Nested-PCR and TaqMan real-time quantitative PCR assays for human adenoviruses in environmental waters.

Human adenovirus (HAdV) infections can occur throughout the year. Cases of HAdV-associated respiratory disease have been more common in the late winter, spring, and early summer. In this study, to provide viral pollution data for further epidemiological studies and governmental actions, the presence of HAdV in the aquatic environment was quantitatively surveyed in the summer. This study was conducted to compare the efficiencies of nested-PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and qPCR (quantitative PCR) for detecting HAdV in environmental waters. A total of 73 water samples were collected from Puzi River in Taiwan and subjected to virus concentration methods. In the results, qPCR had much better efficiency for specifying the pathogen in river sample. HAdV41 was detected most frequently in the river water sample (10.9%). The estimated HAdV concentrations ranged between 6.75 × 10(2) and 2.04 × 10(9) genome copies/L. Significant difference was also found in heterotrophic plate counts, conductivity, water temperature, and water turbidity between presence/absence of HAdV. HAdV in the Puzi River may pose a significant health risk.

Intraoperative three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography for assessing the defect geometries of mitral prosthetic paravalvular leak during transcatheter closure.

BACKGROUND: Paravalvular leaks (PVLs) are a common complication of prosthetic valve replacement. Use of the transcatheter intervention technique is a suitable alternative in high-risk patients who may not tolerate repeat surgery. Common reasons for failure of this demanding intervention include poor imaging quality and unsuitable anatomy. The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness and the incremental value of real-time three-dimensional (RT 3D) transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) over two-dimensional (2D) TEE findings in the evaluation of the geometry and track of mitral PVLs during transcatheter closure. METHODS: Five patients with six mitral PVLs at high risk for repeat surgery underwent transcatheter leak closure. Intraoperative RT 3DTEE was used to assess the location, shape, number, and size of the defects. Transapical approaches were used in all cases with fluoroscopic and RT 3D TEE guidance of the wire and catheter, device positioning, and assessment of residual leak after the procedure. RESULTS: In all of the cases, defects with irregular crescent shapes and distorted tracks were clearly delineated by RT 3D TEE. This was compared to those results obtained through 2D TEE, which was unable to characterize the defects. Three cases showed small leaks, which were completely occluded with a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) device in two cases, and a muscular ventricular septal defect (mVSD) occluder combined with coil devices in one case. One case involved a large leak and early device embolization of the muscular VSD occluder, which was removed surgically, and demonstrated a crescent-shaped defect. One patient had two releaks 2 months subsequent to the procedure due to two new extended leaks at the tails of the crescent-shaped defect. CONCLUSION: RT 3D TEE can clearly delineate the geometries of defects in their entirety, including shape, size, and location of the defect and track canal. It would also appear that RT 3D TEE is superior to 2D TEE in the process of guiding the wire through the difficult canal anatomy, facilitating the overall procedure. The small mitral PVLs can be completely occluded, but subsequent complications occurred with large defect closures because of embolization or releak. Therefore, transcatheter closure of PVLs seems to be an attractive alternative for these patients, but newer occluder designs that better conform to leak geometry will be required to improve outcomes.

The additional value of live/real-time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography over two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography for assessing mitral regurgitation with eccentric jets.

BACKGROUND: Two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (2D TEE) Doppler color flow imaging is the gold standard for assessing the severity of mitral regurgitation (MR). Severe MR with very eccentric jet may involve more than one mitral leaflet lesion and can be missed by 2D TEE. The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness and the incremental value of real-time three-dimensional (RT 3D) TEE over 2D TEE findings in the evaluation of patients suffering eccentric MR with more than one mitral leaflet lesion. METHODS: Intraoperative 2D TEE and RT 3D TEE examinations were performed on 168 patients with Carpenter II MR who underwent surgery. MR was defined as either central, free-standing eccentric jet or very eccentric jet. 2D TEE and RT 3D TEE finding were compared with surgical findings. RESULTS: Of these 168 MR patients, 25 patients (14.9%) had central jets and 143 patients (85.1%) had eccentric jets. Among 143 patients with eccentric jets, 47 patients (32.9%) had free-standing eccentric MR jets, and 96 (67.1%) patients had very eccentric jets. 3D TEE diagnosed the severity and location of MR lesions correctly in all patients; this was not the case with 2D TEE, which had significant diagnostic misses in nine patients (9.4%, p < 0.001) having MR with very eccentric jets. These nine patients had lesions on both mitral leaflets, which were missed during 2D TEE examination owing to the highly turbulent flows produced by very eccentric jets from one mitral leaflet lesion and impinging the opposite mitral leaflet lesion. CONCLUSION: The severity of MR with very eccentric jet was more accurately and comprehensively assessed by 3D TEE than by 2D TEE. Therefore, intraoperative RT 3D TEE provides incremental information that is generally superior to 2D TEE in patients with complex MR due to very eccentric jets.

Successful transcatheter closure of a residual patent ductus arteriosus with complex anatomy after surgical ligation using an amplatzer ductal occluder guided by live three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography.

Residual patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) after surgical ligation is not common, but the anatomy of the residual duct may be distorted by the surgical ligation resulting in a difficult transcatheter closure. Such distorted anatomy of the duct may not be demonstrated by the two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (2D TEE). Fortunately, live 3D TEE provided the precise anatomy of the elongated distorted residual duct, and as in the case presented herein, guided the Amplatzer ductal occluder (ADO). We concluded that live 3D TEE provided novel images of complex residual ducts and successful guidance of a ductal occluder.

Emergent bedside real-time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography in a patient with cardiac arrest following a caesarean section.

Post-caesarean pulmonary embolism (PE) is associated with significant peri-operative morbidity and mortality. This report describes a case of sudden cardiac arrest 2 days post-caesarean due to massive PE diagnosed via bedside transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Recognition of the PE at the bifurcation of the right and left pulmonary arteries was achieved by real-time three-dimensional TEE, but not two-dimensional TEE. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was immediately established and emergent pulmonary thromboembolectomy was performed. The patient was discharged without residual deficits on Day 22 of hospitalization.

Live three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography in an unusual case of aorto-left ventricular tunnel with a large interventricular septal aneurysm.

Aorto-left ventricular tunnel (ALVT) is a rare congenital malformation. We report an unusual case of ALVT with a large interventricular septal aneurysm causing severe aortic regurgitation and left ventricular outflow obstruction diagnosed with real time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (3D TEE). Real time 3D TEE allows for assessment and novel views of complex cardiac abnormalities and can aid in perioperative monitoring.

Embolization of the stent to the right heart after a motor vehicle accident.

Endovascular stent grafts have become increasingly used in the management of arterial trauma, chronic vascular occlusive diseases, and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Here, we describe a case of stent migration to the right heart due to a motor vehicle accident in a patient with iliac venous stent implanted for venous stenosis. Computed tomography (CT) scan imaging identification of a metallic stent was superior to the standard two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) techniques without imaging artifact from reverberation. However, real time three-dimensional (3D) TEE can precisely defined a metallic stent in right heart oriented with shape and direction without consuming time compared to that of CT scanning. The use of 3DTEE can facilitate identification of intracardiac metallic foreign bodies perioperatively in a patient with accident and emergent unstable condition. (Echocardiography 2010;27:587-589).

The routine use of live three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography in mitral valve surgery: clinical experience.

BACKGROUND: Perioperative monitoring of mitral valve (MV) anatomy, function, and pathology is essential for surgical management of different MV disease. AIMS: To overcome the several potential pitfalls of two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (2D TEE) and offline 3D TEE. METHODS: Live 3D TEE was used to assess 73 patients (44 men and 29 women) with Carpentier type II MV regurgitation undergoing MV surgery perioperatively. RESULTS: The isolated segment most frequently involved was A2/P2, but A1or P1 rarely was involved in an isolated lesion or combined lesions. The agreement between 3D TEE finding and surgery was 88% (64/73). In nine patients, the live 3D TEE images revealed more segments or scallops with prolapse than the surgeon noted intraoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: Live 3D TEE allows more sensitivity and was feasible identification of prolapse or flail of individual segments of MV leaflets during surgery. We conclude that live 3D TEE should be regarded as an important adjunct to the standard 2D TEE examination in making decisions about MV surgery.

The utility of live three-dimensional echocardiography in the surgical treatment of bilateral coronary fistulas.

In patients with coronary and pulmonary arterial fistulas, the drainage sites may be difficult to identify if there are multiple connections by standard 2D echocardiography techniques. However, real time 3D TEE was used intraoperatively in our case to facilitate site identification, the number of fistulous connections, and documentation of the fistula ligation.

Desipramine activated Bcl-2 expression and inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced apoptosis in hippocampus-derived adult neural stem cells.

Desipramine (DP) is a tricyclic antidepressant used for treating depression and numerous other psychiatric disorders. Recent studies have shown that DP can promote neurogenesis and improve the survival rate of hippocampal neurons. However, whether DP induces neuroprotection or promotes the differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) needs to be elucidated. In this study, we cultured NSCs derived from the hippocampal tissues of adult rats as an in vitro model to evaluate the modulation effect of DP on NSCs. First, we demonstrated that the expression of Bcl-2 mRNA and nestin in 2 microM DP-treated NSCs were up-regulated and detected by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results of Western blotting and immunofluorescent study confirmed that Bcl-2 protein expression was significantly increased in Day 3 DP-treated NSCs. Using the Bcl-2 small interfering RNA (siRNA) method, our results further showed that DP protects the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced apoptosis in NSCs, in part by activating the expression of Bcl-2. Furthermore, DP treatment significantly inhibited the induction of proinflammatory factor interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the culture medium of LPS-treated NSCs mediated by Bcl-2 modulation. The results of high performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrochemical detection further confirmed that DP significantly increased the functional production of serotonin (26+/-3.5 microM, DP-treated 96 h) and noradrenaline (50+/-8.9 microM, DP-treated 96 h) in NSCs through activation of the MAPK/ERK pathway and partially mediated by Bcl-2. In conclusion, the present results indicate that DP can increase neuroprotection ability by inhibiting the LPS-induced inflammatory process in NSCs via the modulation of Bcl-2 expression, as confirmed by the siRNA method.

Long-term survival and prognostic implications after coronary artery bypass grafting in Chinese patients with coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVES: This hospital-based study was conducted to determine the survival rates of patients after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery and the associated prognostic factors related to all-cause mortality during a 7-year follow-up in Taiwan. METHODS AND RESULTS: Between January 1997 and December 2003, the medical records of 1877 patients who underwent primary, isolated CABG surgery were studied. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate survival. Multiple Cox regression was used to investigate the independence of prognostic factors associated with all-cause mortality. Of the 1877 patients who underwent CABG surgery, 192 expired during the 7-year study period. The overall patient survival rate was 85.96% (95% CI: 83.74-88.16). Using multiple Cox regression analysis, in addition to female gender, older age at surgery, pulmonary oedema, longer ischaemic time, longer cardiopulmonary bypass time, and poorer postoperative left ventricular ejection fraction were significant factors associated with all-cause mortality for both men and women. Associated prognostic factors varied by gender. For men, smoking (RR = 2.82, 95% CI: 1.06-4.16), respiratory failure (RR = 6.88, 95% CI: 3.29-14.40) and cardiogenic shock (RR = 4.04, 95% CI: 2.13-7.67) were significantly related to all-cause mortality, but not for women. Sepsis (RR = 8.97,95% CI: 1.19-19.81) and ICU stay (RR = 1.03,95% CI: 1.01-1.05) were significantly related to all-cause mortality among female patients only. CONCLUSIONS: Several gender-related differences were noted pertaining to all-cause mortality and the relationships between smoking, sepsis, respiratory failure, cardiogenic shock, and ICU stay.