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Biomedical subjects

Ahmed El-Gamel

Publications and source records attributed to Ahmed El-Gamel.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Incidence of sternal infection in diabetic patients undergoing bilateral internal thoracic artery grafting.

BACKGROUND: Bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) bypass grafts have advantages over single internal thoracic artery (SITA) bypass grafts in the medium term, particularly in diabetics. However, the perceived higher sternal complication rates seen in diabetics have led many surgeons to avoid the use of BITA surgery. The aim of our study was to assess the validity of this approach by assessing the incidence of sternal infections over a 10-year period in one institution. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was made of our coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients over a 10-year period (7,581 patients). Nine hundred and twenty-two of the patients were diabetics (261 insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus [IDDM]). Of the insulin-dependent diabetics, 166 had SITA, and 95 had BITA grafts. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in this subgroup in terms of gender, preoperative angina, dyspnea class, left ventricular function, and number of distal anastomoses. Comparing the rates of sternal wound complications of SITA and BITA in IDDM are the following: (1) superficial sternal infection, 6.6% in SITA, 1.1% in BITA (p = 0.04); (2) deep sternal infection, 1.2% in SITA, 3.2% in BITA (p = 0.27); (3) sternal dehiscence, 1.2% in SITA, 3.2% in BITA (p = 0.27). CONCLUSIONS: Our data do not support the perception that BITA grafting increases the risk of sternal complications in insulin-dependent diabetic patients.

Aged↗

Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass (OPCAB) surgery reduces risk-stratified morbidity and mortality: a United Kingdom Multi-Center Comparative Analysis of Early Clinical Outcome.

OBJECTIVE: Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass (OPCAB) surgery is gaining more popularity worldwide. The aim of this United Kingdom (UK) multi-center study was to assess the early clinical outcome of the OPCAB technique and perform a risk-stratified comparison with the conventional Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) using the Cardio-Pulmonary Bypass (CPB) technique. METHODS: Data were collected on 5,163 CPB patients from the database of the National Heart and Lung institute, Imperial College, University of London, and on 2,223 OPCAB patients from eight UK cardiac surgical centers, which run established OPCAB surgery programs. All patients had undergone primary isolated CABG for multi-vessel disease through a midline sternotomy approach, between January 1997 and April 2001. Postoperative morbidity and mortality were compared between the CPB and OPCAB patients after adjusting for case-mix. The mortality of the OPCAB patients was also compared, using risk stratification, to the mortality figures reported by the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (SCTS) based on 28,018 patients in the national database who were operated on between January 1996 and December 1999. RESULTS: Morbidity and mortality were significantly lower in the OPCAB patients compared with the CPB patients and the UK national database of CABG patients, over the same period of time, after adjusting for case-mix. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that risk stratified morbidity and mortality are significantly lower in OPCAB patients than CPB patients and patients in the UK national database.

Adult↗

Pulmonary vein gas analysis for assessing donor lung function.

BACKGROUND: Radial artery oxygenation (PaO2) is the standard method for assessing potential lung donors. This study was proposed to assess the use of pulmonary vein gases (PvO2) in selection of donor lung for transplantation. METHODS: We studied 170 lungs from 85 consecutive donors. Lungs were classified into group A, PaO2 and PvO2 > 300 mm Hg; group B, PaO2 < 300 mm Hg, and PvO2 > 300 mm Hg; and group C, PvO2 < 300 mm Hg. RESULTS: Lungs retrieved from group A and group B were used for transplantation. Allograft function, assessed by the arterial and alveolar oxygen tension ratio, was similar at 12 hours and at 24 hours after operation (0.69, 0.73, vs 0.70, 0.71, for groups A and B, respectively (p = 0.8, 0.7, respectively). Similar radiologic appearance was seen in both groups (p = 0.2). Median duration of intubation was also similar (p = 0.6). The 30-day mortality rate was 12% versus 11.3% (p = 0.8), and 1-year survival rate was 80% versus 82% (p = 0.8) for recipient received lungs from group A and B donors, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Selective pulmonary veins analysis gives an accurate assessment of individual gas exchange in comparison with arterial PaO2, identifying more potential donor lungs for transplantation.

Adult↗