ABSTRACT
We report the case of a 3-year-old boy who underwent correction of transposition of the great arteries who developed burns from use of a patient warming device. His repair had been delayed because he was from a developing country, and he was offered surgery as part of a humanitarian effort. Postoperatively he was noted to have second- and third-degree burns from use of a Bair Hugger (Augustine Medical, Eden Prairie, MN) warming system after cardiopulmonary bypass.
Subject(s)
Burns/etiology , Heating/instrumentation , Leg Injuries/etiology , Postoperative Complications/etiology , Transposition of Great Vessels/surgery , Child, Preschool , Humans , Intraoperative Care/instrumentation , MaleSubject(s)
Immunocompetence , Legionellosis , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Legionellosis/diagnosis , Legionnaires' Disease/diagnosis , MaleSubject(s)
Bacteremia/etiology , Cholera/etiology , Meningitis, Bacterial/etiology , Animals , Arizona , Bacteremia/diagnosis , Brain Edema/diagnostic imaging , Brain Edema/etiology , Brain Ischemia/diagnostic imaging , Brain Ischemia/etiology , Cholera/complications , Cholera/diagnosis , Fishes/microbiology , Fresh Water , Humans , Infant , Male , Meningitis, Bacterial/complications , Meningitis, Bacterial/diagnosis , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Vibrio cholerae/isolation & purification , Water MicrobiologyABSTRACT
Newborn calves exposed to hypobaric hypoxia develop severe pulmonary hypertension. Right ventricular hypertrophy and failure occur as a consequence of the increased pressure load. Alterations in right ventricular myocyte performance or differentiation could be reflected by the changes in the expression of contractile protein genes. We studied expression of contractile actin isotypes by measuring mRNA levels in total cellular RNA purified from right (RV) and left ventricles (LV) of calves with severe pulmonary hypertension after a 2-wk exposure to hypobaric hypoxia and age-matched controls. alpha-Skeletal actin mRNA was increased greater than 10-fold in the RV of hypertensive animals, whereas alpha-cardiac actin mRNA did not appear to change. alpha-Skeletal actin mRNA and alpha-cardiac actin mRNA did not increase in the LV of any of the hypoxic animals. After a 2-wk hypoxic exposure, calves were removed from the chamber. Two days later, RV alpha-skeletal actin mRNA decreased dramatically but was apparently elevated above that of an age-matched control. Thirty days after hypoxia, there appeared to be a persistent increase in RV alpha-skeletal actin mRNA. Although the physiological significance of these changes are unknown, an alteration in the RV myocyte phenotype has occurred.
