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Biomedical subjects

A C Cernaianu

Publications and source records attributed to A C Cernaianu.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Heparinless extracorporeal bypass for treatment of hypothermia.

In an attempt to assess the changes occurring to the coagulation profile during internal active core rewarming with partial cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) without heparin anticoagulation, five pigs were anesthetized, and a model for severe to moderate hypothermia was created. Femoral-femoral bypass with Bio-Pump, heat exchanger, and a membrane oxygenator were used during the rewarming for 64.8 +/- 8.5 minutes. There were no statistically significant changes in platelet count, platelet index, activated clotting time (ACT), partial thromboplastin time (PTT), prothrombin time (PT), fibrinogen, fibrinogen index and fibrin split products (p greater than 0.05). There were no thromboembolic sequelae seen at autopsy. The components of the CPB circuit showed no signs of formation of aggregates or thrombi. The results of this study are attributed to the nonthrombogenic, atraumatic design of the Bio-Pump and the enhanced physiological fibrinolysis seen in the first hour of CPB. We concluded that heparinless CPB may serve as a safe alternative for active core rewarming for severe to moderate hypothermia.

Animals↗

Multiple traumatic disruptions of the thoracic aorta.

Surgical therapy for acute traumatic transection of the thoracic aorta is widely debated in the literature. However, little is published regarding therapy for unusual intraoperative findings, especially when the existence of multiple tears of the aortic wall would increase the operative difficulties and the associated risks. Our report concerns the presentation of three consecutive cases where multiple traumatic transections of the thoracic aorta could not be diagnosed by standard preoperative techniques. Our attention is focused on different technical options and their outcome when unusual intraoperative findings are present. We concluded that the event of unusual intraoperative findings may change the initial surgical management in favor of a more definitive procedure which usually carries a longer aortic cross-clamp time. In this instance, the availability of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) techniques is warranted.

Accidents, Traffic↗

Aneurysm of the left sinus of valsalva: an unusual presentation.

Unruptured aneurysms of the left sinus of Valsalva are extremely rare, and their clinical features are not well-documented in the literature. We describe an unusual case in which an unruptured aneurysm of the left sinus of Valsalva associated with previously undiagnosed Marfan syndrome caused extrinsic compression of the esophagus, resulting in dysphagia unrelated to the type or timing of meals. Our report focuses on the initial clinical presentation, as well as the diagnosis and management of this rare lesion.

Journal Article↗

Traumatic disruptions of the thoracic aorta: treatment and outcome.

Of 27 patients admitted to our level I trauma center with acute disruption of the thoracic aorta, two patients died of exsanguination before aortic repair. One patient had massive leakage from the aneurysm after aortography and died during surgery. All patients suffered from multiple injuries. Eighty-three percent of the patients had major operations in addition to the aortic repair. "Clamp and sew" technique was used in 18 patients (75%), two of whom had multiple tears of the aortic arch. Heparin-coated shunts were used in five patients (20.8%), and a cardiopulmonary bypass was performed in one patient who had multiple tears. Three postoperative deaths were related to polytrauma, cardiogenic shock, and sepsis. Paraplegia developed in three patients, two of whom had multiple aortic lesions necessitating longer ischemia time during the repair. Only one patient had complete neurologic deficit at the 1-year follow-up. In our series, neither surgical procedure proved superior. We conclude that the "clamp and sew" technique for repair of the disrupted thoracic aorta may allow for a more favorable outcome.

Adult↗

Preventive effect of Fluosol-DA for paraplegia encountered after surgical treatment of the thoracic aorta. Preliminary results in a dog model.

The effectiveness of Fluosol-DA (Green Cross Corporation, Osaka, Japan) on circulatory dynamics and neurologic outcome in dogs with ischemic spinal cord injury produced by aortic crossclamping was tested. The control group (receiving saline solution) had an elevated mean aortic proximal pressure (112.9 +/- 30.2 mm Hg versus 175.3 +/- 20.5 mm Hg, p greater than 0.05) and a drastic drop in mean distal aortic pressure (112.9 +/- 30.2 mm Hg versus 29.8 +/- 11.2 mm Hg, p less than 0.05). Although the same trend occurred in dogs treated prophylactically with Fluosol-DA, these changes were not statistically significant. However, there was a significant difference in mean distal aortic pressure during the ischemic phase between the two groups (58.9 +/- 16.0 mm Hg versus 29.8 +/- 11.2 mm Hg, p less than 0.05). Postoperatively all animals had mean arterial pressures within the normal range. All dogs in the control group were paraplegic (partial or complete); the treatment group had one dog with partial paraplegia. The difference between the mean neurologic scores of the two groups was of high statistical significance (3.7 +/- 0.5 versus 1.6 +/- 1.0, p less than 0.05). Our preliminary results show that prophylactic use of Fluosol-DA has favorable effects on hemodynamics and neurologic outcome in dogs with spinal cord ischemia produced by aortic crossclamping. The high propensity of the drug to carry oxygen and carbon dioxide and to provide nutritional support to the ischemic area with resultant improvement in local microcirculation and blood rheology are some speculative mechanisms advocated for these changes.

Animals↗

Platelet-rich plasma reduces postoperative blood loss after cardiopulmonary bypass.

To study the effect of plasma sequestration and reinfusion of platelet-rich plasma on blood loss after cardiopulmonary bypass, 18 patients undergoing heart operations were randomly selected either to have collected or not to have collected approximately 250 ml of platelet-rich plasma before initiating cardiopulmonary bypass with the use of the Haemonetics Plasma Saving System (Haemonetics Corporation, Braintree, Mass.). All patients had standardized anesthesia and cardiopulmonary bypass. After reversal of heparin, autologous platelet-rich plasma was reinfused in nine patients. Thrombocyte counts, hemoglobin, and hematocrit were calculated before, during, and after cardiopulmonary bypass, and 24 and 48 hours postoperatively. Blood loss and total number of transfusions were recorded. Although 9% of the total platelet volume was removed, there were no hemodynamic complications related to the use of the Haemonetics Plasma Saving System. In both groups, significant low levels of thrombocytes, hemoglobin, and hematocrit were seen after cardiopulmonary bypass. Platelet-rich plasma-reinfused patients had a significantly higher number of platelets after heparin reversal. They also had significantly less blood loss after the operation, necessitating 65% less banked blood products (p less than 0.05). We concluded that reinfusion of autologous platelet-rich plasma may serve as an effective and safe way to restore some of the hematologic derangements after cardiopulmonary bypass.

Blood Platelets↗

Prophylactic treatment of postperfusion bleeding using EACA.

To determine the effects of prophylactic treatment with EACA for blood loss after cardipulmonary bypass surgery, 350 consecutive patients undergoing open-heart surgery were studied. One hundred seventy patients received an initial dose of 5 g of EACA prior to skin incision, followed by intravenous administration of 1 g/h for the next 6 to 8 h. The control group received saline solution in the same fashion. The EACA-treated group had decreased chest tube blood loss 24 h postoperatively. In addition, EACA-treated patients had fewer myocardial infarctions, cerebrovascular accidents or reoperations for bleeding. Treated patients needed fewer units of blood transfusions than the nontreated group. There was no incidence of hyperthrombotic state or other side effects in the EACA-treated group. We concluded that prophylactic treatment with EACA for open-heart surgery requiring extracorporeal circulation may reduce the total blood loss and the number of blood transfusions in a safe and tolerable manner.

Aminocaproates↗

Implantation of a cardioverter-defibrillator after coronary artery bypass surgery.

The implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) has been used in conjunction with surgical coronary revascularization for prevention of postoperative malignant arrhythmias. However, there is no consensus regarding which patient should receive concomitant insertion of the ICD system in a one stage (patches and generator) or two stage (patches, and subsequent implantation of the generator) procedure. To assess differences in hospital course and outcome, the authors studied 8 survivors of sudden death syndrome and 17 patients with preoperative ventricular tachycardia refractory to conventional antiarrhythmic therapy who underwent coronary revascularization and prophylactic implantation of an ICD system in either one or two stages. Patients with advanced coronary disease, poor ventricular function, and silent ischemia received the ICD system in one stage. Those with good ventricular function and well defined coronary pathology received only patches concomitant with myocardial revascularization. Seventy-nine percent of the patients with patches needed subsequent implantation of the ICD generator, as determined by postoperative electrophysiologic studies. There were three postoperative deaths unrelated to arrhythmias. There was no difference between the groups regarding the number of ICD discharges. It was concluded that the prophylactic use of the ICD system is an important adjuvant in the treatment of postoperative malignant arrhythmias for patients undergoing myocardial revascularization. The insertion of the ICD, however, should be based on pathophysiologic considerations and postoperative electrophysiologic findings. This may result in important savings in terms of unnecessary cost and operative procedures.

Aged↗

A surgical approach to chronic aortomyoplasty in the goat model.

The left latissimus dorsi skeletal muscle of seven male goats was prepared and applied circumferentially to the descending aorta just below the subclavian artery. Stimulation of the neural pedicle of the latissimus dorsi was performed in an attempt to convert it to a fatigue-resistant cardiac-like muscle. Timing of the stimulus was in diastole. Biochemical assays established the conversion, and echocardiography demonstrated aortic compressions in the area of the muscle wrap. Although limited in numbers, the converted latissimus dorsi muscle in the extra-aortic position appears to provide diastolic augmentation.

Animals↗

Continuous venous oximetry for hemodynamic and oxygen transport stability post cardiac surgery.

Under the diagnostic-related group (DRG) reimbursement system, hospitals are looking to decrease costs related to unnecessary laboratory measurements. To assess the efficacy of continuous SvO2 as the only means to monitor the balance of the oxygen transport of the stable postoperative cardiac patient in the ICU, we studied 26 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery with an uneventful postoperative course. All subjects had an Opticath fiberoptic PA catheter inserted for 29.6. +/- 11.0 hours (range 16-66) and spent an average of 42.4 +/- 17.5 hours in the Intensive Care Unit (range 20-87). Cardiac output, and Hemoglobin/Hematocrit were determined serially every 2 hours during the first 6 postoperative hours and 4 hours respectively according to our ICU practice. Arterial blood gases were determined freely in relation to changes in the hemodynamic and respiratory status. No clinical decisions were undertaken on the basis of SvO2. Retrospectively it was determined whether basing decisions on the SvO2 would have reduced the number of unnecessary cardiac outputs, ABGs and Hgb/Hcts. Using the SvO2 as potential indicator of hemodynamic and oxygen transport stability it could significantly reduce the number of determinations per patient, ie, cardiac output (11.7 +/- 4.2 vs 2.1 +/- 0.3, p less than 0.05), ABGs (11.3 +/- 2.8 vs 2.8 +/- 0.4, p less than 0.05) and Hgb/Hcts (5.7 +/- 1.3 vs 2.0 +/- 0.0, p less than 0.05). The use of SvO2 would save the hospital $84.5 +/- 27.5 (range 31.5 +/- 140.9) per stable patient in the ICU and a total of 220.4 +/- 69.9 minutes (range 90-300) of ICU nursing time.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗