Cardiac tamponade during thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) is still associated with complications which include mortality in 7.3% of cases. In this report, we describe the case of a man with a pseudoaneurysm of the aortic isthmus that was scheduled to undergo endovascular repair. During the procedure, the patient had a sudden cardiac arrest due to a compressive hemopericardium caused by perforation of the ascending aorta. The diagnosis was not clear and was made by transthoracic echocardiography after five minutes of resuscitation. In spite of the evacuation of the hemopericardium and suture of the perforation, the patient died. The diagnosis would have been easier and faster if the patient had been monitored continuously by transesophageal echocardiography during the procedure.

Lower incidence of hypotension following spinal anesthesia with 6% hydroxyethyl starch preload compared to 9 ‰ saline solution in caesarean delivery.

BACKGROUND: Hypotension is a common complication following spinal anesthesia for cesarean delivery. Techniques to prevent hypotension include preloading intravenous fluid. AIM: To compare the effect of two preloading regimens: 6% hydroxyethyl starch (HES) and 9‰ saline solution, to prevent hypotension after spinal anesthesia in cesarean delivery. METHODS: 105 patients undergoing intrathecal anesthesia for elective cesarean delivery were randomized and allocated to receive a preload of 500 ml HES 130/0.4 (HES Group) or a preload of 1500 ml 9‰ saline solution (CR group). Blood pressure and heart rate were recorded at baseline and after spinal anesthesia (every minute for the first 10 min, every 3 min for the next 10 min, and then every 5 min for the last 20 min). The primary outcome was to compare the incidence of hypotension (defined as a 20% reduction in systolic arterial pressure from baseline) between the two preloading regimens. Vasopressor requirements (i.v. bolus of 6 mg ephedrine) were also compared. RESULTS: The incidence of hypotension was 87% in the CR group and 69% in the HES group (p= 0.028). Ephedrine requirement, incidence of nausea, and/or vomiting and neonatal outcome did not significantly differ between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The incidence of hypotension was lower after preloading of 500 mL of HES 130/0.4 than preloading with 1500 mL of 9‰ saline solution.

Inherited thrombophilia-related complications in the treatment of a biatrial thrombus.

The study emphasizes the importance of the high risk of thromboembolism with inherited thrombophilic factors. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed large biatrial masses in an 87-year-old woman with history of nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, pulmonary embolism, and prescribed oral anticoagulation for prophylaxis of embolic events. The surgical removal of the presumed thrombus was declined by the patient and intravenous anticoagulation with unfractionated heparin was initiated. Treatment was complicated by additional embolic events and the patient succumbed after 14 days due to multiple organ failure. Testing revealed heterozygosity for both the factor V Leiden and the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T mutations inducing resistance to activated protein C. The combination of these thrombophilic factors can probably explain the poor anticoagulant response, embolic events, and the failure of resolution of the biatrial masses.

Cardiac surgery in patients on hemodialysis: eight years experience of the Tunisian military hospital.

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is known to be an important risk factor for cardiac operations performed with cardiopulmonary bypass. We investigated the influence of preoperative status on perioperative mortality and morbidity. We retrospectively analyzed data from 26 patients with ESRD, who were on maintenance dialysis and underwent a cardiac surgical procedure bet-ween 2000 and 2007. Of them, 61.5% of the patients had isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and 38.5% had replacement or reconstruction of one or two valves. The perioperative mortality rate was 26% with five deaths occurring in patients undergoing CABG procedure. We found CABG procedure, being female and left ventricular (LV) function < 30% to be associated with a higher relative risk for perioperative death. In conclusion, our data suggest that both indi-cations and referral for surgical intervention for coronary artery disease may be delayed in pa-tients who have ESRD, contributing to the relatively high perioperative mortality.