but continuous follow-up will be needed in view of the character of this disease.

Successful right common iliac to superior mesenteric artery bypass for mesenteric ischemia associated with acute aortic dissection: report of a case

Mesenteric ischemia caused by obstruction of the superior mesenteric artery associated with acute aortic dissection was successfully treated by surgery in a 74-year-old man. The vein graft was effectively bypassed between the right common iliac artery and superior mesenteric artery on the day of onset of acute DeBakey type III b aortic dissection. He is currently well 1 year postoperatively on anti-hypertensive therapy.

[Bilateral coronary-pulmonary artery fistulas with a large saccular aneurysm: a case of cardiac tamponade following rupture of the coronary artery aneurysm]

A case of bilateral coronary-pulmonary artery fistulas with a large saccular aneurysm is reported as follows. The patient was a 72-year-old woman who was referred to our hospital with a complaint of abnormal shadow on chest X-ray and had the past history of cardiac tamponade. The fistula was ligated and the aneurysm was resected with the extracorporeal circulation. Her Postoperative course was uneventful. Coronary arteriography showed that bilateral coronary-pulmonary artery fistulas had completely disappeared.

Surgical treatment of non-penetrating injury to the aorta

During a 17-year period, eight cases of blunt traumatic injury to the aorta were surgically treated at our hospital. The locations of the lesions were the descending thoracic aorta in four cases, abdominal aorta in two cases, and traumatic DeBakey type IIIb dissection in two cases. Surgical repairs were carried out during the acute or subacute period in four cases and others were electively treated during the chronic period. One patient suffering from acute traumatic dissection of the aorta died of acute renal failure following acute ischemia in the lower extremities 10 days after surgery. Accordingly, the overall mortality rate was 12.5% in this series. We believe that elective operations should be carefully considered if they are possible.

Delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction with anti-Jkb erythrocyte antibody after open heart surgery

A patient suffering from delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction with anti-Jkb erythrocyte antibody after open heart surgery is reported on. On preoperation evaluation, a 42-year-old woman who had never been transfused exhibited a negative erythrocyte autoantibody. After the operation of aortic valve replacement and open mitral commisurotomy, she developed a severe hemolytic anemia with a positive rare anti-Jkb erythrocyte antibody on the 14th postoperative day. Precautions are discussed which need to be taken to distinguish delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction from mechanical hemolysis caused by extracorporeal circulation and prostheses.

[Combined medical and surgical treatment of 74 cases of acute type III aortic dissection]

In the early period up to 1986, our treatment of acute type III dissection was anti-hypertension drug therapy as a rule, and Collins operations were performed in two cases of progressive hemothorax. Among 21 patients receiving medical therapy, five died of rupture, and three operated cases died of multiple organ ischemia, and then the hospital mortality was 40%. Since 1987, we have selected hypotensive treatment of strictly maintaining blood pressure less than 120mmHg for the completely thrombosed type of the dissected lumen, and the emergency operation of ringed intraluminal graft insertion (RIG operation) for the blood-flow type and aneurysm formation type of the dissected lumen, diagnosed by the emergency cine-angiography. As the result, among 51 cases having hypotensive therapy, one died of respiratory failure. In the 23 operated cases, in which RIG operation and/or arterial reconstruction was performed, four died of multiple organ ischemia. The hospital mortality was 8%, which was significantly improved compared with that of the early period.

[Clinical evaluation of myocardial protection by oxygenated crystalloid cardioplegic solutions with DBcAMP]

Possible enhancement of myocardial protection by adding DBcAMP and oxygenation of a crystalloid cardioplegic solution (CCS) was evaluated in a three group study. The patients having coronary bypass operation or valvular operation were divided into three groups, each consisting of 15 patients, and differing only in the type of CCS employed. Group I was protected by nonoxygenated CCS (PO2 190 mmHg, PCO2, 32 mmHg, pH 7.78, K 30 mmEq/L), Group II by adding DBcAMP to nonoxygenated CCS and Group III by adding DBcAMP to oxygenated CCS (PO2 790 mmHg, PCO2 26 mmHg, pH 7.87). Group III had significantly improved CI and double product (p less than 0.05) compared with Group II. However, CPK, CPK-MB, and myoglobin in the serum were similar in each group. Lactate and pyruvate ratio (L/P) in the coronary sinus bloods were improved to lower value after the pump than before the pump only in Group III. Base excess in the coronary sinus held on alkalosis after aortic declamp only in Group III. The refunction time was significantly shortest with Group III than with other groups (p less than 0.01, 0.05) and Group II was significantly shorter than Group I (p less than 0.05). It is concluded that oxygenation and adding DBcAMP to CCS are effectual for the myocardial metabolism and protect the myocardial damage during cardiac arrest.

[A clinical study on panipenem/betamipron in chronic respiratory tract infections]

Panipenem/betamipron (CS-976, PAPM/BP), a new carbapenem antibiotic, was administered a single dose of 500 mg or 750 mg via intravenous drip infusion twice a day for treatment of chronic respiratory infection to study its clinical efficacy, bacteriological efficacy and safety. Twenty nine cases were studied for the efficacy evaluation. Only the safety evaluation was made in 6 cases which were judged to be unsuitable, because in some of them pneumonia and other diseases were not specified as the subject diseases, of serious illness in some the conditions were too serious, and in the other cases the duration of administration was insufficient since administration had to be discontinued due to side-effects. The duration of administration was 6 to 18 days with 1 g divided into 2 doses daily or 4 to 15 days with 1.5 g in 2 divided doses daily. When clinical efficacies were classified according to different diseases, this preparation was effective in 11 cases and slightly effective in 1 case of 12 cases of chronic bronchitis with an efficacy rate of 91.7%. It was effective in 10 cases, slightly effective in 1 case and ineffective in 1 case of 12 cases of bronchiectasis with an efficacy rate of 83.3%. It was slightly effective in 2 and ineffective in 1 out of 3 cases of diffuse panbronchiolitis, and was effective in 2 cases of pulmonary emphysema with infections. PAPM/BP was given at a dose level of 1 g in 2 divided doses daily to 17 cases and that of 1.5 g in 2 divided doses daily to 10 cases. For the remaining 2 cases, changes in the dose level were made in middle course of treatment. The efficacy rate in the 1 g regimen was 76.5% and that with the 1.5 g regimen was 90%. The overall results in the 29 cases included 23 effective, 4 slightly effective and 2 ineffective cases, thus the overall efficacy rate was 79.3%. As pathogens, 11 species including 24 strains were isolated and identified from 19 cases. They were Gram-positive cocci including 2 strains each of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae, 1 strain each of Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus sanguis, and Streptococcus viridans and a strain of Streptococcus spp., and Gram-negative rods including 9 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 4 strains of Haemophilus influenzae and 1 strain each of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae and Pseudomonas spp.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Surgical management of the coronary artery to pulmonary artery fistulas; a case of a large ruptured aneurysm

Three patients were treated for coronary artery-pulmonary artery fistula. Each was asymptomatic due to a coronary artery fistula. There was one instance each of myocardial infarction, mitral stenosis and a large closed ruptured aneurysm including a thrombus. All the fistulas were comprised of several small plexiform arranged vessels. The left to right shunt ratio was approximately 8 percent or less. A surgical operation was performed to close the drainage orifice of the fistulas through pulmonary arteriotomy under cardiopulmonary bypass in two patients while one patient underwent a ligation of a large abnormal vessel to the aneurysm followed by a resection of the aneurysm without cardiopulmonary bypass. A large saccular aneurysm of such fistulas is rare and a rupture of such an aneurysm is even more rare. The surgical management of coronary artery fistulas is also discussed herein.

[A case report of type II dissecting aneurysm after aortic valve replacement, successful repair by the modified Cabrol's method]

A case of type II dissecting aneurysm after aortic valve replacement was reported. The patient was a 66-year-old man, who was diagnosed as III degree aortic valve regurgitation without aortic dilatation, and performed aortic valve replacement with a 27A Omniscience prosthesis. Postoperative course was very smooth for 7 years, however he was admitted to our hospital of the sudden anterior chest pain. Computed tomography and aortography revealed marked dilatation and dissection of ascending aorta and occlusion of the right coronary artery. The operation of the modified Cabrol's method was performed, and he is well alive one and half a year after operation. Dissecting aneurysm in the late term after aortic valve replacement is rare, and its prognosis and re-operative results are very poor.

The surgical treatment of a thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm with total preservation of the intercostal and lumbar arteries using a permanent bypass technique--a case report

A 44 year old man underwent successful surgery for a thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm using a permanent bypass graft and aneurysmoplasty. This technique reduces visceral ischemia to a minimum and the aneurysmoplasty, through total preservation of the intercostal and lumbar arteries, can avoid paraplegia caused by spinal cord ischemia. Our technique is recommended as it can be performed easily, safely, and effectively without heparinization, temporary shunts or bypass perfusion.

Left ventricular rupture following mitral valve replacement--a report of two cases

Left ventricular rupture is a rare and usually fatal complication of mitral valve replacement, and we report herein, 2 successfully treated cases of type III left ventricular rupture. The laceration in the posterior ventricular wall was repaired by a wide buttressed mattress suture with teflon felt belts on either side, then covered with Oxycel and fibrin glue or a large patch and fibrin glue. Naturally, the operation must be performed carefully and gently, however, the most important etiologic factor of left ventricular rupture is the extremely friable myocardium due to aging and a long history of heart disease. Utilizing fibrin glue for successfully repairing the rupture proved very effective.

[Evaluation of myocardial protection with DBcAMP in crystalloid cardioplegic solutions]

The potential for myocardial protection during cardiac operation was evaluated by adding Dibutyryl cyclic AMP (DBcAMP) to the crystalloid cardioplegic solutions. We have compared the cold crystalloid cardioplegia with DBcAMP (Group D n = 15) and without DBcAMP (Group n = 20) in patients undergoing cardiac operation. In hemodynamics, both groups were no difference before and after operation. CPK and CPK-MB was significantly (p < 0.01) high level after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in group C. Myoglobin was also high value after CBP in group C, but not significant. Myocardial oxygen extraction rate and coronary blood PCO2 release were similar change in both groups. Insulin/glucose ratio was high level during and after CBP in group D. Myocardial lactate/pyruvate ratio was very high level after CBP in group C without significant difference. We consider that the cardioplegic solution with DBcAMP is effectual for the myocardial metabolism and preservation of myocardial damage during cardiac arrest.