The potential of volatile organic compound analysis in cervicovaginal mucus to predict estrus and ovulation in estrus-synchronized heifers.

Cervicovaginal mucus is a mixture of mucins, ions, salts, and water, the proportions of which change during the reproductive cycle. It is suspected that this mucus emits an important volatile signal indicative of the reproductive state of the female. The objective of this study was to identify volatile organic compounds (VOC) in bovine cervicovaginal mucus that are modulated during the estrous cycle and could potentially be used as biomarkers of estrus and ovulation. Cervicovaginal mucus was collected from crossbred beef heifers (n = 8), which were synchronized using an 8-d controlled internal drug release (CIDR) protocol and in which onset of estrus and time of ovulation were determined by visual observation and ultrasonography, respectively. Mucus samples were collected between 0 and 96 h after CIDR removal (estrus onset occurred at 49.1 ± 3.3 h after CIDR removal). A validation study was performed on an independent group of 15 heifers from which cervicovaginal mucus samples were collected every 8 h from 40 to 80 h after CIDR removal. The VOC in mucus were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and selected compounds were quantified using selected-ion flow-tube mass spectrometry. The presence of 47 VOC was detected in mucus samples by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with those exhibiting highest abundance including 2-butanone, acetone, 2-pentanone, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, 1-(1-methylethoxy)-2-propanone, ethanol, 2-methyl-2-propanol, and 2-butanol. All VOC peaked between 24 to 47 h after the onset of estrus (ovulation occurred 26.6 ± 5.6 h after estrus onset). Two VOC, 2-pentanone and 4-methyl-2-pentanone, exhibited a significant increase at the onset of estrus, whereas concentration of 2-butanone increased significantly just after estrus onset, indicating that these VOC may be used as putative biomarkers of estrus. The results of our study may contribute to the development of a sensor device based on VOC to aid the detection of estrus and ovulation in cattle, with particular relevance for the dairy industry where the majority of females are bred by artificial insemination.

Outcomes of intragastric balloon placements in a private practice setting.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIM: Intragastric balloons are used as a treatment for obesity. Much of the data collected on balloons has been in the context of clinical trials in academic medical centers or as a bridge to bariatric surgery in obesity centers. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of balloon treatment in private practice. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of 6-month weight loss data and balloon-related complications of patients referred to three private centers for obesity treatment. RESULTS: A total of 815 patients (131 males) were referred for balloon treatment (mean age 36.5 years, mean body weight 111.7 kg, mean body mass index [BMI] 38.1 kg/m(2)). The 6-month weight loss data were available for 672 patients. Mean weight loss was 20.9 kg (7.2 BMI units). A total of 372 patients visited the center only once following balloon placement (i. e. for balloon removal), but these patients still achieved a mean weight loss of 19.4 kg (6.6 BMI units). Successful weight loss (i. e. ≥ 10 %) was achieved in 85.0 %. Severe complications consisted of dehydration requiring hospital admission (n = 2; 0.2 %), and intestinal obstruction caused by balloon deflation, which required surgery (n = 2; 0.2 %). A total of 35 deflated balloons (4.3 %) were passed rectally without any adverse events. Severe esophagitis following balloon placement was diagnosed in 12 patients (1.5 %). A total of 53 patients (6.5 %) requested balloon removal during the first month. Nine balloons (1.1 %) were removed for medical reasons. CONCLUSION: In the private practice setting, intragastric balloons on their own, without an intensive lifestyle program and supportive consultations, resulted in safe and substantial weight losses, and may fill the therapeutic gap between pharmacotherapy and surgery.

Bleeding in a Jehovah's Witness patient undergoing a redo aortic valve replacement controlled with cryoprecipitate and a prothrombin complex concentrate.

PURPOSE: This is a case report involving a middle-aged Jehovah's Witness patient who underwent a redo aortic valve replacement, coronary artery bypass graft, and Maze procedure facilitated by cardiopulmonary bypass. The consent process included a discussion of the management of bleeding and hemostasis in the perioperative period in the context of the patients' religious choice and the possible consequences of avoiding transfusion in massive bleeding. The medical team agreed to abide by the patient's wishes with respect to the blood and blood products deemed unacceptable by the patient irrespective of the consequences. The consent included a discussion of manufactured hemostatic agents that are designated by the Hospital Liaison Committee Network for Jehovah's Witnesses as subject to personal decision. There was also a discussion of recombinant agents available, all of which are acceptable to Jehovah's Witness patients. The patient accepted the use of cryoprecipitate, prothrombin complex concentrate, and recombinant factor VIIa. CLINICAL FEATURES: After separation from cardiopulmonary bypass and protamine administration, blood loss was 350 mL over a ten-minute period. The international normalized ratio (INR) was 3.5 at that time. Cryoprecipitate 15 U, 1-deamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin 16 U, and a prothrombin complex concentrate, Octaplex®, 60 mL were administered. Blood loss improved significantly. The INR in the cardiac surgical intensive care unit was 1.3. The sample was taken approximately one hour following the administration of the hemostatic agents. The patient's chest was closed, and chest tube drainage was 310 mL over the next 12 hr. CONCLUSION: This is a novel case involving the use of prothrombin complex concentrate in the setting of a Jehovah's Witness patient undergoing a complex operative procedure.

Urgent replacement of a mechanical mitral prosthesis in an anticoagulated patient with Bombay red blood cell phenotype.

PURPOSE: Bombay red blood cell phenotype is an extremely rare blood type for which patients can receive only autologous or Bombay phenotype red blood cells. We report a case of urgent repeat sternotomy for replacement of a mechanical mitral prosthesis in a patient with Bombay phenotype anticoagulated with warfarin, to emphasize the transfusion challenges in such patients. CLINICAL FEATURES: A male of Indian descent presented to hospital with New York Heart Association IV symptoms. His medical history revealed previous mitral valve replacement with a mechanical prosthesis in 2005 and Bombay phenotype blood. Preoperative transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated thrombus obstruction of the mitral prosthesis despite anticoagulation with warfarin. Right ventricular systolic pressure was >100 mmHg with 3+ tricuspid regurgitation. The patient's condition was temporized with diuretics, bronchodilators, and bi-level positive airway pressure ventilation while transfusion medicine and cardiac surgery were consulted for urgent surgery. The patient received vitamin K and prothrombin complex concentrate prior to repeat sternotomy and successful mitral prosthesis replacement. After cardiopulmonary bypass, heparinization was corrected with protamine and followed by a second dose of prothrombin complex concentrate and recombinant activated factor VIIa. Postoperatively, the patient received four units of packed red blood cells, two autologous units and two units of Bombay specific red blood cells. Right ventricular pressures stabilized at 40 mmHg following surgery. The patient recovered following several days of inotropic support with milrinone, diuretics, and bronchodilators. CONCLUSION: Patients with Bombay phenotype red blood cells present as type O, but they are unable to receive red blood cells from any phenotype other than Bombay phenotype. They are able to receive all other blood products, including fresh frozen plasma, cryoprecipitate, platelets, prothrombin complex concentrate, and recombinant activated factor VIIa. Coordination between Canadian Blood Services, transfusion medicine, surgery, and anesthesia is important in managing these patients.

Breaking the diffraction barrier outside of the optical near-field with bright, collimated light from nanometric apertures.

The optical diffraction limit has been the dominant barrier to achieving higher optical resolution in the fields of microscopy, photolithography, and optical data storage. We present here an approach toward imaging below the diffraction barrier. Through the exposure of photosensitive films placed a finite and known distance away from nanoscale, zero-mode apertures in thin metallic films, we show convincing, physical evidence that the propagating component of light emerging from these apertures shows a very strong degree of collimation well past the maximum extent of the near-field (lambda(0)/4n-lambda(0)/2n). Up to at least 2.5 wavelengths away from the apertures, the transmitted light exhibits subdiffraction limit irradiance patterns. These unexpected results are not explained by standard diffraction theory or nanohole-based "beaming" rationalizations. This method overcomes the diffraction barrier and makes super-resolution fluorescence imaging practical.

Emerging tools for real-time label-free detection of interactions on functional protein microarrays.

The availability of extensive genomic information and content has spawned an era of high-throughput screening that is generating large sets of functional genomic data. In particular, the need to understand the biochemical wiring within a cell has introduced novel approaches to map the intricate networks of biological interactions arising from the interactions of proteins. The current technologies for assaying protein interactions--yeast two-hybrid and immunoprecipitation with mass spectrometric detection--have met with considerable success. However, the parallel use of these approaches has identified only a small fraction of physiologically relevant interactions among proteins, neglecting all nonprotein interactions, such as with metabolites, lipids, DNA and small molecules. This highlights the need for further development of proteome scale technologies that enable the study of protein function. Here we discuss recent advances in high-throughput technologies for displaying proteins on functional protein microarrays and the real-time label-free detection of interactions using probes of the local index of refraction, carbon nanotubes and nanowires, or microelectromechanical systems cantilevers. The combination of these technologies will facilitate the large-scale study of protein interactions with proteins as well as with other biomolecules.

Identification by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of the volatile organic compounds emitted from the wood-rotting fungi Serpula lacrymans and Coniophora puteana, and from Pinus sylvestris timber.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by two wood-rotting basidiomycete fungi, Serpula lacrymans (dry rot fungus) and Coniophora puteana (cellar fungus), and the timber of Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine), were identified. Several volatile collection techniques were employed including dichloromethane solvent extraction, solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and thermal desorption of VOCs entrained on Tenax GR. In addition, a new method of solid sample injection (SSI) is described which utilises a low injector temperature and an all-glass deactivated injector liner designed to minimise both the formation of pyrolysis products and analyte degradation. All the volatile compounds collected were analysed using electron impact capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) on HP-5, HP-Innowax and beta-cyclodextrin columns. SSI and Tenax thermal desorption were found to be the most effective extraction methods. A total of 19 VOCs were observed from S. lacrymans grown on glass slides and pine, 15 from C. puteana grown on glass slides and 12 from P. sylvestris timber. S. lacrymans was found to emit, in low abundance, six unique VOCs, of which 2-methylbutanal was the greatest. The major volatile compound emitted by S. lacrymans was 1-octen-3-ol, which was also found in lower abundance from C. puteana. Six VOCs, including diethylene glycol and 4-methyl methylbenzoate, were found to be unique to C. puteana, all in medium abundance: From P. sylvestris, the major volatiles identified were S-alpha-pinene and 3-carene.

Cell differentiation by mechanical stress.

Growth factors, hormones, and other regulatory molecules are traditionally required in tissue engineering studies to direct the differentiation of progenitor cells along specific lineages. We demonstrate that mechanical stimulation in vitro, without ligament-selective exogenous growth and differentiation factors, induces the differentiation of mesenchymal progenitor cells from the bone marrow into a ligament cell lineage in preference to alternative paths (i.e., bone or cartilage cell lineages). A bioreactor was designed to permit the controlled application of ligament-like multidimensional mechanical strains (translational and rotational strain) to the undifferentiated cells embedded in a collagen gel. The application of mechanical stress over a period of 21 days up-regulated ligament fibroblast markers, including collagen types I and III and tenascin-C, fostered statistically significant cell alignment and density and resulted in the formation of oriented collagen fibers, all features characteristic of ligament cells. At the same time, no up-regulation of bone or cartilage-specific cell markers was observed.

Outcomes following interventions in small coronary arteries with the use of hand-crimped Palmaz-Schatz stents.

Although coronary stenting has been shown to be effective, retrospective studies have suggested that stents do not provide better results than angioplasty in small coronary arteries. We sought to examine procedural, in-hospital, and long-term outcomes of patients undergoing small-vessel stenting with Palmaz-Schatz stents hand-crimped on a balloon catheter <3 mm in diameter. We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of 117 patients who underwent this type of coronary stent implantation at Duke University Medical Center between January 1, 1997 and May 30, 1998. The clinical indications for percutaneous revascularization included unstable angina in 67.5% of patients, acute myocardial infarction in 4.3%, postinfarct angina in 3.4%, silent ischemia in 3.4%, and stable angina in 1% of patients. Quantitative angiographic analysis was performed immediately before angioplasty and after stent implantation. Stents were used for elective indications in 24%, for suboptimal angiographic result in 61.5%, and for abrupt and/or threatened closure in 14.5% of patients. Reference vessel diameter was similar before and after the procedure. Minimum luminal diameter increased from 0.63 to 2.35 mm, an acute gain of 1.72+/-0.43 mm. Percent stenosis decreased from 74.2% to 4.7%. The clinical composite of death (n = 1, 1%), nonfatal myocardial infarction (n = 6, 5.1%), and revascularization (n = 1, 1%) occurred in-hospital in only 8 patients (6.8%), resulting in clinical procedure success in 109 patients (93%). Our data suggest that stents designed for vessels >3.0 mm can be deployed in small vessels, with a low in-hospital event rate. However, target lesion revascularization in small vessels remains high. Development of antiproliferative strategies could improve long-term outcomes for small-vessel interventions.

Progression of renal artery stenosis in patients undergoing cardiac catheterization.

BACKGROUND: Renal artery stenosis is potentially correctable by either revascularization surgery or percutaneous methods. However, appropriate use of these techniques has been hampered by a lack of data on the natural history of this disease. This study assesses the prevalence, risk factors for progression, and effect on renal function of angiographically demonstrated renal artery disease in patients undergoing cardiac catheterization. METHODS: The severity of renal artery stenosis was quantified in all patients who underwent abdominal aortography as part of a diagnostic cardiac catheterization study at Duke University Medical Center between January 1989 and February 1996. RESULTS: There were 14,152 patients in the study (mean age 61+/-12 years, 62% male). Normal renal arteries were identified in 12,543 (88.7%) patients, insignificant disease (<50% stenosis) in 1 or more vessels in 726 patients (5.1 %), and significant stenosis in 883 patients (6.3%). Significant bilateral renal artery stenosis was present in 178 patients (1.3%). By multivariate logistic regression, elevated serum creatinine level, coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, older age, female sex, and family history of coronary artery disease were identified as independent predictors of significant renal arterial disease. Disease progression was assessed in 1189 patients. Mean time between cardiac catheterizations was 2.6+/-1.6 years. Significant disease progression occurred in 133 patients (11.1 %). Independent predictors of disease progression were female sex, age, coronary artery disease at baseline, and time between baseline and follow-up. At follow-up, serum creatinine level was significantly higher in patients who demonstrated > or =75% stenosis in 1 or more vessels (mean creatinine level 141+114 micromol/L compared with those with insignificant disease (mean creatinine level 97+/-44 micromol/L (P= .01). CONCLUSIONS: Renal artery disease is frequently progressive in patients who undergo cardiac catheterization for investigation of coronary artery disease. Significant stenotic disease may develop over a short period despite evidence of normal renal arteries at prior catheterization.

Lossy (15:1) JPEG compression of digital coronary angiograms does not limit detection of subtle morphological features.

BACKGROUND: Development of the "all-digital" cardiac catheterization laboratory has been slowed by substantial computer archival and transfer requirements. Lossy data compression reduces this burden but creates irreversible changes in images, potentially impairing detection of clinically important angiographic features. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty image sequences from 31 interventional procedures were viewed both in the original (uncompressed) state and after 15:1 lossy Joint Photographic Expert's Group (JPEG) compression. Experienced angiographers identified dissections, suspected thrombi, and coronary stents, and their results were compared with those from a consensus panel that served as a "gold standard." The panel and the individual observers reviewed the same image sequences 4 months after the first session to determine intraobserver variability. Intraobserver agreement for original images was not significantly different from that for compressed images (89.8% versus 89.5% for 600 pairs of observations in each group). Agreement of individual observers with the consensus panel was not significantly different for original images from that for compressed images (87.6% versus 87.3%; CIs for the difference, -4.0%, 4.0%). Subgroup analysis for each observer and for each detection task (dissection, suspected thrombus, and stent) revealed no significant difference in agreement. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of dissections, thrombi, and coronary stents is not substantially impaired by the application of 15:1 lossy JPEG compression to digital coronary angiograms. These data suggest that digital angiographic images compressed in this manner are acceptable for clinical decision-making.

Cor pulmonale caused by recurrent pulmonary emboli.

A 53-year-old black man developed femoral thrombophlebitis in 1983 following a Harrington nail implantation in his first lumbar vertebral region. There was evidence of pulmonary embolization at that time and recurrently until he developed ventricular fibrillation and died in 1987. The terminal event followed a hypotensive episode during the course of a right ventricular catheterization. Autopsy confirmed the clinical impression that he had multiple recurrent thromboemboli to his lungs. After several years of embolization, the pulmonary arterial circulation was sufficiently occluded to result in pulmonary hypertension. Cor pulmonale was produced, with congestive heart failure leading to a progressively downhill course in the 4 months before his death.

Delayed presentation of a mitral annular perforation complicating Staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis.

This report describes a patient who presented with congestive heart failure secondary to a mitral annular-left atrial fistula. There was a remote history of Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis involving the mitral valve which was treated medically 30 years previously. The sterile fistula was managed surgically with an annuloplasty.

Prospective analysis of possible myocardial damage or hemolysis occurring as a result of prolonged autoperfusion angioplasty in humans.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to further explore the procedural safety of prolonged (15-min) dilation using an autoperfusion coronary angioplasty balloon by assessing the degree of myocardial damage or hemolysis, if any, occurring as a result of the procedure. BACKGROUND: Prolonged balloon inflation periods may be beneficial during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. The duration of standard balloon angioplasty is often limited by the occurrence of myocardial ischemia due to loss of anterograde blood flow. Autoperfusion angioplasty allows continued myocardial perfusion during balloon inflation and has previously been shown to reduce but not totally eliminate acute myocardial ischemia during prolonged (up to 15 min) balloon inflation. The risk of intravascular hemolysis as a result of autoperfusion angioplasty has not yet been fully delineated. METHODS: Sixty-two consecutive patients (76% men; mean age 58 years) undergoing elective percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty of a single lesion were studied. Serial electrocardiographic and creatine kinase MB isoenzyme data were examined to detect evidence of myocardial damage. Tests for hemolysis (plasma free hemoglobin, serum haptoglobin and serum lactate dehydrogenase) were obtained in the 1st 24 consecutive patients. RESULTS: Inflation time was 14 +/- 4 min (mean +/- SD) and the procedure was successful (less than or equal to 50% residual lesion stenosis) in 59 patients (95%). Electrocardiographic evidence of myocardial infarction (greater than 1 mm persistent ST segment depression, greater than 1 mm ST segment elevation or new Q waves) was not observed in any patient. Cardiac enzyme assays were within the normal range in all patients. No evidence of hemolysis was found in the 24 consecutive patients studied. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that prolonged autoperfusion angioplasty can be performed in patients without clinical evidence of myocardial damage or hemolysis.

Intracoronary ultrasound evaluation of interventional technologies.

The feasibility and applicability of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) of the coronary arteries were evaluated in 65 patients undergoing 70 coronary interventional procedures. Morphologic and quantitative analyses were performed with a mechanically rotated IVUS catheter (4.8Fr, 20 MHz) and with orthogonal view cineangiography. A semiautomated edge-detection algorithm was used for cineangiographic quantification. Coronary interventions included 45 percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasties, 9 excimer lasers, 11 directional coronary atherectomies, 3 rotational atherectomies and 2 stents. Most lesions consisted of a mixture of plaque composition (hard, n = 30; soft, n = 64). Other unique morphologic data by IVUS were plaque topography (eccentric, n = 34; concentric, n = 36) and vessel dissection (IVUS [n = 29] versus angiography [n = 14], p less than 0.05). Postprocedure minimal lumen diameter and cross-sectional area measured by IVUS were larger and poorly correlated with angiography (r = 0.28, standard error of the estimate = 0.52 mm; r = 0.08, standard error of the estimate = 1.0 cm2, respectively). IVUS is more sensitive than angiography when assessing postintervention lesion characteristics including vessel dissection and plaque morphology. Catheter-based ultrasound appears to be a useful adjunct to contrast angiography when evaluating and comparing the therapeutic impact of conventional percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty with new technologies.

Performance of new criteria for right ventricular hypertrophy and myocardial infarction in patients with pulmonary hypertension due to cor pulmonale and mitral stenosis.

Historically, electrocardiographic criteria for right ventricular (RV) hypertrophy has achieved high specificity but low sensitivity. Recently, however, Butler-Leggett et al. have introduced three criteria that attained a 66% sensitivity in a population with RV hypertrophy due to mitral stenosis while maintaining a 95% specificity in an extensive normal control group. Electrocardiographic diagnosis of RV hypertrophy is principally dependent on changes in the QRS complex that may be masked or mimicked by myocardial infarction (MI). This dilemma has been confirmed by documentation of the low specificity of both the Selvester QRS scoring system for MI size estimation (greater than 3 points) and its screening subset (greater than 0 points) in a pure mitral stenosis population. This study introduces the population characterized by RV hypertrophy due to cor pulmonale, which has a mean pulmonary arterial systolic pressure that is higher than the mean for the mitral stenosis population and consequently suggests more severe RV hypertrophy. When compared, the Butler-Leggett criteria for RV hypertrophy are more sensitive in the new population than in the mitral stenosis population (89% versus 60%) and the Selvester QRS scoring system is less specific (12% versus 60%). Three sequential steps are suggested for electrocardiographic analysis: (1) diagnosis of RV hypertrophy using the Butler-Leggett criteria, (2) diagnosis of MI using the Selvester screening criteria in those patients with step 1 negative, and (3) estimation of MI size using the complete Selvester scoring system in patients with step 1 negative and step 2 positive.

Myocardial protection during coronary angioplasty with an autoperfusion balloon catheter in humans.

An autoperfusion balloon catheter was developed to allow passive myocardial perfusion during inflation through a central lumen and multiple side holes in the shaft proximal and distal to the balloon. We report its safety and efficacy in 11 patients undergoing elective angioplasty to a single coronary lesion. Each lesion was dilated three times with the autoperfusion inflation bracketed between two inflations by standard angioplasty catheters. Chest pain score, 12-lead electrocardiogram, heart rate, and mean aortic pressure were recorded before each inflation and at 1-minute intervals after inflation. Inflation duration during autoperfusion angioplasty (513 +/- 303 seconds) was longer than for the pre- (107 +/- 55 seconds, p = 0.0004) and post- (139 +/- 71 seconds, p = 0.0006) standard dilatations. The maximum ST-segment elevation and depression in any lead during autoperfusion angioplasty (0.3 +/- 0.5 and 0.6 +/- 0.8 mm) was significantly less than for the pre- (2.4 +/- 1.7 mm, p = 0.002 and 2.2 +/- 1.3 mm, p = 0.0004) or post- (1.9 +/- 1.3 mm, p = 0.002 and 1.6 +/- 1.3 mm, p = 0.018) standard dilatations at the same point in time. Maximal chest pain score during autoperfusion (3.2 +/- 3.5) was lower than for the pre- (6.1 +/- 2.1, p = 0.003) but not the post- (5.2 +/- 3.1, p = 0.07) standard angioplasty. All 11 patients underwent successful, uncomplicated procedures. We conclude that this autoperfusion catheter significantly reduces ischemic symptoms and signs during coronary angioplasty, allowing prolonged periods of balloon inflation.

The risk for systemic embolization associated with percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty in adults. A prospective comprehensive evaluation.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To prospectively investigate the evidence for embolic phenomena associated with percutaneous mitral and aortic valvuloplasty. DESIGN: Prospective, consecutive case series before and after balloon valvuloplasty. SETTING: Referral center hospital and cardiac catheterization laboratory. PATIENTS: Consecutive sample of 32 patients having balloon valvuloplasty for critical symptomatic stenosis of the mitral or aortic valve. Twenty-six patients had aortic stenosis; 6 had mitral stenosis. INTERVENTION: Computed tomography of the head, funduscopy, and electrocardiography were done in all patients before and after valvuloplasty. Cardiac isoenzymes were measured serially in 19 patients. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Previous cerebral infarction was seen in nine patients, with three showing a new abnormality after aortic valvuloplasty. In one of these patients a funduscopic hemorrhage was detected by photography. Total creatinine kinase and MB fraction were elevated in 1 of 19 patients. Serial electrocardiograms were unchanged in all patients. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of cerebral neurologic events and myocardial injury are acceptably low after balloon valvuloplasty of calcific aortic and mitral stenosis. Both episodes of symptomatic cerebral infarction occurred in patients with apparent bicuspid aortic valvular stenosis, suggesting that calcific bicuspid aortic stenosis may be associated with more neurologic events after aortic valvuloplasty.

Late restenosis after emergent coronary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction: comparison with elective coronary angioplasty.

The late restenosis rate after emergent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction was assessed by performing outpatient follow-up cardiac catheterization in 79 (87%) of 91 consecutive patients who had been discharged from the hospital with a successful coronary angioplasty. The majority of patients (90%) received high dose intravenous thrombolytic therapy with streptokinase in addition to angioplasty. Similar follow-up data were obtained in 206 (90%) of 228 consecutive patients who had successful elective angioplasty during the same period. The interval from angioplasty to follow-up was 28 +/- 9 weeks for the myocardial infarction group and 30 +/- 11 weeks for the elective group. Baseline clinical variables were similar for both the myocardial infarction and elective groups except for a higher percentage of men in the infarction group (81 versus 63%, p = 0.001). The number of coronary lesions undergoing angioplasty and the incidence of intimal dissection were similar, but multivessel angioplasty was more common in the elective group (13 versus 4%, p = 0.02). The rate of in-hospital reocclusion was higher in the patients receiving angioplasty for myocardial infarction (13 versus 2%, p = 0.0001). At the time of late follow-up after hospital discharge, the patients with myocardial infarction were more often asymptomatic (79 versus 55%, p = 0.0001), and the rate of angiographic coronary restenosis was lower for the infarction group both overall (19 versus 35%, p = 0.006) and when multivessel angioplasty patients were excluded (19 versus 33%, p = 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)