Prevalence of cardiac allograft vasculopathy assessed with coronary angiography versus coronary vascular ultrasound and virtual histology.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a major factor limiting long-term survival after heart transplantation (HT). The purpose of this study was to characterize the coronary artery structure and to determine the prevalence of vasculopathy after HT, comparing the sensitivity of coronary angiography with that of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and virtual histology (VH). METHODS: A prospective recruitment cross-sectional study was performed in 31 adult HT recipients including 22 men and, 9 women of overall mean age of 45.2 ± 12.6 years at an average of 3.7 ± 3.7 years after transplantation. They underwent simultaneously coronary angiography and IVUS assessment of the left anterior descending coronary artery. We investigated histological composition of the intima. Final data were analyzed using parametric and nonparametric tests. RESULTS: IVUS discovered the presence of CAV among 17/31 (54.8%) patients versus coronary angiography in 10 (32.3%; P = .009). The histological composition of the intima as assessed with IVUS VH was 26.1% fiber, 8.7% necrotic core, 5.7% calcium, and 4.3% lipid. There was no significant association between preexistent risk factors and the presence of CAV. There was a correlation between time elapsed since HT and CAV development. CONCLUSION: Time elapsed since HT is the most important risk factor for the development of CAV. Its prevalence almost doubled when measured with IVUS in contrast with angiography. IVUS was thus shown to be a more sensitive diagnostic tool compared with coronary angiography.

Association of apoliprotein E polymorphisms and metabolic syndrome in subjects with extreme obesity.

BACKGROUND: Obesity has been linked to metabolic syndrome (MS), which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Polymorphisms of Apolipoprotein E have also been associated with increased CVD risk. Therefore, this study investigated the association between MS and Apo E polymorphisms. METHODS: We measured anthropometric and biochemical variables and determined the Apo E genotype of 147 grade III obese patients. RESULTS: The percentage of female subjects was 86.4%. The mean age and BMI of the subjects were 41 years and 53.5 kg/m(2), respectively. MS had been diagnosed in 79% of the subjects. The proportions of those exhibiting MS risk factors were as follows: 100% had a high BMI, 80% had hypertension, 65% had low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), 38% had diabetes, and 39% had hypertriglyceridemia. We found five genotypes for which the allelic distribution was different in the MS group compared to the general population. The ε4 allele was more frequent in the group with neither MS nor hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: The morbidly obese patients exhibited a higher incidence of MS and a different allelic distribution when compared with other populations. The ε4 allele was associated with the absence of MS and hypertension.

The Anesthesia Preoperative Evaluation Clinic (APEC): a prospective randomized controlled trial assessing impact on consultation time, direct costs, patient education and satisfaction with anesthesia care.

AIM: Anesthetic preoperative evaluation clinics (APECs) are relatively new institutions. Although cost effective, APECs have not been universally adopted in Europe. The aim of this study was to compare preoperative anesthetic assessment in wards with an APEC, assessing time, information gain, patient satisfaction and secondary costs. METHODS: Two hundred and seven inpatients were randomized to be assessed at the APEC or on the ward by the same two senior anesthetists. The outcomes measured were the length of time for each consultation, the amount of information passed on to patients and the level of patient satisfaction. The consultation time was used to calculate impact on direct costs. A multivariate analysis was conducted to detect confounding variables. RESULTS: Ninety-four patients were seen in the APEC, and 78 were seen on the ward. The total time for the consultation was shorter for the APEC (mean 8.4 minutes [P<0.01]), and we calculated savings of 6.4 Euro per patient. More information was passed on to the patients seen in the APEC (P<0.01). The general satisfaction scores were comparable between groups. A multivariate analysis found that the consultation time was significantly influenced by the type of anesthesia, the magnitude of the operation and the location of the consultation. Gain in information was significantly influenced by age, education and the location of the visit. CONCLUSION: The APEC reduced consultation times and costs and had a positive impact on patient education. The cost savings are related to personnel costs and, therefore, are independent of other potential savings of an APEC, whereas global patient satisfaction remains unaltered.

The Heidelberg Peri-anaesthetic Questionnaire--development of a new refined psychometric questionnaire.

We have developed a questionnaire to assess patients' peri-anaesthetic satisfaction. We recruited 1398 patients and 59 health care professionals for construction and validation. Relevant items were rated for preferences. The resulting questions underwent a cognitive and a standard pretest. The resultant Heidelberg Peri-anaesthetic Questionnaire consists of 38 questions about five identified themes: trust and atmosphere; fear; discomfort; treatment by personnel; and information and waiting. Internal consistency was demonstrated for the sum score (Cronbach's alpha = 0.79) and the five factors (Cronbach's alpha = 0.42-0.79). Multivariate analysis found significant influences of age, school education, marital status and duration of anaesthesia. Dissatisfied patients had a median (IQR [range]) of 73% (66-76% [35-83]), and satisfied patients 92% (90-94% [88-100]) of the sum score. The Heidelberg Peri-anaesthetic Questionnaire offers a valid and reliable way to identify dissatisfied patients and generate quality improvement and also has use as a benchmark tool.

Association between early postoperative coagulation activation and peri-operative myocardial ischaemia in patients undergoing vascular surgery.

We investigated the association of peri-operative myocardial ischaemia with activation of coagulation and endogenous fibrinolysis in patients undergoing vascular surgery. In 50 patients, continuous Holter monitoring was performed to assess peri-operative myocardial ischaemia and 12-lead electrocardiography was recorded preoperatively and 72 h postoperatively to assess myocardial infarction. Serial blood samples were drawn peri-operatively to determine the concentrations of fibrin monomers (for activation of coagulation), D-dimer (for endogenous fibrinolysis) and cardiac troponin T and I. Patients with myocardial ischaemia showed higher concentrations of fibrin monomers at 48 h, and higher concentrations of d-dimer preoperatively and at 24 and 48 h postoperatively. In patients with peri-operative myocardial ischaemia, strong positive correlations were observed between fibrin monomer and D-dimer concentrations at 15 min and 4 h postoperatively, and cardiac troponins at 15 min and at 4, 24, 48 and 72 h postoperatively. Early postoperative activation of coagulation and fibrinolysis is associated with peri-operative myocardial cell damage among patients who are at risk for, or have a history of, coronary artery disease plus peri-operative myocardial ischaemia.

Postoperative 12-lead ECG predicts peri-operative myocardial ischaemia associated with myocardial cell damage.

Peri-operative myocardial ischaemia is the single most important risk factor for an adverse cardiac outcome after non-cardiac surgery. The present study examines whether intermittent 12-lead ECG recordings can be used as an early warning tool to identify patients suffering from peri-operative myocardial ischaemia and subsequent myocardial cell damage. Fifty-five vascular surgery patients at risk for or with a history of coronary artery disease were monitored for peri-operative myocardial ischaemia using intermittent 12-lead ECG recordings taken pre-operatively and at 15 min, 20 h, 48 h, 72 h and 84 h postoperatively. The effectiveness of the 12-lead ECG was gauged by examining concordance with continuous 3-channel Holter monitoring and capturing peri-operative myocardial ischaemia by serial analyses of creatine kinase myocardial band isoenzyme and cardiac troponin T and I. The incidence of peri-operative myocardial ischaemia detected by 12-lead ECG was 44% and was identifiable in most patients (88%) 15 min after surgery. The incidence of peri-operative myocardial ischaemia detected by continuous monitoring was 53%, with the most severe episodes occurring intra-operatively and during emergence from anaesthesia. The concordance of the 12-lead method with continuous monitoring was 72%. The concordance of creatine kinase myocardial band isoenzyme activity with the 12-lead method was 71% and with Holter monitoring 57%. The concordance of mass concentration of creatine kinase myocardial band with 12-lead ECG recordings was 75%, and the corresponding value for Holter monitoring was 68%. The concordance of cardiac troponin T and I levels with the 12-lead method was 85% and 87%, respectively, and concordance with Holter monitoring was 72% and 66%, respectively. The postoperative 12-lead ECG identified peri-operative myocardial ischaemia associated with subsequent myocardial cell damage in most patients undergoing vascular surgery.

Cerebral and extracerebral release of protein S100B in cardiac surgical patients.

Although several clinical studies have shown that increased serum concentrations of protein S100B predict ischaemic brain damage after cardiac surgery, S100B may also be released from the heart or other injured tissue. We therefore investigated the correlation between serum S100B levels and those of the specific cardiac marker troponin I in order to assess the cerebral vs. extracerebral origin of S100B. In 64 cardiac surgical patients, serial blood samples were drawn for the measurement of S100B and troponin I before surgery and for seven days after surgery. Neurological function was assessed before with the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and the Folstein Mini Mental Test. The data show that a sustained increase in serum S100B levels is associated with neurological dysfunction, as witnessed by a positive correlation between S100B values and the results of the neuropsychological tests. In contrast, the early postoperative increased levels of protein S100B derive from cardiac tissue, as shown by the positive correlation between S100B and cardiac troponin I levels.

[Development of a questionnaire to assess the quality of the preanesthetic visit]. / Entwicklung eines Fragebogens zur Erfassung der Qualität der Narkoseaufklärung.

In the current study a questionnaire was developed to evaluate the preanesthetic visit to prepare patients for general anesthesia with regard to the effects on in-hospital quality of care. The questionnaire consists of one part pertaining to patient satisfaction and one part pertaining to the information gained from the preanesthetic visit. In a first phase, the questionnaire was generated and then validated in 104 patients undergoing general or vascular surgery at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. As a result of the pretest evaluation, the preliminary pool of questions could be reduced. Consequently, the final questionnaire is composed of six questions on patient satisfaction and six questions on information gained after the preanesthetic visit as well as one question regarding the number of preanesthetic consultations prior to general anesthesia. In the part of the questionnaire on patient satisfaction, responses can be given on a 6-point scale ranging from -3 (statement is not correct) to +3 (statement is correct). The scores -3 to +3 are assigned 1-6 points, in order to calculate a total sum score to measure patient satisfaction. The part on information gained contains multiple-choice questions with four possible answers, of which only one is correct. Analogous to the measurement of patient satisfaction, a total sum score can be calculated to evaluate the information gain after the preanesthetic visit. The present study shows the suitability of a questionnaire to evaluate the quality of health care after the preanesthetic visit with the parameters patient satisfaction and information gain. Such a questionnaire can be used to compare different premedication techniques and, thus, might contribute to improve the quality of health care.

[Accessible price lists at the anaesthesiologist's workplace enhance cost consciousness as a part of process and cost optimization]. / Preislisten am anästhesiologischen Arbeitsplatz. Stärkung des Kostenbewusstseins durch Einbeziehung in Prozess- und Kostenoptimierungsmassnahmen.

The imminent introduction of the DRG (diagnosis-related-group) system is putting hospitals in Germany under considerable pressure. This requires that personnel are efficiently allocated by optimizing organizational procedures and that the limited resources be distributed in a cost-effective manner. One prerequisite for this is a marked cost-consciousness on the part of those who "incur costs" in providing a service. To increase the awareness of costs in clinical physicians, the cost structures must be transparent. In order to achieve this goal, a project was initiated at the Department of Anaesthesiology at the University Hospital of Heidelberg, which aimed to enhance the cost-consciousness of the staff by making price lists available to anaesthesiologists at the workplace. In addition to the price lists, the 25 most expensive medications and medical products were added as an ABC analysis. The departmental staff was interviewed by questionnaire as to whether this project was reasonable. After 1 year the interview was repeated. The results of the questionnaire showed that in the opinion of the staff, price lists are an effective tool, as cost-consciousness on the part of clinical physicians can be enhanced by making price structures transparent. This is a major prerequisite for individual motivation in the cost-effective management. Although the ABC analyses demonstrate no long-term effect of the price-transparency on the cost structures, the staff showed increased cost-consciousness and individual motivation for economic tasks.

Association analysis of polymorphisms in the interleukin-4 receptor (alpha) gene with atopic asthma in patients from western Mexico.

We undertook an association analysis between the ile50val, glu375ala, cys406arg, and ser761pro polymorphisms of the IL-4Ralpha gene and atopic asthma, total IgE levels and IL-4 serum levels in a population from western Mexico. We found that the ser761pro polymorphism was monomorphic for ser761, while there was no association between any of the other polymorphisms and the three phenotypes analysed.

Thrombolytic therapy during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Recently, efforts have been undertaken to investigate the effects of thrombolysis during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CRP) in patients suffering from massive pulmonary embolism or acute myocardial infarction. In up to 70% of patients with cardiac arrest, one of these two diseases is the underlying cause of deterioration. Nevertheless, thrombolysis has not been conducted during CPR because of the fear of severe bleeding complications. However, an increasing number of clinical studies suggest that thrombolytic therapy during CPR can contribute to haemodynamic stabilisation and survival in patients with massive pulmonary embolism and acute myocardial infarction, when conventional CPR procedures have been performed unsuccessfully. Apart from the specific causal action of thrombolytic agents at the site of pulmonary emboli and coronary thrombosis, experimental data indicate that thrombolysis during CPR can improve microcirculatory reperfusion, which may be most important in the brain. In accordance with these data, marked activation of blood coagulation without adequate activation of endogenous fibrinolysis has been demonstrated early after cardiac arrest. In summary, thrombolysis during CPR is presently a treatment strategy that can be performed on an individual basis in patients with pulmonary embolism or acute myocardial infarction. It may become a routine measure if positive results of randomised, controlled clinical trials will be available in the future.

Inhaled nitric oxide does not enhance lipid peroxidation in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether inhaled nitric oxide (NO) enhances pulmonary lipid peroxidation as indicated by arterial blood levels of malondialdehyde, hexanal, and pentanal in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). DESIGN: Prospective, nonrandomized, controlled trial. SETTING: Surgical intensive care unit in a university hospital. PATIENTS: Twenty-five patients with ARDS, as defined by the American-European Consensus Conference, and a PaO2/FIO2 < or = 170 mm Hg were enrolled in the study. Four healthy subjects were studied as controls. INTERVENTIONS: On enrollment of the patients in the study, a dose-response test with increasing concentrations of inhaled NO (0, 2, 10, 40, 0 ppm) was performed. Patients who showed an increase of >20% in PaO2 were designated as responders and all others as nonresponders. In responders, this dose-response test was followed by 24 hrs of continuous treatment with inhaled NO at the best NO concentration determined during the dose-response test, whereas nonresponders received standard care. For healthy volunteers, the dose-response test took the form of spontaneous breathing of the same NO concentrations. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Eighteen patients (72%) showed an increase of >20% in PaO2 during the dose-response test. This significant improvement in arterial oxygenation in responders led to a significant reduction in FIO2 (responders, 0.73 +/- 0.05 vs. nonresponders, 0.89 +/- 0.05) after 24 hrs of therapy. On enrollment, arterial blood concentrations of malondialdehyde, hexanal, and pentanal were significantly higher than those of healthy volunteers. In addition, arterial concentrations of hexanal and pentanal exceeded mixed venous levels two- to ten-fold. Inhalation of NO did not significantly alter these blood concentrations either during the dose response test or during 24 hrs of therapy. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with ARDS, malondialdehyde, hexanal, and pentanal were significantly elevated, indicating lipid peroxidation. Lipid peroxidation was not further affected by inhalation of NO.

[Pulmonary aspergillosis. Report of 8 children]. / La aspergilosis pulmonar. Presentación de ocho casos en niños.

The clinical files were reviewed of eight pediatric patients who died between 1976 and 1990, having the pathological diagnosis of aspergillosis. During the clinical evolution seven displayed malnutrition and respiratory symptomatology, four had slow evolving fever and oral candidiasis. The image in all the chest X-Rays was opaque. In the laboratory four had leukopenia, lymphopenia and neutropenia: two with a positive culture of Aspergillus. Five received four to eight different antibiotics during the last clinical evolution. All showed a combination of diverse forms of aspergillosis, all with the invasive form, five with the disseminated form, three bronchopulmonary allergic and one with aspergilloma. All had invasion of the respiratory system. Septicemia had the cause of death in four and three was direct relation with Aspergillosis.

[Exogenous lipoid pneumonia]. / Neumonía lipoídica exógena.

We report 30 patients with exogenous lipoid pneumonia due to vegetal oil. This was employed in most of the cases during the first month of life for digestive tube symptomatology; clinical manifestations began three months following administrations, as a pneumonia or bronchopneumonia with a respiratory distress syndrome of variable severity. 60% of the thorax x-ray studies were abnormal, the main finding was opacity. One patient has alterations of the mechanics of deglutition; seven had gastroesophageal reflux. Arterial gasometry showed hypoxaemia and increase of alveolo-arterial gradient of oxygen in all. Ten patients died and all the survivors were reevaluated in september, 1988; 18 had normal physical findings. Thorax x-ray studies in 13 patients had right reticulate infiltration and 6 right apical opacity; ECG showed right ventricular hypertrophy in 3. Perfusion pulmonary gamagram with technetium 99 was abnormal in 5. Gastroesophageal reflux was evident in 2. Five were under treatment for several causes. Diagnosis and treatment is discussed.

[Pulmonary aspergillosis]. / Aspergilosis pulmonar.

We report a 15-year-old male with bronchial asthma since five years old, unresponsive to treatment; at age 12 a diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis was made and treated with several drugs. He was referred to our hospital because of hemoptysis. A diagnosis of aspergillosis in the aspergilloma form was made; after, a left upper lobectomy showed the invasive form; later he presented recurrent obstructive respiratory problems, secondary to the allergic form. Serum IgE was elevated, lowering after treatment with corticoids; simultaneously he had clinical improvement. Treatment was discontinued when clinically asymptomatic and serum IgE was normal. Diagnostic route and treatment are discussed.

[Cesium-157 in milk produced on farms of the Angra dos Reis Region, RJ]. / Césio-137 em leite produzido em fazendas da Região de Angra dos Reis, RJ.

The first Brazilian Nuclear Power Plant is located in the Angra dos Reis county, about 130 km West of Rio de Janeiro. Among the radionuclides that will be released to the environment by the Nuclear Plant, tritium and radioisotopes of Cs, I, Co and Sr are the ones of greatest potential impact on the local population. During the preliminary phase of the pre-operational environmental radiological program, 137Cs resulting from nuclear explosion fallout was detected in milk samples from only one farm, among the ones included in the monitoring program. This finfing seemed odd, leading to believe on the possibility of a soil anomaly on the region, in which 137Cs would be more available for plant uptake than in normal areas, as it has been observed in some areas in various countries. Trying to explain this issue, the Radioisotopes Laboratory of the Biophysics Institute and the Radioecology Laboratory of FURNAS decided to carry on a series of analyses of 137Cs in milk, pasture and soil collected in the four farms of the program. The results demonstrated the non-existence of a soil anomaly in the region regarding the 137Cs behavior Cesium-137 concentrations in milk varied from 0.06 to 0.93 Bq/l but the differences of the average values in the four farms were not statistically significant. In one farm, occasional high peaks of 137Cs concentrations in milk were observed, which seemed to be related to the cattle management. Apparently during certain periods, the cattle grazes in sectors whose 137Cs concentrations in soil and pasture are higher than in other areas of the same farm or the region, due to the influence of micro-climate and erosion of superficial soil.