Complications of 2-D Echocardiography Guided Transfemoral Right Ventricular Endomyocardial Biopsy

Endomyocardial biopsy (EMBx) is a useful tool for diagnosing various cardiac pathologies. However, the routine use of EMBx has not gained widespread acceptance due to the possible complications related to the EMBx. Thus, not much information is available on the complications related to the EMBx. We prospectively evaluated 90 consecutive patients who underwent 2-D echocardiography guided transfemoral right ventricular EMBx at Kyungpook National University Hospital between March 2002 and November 2005 to determine the incidence, nature and subsequent management of complications related to EMBx. The clinical diagnoses before the EMBx were arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia in 54, dilated cardiomyopathy in 19, Brugada syndrome in 9, myocarditis in 6 and miscellaneous in 2 patients. The overall major complication rate was 5.6% and no procedure-related mortality occurred. Myocardial perforation (n=3), which was the most frequent complication, did not progress to cardiac tamponade requiring pericardiocentesis in any patient. Hemodynamically unstable ventricular tachycardia occurred in 1 patient. New and persistent right bundle branch block occurred in another. Our findings suggest that 2-D echocardiography guided transfemoral right ventricular EMBx is a relatively safe procedure.

Complications of 2-D Echocardiography Guided Transfemoral Right Ventricular Endomyocardial Biopsy

Endomyocardial biopsy (EMBx) is a useful tool for diagnosing various cardiac pathologies. However, the routine use of EMBx has not gained widespread acceptance due to the possible complications related to the EMBx. Thus, not much information is available on the complications related to the EMBx. We prospectively evaluated 90 consecutive patients who underwent 2-D echocardiography guided transfemoral right ventricular EMBx at Kyungpook National University Hospital between March 2002 and November 2005 to determine the incidence, nature and subsequent management of complications related to EMBx. The clinical diagnoses before the EMBx were arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia in 54, dilated cardiomyopathy in 19, Brugada syndrome in 9, myocarditis in 6 and miscellaneous in 2 patients. The overall major complication rate was 5.6% and no procedure-related mortality occurred. Myocardial perforation (n=3), which was the most frequent complication, did not progress to cardiac tamponade requiring pericardiocentesis in any patient. Hemodynamically unstable ventricular tachycardia occurred in 1 patient. New and persistent right bundle branch block occurred in another. Our findings suggest that 2-D echocardiography guided transfemoral right ventricular EMBx is a relatively safe procedure.

Aspectos anátomo-patológicos e histológicos en el corazón de pacientes con endocarditis infecciosa / Anatomopathological and hystological aspects of the heart of patients with infectious endocarditis

Se discute aquellos aspectos anatomopatológicos e histológicos del corazón considerando la patogénesis, bacteremia, patología valvular previa y la morfología de las vegetaciones.

Endocarditis de válvula nativa en un paciente con prótesis valvular y hemocultivos negativos / Valve endocarditis in a patient with valve prosthesis and negative blood culture

La endocarditis infecciosa (EI) es una infección microbiana que compromete el endocardio valvular o parietal, o el nacimiento de los grandes vasos arteriales. Se observa con una frecuencia de 50 o 60 casos por millón de personas y representa 1 de cada 1000 ingresos hospitalarios. El diagnóstico de EI se realiza sobre la base de criterios clínicos, bacteriológicos y ecocardiográficos. Actualmente, la EI con hemocultivos negativos representa menos del 10 por ciento del total de los casos. Se presenta un paciente de sexo masculino, de 70 años de edad, con antecedentes de valvuloplastía aórtica, que ingresa al hospital por manifestar síndrome febril prolongado y petequias en miembros inferiores. Se realizaron 8 series de hemocultivos que fueron negativos, 4 ecocardiogramas transtorácicos que fueron normales y un quinto ecocardiograma transesofágico, que permitió el diagnóstico de EI mitral. Se inició tratamiento con ampicilina/netilmicina, con óptima respuesta terapéutica. Se concluye afirmando la importancia de rrealizar ecocardiogramas transesofágicos, en pacientes con fuerte sospecha de EI, en especial en aquellos que cursan con hemocultivos negativos