Immunological and histopathological changes in the atrial tissue during and after cardiopulmonary bypass.

BACKGROUND: Ischemia and reperfusion injury occur in cardiac operations using cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Little is known about the immunological and histopathological changes in the atrial tissue under these conditions. OBJECTIVES: To investigate and compare multiple right atrial biopsy specimens by means of a self-developed pathological and immunohistochemistry panel. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-six nonselected adult patients (mean age 59+/-11.6 years, range 34 to 75) who had undergone different types of heart surgery (26 with and 10 without the use of CPB). RESULTS: Circumscribed necrosis was not found in any of the samples. Contractile bundle necrosis deteriorated only moderately with CPB. The share of hibernated myocardium seemed to increase during CPB, reaching 30% regardless of the basic disease. From the subepicardial toward the subendocardial surface, the amount of contractile proteins decreased continuously. Features similar to those seen with the phenomenon of 'stunning', which develops due to acute ischemia, were also noted. The apoptosis index did not exceed 1%. Apoptotic cells were generally randomly spread. It was very characteristic that with the use of CPB neither pro- nor antiapoptotic peptides (Bax, Bcl-2) were seen. In samples taken from patients who underwent surgery performed without the use of CPB both proteins were detected. The occurrence of cellular stress (heat shock protein 70 reaction) was rather variable in the samples. CONCLUSIONS: These investigations should be continued on homogeneous patient populations with the inclusion of proinflammatory cytokine determination.

Surgical treatment of cardiac myxomas: a 20-year follow-up.

Clinical experience in the diagnosis and management of 50 cases of cardiac myxoma seen over a 20-year period from 1974 to 1994 has been reviewed. There were 17 men and 33 women of mean age 55.2 (range 16-81) years. Echocardiography confirmed the diagnosis in all patients. The location of myxomas was as follows: left atrial alone in 42 patients, right atrial alone in three, right ventricular alone in one, left atrial+right atrial in two, left atrial+right atrial+right ventricular in one, and left atrial+left ventricular in one. Nineteen patients were operated on within 48 hours of the diagnosis. All tumours were successfully removed with the aid of cardiopulmonary bypass. The hospital mortality rate was 10%. Excision of the tumour resulted in marked symptomatic improvement. There was one late death. The current survivors are symptom-free at a mean follow-up of 76.4 (range 1-241) months. Echocardiographic studies were performed in all survivors and no recurrences have been observed. It is concluded that excision of cardiac myxomas is curative and long-term survival is excellent. Radical tumour excision may prevent recurrences.

[Long-term results of surgical treatment of cardiac myxomas]. / A cardialis myxomák sebészi kezelésének késöi eredményei.

We have reviewed our clinical experience in the diagnosis and management of 50 cases of cardiac myxoma seen over a 20 year period, 1974 to 1994. There were 17 males and 33 females, their ages ranged from 16 to 81 years (mean 55.2 years). Echocardiography confirmed the diagnosis in all patients. The location of myxomas was as follows: left atrial alone in 42 patients, right atrial alone in 3, right ventricular alone in 1, left + right atrial in 2, left + right atrial + right ventricular in 1, and left atrial eft ventricular in 1. Nineteen patients were operated on within 48 hours following the diagnosis. All tumors were successfully removed with the aid of cardiopulmonary bypass. The hospital mortality rate was 10%. Excision of the tumor resulted in marked symptomatic improvement. There was one late death. The current survivors are asymptomatic at a mean follow-up of 76,4 months (range 1-241 months). Echocardiographic studies were performed in all survivors and no recurrences have been observed. We conclude that excision of cardiac myxomas is curative and long-term survival is excellent. Radical tumor excision may prevent recurrence.

Dissection of the atrial wall after mitral valve replacement.

We describe an unusual sequela of mitral valve replacement in a 50-year-old woman who had undergone a closed mitral commissurotomy in 1975. She was admitted to our hospital because of mitral restenosis in November 1993, at which time her mitral valve was replaced with a mechanical prosthesis. On the 8th postoperative day, the patient developed symptoms of heart failure; transesophageal echocardiography revealed dissection and rupture of the left atrial wall. At prompt reoperation, we found an interlayer dissection and rupture of the atrial wall into the left atrium. We repaired the ruptured atrial wall with a prosthetic patch. The postoperative course was uneventful, and postoperative transesophageal echocardiography showed normal prosthetic valve function and no dissection.

Valve repair in infective endocarditis.

From 1985 to 1995, 12 patients with native valve endocarditis underwent valve repair instead of replacement. Mean age was 41.9 years (range from 5 to 79 years). Eight patients had active and 4 patients inactive infection. The mitral valve was involved in 6 patients, the aortic valve in 1, both valves in 2, the tricuspid valve in 2, and the mitral and pulmonary valves in 1. The pathological findings were as follows: leaflet perforation in 2 patients, chordal rupture in 3, and vegetations in 10. Valve sparing procedures were carried out on the mitral valve in 8 patients, on the aortic valve in 1, on the tricuspid valve in 2, and on the pulmonary valve in 1. The following repair techniques were used: vegetectomy in 10 patients, leaflet patching in 2, posterior mitral leaflet resection in 3, mitral annuloplasty in 4, and pulmonary valve repair in 1. Uncontrolled sepsis, progressive heart failure, peripheral embolism, and echocardiographically demonstrated vegetations were the indications for surgery. There was no operative or late mortality and all infections were cured with no recurrences. One patient required valve replacement following aortic valve repair because of progressive aortic regurgitation. Postoperative Doppler echocardiography showed trivial to no regurgitation in 11 patients after valve repair. The overall outcome was favorable during the mean follow-up period of 39.3 months (range from 1 to 120 months). Reparative or reconstructive approaches for native valve endocarditis should be considered and can be successfully performed. Their advantages include (1) improved hemodynamics, (2) no recurrence, (3) no mortality, and (4) favorable long-term results.

[Experience with the implantation of the Thermos 01 rate-adaptive pacemaker]. / Thermos 01 rate-adaptive pacemaker implantatióval szerzett tapasztalataink.

Authors summarise their 16 patient-years experience of eight Thermos 01 rate-adaptive pacemaker systems implanted in the Hungarian Institute of Cardiology. Data collected during regular control of the patients, exercise tests and Holter investigations are presented. Five of the 8 patients had better exercise capacity, but improvement over 25 Watt workload appeared only at two patients. Thermistor-controlled rate-adaptive pacing triggered by the central venous blood (CVB) temperature appeared beneficial for patients with predominant bradycardia. The thermoregulation sensor proved to be stable and has a good correlation to diurnal rhythm but it has a delay to short and intensive workload. The setting of the Thermos 01 is very time-consuming with the present algorithm of the software. It needs regular control and re-setting because of the marked individual differences among the patient's temperature profiles.

Total correction of tetralogy of Fallot in adolescents and adults.

From 1976 to 1988, 23 adolescent and adult patients underwent total correction of tetralogy of Fallot. There were 13 males and 10 females, ranging in age from 16 to 47 years (mean 24.3 +/- 8.6 years). Eight patients were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II, 14 patients in class III, and one patient in class IV. Sixteen patients (69.6%) had undergone previous palliative operation. All shunts were patent at the time of repair. In 9 patients bovine pericardial monocusp patches were used for reconstruction of the right-ventricular outflow tract. Intraoperatively, the right-ventricular to left-ventricular systolic pressure ratio after repair ranged from 0.29 to 0.80 (mean 0.49 +/- 0.13). There were 2 early deaths (8.7%). Eight of 23 patients (34.8%) exhibited postoperative low cardiac output syndrome. One late death occurred: a 22-year-old male patient died of Staphylococcus sepsis 8 months postoperatively. All surviving patients were followed from 3 to 15 years (mean 8.3 +/- 2.7 years). No patient required reoperation in the follow-up period. The actuarial survival estimate for all 23 patients was 87% at the end of 15 years. At follow-up 17 patients were in NYHA class I, two were in class II, and one was judged to be in class III. We believe advanced age is no contraindication to surgery in tetralogy of Fallot. Adolescents and adults remain in need of total correction which can be performed with acceptable risk and long-term symptomatic improvement.

Late results after repair of partial atrioventricular septal defect in adolescents and adults.

From January 1966 through December 1985, 29 adolescents and adults underwent surgical repair of a partial atrioventricular septal defect at our institution. The patients included 20 females and 9 males, whose ages ranged from 16 to 47 years (mean, 27.6 +/- 10.1 years). Preoperatively, 24 patients were in New York Heart Association functional class I or II, and 5 were in class III. The pulmonary artery systolic pressure ranged from 22 to 62 mmHg (mean, 38.3 +/- 12.7 mmHg). The pulmonary-to-systemic flow ratio ranged from 1.4 to 2.9 (mean, 2.3 +/- 0.5). Upon left ventriculography, regurgitation through the left atrioventricular valve was trivial or nonexistent in 4 patients (13.8%), mild in 14 (48.3%), moderate in 10 (34.5%), and severe in 1 patient (3.4%). All patients underwent patch closure of the ostium primum defect, and all but 2 underwent partial or complete suturing of the septal commissure. One patient died within 30 days, for a hospital mortality of 3.4%. The follow-up period ranged from 7 to 25 years (mean, 15.2 +/- 5.3 years). Postoperatively, all patients were evaluated with 2-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography. One patient underwent early implantation of a permanent pacemaker for persistent complete heart block. Three patients succumbed to late death 10, 15, and 21 years after operation. Among the 25 long-term survivors, 1 patient required late valve replacement because of severe left atrioventricular valve regurgitation. Nine (37.5%) of the other 24 long-term survivors had little or no regurgitation. Of the 11 patients with moderate-to-severe preoperative left atrioventricular valve regurgitation, 4 had moderate postoperative regurgitation. Seventeen patients had a moderate or severe persistent apical systolic murmur. At the latest follow-up in 1991, 5 (20%) of the 25 long-term survivors had significant arrhythmias. At 25 years, the actuarial survival rate was 78.9% +/- 25.6%. All 25 surviving patients were in New York Heart Association class I or II. The rate of freedom from reoperation was 77.7% +/- 25.9%. We conclude that, in adolescents and adults, correction of a partial atrioventricular septal defect entails little risk and is likely to improve the patient's functional status. Repair of the left atrioventricular valve yields good results, even at long-term follow-up.

[The role of transesophageal echocardiography in atrial septal defect detected in adults]. / A transoesophagealis módszerrel kiegészített echocardiographia szerepe a felnöttkorban észlelt pitvari septum defectus diagnosztikájában.

UNLABELLED: To assess the value of combined transesophageal echocardiography (TE) and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in the preoperative evaluation of atrial septal defect (ASD) 59 consecutive patients (aged 15-62, mean 38 yrs) with clinically or echocardiographically suspected ASD underwent TE and complete noninvasive hemodynamic study by TTE. ASD was found by TE in 48: fossa ovalis (FO) type in 36, sinus venosus (SV) type in 11 and primum type in 1. For FO and SV defect the sensitivity of clinical judgement was 83 and 0%, the specificity 39 and 100% resp., the sensitivity of TTE was 78 and 9%, the specificity 78 and 100%. The most frequently associated anomaly by TE was mitral valve prolapse (25%). SV defect was always associated with anomalous right upper pulmonary venous drainage, and left superior vena cava was found in 27% of SV defects. There was significant correlation between Qp/Qs measured by TTE and by catheterization (r = 0.64), but the Qp/Qs was not related to defect size. An excellent correlation was found between pulmonary artery systolic pressure measured by CW Doppler and catheterization (r = 0.98). IN CONCLUSION: 1) TTE combined with TE is reliable in the preoperative assessment of ASD in adults, 2) TE is not necessary if there are unequivocal clinical and TTE signs of an FO defect with significant left-to-right shunt, 3) TE is indicated in patients with signs of right ventricular overload or pulmonary hypertension if an ASD cannot be ruled out by TTE, 4) catheterization is necessary if all 4 pulmonary veins cannot be visualized by TE.