Abdominal aortic and iliac aneurysm presented as lower limb deep vein thrombosis: case report.

Introduction: We report a rare case of a symptomatic abdominal aneurysm presented as a lower limb deep vein thrombosis (DVT).Case presentation: A 63-year old male presented to our hospital with a recent progressive onset of the right lower limb swelling and pain. The patient had a history of a previous cardiovascular disease. A Duplex ultrasound was performed, which confirmed a right lower limb DVT extending to the right iliac vein. The patient had a pulsatile abdominal mass. Computed tomography scan of the abdomen showed an abdominal aortic and a right iliac artery aneurysm compressing the thrombosed inferior caval and the right iliac vein. The patient was treated with low molecular weight heparin. After resolution of the DVT on day 3 of hospitalization, a surgery on the abdominal and iliac artery aneurysm was performed. The aneurysm was resected and an aortobifemoral bypass was placed using a Dacron prosthesis. The patient remained to be asymptomatic for 6 months after the surgery. Follow up computed tomography demonstrated a fully patent inferior caval and iliac vein and the absence of the aneurysmal disease.Conclusion: Although rare, our case confirms that the DVT should be considered as a possible symptom of an abdominal aneurysm in selected patients.

Successful conversion of recent-onset atrial fibrillation by sequential administration of up to three antiarrhythmic drugs.

BACKGROUND: Short-term conversion attempt of recent-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) in the emergency room fails too often. Many patients and doctors still prefer pharmacological to electrical solutions in such cases. HYPOTHESIS: Sequential administration of up to 3 antiarrhythmic drugs of different classes of action (amiodarone, propafenone, and quinidine) may achieve conversion in such patients. METHOD: One hundred and forty consecutive patients with recent-onset AF were transferred to the intensive cardiac care unit after a failed 2-h conversion attempt in the emergency room. First-line drug for conversion was continued up to a full dose, and was chosen by AF etiology, or in recurrent AF episodes, empirically. In nonresponders, the failed drug was replaced by a drug of another class, and if the second-line drug failed it was replaced by a drug of the third-line. Electrical cardioversion was the final solution for nonresponders. RESULTS: Sixty percent of patients reached sinus rhythm by the first-line drug therapy, 34% by the second-line, and 4% by the third-line. Seventy-five percent of patients achieved conversion within 26 h, and 95% of patients achieved conversion within 40 h. Three patients were electrically cardioverted due to hemodynamical instability. Two episodes of Torsade de Pointes ventricular tachycardia were self-terminated. CONCLUSION: Sequential usage of up to 3 antiarrhythmic drugs of different classes of action provides almost complete success in conversion of recent-onset AF in patients refractory to short-term conversion attempt in the emergency room.

Cardiovascular diseases in Croatia and other transitional countries: comparative study of publications, clinical interventions, and burden of disease.

AIM: To determine the number of publications on cardiovascular diseases in the MEDLINE database, the rate of medical doctors and clinical interventions in cardiology, and health and socioeconomic indicators for Croatia, and to compare them with those for Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Austria. METHODS: PubMed was used in search for publications on cardiovascular diseases published in 1991-2004. Rates per million population and proportions of publications on cardiovascular diseases in the MEDLINE database were calculated. Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was used as a socioeconomic indicator, whereas human resources in medicine were presented as the rate of medical doctors per million population. Standardized death rates from cardiovascular diseases and ischemic heart disease were used as indicators of cardiovascular health. Clinical interventions in cardiology, such as coronary angiograms, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasties (PTCA), and coronary bypass surgeries (CABG) were expressed per million population per year. RESULTS: Croatia had the lowest GDP per capita among the analyzed countries. The standardized death rate from cardiovascular diseases in Croatia was 91.7 per 100,000 population aged 0-64 in 2001, which was higher than that in Slovenia and Austria (P<0.001), similar to that in the Czech Republic, and lower than that in Hungary (P<0.001). Cardiovascular scientific output in Croatia was the lowest among investigated countries, ie, 1.1 per million population in 2003 (P<0.001). Despite a significantly lower number of medical doctors in comparison with Hungary and the Czech Republic (P<0.001), Croatia experienced a similar increment in the amount of clinical interventions in cardiology. CONCLUSION: In contrast to high cardiovascular mortality rates, cardiovascular scientific production in Croatia was significantly lower than in other investigated countries. A positive trend in cardiovascular medicine was recorded in clinical practice, but has yet to be followed by scientific production.

[Use of flow cytometry in the diagnosis of gestational trophoblastic disease]. / Primjena protocne citometrije u dijagnostici gestacijske trofoblasticne bolesti.

INTRODUCTION: Histopathologic analysis of aborted tissue in molar pregnancy is frequently complicated by scarcity of tissue as well as by the fact that ultrasound and biochemistry permit the clinical diagnosis of gestational trophoblastic disease at the very beginning of pregnancy, when all classical morphologic features have not yet developed. Flow cytometry is today a widely used method that can help the pathologist reach a correct diagnosis, having implications for the patient. AIM: To show the role of flow cytometry in addition to classical histopathologic methods in the early diagnosis of gestational trophoblastic disease, i. e. molar pregnancy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 103 consecutively received placental tissue samples from spontaneous/medically induced abortions were histopathologically examined and submitted to flow cytometry analysis. RESULTS: The patient mean age was 31 (range 19-50) years, and mean gestational age was 10 (range 5-19) weeks. Residual placental tissue with or without degenerative changes was found in 51.5% of the samples; in 8.7% embryonal/fetal tissues were identified as well. The histopathologic diagnosis of partial hydatiform mole was made in 34% and of complete hydatiform mole in 5.8% of cases. The difference in mean age of women according to histopathologic findings or placental ploidy was not significant. Flow cytometry revealed 42.7% of diploid samples, 58.3% of aneuploid samples and 1% of tetraploid samples. Of 53 samples showing normal morphology or degenerative hydropic changes, 60.4% were diploid and 39.6% aneuploid; of 9 samples containing fetal tissues 44.4% were diploid and 55.5% aneuploid (NS). A significant difference (p < 0.01) was found between the placental tissue ploidy with histopathologic diagnosis of residual placental tissue, and with histopathologic diagnosis of partial hydatiform mole (p < 0.001); when fetal tissues were present the difference was not significant CONCLUSION: This study confirmed the partial hydatiform mole to be a common but clinically underdiagnosed condition. Except for the knowledge whether the abortion was caused by cytogenetic factors, flow cytometry helps the pathologist reach an accurate diagnosis and has a place in daily practice.