Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J M Cohn.
Chronic mesenteric ischemia is rare and commonly presents with abdominal pain and weight loss. Treatment options are limited to surgical or endovascular revascularization. In this report we describe in detail successful stent-supported angioplasty of a high-grade superior mesenteric artery stenosis utilizing a right brachial artery approach. A brief review of the literature is provided.
The primary goal of treatment in acute myocardial infarction is reperfusion of the infarct-related artery in as short a time as possible. Present strategies for acute reperfusion include the use of thrombolytic agents and a variety of catheter-based interventions. This article presents a brief review of these strategies and discusses the patient subsets better served by a particular type of intervention.
BACKGROUND: The incidence of hollow viscus injury (HVI) after blunt trauma (BT) is variable, and differences between children and adults have not been well described. The purpose of this study is to determine the age-group-related incidence and characteristics of BT-associated HVI as well as the clinical markers and consequences of delayed diagnosis. METHODS: A 9-year trauma registry review of all patients with HVI. RESULTS: A large sample of patients (19,621) with BT were evaluated (2,550 < or = 14 years old; 17,070 > 14 years old). One hundred thirty-nine of 17,070 (0.8%) adults had HVI compared with 27 of 2,550 (1%) children. HVI occurred more frequently in the duodenum in children (11 of 27) compared with adults (17 of 139) (p < 0.05). Among patients with abdominal wall ecchymosis, 13.5% of children had HVI compared with 10.6% of adults. Delays in diagnosis of HVI occurred in 9 of 27 children compared with 10 of 139 adults (p < 0.0 5). Delayed diagnosis was associated with increased abdominal septic complications in both children (4 of 9) and adults (2 of 10) compared with diagnosis at presentation (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: HVI occurs with a similar low frequency in both children and adults. Duodenal injuries are more common in pediatric BT patients. Abdominal wall ecchymosis is associated with increased HVI but is less predictive of HVI than previously described. Contrary to previous reports, delays in diagnosis are associated with increased morbidity.
A patient with a symptomatic petrous carotid artery stenosis underwent balloon angioplasty, which was complicated by a flow-limiting dissection. The problem was resolved by deploying a balloon-expandable coronary stent. The patient suffered no neurologic deficit, was discharged within 12 hours, and was asymptomatic at last follow-up, 5 months after the procedure, without warfarin therapy. This therapeutic option may prove useful as a means to correct endovascular procedural complications.
Physicians make recommendations to their patients on a daily basis regarding tests and procedures. However, no research has evaluated physicians use of similar tests for their own health and well-being. This article reviews a comparison between 55 male physicians and 55 male attorneys of similar age regarding their use of the annual physical examination and routine screening tests. In several areas, the results indicate that physicians do not participate in routine tests and procedures as well as do their legal counterparts. Possible explanations for this physician behavior are included in the discussion segment of the article.
PURPOSE: To report a percutaneous technique for endovascular repair of iliac artery aneurysms using commercially available materials. METHODS: Ten patients (9 males; mean age 65 +/- 11 years) presented with 11 isolated iliac artery aneurysms; 3 patients were asymptomatic. Stent-grafts were customized for each patient from polytetrafluoroethylene grafts with Palmaz stents sutured at either end of the tube. The devices were delivered percutaneously through standard 14F sheaths and deployed by balloon dilation. RESULTS: All iliac aneurysms were excluded without procedural incident. One patient with chronic renal insufficiency (baseline serum creatinine 1.9 mg/dL) experienced transient contrast-induced renal failure inhospital. The average hospital stay was 2.5 days (range 1 to 7). One vessel thrombosed 2 weeks following the procedure; the culprit stenosis at the site of arterial cannulation was dilated. One patient died of myocardial infarction at 6 weeks. The remaining eight grafts are patent and free of endoleak at a mean 14-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: This percutaneous technique appears to be an acceptable alternative to open surgical repair.
Fifty-one consecutive patients underwent exercise echocardiography, angiography, and intracoronary ultrasound (ICUS) 2.5 years (range from 1 to 6) after cardiac transplantation. The average age of the donor was 29 years (range 13 to 50), and the average age of the recipient was 49 +/- 12 years. In total, 78 studies were performed, as 25 patients had >1 annual evaluation and 2 patients had 3 consecutive annual evaluations. Of the 78 angiographic studies, 40 (26 patients) had evidence of coronary artery disease, defined as a focal stenosis (>20%, n=4) or luminal irregularities (n=36). However, by ICUS all 51 patients had intimal thickening at some point, with 34 patients possessing diffuse disease and 17 focal intimal thickening only. Of the 25 serial studies, 12 progressed by at least 1 Stanford class. The sensitivity of angiography for determination of class III to IV intimal thickening was 64% and the specificity was 76%. On exercise echocardiography, 6 examinations revealed resting wall motions abnormalities, whereas 6 had inducible wall motion abnormalities with exercise. The sensitivity of exercise echocardiography to determine class III to IV intimal thickening was 15%, and the specificity was 85%. In conclusion, exercise echocardiography is an insensitive method for predicting transplant-mediated coronary artery disease, whereas luminal irregularities on angiography may predict the presence of Stanford grade III to IV intimal thickening.
PURPOSE: To present a cardiac asystole technique that assists in the accurate deployment of stent-grafts during endovascular repair of thoracic or abdominal aortic aneurysms. TECHNIQUE: In the anesthetized patient, trial doses of intravenous adenosine are delivered until a > or = 20-second period of asystole is recorded. The endograft procedure then proceeds until the device is ready for deployment. The predetermined dose of adenosine is administered, and the device is deployed during asystole. Adenosine-induced transient asystole has been utilized in 16 patients undergoing balloon-expandable endograft exclusion of 6 thoracic aortic and 10 abdominal aortic aneurysms. Asystole lasted for 20 to 30 seconds, during which time the devices were accurately deployed without interference from the aortic flow. There were no clinical sequelae of this technique in any patient. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacologically induced transient asystole appears to be a safe maneuver to preclude endograft movement by systolic blood flow. The technique permits precise placement of balloon-expandable stent-grafts and is applicable to self-expanding devices as well. Interventionists may wish to incorporate adenosine-induced asystole into their aortic aneurysm exclusion procedures.
BACKGROUND: Intracoronary ultrasound (ICUS) is increasingly used in clinical practice to study the natural history of coronary artery disease and to assess the effects of intracoronary, catheter-based interventions. However, the risk associated with the procedure is not well documented. METHODS AND RESULTS: ICUS studies performed in 28 centers were retrospectively included; these centers agreed to contribute to the study among a total of 60 centers initially invited. Among the 2207 ICUS studies, 505 (23%) were performed in heart transplant recipients and 1702 (77%) in nontransplant patients. Indication for ICUS was diagnostic imaging in 915 (41%), drug testing in 244 (11%), and guidance for intracoronary interventions in 1048 patients (47%). There were no complications in 2034 patients (92.2%). In 87 patients (3.9%), complications occurred but were judged to be "not related" to ICUS by the operator. In 63 patients (2.9%), spasm occurred during ICUS imaging. In 9 patients (0.4%), complications other than spasm were judged to have a "certain relation" to ICUS, including acute procedural events in 6 (3 acute occlusion, 1 embolism, 1 dissection, and 1 thrombus) and major events in 3 patients (2 occlusion and 1 dissection; all resulting in myocardial infarction). In 14 patients (0.6%), complications with "uncertain relation" to ICUS were recorded, including acute procedural events in 9 (5 acute occlusion, 3 dissection, and 1 arrhythmia) and major events in 5 patients (2 myocardial infarction and 3 emergency coronary artery bypass surgery). The incidence of acute procedural or major complications judged to be associated with ICUS (uncertain relation or certain relation to ICUS) was compared in different patient groups. The complication rate was higher in patients with unstable angina or acute myocardial infarction (2.1% events) as compared with patients with stable angina pectoris and asymptomatic patients (0.8% and 0.4%, respectively; chi 2 = 10.9, P < .01). These complications were also more frequent in patients undergoing interventions (1.9%) as compared with transplant and nontransplant patients undergoing diagnostic ICUS imaging (0% and 0.6%, respectively; chi 2 = 13.5, P < .001). Adverse events were few, and no association was detected between these events and the size or type of ICUS catheter used. CONCLUSIONS: ICUS is associated with (but not necessarily the direct cause of) a minor acute clinical risk. Vessel spasm is the most frequent event occurring during ICUS. Other complications predominantly occur in patients with acute coronary syndromes and during guidance for intervention.