Cryptococcus laurentii Fungemia.

In the last few years there has been an increasing incidence of infection due to non-neoformans Cryptococcus spp. especially in immunocompromised host. Cryptococcus laurentii is a non-neoformans Cryptococcus which has rarely been known to cause bacteremia and pulmonary infection in humans. Here we report a case of fungemia due to Cryptococcus laurentii.

Cyanoacrylate glue for type iii lad perforation.

Coronary artery perforation especially type III is a rare and catastrophic complication of percutaneous coronary intervention. It mandates emergency open heart surgery if hemostasis is not achieved promptly. We report a case of type III left anterior descending artery (LAD) perforation which was managed successfully with cyanoacrylate glue.

Elective stenting of unprotected left main coronary artery ostial stenoses: short- and mid-term results.

Elective stenting as a primary strategy for non-surgical revascularisation was performed in five patients with symptomatic unprotected left main coronary artery ostial stenoses. Their ages ranged from 24 to 57 years (mean: 44.6 +/- 14.4 years). Left ventricular ejection fraction ranged from 35 to 55 percent. All patients underwent successful stenting for left main ostial stenoses using a disarticulated 7 mm Palmaz-Schatz stent. Luminal diameter stenosis reduced from 74 +/- 10.8 to 10 +/- 7.2 percent after the procedure. One patient developed recurrence of angina on the 7th day due to marked recoil of the left main coronary artery with possible thrombosis, requiring immediate coronary artery bypass graft surgery without any sequelae. Remaining four patients were asymptomatic over a mean follow-up of 54 +/- 36 weeks (range: 25-96) and none developed angiographic restenosis at six months. Our preliminary observations therefore suggest that primary stenting is a feasible alternative to bypass graft surgery in patients with unprotected left main coronary artery ostial stenoses.

Immediate and follow-up clinical outcome after multivessel coronary stenting.

Seventy-two out of 656 patients treated by coronary stenting between January 1995 to May 1997 underwent elective multivessel stenting as a strategy for nonsurgical revascularization in patients with two-vessel (n = 37) and three-vessel (n = 35) disease. Their age ranged from 35 to 77 years (mean: 53.6 +/- 9.2) and the majority (77.8%) were males. The patients were included if the target vessel was more than 2.7 mm in diameter and subserved a moderate to large area of viable myocardium, provided the target lesion was considered approachable by stent. In all, 160 stents were deployed in 146 vessels with a mean of 2.2 stents per patient. The procedure was performed on all the target lesions in one stage in 51(70.8%) and two stages in 21(29.2%) patients. Two-vessel stenting was done in all except 2 patients who received stents in all the three major arteries. Successful deployment of the stent was achieved at the target site in all patients without any major in-hospital complications including subacute stent thrombosis, myocardial infarction (MI), emergency bypass graft surgery (CABG) or death. Clinical follow-up was available in 66(91.6%) patients at a mean of 7.8 +/- 5.5 months. The actuarial survival rates were 98.6, 96.7 and 94.6 percent, respectively at one, 3 and 6 to 12 months after the procedure with an event-free survival (absence of death, MI, recurrence of angina or any revascularization) of 98.5 percent at one, 93 percent at 3, 83.2 percent at 6 and 68.4 percent at 12 months. Only 15(22.7%) patients developed any event and target lesion revascularization was required in 8(12%) patients. In conclusion, multivessel stenting in patients with two- and three-vessel coronary disease is feasible, safe and effective in preventing major in-hospital complications as well as reducing the recurrence of clinical events and need for revascularization on follow-up.

Elective coronary stenting after recanalization for chronic total occlusion: clinical and angiographic follow-up results.

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) for chronic totally occluded coronary arteries is associated with a significant residual stenosis and a high incidence of restenosis. Between March 1995 to February 1997, recanalization of chronic total occlusion (CTO) was attempted in 95 patients, of whom 79 (83.1%) were dilated successfully using balloon angioplasty, rotablation or both. Forty two patients underwent elective stent implantation to evaluate the influence of stenting on immediate results and clinical as well as angiographic outcome on long-term follow-up. There were 39 males and 3 females, with a mean age of 51 +/- 8 years. The majority (69.1%) had multivessel disease. The target vessel was LAD in 25 (58.1%), RCA in 12 (27.9%), LCx-OM in 5 (11.6%) and ramus in 1 (2.3%). After recanalization and adequate predilatation, various types of stents were deployed successfully at the target site in all patients, using high pressure intrastent balloon dilatation. The luminal diameter stenosis reduced to 47 +/- 15 percent after balloon angioplasty and < 10 percent in all, after stent implantation. There were no in-hospital major complications, including subacute stent thrombosis, myocardial infarction, need for emergency bypass graft surgery or death. The follow-up data is available in 36 patients, ranging from 1-22 months (mean: 7.4 +/- 4.7; median: 6). Of these, 32 (88.8%) were free of angina at their last visit, 3 (8.3%) required target lesion revascularization and 2 patients died, one at 3 weeks and the other at 6 months after the procedure. The event-free survival, estimated by the Kaplan-Meier survival curve was 97.3, 82.8 and 77.25 percent at one, 6, and 12 months, respectively after stenting. Out of 29 eligible patients, 20 underwent repeat coronary angiography after 6 months, which revealed restenosis in 5 (25%). In conclusion, our study shows that elective coronary stenting following successful recanalization of chronic total occlusion produces an excellent immediate result and reduces the recurrence of angina, target lesion revascularization and angiographic restenosis on long-term follow-up.

Immediate and six-month outcome of self-expanding Wallstent for long lesions in native coronary arteries.

Between April and December 1996, 50 less-shortening Wallstents were deployed in the native coronary arteries of 44 patients, with lesions more than 20 mm long and minimum vessel diameter of at least 3.0 mm. There were 39 males and 5 females with an age range of 35-77 years. The majority (70.4%) had multivessel disease (MVD). The target vessel was LAD for 17 (34%), RCA 23 (46%) and LCx-OM for 10 (20%) stents. All lesions were type C, according to the ACC/AHA Task Force Classification. The length of the lesions ranged from 21-60 mm (mean: 31 +/- 8). The stent selection was based upon oversizing by 1.5-2.0 mm compared to the minimum vessel diameter, and covering approximately 4-5 mm of the apparently normal vessel on either side of the target lesion. The stent was deployed successfully without any major complications, including myocardial infarction, emergency coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and death in 43 out of 44 (97.7%) patients. One patient in whom there was failure to reach the target site with stent, developed non-Q wave inferior myocardial infarction. Post-discharge, two patients reported to have died within one month after the procedure. The event-free survival, defined as the absence of angina, myocardial infarction, need for revascularisation or death was 93.2 percent at 30 days and 84 percent at 6 months following stent implantation. From our data, it is concluded that (i) the delivery of the new, less-shortening, self-expanding Wallstent at the target site was possible in almost all the cases; (ii) clinical success with < 30 percent residual diameter stenosis could be achieved in approximately 98 percent of cases, and (iii) there was an impressive event-free survival of 84 percent at 6 months of follow-up. The occurrence of 2 deaths during the first 30 days, however, necessitates close supervision for possible subacute stent thrombosis. The results of angiography after six months would help to define the true incidence of restenosis.

Transcatheter coil occlusion of persistent ductus arteriosus using detachable steel coils: short-term results.

Twenty patients underwent transcatheter occlusion of persistent ductus arteriosus (PDA), 1.5-5.5 mm in diameter, with detachable steel coils. A coil having a diameter at least twice that of the narrowest ductal diameter was used. Procedural success was achieved in all, using a single coil in 14 and multiple coils in the remaining 6. At follow-up after 2-12 (6.7 +/- 2.8) months, continuous murmur persisted in only one patient, while 4 (20%) patients had residual shunt on Doppler colour-flow imaging. There was no instance of coil embolisation, thromboembolism, intravascular haemolysis, local vascular complication or sepsis. Transcatheter occlusion of PDA with detachable coils is a safe, technically easy and cost-effective method with the added advantage of feasibility in small children.

Procedural outcome and follow-up results of balloon angioplasty versus new device interventions for treatment of true bifurcation stenoses.

Strategies for dilatation of bifurcation stenoses have continued to evolve over the past several years. However, there is limited experience on the efficacy of various nonballoon interventional devices and their results in comparison with balloon angioplasty. We, therefore, analysed our data in 72 patients of coronary artery disease with true bifurcation stenoses with balloon angioplasty or new device interventions (NDI). All patients underwent dilatation of both the primary vessel and side branch ostial stenosis. Balloon angioplasty using double guidewire with sequential or simultaneous (kissing balloon) balloon inflation in the two vessels was performed in 42 patients. Thirty patients underwent NDI, using directional coronary atherectomy (DCA) in 12, rotablation in 6 and elective coronary stents in 12 patients. There were no significant differences in the baseline clinical and angiographic variables between patients in the two groups. While the preprocedural luminal diameter stenosis was similar, the residual stenosis was significantly less, both in the primary vessel and side branch, after NDI compared to balloon angioplasty. The procedure was successful in 96.6 percent patients treated with NDI and 83.3 percent with balloon angioplasty (p < 0.01) with relief of obstruction in both branches without any major complications. Freedom from subsequent coronary events in the form of angina, myocardial infarction, PTCA, bypass graft surgery of death was significantly more, both at 6 months (92% versus 65.6%, p < 0.001) and 12 months (81.8% versus 53.1%, p < 0.001) in the group of patients treated with NDI compared to balloon angioplasty. It is, therefore, concluded that NDI including DCA, rotablation and elective stenting are associated with higher rate of success, lesser complications and better event-free survival in comparison to balloon angioplasty for treatment of true bifurcation stenoses.

Transcatheter closure of atrial septal defect using buttoned device--Indian experience.

Transcatheter closure of secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) < 21 mm in diameter with adequate septal margins, assessed by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was attempted using Sideris buttoned device under fluoroscopic and TTE guidance in 27 patients (age range 5-35 years). The stretched diameter of ASD estimated by balloon sizing at cardiac catheterization was, on an average, 3 mm larger than assessed on TTE. A 25 to 50 mm second-generation Sideris device could be successfully implanted in 24 patients, with disappearance of left-to-right shunt, assessed by colour flow mapping on TTE in 17 patients. Residual shunt of 0.12-0.54 L/min/m2 was seen on day one in 7 patients which increased on follow-up in 3 patients over a period of 12 months. The maximum shunt in one patient was 1.1 L/min/m2. On follow-up (14.5 +/- 3.8 months), the device was in a stable position in all patients evaluated by fluoroscopy and TTE, and intracardiac ultrasound study in two patients. The procedure was unsuccessful in 3 patients, due to unbuttoning of the device in one and recurrent slippage of the device through the ASD in two patients. Mitral regurgitation was detected in 5 patients on follow-up (mild in 4 and moderate in 1). There was no mortality and none of the patients required any surgical intervention. It is concluded that transcatheter closure of some selected cases of secundum ASD can be safely and effectively done using Sideris buttoned device through a small sheath; however, a centering device is likely to close larger defects with less interference with mitral valve function.

Elective stenting for type B and C lesions: immediate results and follow-up angiographic restenosis.

From January to December 1995, 73 out of 174 patients with coronary artery disease underwent elective stenting for type B and C lesions. The age ranged from 35 to 73 years (mean +/- SD : 52.1 +/- 12.6) and the majority (91.7%) were males. Of the 74 vessels treated, the target vessel was LAD in 49 (66.4%), LCx in 13 (17.6%), RCA in 8 (10.8%) and SVG in 4 (5.2%). Based upon the ACC/AHA task force classification, 58 (79.5%) patients had type B1, 9 (12.3%) B2 and 6 (8.2%) had type C lesions. A total of 89 stents were deployed to treat 76 lesions with a range of 1 to 3 stents per lesion. A single stent was required for 67 lesions, 2 stents for 8 and 3 stents for 2 lesions. The stents used were Wiktor (29), Palmaz-Schatz (26), Gianturco-Roubin (24), Microstent (6) and Freedom (4), depending upon the anatomical and morphological characteristics with the lesion. Using high pressure strategy, the stents were deployed successfully in all (100%) with a reduction in luminal diameter stenosis from 92 +/- 5.4 to -5 +/- 6 percent. There was no subacute stent thrombosis despite nonusability of oral anticoagulation in 95.9 percent patients. None had any major complication in the form of acute myocardial infarction, need for emergency bypass graft surgery or death. Minor complications were encountered in 9 (12.3%) patients. At a mean follow-up of 26 +/- 14 weeks, 74 percent of the patients were asymptomatic. Out of 31 patients who had completed 6 months after the procedure, repeat angiography was performed in 29 (93.5%) at a mean duration of 29 +/- 6 weeks. The angiographic restenosis was found in 6 (20.7%) patients. In conclusion, type B and C lesions can be treated successfully using elective stenting with excellent immediate results and clinical outcome. Angiographic restenosis, which develops in about one-fifth of patients, appears to be much lower than reported after balloon angioplasty for these complex lesions.