Application of second-generation sequencing in congenital pulmonary airway malformations.

To investigate the differential expression of genes in whole transcripts of congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM) using second-generation sequencing (also known as next-generation sequencing, NGS) technology. Children with CPAM were strictly screened after setting the criteria, and grouped by taking CPAM parietal tissue and CPAM lesion tissue respectively, and RNA-Seq libraries were established separately using second-generation sequencing technology, followed by differential expression analysis and GO (gene ontology) functional enrichment analysis, KEGG (Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes, a database) pathway analysis and GSEA (Gene Set Enrichment Analysis) analysis. Five cases were screened from 36 children with CPAM, and high-throughput sequencing was performed to obtain 10 whole transcripts of samples with acceptable sequence quality and balanced gene coverage. One aberrantly expressed sample (3b) was found by analysis of principal components, which was excluded and then subjected to differential expression analysis, and 860 up-regulated genes and 203 down-regulated genes. GO functional enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes demonstrates the functional class and cellular localization of target genes. The whole transcript of CPAM shows obvious gene up and down-regulation, differentially expressed genes are located in specific cells and belong to different functional categories, and NGS can provide an effective means to study the transcriptional regulation of CPAM from the overall transcriptional level.

Clinical Image Feature Analysis and Diagnostic Efficacy Evaluation of Pulmonary Ultrasound in the Diagnosis of Congenital Pulmonary Airway Malformations in Children: Based on a Single Center, Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: A single center, retrospective cohort study was conducted to analyze the clinical image features and diagnostic efficiency of pulmonary ultrasound in the diagnosis of congenital pulmonary airway malformations (CPAMs) in children. Methods: The starting and ending time of this study is from May 2019 to December 2021. This study included 200 children with CPAM diagnosed by prenatal ultrasound and postpartum CT imaging (aged from 1 hour to 3 years), including 103 males and 97 females. All of them were diagnosed by fetal ultrasound and were examined by chest X-ray (CXR), chest CT, and lung ultrasound (LUS). The clinical image characteristics and diagnostic efficiency of CXR, chest CT, and LUS in the diagnosis of CPAM in children were analyzed. Results: 200 lesions were limited to single lung, and the most common were right lower lobe, right lower lobe in 80 cases (40.0%), left lower lobe in 60 cases (30.0%), right upper lobe in 30 cases (15.0%), left upper lobe in 20 cases (10.0%), and right middle lobe in 10 cases (5.0%). Among the 200 cases of preoperative CT examination, 196 cases (98.00%) showed lesions and confirmed diagnosis, and 4 cases were missed. Chest X-ray showed multiple focal circular low-density shadow in the right lung, and the heart shadow and mediastinum moved slightly to the left. CXR showed multiple cystic transparent shadows in the left lower lung and slightly to the right of the mediastinum and heart. CXR showed multiple balloon cavities of different sizes in the right lung field, and the mediastinum and heart shadow shifted to the left. The direct signs of LUS (including single or multiple cystic lesions) were not significantly different from those of CXR, but the indirect signs were significantly higher than those of CXR. Conclusion: The most common CT findings of CPAM in children are cystic lesions, especially polycystic lesions, while LUS images of CPAM in children are various. LUS is a noninvasive and nonradiological examination method, which is easy to operate and repeat. LUS can be used for preliminary qualitative screening of CPAM in children, and the diagnostic value of indirect signs of LUS is better than that of CXR.

Application of a Simplified Hand-Sewn Trileaflet Valved Conduit in Right Ventricular Outflow Tract Reconstruction as an Alternative for Bovine Jugular Vein Graft: Single-Center Experience.

The Bovine jugular vein (BJV) graft for right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction (RVOT) is limited applied due to possible graft failure. In this study, we reported the clinical application of simplified hand-sewn trileaflet valved conduit as an alternative for BJV graft. We retrospectively included 68 patients underwent 76 conduits implantation including 22 new simplified hand-sewn trileaflet valved conduits (Group A) and 54 BJV grafts (Group B). For patients in Group A, a hand-sewn trileaflet valved conduit with valves made of autologous pericardium or expanded polytetrafluoroethylene was applied. Baseline, perioperative, and outcomes were analyzed. No early mortality or perioperative complication occurred in Group A, while 2 patients died and 16 patients suffered from conduits failure due to conduits stenosis (n = 11), stenosis plus regurgitation (n = 3), and regurgitation alone (n = 2) in Group B. Freedom from BJV grafts failure within 1, 3, 5, and 7 years was 98.0%, 88.2%, 83.6% and 83.6% in Group A, and 98.0%, 85.8%, 76.8% and 62.1% in Group B. Endocarditis occurred in 9 patients in Group B, but not in Group A. Subsequent analysis showed that endocarditis is the only significant predictor of BJV grafts failure (odds ratio: 6.202, 95% confidence intervals 1.237∼31.108). The novel simplified hand-sewn trileaflet valved conduits seems to be associated with lower incidences of perioperative complication, graft failure, and early-phase mortality, as compared with conventional BJV grafts.

Mid- to long-term outcomes of bovine jugular vein conduit implantation in Chinese children.

BACKGROUND: Bovine jugular vein (BJV) conduits are widely applied for surgical reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT). However, relevant studies of valve failure rates and the related risk factors are limited in China. The aim of this study was to assess the BJV prognosis after medium- to long-term follow-up. METHODS: Fifty-three hospital patients implanted with BJV conduits from January 2002 to December 2013 were recruited. Patient information and follow-up prognosis were reviewed retrospectively. Conduit stenosis and failure as well as endocarditis were diagnosed. RESULTS: The total person years was 345.5, and the median follow-up time was 6.3 years. Early mortality occurred in two patients, and there was no late mortality. BJV conduit failure occurred in 15 patients (29.4%) due to severe stenosis (n=10), stenosis plus regurgitation (n=3), and regurgitation alone (n=2). The proportion of patients who were free of BJV conduit failure at 1, 3, 5, and 7 years was 98.0%, 85.8%, 76.8%, and 62.1%, respectively. There were nine cases of endocarditis (17.0%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that endocarditis was a significant risk factor associated with BJV conduit failure (OR: 6.735; 95% CI: 1.348-33.647). CONCLUSIONS: The durability of BJV conduits was suboptimal after a mid-term follow-up period. Endocarditis was found to be a significant risk factor that accelerates BJV conduit deterioration.

Successful resection of a primary cardiac fibroma in a neonate: report of a case.

During the fetal-neonatal period, a primary cardiac tumor may be completely asymptomatic and such tumors may be incidentally discovered by echocardiography. A four-hour-old male was diagnosed to have a cardiac tumor by post-natal echocardiography and was observed closely. Surgery was indicated immediately at the 3 week follow-up examination when the tumor was found to have obstructed the right ventricle outflow. The tumor was resected successfully and its histopathology indicated that it was a fibroma. Follow-up echocardiograms and magnetic resonance imaging 5 months postoperatively demonstrated no evidence of any remaining tumor and his RV function was good.

Myocardial protection by interferon-γ late preconditioning during cardiopulmonary bypass­associated myocardial ischemia-reperfusion in pigs.

The impact of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) late preconditioning on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and the underlying mechanism were investigated. Using a porcine model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury during CPB with a 60-min aorta cross-clamp, 20 pigs (15±0.5 kg) were treated randomly with either a 1-ml (20,000 IU/kg) IFN-γ injection (IFN-γ group; n=10) or saline solution (control group; n=10) 24 h prior to CPB. Heart rate, blood pressure, left ventricular end-systolic pressure (LVESP), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB (CK-MB), and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) were measured before CPB, before aortic clamping, and at post-reperfusion intervals of 10, 30, 60 and 120 min. Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), Mn-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were measured by immunohistochemical staining in pre-CPB myocardial tissues. Myocardial cell apoptosis TUNEL measurement was assessed in samples obtained 60 min following reperfusion. Both groups exhibited no statistical differences in age, weight, gender and preoperative cardiac function, and worsened left ventricular function, and hemodynamic index reductions, and significant cTnI and CK-MB leakage was observed 10 and 30 min after reperfusion. At 10, 30 and 60 min following reperfusion, ventricular function and leakage of the IFN-γ group were significantly improved, and expression of HSP70, iNOS and Mn-SOD increased and myocardial cell apoptosis decreased. IFN-γ late preconditioning exhibited preventative effects on myocardial tissues in pigs during CPB surgery, likely due to increased HSP70, Mn-SOD and iNOS expression.