Multidetector computed tomography in transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Where we stand.

Degenerative calcific aortic stenosis represents the most common valve abnormality with increasing incidence in the elderly. Studies have shown that aortic stenosis is a fatal disease with a high cardiovascular death rate if untreated. However, many patients are encumbered with multiple comorbidities making them high-risk candidates for surgical aortic valve replacement, which is the hitorical treatment of choice. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has seen rapid advancements over the last number of years with over 50000 TAVI procedures being performed in 40 countries with excellent prognosis proving TAVI to be a feasible alternative therapy to traditional surgical aortic valve replacement to treat high-risk patients. In addition to clinical suitability, imaging plays an essential role for optimal patient selection and to help select the appropriate prosthesis and to help reduce the likelihood of complications and adverse events. Fundamental to the procedure success, is the non-invasive assessment of the aortic annulus, the evaluation of the aortic root and the determination of the access to the aortic annulus. Among different imaging modalities that have been employed, multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is increasingly used because of its capability of 3-dimentional (3D) determination of the non-circular nature of the aortic annulus as well as the complex aortic root anatomy. Additionally, MDCT provides a deep understanding of the structural integrity of the transcatheter aortic valve and enables the evaluation of the prosthesis location after TAVI and identification of post procedure complications. In this article, we discuss the current role of MDCT in pre-TAVI evaluation but also in the guidance of the procedure and in post-procedure follow-up.

Failure after osteosynthesis of trochanteric fractures. Where is the limit of osteoporosis?

SUMMARY: The aim of this study is to identify osteoporosis values, beyond which there is a high risk of osteosynthesis failure. Bone mineral density (BMD) of 30 cadaveric femora with a pertrochanteric fracture osteotomy was correlated to the risk of cut out after osteosynthesis on a biomechanical testing approach. For a BMD less than 250 mg/cm(3), there is a high risk of fixation failure after surgical treatment of pertrochanteric fractures. This value can be regarded as a reference value for future experimental and clinical studies. INTRODUCTION: Despite continuous modification of intramedullary load carriers for the surgical stabilization of trochanteric fractures, cut out remains the most frequent complication. The aim of this experimental study was to identify threshold osteoporosis values, beyond which there is a high risk of osteosynthesis failure. METHODS: Bone mineral density (BMD) of 30 cadaveric femora was recorded for the femoral head by QCT measurement. Subsequently, a standardized osteotomy mimicking an unstable trochanteric type fracture was stabilized by intramedullary nailing. The constructs were loaded axially at a force of 2,100 N up to 20,000 cycles. Cut out at the femoral head was documented by radiograph. Statistical evaluation of the cohort group was performed by calculation of relative risk in relation to the BMD values. RESULTS: In total, there were six cases of cut out after 10,000 cycles. The incidence of cut out for BMD less than 250 mg/cm(3) was 0.55 (5 of 9) and for BMD greater than 250 mg/cm(3), it was 0.05 (1 of 21). Therefore, the relative risk of cut out for BMD <250 mg/cm(3) is 11× greater than for a BMD >250 mg/cm(3). After 20,000 cycles, an additional test caused one cut out (relative risk of cut out for a BMD <250 mg/cm(3) 5.8). CONCLUSIONS: For a BMD less than 250 mg/cm(3), there is a high risk of fixation failure after surgical treatment of pertrochanteric fractures. Although this value is based on an experimental in vitro study design with all its associated limitations, it can be regarded as a reference value for future experimental and clinical studies.

[Low-dose computed tomography for the detection of cocaine body packs: clinical evaluation and legal issues]. / Niedrigdosis-Computertomografieprotokoll zur Detektion von Kokain-Bodypacks: Klinische Evaluation und rechtliche Aspekte.

PURPOSE: To discuss the juridical basis for CT examinations of cocaine body packers and to evaluate the clinical implementation of a tube current reduction-based low-dose CT protocol. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature search was performed to discuss the legal basis regarding the problem, the procedures, the potential harm and the proportionality. Retrospective evaluation of 8 patients who had undergone a low-dose CT scan (body mass index < 25 kg/m(2) 30 mAs; > 25 kg/m(2) 60 mAs) during the time period from February until October 2009 in order to exclude or to assess remaining cocaine body packs was approved by the institutional review board. The detectability and condition of the body packs were analyzed. Effective doses were calculated. RESULTS: German jurisdiction does not distinguish between plain film X-ray and CT examinations. Both plain film X-ray and CT examination require a judicial warrant. However, examination results might still remain valid if a warrant was not requested. In 8 examinations (30 mAs n = 3, 60 mAs n = 5, mean BMI 25.9 ± 3.2) a total of 34 body packs were correctly identified. The mean density of the body packs was 74.4 ± 31.9 HU (range 17-154 HU) with a cocaine content between 22.5% and 72.8%. The mean estimated radiation dose was 2.23 ± 0.72 mSv. CONCLUSION: Although medical legal aspects do not specify the diagnostic procedure to be performed, the high diagnostic accuracy and applied radiation dose reduction could establish low-dose CT as the method of choice for detecting cocaine body packs, thereby potentially avoiding future legal problems.

[Clinical courses of trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) - an update]. / Klinische Verläufe bei Trisomie 18 (Edwards-Syndrom) - Ein Update.

BACKGROUND: In current literature the prognosis of trisomy 18 is mainly described as inevitably lethal. After intervention of parental organisations infants have been treated with cardio surgery in the USA, later in Europe as well with good results. We report the consequences of this and similar developments on our pre- und postnatal approach after diagnosis in our department. PATIENTS AND CASE REPORTS: 2 parents decided to carry the child to term after the recommendation for abortion. According to standard perinatological aspects one child was vaginally delivered, the second with Caesarean section. After informed consent with the parents we planned a supportive management without more resuscitation than stimulation and ventilation by mask. Both children could be stabilised with nasal CPAP. The first one had been operated on a double outlet right ventricle at the age of 6 months, the second needed to be operated for diaphragm hernia. The third child had been delivered by emergency Caesarean section. A bilateral choanal atresia had been operated in the first week of life, a double outlet right ventricle at the age of 15 days. One child is fed by a nasogastric tube, one is bottle-fed and one had a percutanous gastric tube until he died due to septicaemia, all have statomotorically retardation and had periods of pulmonary hypertension. The social situation of the families is characterised by a stable parental relationship and a safe socio-economical status. None of the children had an acute lethal malformation. DISCUSSION: In single cases a prospective management in patients with trisomy 18 can be possible. Besides medical issues, the emotional parental wish, their social network and economical status are crucial. CONCLUSION: The prognosis of trisomy 18 is poor. 3 patients and 20 months do not allow any general statements. However, our recent experience and the courses in the recent literature show that in single cases a more prospective management is possible.

[CT Angiography for the pre- and postoperative evaluation of the thoracic aorta]. / CT-Angiografie zur prä- und postoperativen Evaluation in der thorakalen Aortenchirurgie.

CT angiography is the imaging modality of choice for the pre- and postsurgical evaluation of patients with pathologies of the thoracic aorta. The purpose of this review is to familiarize the reader with the technical principle, recent technical developments and requirements for specific examination protocols and image interpretation, and to highlight common pathologies and findings.

Bilateral contrast-enhanced MR angiography of the hand: diagnostic image quality of accelerated MRI using echo sharing with interleaved stochastic trajectories (TWIST).

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the image quality of time-resolved contrast-enhanced MRA (tr-MRA) employing echo-sharing with stochastic trajectories for the bilateral examination of the hands. METHODS: In this institutional review-board approved study, Tr-MRA was compared with multiphasic contrast-enhanced MRA (mp-MRA) featuring sub-systolic venous compression in 20 healthy volunteers at 3.0 T using the following settings: TR/TE: 2.8/1.2 ms, flip angle: 25°, acceleration factor: 4, effective voxel size: 0.9 × 0.8 × 0.9 cm, acquisition time 4.9 s per 3D volume. RESULTS: With tr-MRA the arterial first-pass contrast agent transit is clearly seen. On average the contrast agent arrived 34 s post-injection and reached the proper digital arteries after 44 s. The mean arterio-venous window was 13 s. Bilateral contrast enhancement was asynchronous in 56-62%. On a semiquantitative scale (0 = non-sufficient to 4 = excellent) tr-MRA (mp-MRA) yielded an average ranking of 2.8-3.6 (3.1-3.8) in the greater and intermediate sized segments and 1.3-2.0 (1.6-2.3) in the proper digital arteries. CONCLUSION: Compared with established multiphasic ce-MRA, time-resolved MRA allows a four times faster acquisition. It reflects the natural haemodynamics of the hand arteries with no need for sub-systolic venous compression and may be beneficial in the detection of hand circulation disorders. Image quality is comparable to mp-MRA. In both techniques depiction of the proper digital arteries is limited.

[Treatment of fibrous dysplasia]. / Therapiekonzepte bei fibröser Dysplasie.

BACKGROUND: The fibrous dysplasia is a rare disease of bone metabolism. Most common on the extremities, its appearance at the skull base is rare but of importance in clinical otorhinolaryngology. The patients suffer from problems such as cosmetical limitation, recurrent pain and in later phases from functional losses which result from bone dysplasia. METHODS: Based on the experiences of these cases and the study of the current literature we would like to suggest a stage dependent therapy concept that includes conservativ options as well as surgical methods which are divided into curative and palliative surgical treatments. PATIENTS: The Department of Otorhinolaryngology in Bochum has been involved in the therapy of eight patients suffering from fibrous dysplasia which have been treated and examined from six to twenty years. RESULTS: Treatment in fibrous dysplasia can be efficient in increasing quality of life. A complete healing is rare and not the main target of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The staged therapy of fibrous dysplasia consists of conservative and surgical treatment and the combination of both. The decision for an individual therapy concept might be difficult and often requires close interdisciplinary cooperation.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 2. Genotype and phenotype in German kindreds.

BACKGROUND: Spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) is an autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia (ADCA) for which the disease-causing mutation has recently been characterized as an expanded CAG trinucleotide repeat. We investigated 64 families of German ancestry with ADCA and 55 patients with sporadic ataxia for the SCA2 mutation. RESULTS: Expanded alleles were found in 6 of the 64 families and in 1 patient with sporadic ataxia. This patient had a de novo mutation from an intermediate paternal allele. Length of repeats in 21 patients with SCA2 ranged from 36 to 52 CAG motifs and was inversely correlated with age at onset and progression of the disease. Expanded alleles were unstable during meiosis; paternal transmission especially caused significant anticipation of onset up to 26 years earlier. The SCA2 phenotype differed from those of SCA1 and SCA3 with higher frequencies of slowed ocular movements, postural and action tremor, myoclonus, and hyporeflexia. However, no single feature was sufficient to permit a specific clinical diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 accounts for about 10% of German families with ADCA but may also be present in sporadic ataxia due to de novo mutations. Clinical features are highly variable among and even within families. However, the size of the expanded repeat influences the phenotype and is relevant for course and prognosis of the disease.

Nisoldipine versus isosorbide dinitrate in coronary heart disease: results of a double-masked study.

The efficacy and tolerability of a twice-daily dose of 5 mg of nisoldipine versus 40 mg of sustained-release isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) were compared in a randomized, double-masked study in 91 patients. During the 21-day treatment period, the mean time taken during bicycle ergometry to the appearance of an ST segment depression of at least 0.1 mV compared with the resting value increased from 287 +/- 129 seconds to 391 +/- 150 seconds in the nisoldipine group and from 254 +/- 140 seconds to 350 +/- 191 seconds in the ISDN group. The mean value at the end of treatment calculated by using analysis of covariance was 383 seconds in both groups. The difference between the two treatment groups was not statistically significant. The mean ST segment depression at individually maximal workload decreased from 0.19 +/- 0.07 mV to 0.12 +/- 0.08 mV in the nisoldipine group and from 0.18 +/- 0.07 mV to 0.14 +/- 0.08 mV in the ISDN group. The mean total duration of exercise increased from 420 +/- 161 seconds to 497 +/- 140 seconds in the nisoldipine group and from 425 +/- 167 seconds to 456 +/- 168 seconds in the ISDN group. In the nisoldipine group, 9 patients reported 12 adverse events that were considered to be possibly or probably related to the test medication; in the ISDN group, 13 patients reported 26 adverse events. Although the anti-ischemic effect of the two treatments was comparable, nisoldipine was descriptively superior to ISDN in terms of tolerability.

Treatment of hypertensive emergency. Comparison of a new dosage form of the calcium antagonist nitrendipine with nifedipine capsules.

OBJECTIVE: To present the efficacy and tolerability of a new oral dosage form of the calcium antagonist nitrendipine compared to nifedipine capsules in patients with hypertensive emergency. DESIGN: Multicenter randomized double blind clinical study. SETTING: 23 study centres (hospitals) in Germany. PATIENTS: 161 patients between 20 and 70 years with acutely elevated blood pressure (systolic 200-250 mmHg, diastolic between 110-140 mmHg) with and without concomitant clinical symptoms. INTERVENTIONS: Double blind treatment with 10 mg nifedipine or 5 mg nitrendipine. Nifedipine was administered as capsules, nitrendipine was given from a small plastic tube (vial), containing 1 ml alcoholic solution. Every patient received in addition to the test medication a placebo corresponding to the other product. Patients with insufficient treatment after 45 min were given either an additional capsule of 10 mg nifedipine or a further vial containing 5 mg nitrendipine according to their group and maintaining the double dummy procedure. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Blood pressure and heart rate were measured repeatedly during 4 h, before and 90 min after beginning of the treatment a 12 channel resting ECG was recorded. At 45 min after administration the blood pressure had fallen significantly from 216.0/117.4 mmHg to 170.0/93.3 mmHg under nifedipine and from 216.9/117.3 mmHg to 177.4/94.4 mmHg under nitrendipine. 61.6% of the nifedipine patients and 58.8% of the nitrendipine patients had already reached blood pressure values < 180/100 mmHg after 45 min and in both groups 83% of these patients were still in this limit at the end of the observation period after 4 h. Tolerability was very good in both groups. CONCLUSION: The new dosage form of nitrendipine (vial with 1 ml of alcoholic solution) represents an alternative in the treatment of hypertensive emergency.

Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of oral nitrendipine solution in hypertensive patients with advanced renal failure.

Nitrendipine solution 5 mg.ml-1 in the dose of 5 mg was given orally to 20 patients with chronic renal failure and elevated diastolic blood pressure (> or = 110 mmHg), of whom 10 were on maintenance haemodialysis (endogenous creatinine clearance < 5 ml.min-1) and 10 were at the predialysis stage (endogenous creatinine clearance 5-20 ml.min-1). The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of kidney function and/or dialysis treatment on the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of a solution of nitrendipine and to assess its antihypertensive efficacy. After 10 min there was a significant reduction in blood pressure from 188/113 to 173/100 (patients not dependent on dialysis) and from 197/112 to 161/94 mmHg (patients dependent on dialysis). The maximum fall in blood pressure (approximately 30%) was attained after 90 min in the dialysis patients and after 120 min in the non-dialysis group. Blood pressure increased again about 3 h after the administration of nitrendipine but it was still below baseline after 12 h. The terminal elimination half-life (4.1 h in the dialysis patients and 3.6 h in non-dialysis patients) was similar to that observed in patients with normal renal function. The pharmacokinetics of nitrendipine did not differ between the dialysis and non-dialysis groups. There was a correlation between plasma concentration and the blood pressure reduction. The maximum plasma concentration of nitrendipine was reached after 0.5 h (median) and did not differ between the two groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)