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Biomedical subjects

David Bialostozky

Publications and source records attributed to David Bialostozky.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Myocardial perfusion and ventricular function assessed by SPECT and Gated-SPECT in end-stage renal disease patients before and after renal transplant.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Renal transplant is known to improve left ventricle hypertrophy and systolic dysfunction in selected groups of patients. METHODS: We assessed myocardial perfusion, wall motion and functional parameters by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and Gated-SPECT in 30 consecutive ESRD patients with normal coronary angiograms before and after renal transplantation. RESULTS: Uremic cardiomyopathy improved significantly after the transplant. The proportion of patients with angina decreased from 26 to 0%; the frequency of cardiomegaly decreased from 57 to 20% (p <0.01); the frequency of segments with perfusion defects decreased from 42.7 to 10.2% (p <0.001); the proportion of patients with low left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) dropped from 53.3 to 20% (p <0.001); and mean LVEF increased from (48.0 +/- 9.7% to 58.2 +/- 8.2%). Similarly, the proportion of segments showing systolic wall thickening, hypokinesia and dyskinesia also decreased significantly after renal transplant (p <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Uremic cardiomyopathy may be potentially reversible in patients with normal angiographic coronary arteries after renal transplant in a relatively short period of time. SPECT and Gated-SPECT are objective gateway methods to determine myocardial perfusion, hypokinesia, dyskinesia, and functional parameters (left ventricular ejection fraction and systolic wall thickening) and may be useful to establish diagnostic, coronariographic, prognostic, and therapeutic indications.

Adolescent↗

Multiplane Transesophageal Echocardiography with Dobutamine in Patients with Biventricular Inferior Myocardial Infarction.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the alterations of ventricular wall movement in patients with acute posteroinferior myocardial infarction with extension to right cavities with multiplane transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), as well as the utility of dobutamine with this technique to analyze myocardial viability. Nine men with a mean age of 51 years fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Myocardial TEE was performed in all the men 72 hours after the acute event with long- and short-axis transgastric images of both ventricles under basal conditions and with dobutamine infusions of 5 and 10 µg/kg per minute. Results were compared with myocardial perfusion findings obtained with Tc-99m Sestamibi SPECT. Left ventricular myocardial viability was demonstrated in 28 of 45 altered segments with dobutamine stress myocardial TEE and Tc-99m Sestamibi SPECT. Right ventricular myocardial viability was identified in 27 of 30 altered segments with dobutamine stress myocardial TEE in transgastric short and long axes, and with Tc-99m Sestamibi SPECT in 23 of 25 segments only in short-axis images. Multiplane TEE provided excellent image resolution and better definition of endocardial and epicardial borders, which facilitated detailed evaluation of ventricular segmental wall movement. Infusion of low doses of dobutamine made it possible to identify viable tissue in both ventricles, and results were comparable to those of nuclear medicine.

Journal Article↗

Myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging in patients with myocardial bridging.

BACKGROUND: Although myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging is widely used to assess myocardial ischemia in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease, only a few patients with myocardial bridging have been evaluated with nuclear techniques. Furthermore, it has been suggested that dipyridamole stress images might underestimate perfusion defects compared with exercise stress images. This study was done to determine the concordance of exercise stress SPECT images with that obtained by dipyridamole stress SPECT images as a means of detecting ischemia in patients with myocardial bridging. METHODS AND RESULTS: Sixteen consecutive patients with angina and normal arteries but myocardial bridging of the left anterior descending artery underwent rest-exercise stress SPECT imaging. Within 2 weeks after angiograms were obtained, only dipyridamole stress images were repeated. The mean angiographic systolic occlusion within the myocardial bridges was 73% +/- 10%. Overall, the prevalence of an abnormal scan was no different in patients who underwent exercise stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) as compared with patients who underwent dipyridamole stress MPI (14/16 [88%] vs 13/16 [81%], respectively; P = .953). Exercise stress MPI showed a higher stress score than dipyridamole stress MPI, but the difference did not reach statistical significance (7.5 +/- 3.3 vs 6 +/- 2.7, P = .147). The strength of agreement among exercise stress MPI and dipyridamole stress MPI studies was good (kappa = 0.765; 95% CI, 0.318 to 1.211; P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac SPECT studies can be used effectively for assessing ischemia in patients with angina and myocardial bridging. The evaluation of myocardial perfusion with dipyridamole stress SPECT imaging showed a good agreement with exercise stress SPECT imaging for the detection of ischemia in this group of patients.

Coronary Vessel Anomalies↗

Variability of serial same-day left ventricular ejection fraction using quantitative gated SPECT.

BACKGROUND: The accuracy of quantitative gated single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) (QGS) and the potential limitations for estimation of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) have been extensively evaluated. However, few studies have focused on the serial variability of QGS. This study was conducted to assess the serial variability of QGS for determination of LVEF between 2 sequential technetium 99m sestamibi-gated SPECT acquisitions at rest in both healthy and unhealthy subjects. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study population consisted of 2 groups: group I included 21 volunteers with a low likelihood of CAD, and group II included 22 consecutive patients with documented CAD. Both groups underwent serial SPECT imaging. The overall correlation between sequential images was high (r = 0.94, SEE = 5.3%), and the mean serial variability of LVEF was 5.15% +/- 3.51%. Serial variability was lower for images with high counts (3.45% +/- 3.23%) than for images with low counts (6.85% +/- 3.77%). The mean serial variability was not different between normal and abnormal high-dose images (3.0% +/- 1.56% vs 3.9% +/- 2.77%). However, mean serial variability for images derived from abnormal low-dose images was significantly greater than that derived from normal low-dose images (9.6% +/- 2.22% vs 3.1% +/- 2.12%, P <.05). CONCLUSIONS: Although QGS is an efficacious method to approximate LVEF values and is extremely valuable for incremental risk stratification of patients with coronary artery disease, it has significant variability in the estimation of LVEF on serial images. This should be taken into account when used for serial evaluation of LVEF.

Adult↗

[Chest pain syndrome in normal or non-diagnostic conventional ECG at the emergency service. Assessment with myocardial perfusion (SPECT) and ventricular function (Gated-SPECT)].

The arrival of a patient with chest pain syndrome (precordial) to the emergency represents a diagnostic challenge for the physician. Around 6 million persons are seen each year at the Emergency units in the USA. More than half of the patients are admitted for their cardiac evaluation. Its cardiac origin is confirmed in 10 to 15%, and about 15% of them develop myocardial infarction. However, 5 to 10% of patients are dismissed and develop myocardial infarction during the next 48 h. The diagnosis of the infarct is inadvertent and/or patients is not hospitalized in 2 to 8%. The mortality rate is duplicated in none hospitalized patients. Frequently, a conservative observation conduct and/or diagnostic expectation is taken, with the consequent saturation of the intensive care unit that looses its critical character and avoids quick mobilization of the patient with an increase in costs. The clinical judgment, a meticulous clinical history, and careful physical examination play a key role in the differential diagnosis of the precordial pain syndrome; however, pain can be atypical, absent or manifest as an equivalent of pain, which does not exclude the diagnosis of myocardial infarction or ischemia. Likewise, chest pain in the presence of a normal conventional ECG at rest, non-diagnostic or with minimal variations, does not rule out the possibility of a coronary obstruction and does not mean that the pain is not of coronary origin. Other characteristics of the ECG, such as T wave and ST segment alterations, bundle branch block (BBB), LV hypertrophy, interpretation discrepancies, can pose doubts or mistakes in the diagnosis. Although its diagnostic information is essential, other non-invasive laboratory tests are needed, such as the treadmill stress ECG, serial bioenzymatic markers, and myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (SPECT and Gated-SPECT) at rest or under physical or pharmacologic stress. The advantages and disadvantages of the stress ECG, the echocardiography, magnetic resonance and PET are mentioned. The advantages of the SPECT and Gated-SPECT in the diagnosis and prognosis are: 1) great diagnostic objectivity; 2) high sensitivity and specificity; 3) diagnosis does not depend on evolution time of the ischemia and/or infarction, since SPECT diagnoses the initial primary modifications of ischemia; 4) diagnosis is achieved within the established limit of time, in less than 4 to 6 hours. The designed protocols allow to obtain the diagnosis between 30 min and 1:30 h; 5) assesses the myocardium at risk; 6) stratifies the risk and prognosis; 7) defines the site and 8) the involved coronary artery(les); 9) provides the functional significance of the anatomic obstruction; 10) quantifies the ventricular function, i.e., ejection fraction, systolic and diastolic volumes, systolic thickening, ventricular failure signs; 11) provides three-dimensional visualization of the mobility of the left ventricular wall; 12) diagnoses simultaneously the associated presence of ischemia and/or infarction of the right ventricle; 13) its high negative predictive value allows to dismiss immediately and with a great safety margin those patients in whom SPECT revealed normal perfusion; 14) costs are reduced without adversely compromising the safety of the patients. We describe the algorithm used as guideline for the early diagnosis in the presence or absence of ischemic heart disease in the patient with precordial or chest pain syndrome with normal or non-diagnostic ECG at arrival to the emergency ward. It is necessary to modified the clinical educational patterns and to revaluate the advantages and limitations of the clinical history, physical exploration, as well as of the conventional ECG at rest and other diagnostic methods used specifically in relation to the chest pain syndrome with a normal or non diagnostic conventional ECG. SPECT and Gated-SPECT scintigraphy is considered as the best individual and isolated non-invasive test for the diagnostic solution of the precordial syndrome at the Emergency Unit.

Algorithms↗