ABSTRACT
Since their introduction, percutaneous techniques have been replacing conventional surgery as a first-line treatment for septal defects. Amplatzer devices were the first to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and their placement has become a standard procedure in pediatric cardiology. Bacterial endocarditis of intracardiac devices such as the Amplatzer septal occluder is very infrequent. We report a case of bacterial endocarditis in a pediatric patient with an Amplatzer device, who developed an infectious endocarditis six years after its placement and received conservative management with intravenous antibiotics, with satisfactory evolution.
Desde su aparición, las técnicas percutáneas han ido sustituyendo la cirugía convencional como tratamiento de primera línea en los defectos septales interauriculares. Los dispositivos Amplatzer fueron los primeros aprobados por la Food and Drug Administration, y su colocación se ha convertido en un procedimiento habitual en cardiología pediátrica. La aparición de endocarditis bacteriana sobre este tipo de dispositivos es muy infrecuente. Se presenta el caso de una endocarditis bacteriana en un paciente pediátrico portador de un dispositivo Amplatzer, que se manejó de forma conservadora con antibioterapia intravenosa, con evolución satisfactoria.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/administration & dosage , Endocarditis, Bacterial/drug therapy , Septal Occluder Device/microbiology , Child , Conservative Treatment/methods , Endocarditis, Bacterial/etiology , Humans , Male , Septal Occluder Device/adverse effects , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Pulmonary sequestration is an unusual cause of heart failure in infants. We report a preterm newborn with signs of congestive heart failure supposed secondary to a ductus arteriosus that was finally diagnosed as a coexistent extralobar pulmonary sequestration. In this case, Doppler echocardiography was essential for diagnosis, revealing an abnormal systemic arterial supply to the sequestered lung and abnormal venous drainage.
Subject(s)
Bronchopulmonary Sequestration/diagnostic imaging , Echocardiography, Doppler/methods , Heart Failure/diagnostic imaging , Infant, Premature, Diseases/diagnostic imaging , Ultrasonography, Prenatal/methods , Bronchopulmonary Sequestration/complications , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Heart Failure/etiology , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Infant, PrematureABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There is no evidence that the epinephrine-3% hypertonic saline combination is more effective than 3% hypertonic saline alone for treating infants hospitalized with acute bronchiolitis. We evaluated the efficacy of nebulized epinephrine in 3% hypertonic saline. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in 208 infants hospitalized with acute moderate bronchiolitis. Infants were randomly assigned to receive nebulized 3% hypertonic saline with either 3 mL of epinephrine or 3 mL of placebo, administered every four hours. The primary outcome measure was the length of hospital stay. RESULTS: A total of 185 infants were analyzed: 94 in the epinephrine plus 3% hypertonic saline group and 91 in the placebo plus 3% hypertonic saline group. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were similar in both groups. Length of hospital stay was significantly reduced in the epinephrine group as compared with the placebo group (3.94 ±1.88 days vs. 4.82 ±2.30 days, P = 0.011). Disease severity also decreased significantly earlier in the epinephrine group (P = 0.029 and P = 0.036 on days 3 and 5, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In our setting, nebulized epinephrine in 3% hypertonic saline significantly shortens hospital stay in hospitalized infants with acute moderate bronchiolitis compared to 3% hypertonic saline alone, and improves the clinical scores of severity from the third day of treatment, but not before. TRIAL REGISTRATION: EudraCT 2009-016042-57.
