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L D Suárez

Publications and source records attributed to L D Suárez.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Use of resources, quality of life, and clinical outcomes in patients with and without new Q waves after thrombolytic therapy for acute myocardial infarction (from the GUSTO-I trial).

Previous reports indicate that patients who do not develop Q waves after thrombolytic therapy are a different population with a better long-term survival than those who do develop Q waves. However, the use of resources, quality of life, and health status of this population have not been fully evaluated. Using data from the Economics and Quality of Life subset of the Global Utilization of Streptokinase and tPA for Occluded Arteries study, we examined 30-day and 1-year mortality, use of resources, and quality-of-life measures among 1,830 of 3,000 patients with acute myocardial infarction and ST-segment elevation treated with thrombolytic therapy. At hospital discharge, 555 patients (30.2%) had not developed Q waves. These patients had lower mortality than patients with Q waves at 30 days (1.6% vs 4.5%, p <0.01) and at 1 year (4.7% vs 6.8%, p <0.04). Recurrent chest pain and dyspnea were similar at 30 days and 1 year. Patients without Q waves had significantly more angiography and trends toward higher readmission, revascularization, and use of calcium antagonists at 30 days. Angiography, revascularization, readmission, and quality of life were equivalent from 30 days to 1 year, with no sign of late instability. Logistic regression analysis showed an association between in-hospital revascularization and better survival and quality of life at 1 year. Conversely, there was no association between in-hospital use of calcium antagonists and outcome to explain the lower mortality in non-Q-wave patients. The absence of Q waves after thrombolytic therapy is a marker of success, implying better prognosis and equivalent quality of life, use of resources, and health status than for patients with Q-wave acute myocardial infarction and no sign of long-term unstable clinical course.

Aged↗

TIMI grade 3 flow and reocclusion after intravenous thrombolytic therapy: a pooled analysis.

Early and sustained flow of grade 3 according to Thrombolysis in Myocardial infarction (TIMI) criteria and reocclusion rates are the key measures that define the physiologic efficacy of thrombolytic agents in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction. We performed a systematic overview of angiographic studies after intravenous thrombolysis with accelerated and standard-dose tissue-plasminogen activator (TPA), anisoylated plasminogen streptokinase activator complex (APSAC), and streptokinase. There were 5475 angiographic observations from 15 studies for TIMI flow analysis and 3147 angiographic observations from 27 studies for reocclusion. At 60 and 90 minutes, the rates of TIMI grade 3 flow were 57.1% and 63.2%, respectively, with accelerated TPA, 39.5% and 50.2% with standard-dose TPA, 40.2% and 50.1% with APSAC, and 31.5% at 90 minutes with streptokinase. Overall reocclusion with standard-dose TPA was 11.8% versus 6.0% for accelerated TPA, 4.2% for streptokinase, and 3.0% for APSAC. Although the incidence of TIMI grade 3 flow increased over time with all thrombolytic regimens, decreased patency was observed at 180 minutes with accelerated TPA. Still, accelerated TPA is the most effective agent to establish early (90-minute) TIMI grade 3 flow.

Anistreplase↗

Total myocardial revascularization with arterial conduits: radial artery combined with internal thoracic arteries.

OBJECTIVE: We prospectively tested the feasibility of achieving total arterial revascularization with the use of the radial artery to revascularize the circumflex, diagonal, and right coronary arteries combined with a left internal thoracic artery graft to the left anterior descending artery and, in some cases, a right internal thoracic artery graft to the right coronary artery. METHODS: In 164 patients, the radial artery was used as a free Y or T graft from the left internal thoracic artery. Of 568 grafts (3.5 +/- 1 [standard deviation] per patient), 296 (1.8 +/- 0.8 per patient) were constructed with the radial artery as single grafts or as double, triple, or quadruple sequential anastomoses to the circumflex, diagonal, and posterior descending arteries. Diltiazem was administered to prevent spasm. Forty-six patients underwent coronary angiography before discharge from the hospital. Follow-up time was 1 to 19 (9.5 +/- 6.1) months. RESULTS: Total arterial revascularization was achieved in 137 patients (83.5%). Three (1.8%) died postoperatively of sepsis, ventricular fibrillation, and heart failure, respectively. Three (1.8%) had postoperative myocardial infarction. No hand ischemia occurred. Angiography showed patency of all arterial conduits. Radial artery spasm appeared in 3 (6.5%) of 46 angiograms. Two patients (1.2%) died during the follow-up period of pneumonia and gastrointestinal tract bleeding, respectively. No other events or reoperations occurred, and 95.1% of the patients are free of symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The radial artery, as a free Y or T graft from the left internal thoracic artery to the circumflex, diagonal, and right coronary arteries, permits total arterial revascularization with excellent patency rates, minimal morbidity and mortality, and no need for reoperation. Longer follow-up times are necessary to draw definitive conclusions.

Coronary Angiography↗

[Hepatic artery aneurysm].

We report the case of a 45-year old man who presented a common hepatic artery aneurysm. He had alcoholic habits and after an episode of upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding underwent an abdominal ultrasound study. This showed a large fluid-filled upper abdominal mass related to the pancreatic head. Both T scan and an angiogram showed an hepatic artery aneurysm. It was resected and the artery repaired interposing a saphenous vein graft. The patient was discharged a week after surgery. Most of the hepatic artery aneurysms are free of symptoms and difficult to palpate and only a few patients can be operated before the occurrence of aneurysmal fissure. Broad use of ultrasound and selective angiography has increased the number of cases diagnosed before complications, reducing the mortality rate, which, in the past, has been reported up to 59%.

Aneurysm↗

[Elevation of ST segment and Bezold Jarisch reflex as evidence of early post-thrombolysis reperfusion].

The prognosis of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) depends on the patency of the infarct-related coronary artery. This is the reason why the early recognition of the result of thrombolysis is very important in order to implement more aggressive studies and more complex treatments in case of failure. A clinical syndrome of "early coronary reperfusion" with an excellent correlation with angiographic data has been identified, characterized by: 1) pain decrease in more than 50%, 2) descent of ST segment elevation of more than 50%, 3) early elevation of creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) enzyme; other signs of reperfusión described are the Bezold Jarisch reflex (bradycardia and arterial hypotension) in patients with inferior AMI, an additional elevation of ST segment during thrombolytic infusion. These two signs of successful thrombolysis were seen early and together in our patient. He was a 41 year old male who had an anterior AMI 4 months before admission to our Coronary Care Unit with diagnosis of unstable angina (rest angina). After 10 hours he began with intensive precordial pain of 30 minutes with 2 mm of ST segment elevation in inferior leads. Streptokinase (STK) (1,500,000 units) by infusion was administered during 45 minutes; at 30 minutes of infusion the patient had an increase of ST segment elevation in the same leads which reached 3 mm and decreased to basal line after 2 hours. He also had bradycardia and hypotension which improved with atropine 1 mg IV. An episode of acute heart failure (confirmed by clinical, radiological and hemodynamic data) resolved just before the end of STK infusion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

[Is there a clinical value of endomyocardial biopsy and immunosuppressive treatment in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy? Study by meta analysis].

This study was intended to answer two questions: 1) whether the prognosis of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and myocardial inflammatory changes, and 2) whether immunosuppressive agents may modify survival. The meta-analysis technique was employed as a tool in order to homogenize the results of several reports that were not conclusive and often contradictory due to the small number of patients studied. Twenty one reports were included; in 12, there was a follow up study of patients with acute inflammatory changes. Four reports compared the follow up of groups showing acute inflammatory changes with controls with dilated cardiomyopathy lacking inflammatory phenomena in the biopsy, including a total of 272 patients; 47 (17.3%) disclosed inflammatory changes. Total mortality for this group was 25.6% while that for the control group was 28.4% (p = NS). Thirteen reports dealt with the effect of immunosuppressive treatment with myocarditis; 7 studies included an untreated control group, summing up 119 patients. Mortality did not differ between these groups: 31.3% and 30.9%, respectively (p = NS). It is concluded that 1) there are very few controlled and conclusive reports available on the prognostic value of endomyocardial biopsy and immunosuppressive treatment in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy; 2) the presence of inflammatory changes did not worsen the prognosis; and 3) immunosuppressive treatment did not improve survival.

Biopsy↗

[Thrombolytic therapy in a case of prosthetic aortic valve thrombosis].

We present the case of a 40 year old woman, who had an aortic prosthetic valve, of the Björk Shiley type. Three months before admission she began with progressive dyspnea. She was admitted to the Cardiovascular Care Unit with a global cardiac failure. An aortic prosthetic valve thrombosis was diagnosed clinically (absence of the prosthetic click) and by radioscopy (a decrease in the movement of the valve disk, with an incomplete shunt). It was attributed to a secondary failure of the anticoagulant treatment. Despite the treatment she quickly developed a cardiogenic shock. A treatment with 750,000 UI of streptokinase in 30 min was started, followed by 100,000 UI during 12 hours, with total reversion of the hemodynamic features, as judged by clinical examination (recurrence of the prosthetic click), radioscopy (recurrence of the valve movement) and by Doppler echocardiography (reduction of the transvalvular gradient). No complications were observed, and in a follow up of 12 months she persisted asymptomatic. The prosthetic valve thrombosis is an infrequent and almost fatal complication. The classical therapy consists in surgery which is a procedure with a high mortality in patients with severe cardiac failure, and an emergency procedure, as it occurred in our patient. Despite the known success of the thrombolytic therapy in the prosthetic valve thrombosis of the right heart (tricuspid position) it was only in the last years that this treatment was reported in aortic or mitral position. Peripheric embolies were found in 13% of the cases, always with transitory symptoms. There are only 45 cases described in the world, and more experience is needed for definitive conclusions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗