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Biomedical subjects

J A Brinker

Publications and source records attributed to J A Brinker.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Detection of left anterior descending coronary artery disease in patients with left bundle branch block.

The detection of coronary artery disease is difficult if a patient has electrocardiographic evidence of left bundle branch block (BBB). Septal blood flow may be reduced in patients with left BBB, despite no angiographic evidence of left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery disease. We have developed a new method of quantification of Thallium-201 single-photon emission computed tomographic (SPECT) images with the aim of better separating patients with left BBB and LAD disease from those with left BBB alone. The study cohort comprised 8 normal subjects (group I) and 20 patients with left BBB and chest pain who underwent thallium-201 SPECT imaging and coronary angiography. Eight patients (group II) had < or = 50% LAD stenosis, and 12 (group III) had > or = 70% LAD stenosis. Septal abnormality scores on the second short-axis slice from the base were computed, based on comparison of each subject's short-axis circumferential profile with a normal reference curve. This followed a procedure in which each profile was scaled to minimize differences in its absolute level in relation to the reference curve. Septal abnormality scores on stress images were 0.8 +/- 22 for group I, 27 +/- 43 for group II, and 165 +/- 67 for group III (p = 0.15 for group I vs II, and p < 0.0001 between groups I and III, and II and III).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged

Reduction of ischemia with a new flow-adjustable hemoperfusion pump during coronary angioplasty. The Coronary Hemoperfusion Ischemia Prevention Study (CHIPS) Investigators.

A new flow-adjustable pump for coronary hemoperfusion to prevent ischemia during routine coronary angioplasty was evaluated in a multicenter prospective study of 110 patients. The protocol included patients who had angina or ST segment elevation during a control balloon inflation of less than or equal to 3 min. Hemoperfusion was performed by means of a new large lumen angioplasty catheter utilizing the patient's renal vein or femoral artery blood. Vessels perfused were the left anterior descending coronary artery (n = 74), right coronary artery (n = 39), left circumflex artery (n = 9) and coronary vein grafts (n = 15). Mean (+/- SD) perfusion flow was 41 +/- 9 ml/min (range 17 to 70); mean perfusion time was 9.3 +/- 4 min (median 8.5, range 2 to 30). Chest pain score (0 to 4) decreased from 2.9 +/- 1 to 1.4 +/- 1 during hemoperfusion (p less than 0.001); ST segment elevation score (0 to 4) decreased from 2.6 +/- 1 to 0.7 +/- 1 (p less than 0.005) and inflation time increased from 1.3 +/- 0.9 to 7 +/- 4 min, (p less than 0.001). At least a 50% increase in tolerated inflation time was obtained in 104 patients (95%). Free plasma hemoglobin and creatine kinase levels did not increase significantly over baseline values. Angioplasty was successful in 107 patients (97%), with mean stenosis reduced from 87 +/- 11% to 20 +/- 17%; 3 patients had urgent bypass surgery, 2 (1.8%) had a myocardial infarction (1 Q wave, 1 non-Q wave) and 2 (1.8%) died later in the hospital of probable noncoronary causes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged

Safety and cost effectiveness of high-osmolality as compared with low-osmolality contrast material in patients undergoing cardiac angiography.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS: Low-osmolality contrast agents produce fewer hemodynamic and electrophysiologic alterations during cardiac angiography, but they are 20 times more expensive than high-osmolality contrast agents. In a randomized, double-blind trial comparing a nonionic low-osmolality contrast agent (Omnipaque 350) with a high-osmolality agent that does not avidly bind calcium (Hypaque 76) in 505 patients undergoing cardiac angiography, we determined the incidence of minor, mild, moderate, and severe adverse reactions, identified risk factors for such reactions, and evaluated the cost effectiveness of various strategies for the use of contrast material. RESULTS: The 253 patients who received a high-osmolality contrast agent were three times more likely to have a moderate adverse reaction (95 percent confidence interval for the relative risk, 1.6 to 5.5) but no more likely to have a severe reaction (95 percent confidence interval, 0.2 to 2.3) than the 252 patients who received a low-osmolality agent. All 10 severe reactions occurred in patients who were older than 60 years or had unstable angina. Patients with these characteristics were also 3.5 times more likely (95 percent confidence interval, 1.8 to 6.8) to have a moderate reaction (44 of 310 patients, or 14 percent) than those without either characteristic (8 of 195 patients, or 4 percent). We estimated that the incremental cost of each moderate reaction avoided would be $1,698 with a strategy that involved giving a low-osmolality contrast agent only to patients who were over 60 years of age or had unstable angina, instead of giving a high-osmolality agent to all patients. The incremental cost per moderate reaction avoided by giving a low-osmolality contrast agent to all patients rather than only to those over 60 or with unstable angina would be $5,842. CONCLUSIONS: The use of contrast agents with low rather than high osmolality during cardiac angiography reduces the risk of moderate, but not of severe, adverse reactions to the agent used. A strategy of reserving low-osmolality contrast agents for use in patients at high risk for adverse reactions would be more cost effective than one requiring their use in all patients.

Age Factors

Rest thallium-201 myocardial perfusion imaging in a patient with leukaemic infiltration of the heart.

Despite the high incidence of leukaemic infiltration of the heart, only 8 cases of atrioventricular block due to leukaemia have been reported in the literature. Improvement in the heart block associated with disappearance of the leukaemic infiltrate has not been reported. A rest thallium-201 study was used in a 65-year-old man to demonstrate leukaemic infiltration of the heart which was associated with complete heart block. After chemotherapy, when the tumour burden was reduced and the leukaemia in remission, his heart block resolved, and a follow-up thallium scan was normal.

Aged

Contractile, metabolic and arrhythmogenic effects of ionic and nonionic contrast agents in the isolated rat heart.

Intracoronary administration of contrast agents may be associated with contractile dysfunction and arrhythmias. To further establish the mechanisms of these alterations, we studied high-energy phosphate metabolism, developed pressure, the occurrence of arrhythmias, and the effects of verapamil during infusion of ionic and nonionic agents in isovolumic, retrogradely perfused rat hearts using 31P nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMR). Diatrizoate meglumine (Renografin) infusion reduced developed pressure (DP) to 17.1 +/- 3.4% (p less than 0.001) of the control level, and immediately following termination of the infusion, sudden ventricular tachycardia (VT) was observed in four of six hearts. In the presence of verapamil, meglumine reduced DP to 13 +/- 1.9% of control values and none of these six hearts developed VT. Iopamidol infusion in the presence of verapamil (n = 6) and alone (n = 6) resulted in a decrease in DP to 87% of control value, and no arrhythmias, significant change in high-energy phosphate levels, or changes in pH were observed. These results suggest that contrast-induced contractile depression is not mediated by changes in high-energy phosphate metabolism or pH. Arrhythmias associated with meglumine administration alone and suppressed by verapamil are probably related to calcium loading.

Adenosine Triphosphate

Nephrotoxicity of high-osmolality versus low-osmolality contrast media: randomized clinical trial.

The comparative frequency of and risk factors for nephrotoxicity with low-osmolality contrast medium (LOM) versus high-osmolality contrast medium (HOM) were investigated. A randomized, double-blind clinical trial was conducted in patients undergoing diagnostic angiocardiography (n = 430) or contrast material-enhanced body computed tomography (CT) (n = 499). Nephrotoxicity was defined as an increase in serum creatinine level that was greater than both 33% and 0.4 mg/dL (40 mumols/L) above the baseline level within 48 hours after the radiologic procedure. The frequency of nephrotoxicity was similar in patients who received LOM versus those who received HOM: 13 of 479 (2.7%) versus 13 of 450 (2.9%), respectively (P = .87), overall; 4.4% versus 4.0% in angiocardiography patients (P = .84); and 1.2% versus 2.0% in body CT patients (P = .35). Factors associated (P less than .05) with increased risk of nephrotoxicity were insulin-dependent diabetes, baseline serum creatinine level greater than 1.5 mg/dL (130 mumols/L), concurrent use of furosemide, and angiocardiographic examination. Patients who have preexisting renal insufficiency may be at higher risk for nephrotoxicity with HOM than with LOM.

Angiocardiography

Reduced left ventricular cavitary activity ("black hole sign") in thallium-201 SPECT perfusion images of anteroapical transmural myocardial infarction.

Apparently reduced left ventricular (LV) cavitary thallium activity in both planar and tomographic perfusion images has been previously observed by these and other investigators. With single-photon emission computerized tomography, we have clinically noted that this "black hole sign" was associated with an aneurysm in the setting of a transmural anterior or anteroapical perfusion defect. We have now prospectively studied the etiology and predictive value of this sign in 84 consecutive patients with an anterior, anteroapical transmural perfusion defect. Of the 84 patients, 49 had both LV aneurysm (confirmed by contrast ventriculography, echocardiography or gated blood pool studies) and a black hole sign. Only 1 patient with an aneurysm did not have the black hole sign, and 2 without aneurysm did. Thus, it is concluded that this sign is highly accurate in diagnosing LV aneurysm. Because thallium-201 single-photon emission computerized tomography imaging is often performed as one of the first diagnostic tests soon after myocardial infarction, this has important clinical management implications.

Adult

Coronary artery pseudo-occlusion associated with the use of an active hemoperfusion system during PTCA.

We describe the phenomenon of coronary artery "pseudo-occlusion," which may occur when active hemoperfusion devices are utilized during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). In such cases, contrast injected via the guiding catheter fails to opacify the coronary artery distal to the tip of the dilating catheter, thereby giving the angiographic appearance of coronary occlusion. When active hemoperfusion is terminated, contrast opacifies the vessel in a normal fashion. The cause of this observation is likely multifactorial and includes obstruction to flow by the dilating catheter, high distal pressure delivered by the dilating catheter during hemoperfusion competing with the flow of contrast injected via the guiding catheter, and wash-out of contrast at the tip of the dilating catheter by non-contrast containing blood being pumped through the system. This phenomenon must be recognized if potentially deleterious repeat dilatations are to be avoided.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary

ACC/AHA guidelines for cardiac catheterization and cardiac catheterization laboratories. American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Ad Hoc Task Force on Cardiac Catheterization.

It is evident that the practice of cardiac catheterization has undergone, and continues to undergo, marked change. Most prominent are the recent very rapid proliferation of catheterization laboratories in general and the development of newer types of catheterization laboratory. No uniform definitions exist for these newer laboratories, so meaningful communication is difficult. The new settings are of particular concern because their location, mobility, organization, and ownership raise questions about the quality of patient care. Most difficult to address are the questions about patient safety and physician conflict of interest. There are no objective data in peer-reviewed literature to support the reported safety and cost savings of these newer settings. Through deliberations, surveys, interviews, and correspondence with the cardiology community embraced by the ACC and the AHA, the task force generally found that in freestanding catheterization laboratories, access to emergency hospitalization may be delayed, and appropriate oversight may be lacking. Additionally, opportunities for self-referral may be fostered and the perception of commercialism and entrepreneurial excess in practice created. All of these problems must be avoided. The growth and development of some freestanding facilities, particularly the mobile laboratories, do not seem to have been driven by an increased need in remote communities or for temporary support but rather almost exclusively by a desire to capture market share. Accordingly, a series of definitions, guidelines, and recommendations for the laboratories as well as for patient selection has been developed. The consensus was that a very restrictive and cautious attitude to the newer settings is appropriate at this time. The justification for development or expansion of cardiac catheterization services must be patient need. Documentation of this need must be based on objective estimates of the number of patients with known or suspected cardiac disease who meet generally accepted indications for laboratory study. Concerns about the lack of data from prospective clinical trials of patient safety in such a group necessitate a very cautious attitude toward any new catheterization services, in particular those without in-house cardiac surgical support. In view of the lack of appropriately controlled safety and need data for hospital-based, mobile, or freestanding laboratories operating without on-site (accessible by gurney) cardiac surgery facilities, the task force reaffirms the position that further development of these services cannot be endorsed at this time. In addition, there is reason for major concern that such proliferation in catheterization services may contribute to increasing costs and troubling ethical questions.

American Heart Association

Selection of a contrast agent in the cardiac catheterization laboratory.

The evolution of contrast material for intravascular use has been directed toward the development of better-tolerated agents. Currently, a variety of such "dyes" are available for coronary angiography and left ventriculography. Considerable animal and human investigation suggests that significant differences exist between the families of contrast agents that relate to patient tolerance. The newer low osmolality agents (especially the nonionic agents) produce less perturbation of the homeostatic state, which is clinically manifested by a lessened incidence of side effects, including those of a hemodynamic and electrophysiologic nature. While controversy continues over the cost/benefit ratio of the low osmolality contrast agents compared to traditional high osmolality agents, the former are rapidly becoming the community standard for diagnostic and especially therapeutic cardiologic procedures. Accepting the advantages of the low osmolality contrast agents, differences between the ionic dimers and the nonionic agents have been examined. Both experimental and clinical data suggest superiority of the nonionic agents. Although controversy still surrounds the issue of thromboembolism with the nonionic agents, accumulating evidence fails to support a clinically significant relation. The choice of contrast material is the responsibility of the invasive cardiologist. While the benefits of low osmolality agents are most obvious in high-risk patients, experience with large-scale intravenous studies suggests that the choice of contrast agent is a better discriminator of adverse reaction than is preprocedural risk stratification.

Cardiac Catheterization

Coronary artery aneurysm formation following percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty: treatment of associated restenosis with repeat percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.

Restenosis following coronary angioplasty can usually be treated effectively and safely by repeated angioplasty. However, the presence of a complex lesion morphology may bias the clinician away from angioplasty toward either recommending bypass surgery or continuing medical therapy alone in spite of recurrence of the symptoms which were sufficient indication for the initial angioplasty. One type of complex morphology at the site of the restenosis is due to the presence of a focal, eccentric aneurysmal dilatation similar in appearance to a saccular aneurysm. In two previously reported cases in the literature both were referred to bypass surgery. We report eight additional cases including the use of repeat successful angioplasty in six of the cases in spite of the potential problems posed by the complexity of the restenosed lesion. In addition, this case review suggests that this type of complex lesion morphology with restenosis may be more common when the initial angioplasty was associated with deep arterial injury, as in patients whose initial angioplasty was done in an infarct-related vessel or was associated with evidence of a large dissection.

Adult