[Clinical and paraclinical profile of heart transplanted patients at the Thoracic and cardiovascular surgery service of the Pitié Salpétrière Hospital in 2009]

OBJECTIVE

To determine the clinical and paraclinical profile of heart transplanted patients in 2009 in the Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (TCVS) of the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (PS).

METHOD

It was a retrospective and descriptive study on heart transplantation patients between January 1 and December 31, 2009 in the TCVS of PS. Data collection was conducted from medical records, medical correspondence and pre-transplant assessment data and relevant laboratory tests, ultrasound, angiographic and operative reports. The collected data were entered and analyzed by Excel and analyzed by SPSS 12.

RESULTS

The sample size was 63 patients or 50.6% of patients awaiting heart transplantation. The mean age of patients was 47.66 ± 12.79 years, sex ratio Male:Female 2.70. The circumstances of transplantation were: super-emergency (37%), non-emergency (63%) and in 1/3 of redux surgery. All patients were symptomatic (average VO2 max of 12.76 ± 3.20 ml/kg/min), with 85.7% having a left ventricular ejection fraction <30% and 100% diastolic dysfunction. The primary dilated cardiomyopathy was the main causal disease with 38.1% of cases.

CONCLUSION

Heart transplantation as a last resort is practiced more and more with improved results and highlights dilated cardiomyopathy as the main cause. The clinical and paraclinical profile has not changed much over the last 5 years.

Egg yolk IgY antibodies: A therapeutic intervention against group A rotavirus in calves

Bovine group A rotavirus (RVA) is considered the major cause of diarrhea in intensively reared neonatal calves. Chicken egg yolk antibodies (IgY) are efficient in protecting neonatal calves from RVA diarrhea; however, the value of this intervention in calves once diarrhea has appeared is unclear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the application of RVA-specific IgY as a passive treatment in those cases. The experimental groups were: G1 = RVA-specific IgY treatment; G2 = no Ab treatment; and G3 = colostrum deprived + no Ab treatment. IgY treatment significantly reduced virus shedding, diarrhea duration and severity compared to G2 and G3 calves. However, it caused a partial suppression of systemic Ab responses to RVA that could be associated with less severe diarrhea. The oral treatment with IgY for 7 days was associated with significantly higher antibody secreting cell responses in the calves compared with other groups of animals.

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Neonatal calf diarrhea is a critical problem and passive therapy with IgY Abs is a way to control it.

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There are no solid studies using rotavirus specific IgY Abs once calves suffer from diarrhea.

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We provide here scientific information regarding the effects of IgY-based products.

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This information is critical considering that IgY Abs are being sold in several countries.

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We prove the therapeutic value of IgY-based treatment and the industrialization of this product.