Clinical analysis of 15,089 operations on the heart and great vessels: results from the People's Republic of China

Over a 28-year period, from November 1957 through November 1985, 15,089 patients underwent operations on the heart and great vessels at The Shanghai Chest Hospital. Herein we examine this experience, with particular attention to factors that affected mortality. Seven thousand two hundred eighty-one patients underwent procedures for mitral stenosis; 149 (2.0%) of these died. Two thousand one hundred thirty-three patients underwent closure of a patent ductus arteriosus; this procedure was associated with 9 deaths (0.4%), 5 of which were caused by massive hemorrhage. After 1964, over 98% of the procedures were accomplished with a locally-manufactured surgical stapler. This device allowed us to perform without any deaths a consecutive series of 1,838 patent ductus arteriosus closures from January 1970 to the end of our study. One thousand five hundred twnety-one patients underwent repair of a ventricular septal defect; 60 died, for a mortality rate of 3.9%. One thousand four hundred thirty-five patients had repair of an atrial septal defect; 13 died during or after operation, for a mortality rate of 0.9%. Higher mortality was observed in groups with severe pulmonary hypertension. Six hundred fifty-one patients were treated for pulmonary stenosis; 24 died, for an operative mortality of 3.7%. Five hundred eighty-five patients underwent total correction of tetralogy of Fallot; 100 died, for a mortality rate of 17.1%. Two hundred forty-seven patients with constrictive pericarditis underwent 250 pericardiectomies; 17 (6.9%) died during or after operation. Two hundred one patients had mitral or aortic valve insufficiency, or both. These patients underwent mitral, aortic, or double valve replacement; 30 died (14.9% mortality). One hundred eleven patients underwent aortic aneurysm resection; 24 died, for an operative mortality of 21.6%. This is 1 of the largest cardiovascular series ever reported from the People's Republic of China; therefore, it is a useful data base for study of cardiovascular surgical procedures and their results over a 3-decade period.

Normal free thyroxine in critical nonthyroidal illnesses measured by ultrafiltration of undiluted serum and equilibrium dialysis

Considerable controversy exists concerning the assessment of thyroidal state in critically ill patients with decreased serum T4 and T3 concentrations, in part because serum free T4 values are often low in such patients no matter what method of measurement is used. We developed an ultrafiltration method to measure free T4 and free T3 in undiluted serum and compared the results with those obtained using a standard equilibrium dialysis method to measure free T4 and T3. In 30 consecutive intensive care unit (ICU) patients, serum free T4 values were similar to or higher than those in 12 normal subjects by both methods in most patients and were clearly distinguishable from those in hypothyroid patients. The serum total T4 concentrations in these patients ranged from 12.9-131.3 nmol/L (mean, 68.2; normal mean, 115.8). Free T4 by equilibrium dialysis was highly correlated with free T4 by ultrafiltration in the ICU group (r = 0.91; P less than 0.001). Serum free T3 levels, however, whether measured by equilibrium dialysis or ultrafiltration, were decreased in the ICU patients, confirming other reports of lowered free T3 in critically ill clinically euthyroid patients. Our findings suggest that the use of equilibrium dialysis of undiluted serum or ultrafiltration to measure serum free T4 concentrations will distinguish euthyroid hypothyroxinemic ICU patients from those with hypothyroidism.

Amelioration of normothermic canine liver ischemia with prostacyclin

A model of hepatic ischemia was developed in dogs using a pump-driven splanchnic-to-jugular vein bypass during crossclamping of the portal triad. An LD50 was established with three hours of ischemia. PGI2 given for one hour before the ischemic insult ameliorated the ischemic injury and increased survival.

Prolongation of pig-to-dog renal xenograft survival by modification of the inflammatory mediator response

The pathogenesis of hyperacute renal rejection consists of a nonspecific effector cascade that invokes most of the components of a typical acute inflammatory response. Platelet-activating factor (PAF) represents the most recent and perhaps the most significant mediator and promoting agent of this phenomenon. These studies evaluated SRI 63-441, a novel, synthetic, and the most potent PAF receptor antagonist available, alone and in combination with other prostanoids, for their ability to influence this response and to prolong renal xenograft survival and function in a model of pig-to-dog heterotransplantation. Inhibition of PAF by SRI 63-441 alone, at the dosage and schedule used in these experiments, did not significantly prolong xenograft survival or function. However, the combination of SRI 63-441 with either prostacyclin (PGI2) or prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) infusion demonstrated significant synergism, and resulted in a 6-9-fold increase in kidney survival and a 3-20-fold increase in urine output. Neither PGI2 nor PGE1 infusions alone significantly influenced this xenograft model. Electromagnetic flow studies demonstrated significantly delayed diminution in renal artery blood flow in the combination-treated animals. Serial and end-stage histologic examination of kidneys receiving combination therapy demonstrated a delayed onset of the pathologic deterioration and an overall amelioration of the entire process. These studies demonstrate that significant abrogation of a rapid and violent form of hyperacute rejection can be achieved solely by the pharmacologic manipulation of the inflammatory mediator response.

Thyroid hormone levels in diabetic mothers and their neonates

Infants born to diabetic mothers have decreased activity of many metabolic pathways which might be regulated by thyroid hormone. Serum TSH, T4, T3, and reverse T3 levels were measured in 22 term infants of diabetic mothers and in 9 normal term babies at 2, 12, 24, and 72 hours of age, as well as in maternal and cord sera. T4 binding index and free T4 levels were measured in 11 diabetic mothers and their babies and 5 normal mothers and babies. Mean TSH levels did not differ between diabetic and normal mothers or their infants. Mean T4 of the diabetic mothers (9.6 micrograms/dl) was significantly (p less than 0.005) less than the mean T4 of the normal mothers (12.8 micrograms/dl). Mean T4 of neonatal specimens was lower in infants of diabetic mothers for each determination, but this difference achieved statistical significance at the 12-hour sample only (p less than 0.001). Mean serum T4 binding index was similar in the neonatal specimens at each time period studied. Mean T3 of diabetic mothers (149 ng/dl) was significantly (p less than 0.001) less than that of normal mothers (217 ng/dl). At each time interval, mean T3 concentration in infants of diabetic mothers was significantly lower than that of normal infants. Levels of reverse T3 were not significantly different between normal and diabetic mothers or their neonates. These data suggest that there is an effect of maternal diabetes on T3 secretion or conversion of T4 to the more active hormone, T3, in the fetus and early newborn.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Variable thyrotropin response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone after small decreases in plasma free thyroid hormone concentrations in patients with nonthyroidal diseases

Although a normal serum thyrotropin (TSH) concentration is generally considered to be the most important finding to support the clinical impression of euthyroidism in patients with nonthyroidal diseases and decreased serum triiodothyronine (T(3)), the regulation of TSH secretion in sick patients has not been studied previously. Accordingly, we studied the regulation of TSH secretion in 23 patients with nonthyroidal diseases; 15 of the patients had decreased serum T(3). TSH regulation was studied by measuring the TSH response to injected thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) before and after effecting a small decrease in serum thyroxine (T(4)) and/or T(3) concentrations by iodide treatment, 262 mg daily for 10 d. Iodide treatment significantly decreased (> 10%) the free T(4) index (FT(4)-I) and/or free T(3) index (FT(3)-I) in all patients. FT(4)-I values were correlated (0.611, P < 0.001), with free T(4) concentration determined by equilibrium dialysis. Despite decreased FT(4)-I and/or FT(3)-I after iodide treatment in all patients, the TSH response to TRH after iodide treatment was augmented in only 8 of 15 patients who had decreased serum T(3) (group 1) and in only 5 of 8 patients who had a normal serum T(3). Mean base-line TSH concentration was increased significantly (P < 0.05) from 0.9+/-0.1 to 1.5+/-0.3 muU/ml in group 1 only. Comparison of the mean TSH response to TRH showed that there was no significant difference between groups 1 and 2. Moreover, no significant difference in thyroidal parameters was observed between patients who had augmented TSH response to TRH after iodides and those who had either similar or decreased TSH response irrespective of the initial serum T(3). These studies show that an augmented TSH response to TRH in response to a small reduction in serum T(4) and T(3) concentration occurred in only 57% of the entire group of patients with nonthyroidal diseases and that the presence or absence of a normal TSH response to this stimulus did not seem to be related to the base-line serum T(3) concentration. Because an increase in serum TSH in response to decreased serum T(4) and T(3) did not occur in about one-half of patients with nonthyroidal diseases, normal serum TSH may not be a reliable index of the euthyroid state in these patients.