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Biomedical subjects

J A Kisslo

Publications and source records attributed to J A Kisslo.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Diagnosis and management (by subxiphoid pericardiotomy) of large pericardial effusions causing cardiac tamponade.

To determine the clinical features, course and outcome of patients with cardiac tamponade, 57 consecutive patients with new, large pericardial effusions were prospectively studied. Twenty-five patients (44%) developed cardiac tamponade with venous hypertension and a pulsus paradoxus greater than 10 mm Hg. Electrocardiography, radiographic studies and echocardiography did not differentiate patients with and without tamponade. All 57 patients underwent thorough diagnostic evaluation followed by subxiphoid pericardial biopsy and drainage. A diagnosis was obtained in 53 patients (93%). Collagen vascular disease was significantly more frequent in the 25 patients with than in the 32 without cardiac tamponade (24 vs 3%; p less than 0.05). The frequency of malignant and uremic effusions was equal in both groups, whereas radiation-induced effusions seldom produced tamponade. At 1-year follow-up, 3 patients (12%) with tamponade had recurrent effusions, and 1 needed reoperation. This was not significantly different from the 32 patients without tamponade. Twelve-month mortality was also similar in both groups (36 vs 44%). This prospective series disclosed several unexpected findings: (1) Cardiac tamponade occurred in almost 50% of patients with new large pericardial effusions; (2) both malignancy and collagen vascular disease occurred with equal frequency as etiologies, whereas radiation-induced tamponade was unusual; (3) thorough clinical evaluation resulted in few idiopathic etiologies; and (4) subxiphoid pericardiotomy was effective for both diagnosis and therapy of tamponade.

Cardiac Tamponade

The learning curve for intraoperative echocardiography during congenital heart surgery.

Our group has previously reported a large prospective experience with the use of intraoperative echocardiography with Doppler color-flow imaging (IE-DCFI) during the repair of congenital heart defects. We have now performed IE-DCFI in 621 patients and have observed a major change in the impact of this technology, which has stabilized during our most recent experience (the last 207 patients). To evaluate the surgical learning curve with IE-DCFI, we divided patients into three groups: group 1, patients 1 through 207; group 2, patients 208 through 414; and group 3, patients 415 through 621. There were no major differences between groups with respect to age or disease entities. The average time needed to perform an IE-DCFI examination decreased from 3.75 +/- 1.77 minutes in group 1 to 3.35 +/- 1.52 minutes in group 2 and has remained stable. The number of patients requiring revisions in the operating room (based on IE-DCFI findings) decreased from 17 (8%) in group 1 to 7 (3%) in group 2 to 5 (2%) in group 3. Furthermore, revisions were 100% successful in correcting the problem in groups 2 and 3, whereas 18% of group 1 patients left the operating room with persistent residual defects by IE-DCFI. Surgeons can acquire the ability to interpret the results of IE-DCFI themselves and use it to enhance their operative repair of congenital heart defects, but this requires an experience of at least 200 cases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cardiac Surgical Procedures

Subxiphoid pericardiotomy in the diagnosis and management of large pericardial effusions associated with malignancy.

To determine the safety, diagnostic value, and clinical outcome of patients with malignancy undergoing subxiphoid pericardiotomy for large pericardial effusions, we prospectively studied 25 consecutive patients with malignancy and new, large pericardial effusions diagnosed by echocardiography. Twenty-two of the 25 operations were done under local anesthesia, and no patient died at surgery. Pericardial fluid cytology revealed malignant cells in 11 patients (44 percent), while tumor was seen in only five (45 percent) of these 11 patients on pathologic examination. The remaining 14 patients showed no evidence of pericardial invasion with tumor. Evidence of intrathoracic disease by CT or MRI scanning, tamponade, a sanguineous pericardial fluid character, and an elevated serum and pericardial fluid lactate dehydrogenase level all were suggestive of malignant invasion of the pericardium. All 25 patients were followed at least 12 months postoperatively. Effusions recurred in three patients (12 percent), and one patient required reoperation. Overall mortality was 72 percent with a 91 percent (10 of 11) mortality for those with malignant effusions and a 57 percent (8 of 14) mortality for those with nonmalignant effusions. Diagnostically, subxiphoid pericardiotomy has little advantage over examination of pericardial fluid alone in this group of patients. Therapeutically, however, it is a low morbidity procedure which is safe and effective in treating patients with malignancy and large pericardial effusions.

Cardiac Tamponade

Safety and efficacy of sonicated albumin microspheres in perfusion and vein graft patency assessments.

This study was designed to identify a concentration of sonicated albumin microspheres that is safe, useful in determining graft patency, and provides an estimate of regional myocardial perfusion. The study included 8 patients between 50 and 72 years of age who were undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. All patients were hemodynamically stable with left ventricular ejection fractions greater than or equal to 0.35. None had congestive heart failure or myocardial infarction within 4 months prior to the study. All had normal baseline neurologic and renal functions, and none had experienced allergic reactions to blood products or contrast dyes. A standard median sternotomy was performed for exposure of the heart at surgery, and saphenous veins were harvested and used for grafting. Intraoperative epicardial echocardiography (EE), always in the left ventricle short-axis at midpapillary level, was performed before and after grafting to determine regional myocardial wall motion. Sonicated albumin microspheres were prepared and injected into a single vein graft using an 18-gauge needle; 20 x 10(6), 100 x 10(6), and 200 x 10(6) microspheres were injected into the first graft sequentially. All other vein grafts were injected once with the dose that gave optimal contrast enhancement in the initial graft studied. In each patient, a minimum of 3 and maximum of 5 injections were performed, and graft perfusion was studied using EE. Graft flow, blood pressure, and electrocardiographic (ECG) measurements were continuously monitored, with a final EE performed after weaning the patient off cardiopulmonary bypass to assess wall motion. Preliminary results showed that no patient had adverse effects during or after the study and all remained hemodynamically stable.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged

Routine use of intraoperative epicardial echocardiography and Doppler color flow imaging to guide and evaluate repair of congenital heart lesions. A prospective study.

Routine epicardial two-dimensional echocardiography, Doppler, and Doppler color flow imaging studies were performed before and after cardiopulmonary bypass in 328 patients undergoing operations for congenital heart disease. Ages ranged from 1 day to 59 years (mean 5.9 years); the smallest patient was 1.8 kg. Complete examinations were conducted in 3.6 +/- 1.7 minutes. Prebypass examinations demonstrated previously unappreciated details of anatomy in 60 patients (18%), which did not relate to whether catheterization had been performed, and they were believed to play a role in surgical planning in 143 patients (44%). Discovery of previously unrecognized features of anatomy increased the impact of echo-Doppler color flow imaging on operative planning by 2.5 times. After bypass, echo-Doppler color flow imaging disclosed unsuspected residual defects in 22 patients (7%) who were doing well clinically and enabled an attempt at immediate revision of the procedure. When ultimate clinical outcome was compared to postbypass findings of echo-Doppler color flow imaging, the presence of a residual defect, right or left ventricular dysfunction, or any concern with the heart by echo-Doppler color flow imaging appeared to serve as a predictor of unfavorable outcome (p less than 0.001 for each when compared with absence of these difficulties). Thus routine intraoperative echo-Doppler color flow imaging is useful in aiding the planning, conduct, and assessment of results in operations for congenital heart disease.

Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Patent foramen ovale and decompression sickness in divers.

30 patients with a history of decompression sickness were examined for the presence of patent foramen ovale by bubble contrast, two-dimensional echocardiography and colour flow doppler imaging. With bubble contrast, 11 (37%) of the patients had right-to-left shunting through a patent foramen ovale during spontaneous breathing. 61% of a subset of 18 patients with serious signs and symptoms had shunting. This number was significantly higher than the 5% prevalence seen with the same diagnostic technique in 176 healthy volunteers. The presence of patent foramen ovale seems to be a risk factor for the development of decompression sickness in divers.

Acute Disease

Detection of persistent left superior vena cava by two-dimensional contrast echocardiography.

One hundred seventy adult patients with possible congenital or valvular heart disease underwent contrast two-dimensional echocardiographic examination as part of a precatheterization evaluation. Persistent left superior vena cava was detected in 5 patients, each of whom demonstrated an abnormally large coronary sinus. Injection of echocardiographic contrast material from a peripheral left arm vein resulted in early opacification of this structure before other right-side chambers, thus suggesting abnormal venous drainage. Persistent left superior vena cava was confirmed in all 5 patients at the time of catheterization and/or surgery.

Adolescent

Phased array cardiac imaging: system operation, results and clinical role.

Proper clinical use of real-time, two-dimensional echocardiography depends upon three major factors: the clinical questions posed of these imaging devices, the interrelationship of this technique with other imaging techniques and the quality of the ultrasonic image. The Duke experience with this technique has been primarily based on results obtained with a focused, phased array imaging system over the last three years. During this period of time we have observed that high-resolution, cross-sectional ultrasonic images of cardiac structures provide unique diagnostic information that is not possible by any other method. Similarly, this type of information allows the clinician to pose new questions concerning the use of diagnostic ultrasound in patient care. Improvements in image quality that have accompanied the addition of new scan formats and a broad-band transducer have enhanced the clinical reliability of diagnostic information.

Echocardiography

Detection and exclusion of interatrial shunts by two-dimensional echocardiography and peripheral venous injection.

Two-dimensional echocardiography (2-D echo) was used with peripherally injected contrast material to detect interatrial shunts in 33 patients. Group 1 consisted of 11 patients having classic clinical findings of atrial septal defect. Group 2 consisted of 12 patients with problems requiring that atrial shunting be excluded. Group 3 (control group) consisted of 10 patients undergoing cardiac catheterization for chest pain. Confirmation of the 2-D echo findings was provided by cardiac catheterization in 32 patients and postmortem examination in one. Right-to-left atrial shunts were detected in all 11 patients in group 1, although seven had no right-to-left shunt calculable by oximetry. Four patients in Group 2 had right-to-left atrial shunts. None of the patients in Group 3 had atrial shunts. In the 15 patients with atrial shunts, the degree of right-to-left shunting could be qualitatively assessed as small, moderate, or large. There were no false-negative or false-positive results by contrast 2-D echo.

Adolescent

Detection of tricuspid regurgitation with two-dimensional echocardiography and peripheral vein injections.

"Contrast echocardiography", utilizing a two-dimensional ultrasound system and peripheral venous injections, was used for the detection of tricuspid regurgitation in 30 patients. The appearance of contrast in the inferior vena cava and the back and forth movement of contrast across the tricuspid valve were considered evidence for tricuspid regurgitation. Echocardiographic findings were correlated with clinical and angiographic data. Patients were assigned on the basis of clinical data to one of three groups. Group I included five patients whose clinical findings were diagnostic for tricuspid regurgitation. Group II included patients (15) whose clinical findings were equivocal for tricuspid regurgitation and patients whose recognized primary problem is frequently associated with tricuspid regurgitation. Group III contained ten patients serving as controls. All group I patients had positive echocardiographic studies for tricuspid regurgitation, while all group III patients had negative studies, suggesting that this technique may be specific for tricuspid regurgitation. Among the group II patients were three who had positive echocardiographic studies despite the absence of specific clinical findings of tricuspid regurgitation, suggesting that this technique may be more sensitive than the methods in common use.

Adult

The role of the exercise test in the evaluation of patients for ischemic heart disease.

A cohort of 1472 patients who underwent both exercise stress testing and coronary angiography within six weeks was examined. The data indicated that a combination of exercise parameters is both diagnostically and prognostically important. Almost all patients (greater than 97%) who had positive exercise tests at Stage I or Stage II had significant coronary artery disease. More than half of these (greater than 60%) had three vessel disease and over 25% had significant narrowing (greater than 50%) of the left main coronary artery. Patients who achieved Stage IV or greater exercise durations with either negative or indeterminate ST-segment response had less than a 15% prevalence of three vessel disease and less than a 1% prevalence of left main coronary artery disease. A low risk subgroup (75% of all non-operated patients) was identified with a twelve month survival greater than 99%. A high risk subgroup (11% of all nonoperated patients) was identified with a twelve month survival of less than 85%. The exercise test is a noninvasive, reproducible method to assess the presence and extent of anatomic disease and the prognosis when significant disease has been defined. It should be used in conjunction with other noninvasive tests to determine optimal management in patients evaluated for ischemic heart disease.

Angiocardiography

Dynamic cardiac imaging using a focused, phased-array ultrasound system.

A two-dimensional ultrasound imaging system capable of producing high resolution, cross-sectional images of the heart in real-time has been developed. This system relies upon phased-array principles to rapidly steer and focus the ultrasound beam through the cardiac structures under investigation. A hand-held, linear array of 24 transducers is manipulated on the anterior chest wall to image various cardiac structures. Images of high line density are presented in selectable sector arcs to a maximum of 90 degrees. This imaging system has proved particularly useful for the detection of a variety of left ventricular and cardiac valvular disease.

Computers

Two-dimensional echocardiographic assessment of mitral stenosis.

A real-time, phased-array, two-dimensional echocardiography system was used to assess mitral valve motion in 30 catheterized patients with pure mitral stenosis. Suitable images for analysis of mitral valve motion were obtained in 25 patients. The valve leaflets were most thickened and immobile at the leaflet tips while maximum mobility was at the leaflet body. Diastolic movement of anterior mitral leaflet toward the septum pulled the posterior mitral leaflet mid-portion inferiorly. Systolic bulging of the mid-portion of the anterior mitral leaflet into the left atrium was seen in 40% (10 of 25). Movement of the anterior mitral leaflet in diastole is primarily due to movement of the whole mitral apparatus in patients with mitral stenosis. The anterior mitral leaflet E to F slopes did not correlate (r=0.38) with the mitral valve area determined at catheterization. Planimetry of the mitral valve area directly from the videotape images compared favorably to the valve area determined at catheterization (r=0.95). Thus, mitral valve area determined by this technique is an accurate noninvasive method for assessing the severity of mitral stenosis.¿

Cardiac Catheterization