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Biomedical subjects

L P Schnurr

Publications and source records attributed to L P Schnurr.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Rescue angioplasty during myocardial infarction has a beneficial effect on mortality: a tenable hypothesis.

HYPOTHESIS: Rescue percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) reduces mortality during myocardial infarction. OBJECTIVE: To determine if PTCA after failed thrombolytic therapy results in reduced mortality. DESIGN: Twenty-eight patients with a persistently occluded infarct artery following thrombolytic therapy more than 3 h after symptom onset were randomized to rescue PTCA (n = 16) or conservative treatment (n = 12) as part of a prospective randomized trial of reperfusion therapy during myocardial infarction in 184 patients. Hospital mortality was assessed in these groups as well as in the 177 patients with known infarct artery status after initial attempts at reperfusion. MAIN RESULTS: There was one death among the 16 patients in the rescue PTCA group versus four deaths in the 12 patients treated conservatively (P = 0.13). Moreover, the death in the rescue PTCA group occurred in one of three patients in whom the procedure failed. Mortality in the entire study group was 10.3% (19 of 184); 4.2% (six of 142) in patients in whom patency was achieved after thrombolysis and/or PTCA and 34.3% (12 of 35) in those in whom reperfusion was not achieved (P less than 0.001). In patients with anterior myocardial infarction, mortality was 6.7% (four of 60) in those with reperfusion and 47.1% (eight of 17) in those with a persistently occluded artery (P less than 0.001). In patients with inferior myocardial infarction, 2.4% (two of 82) with reperfusion and 22.2% (four of 18) with a persistently occluded artery died (P less than 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Although the number of patients in the randomized groups was small, the trend toward a lower mortality after rescue PTCA supports the hypothesis that rescue PTCA may be beneficial. The mortality results in relation to presence or absence of reperfusion from the entire study population underscores the importance of achieving patency during myocardial infarction.

Aged↗

Relation between flow grade after thrombolytic therapy and the effect of angioplasty on left ventricular function: a prospective randomized trial.

Recent intervention trials during myocardial infarction demonstrated no benefit from emergency angioplasty after thrombolytic therapy when compared with either delayed percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) or a conservative strategy. However, it is possible that subgroups of patients may benefit from early intervention with angioplasty. We performed a prospective randomized trial in patients with a patent infarct-related artery after thrombolytic therapy to determine whether initial flow grade is related to infarct-zone function and whether patients with ineffective reperfusion (greater than 90% stenosis or Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction [TIMI] flow less than or equal to 2) might benefit from immediate PTCA. Thrombolytic therapy was administered to 170 patients at a mean of 2.1 +/- 0.5 hours after onset of myocardial infarction. A patent infarct-related artery that was suitable for angioplasty was present in 89 patients who comprised the study group; after randomization, 47 of 50 patients with a patent infarct-related artery had successful emergency PTCA 3.8 +/- 1.5 hours after onset of symptoms, and 39 were scheduled for delayed (18 to 48-hour) PTCA. Reocclusion occurred before the scheduled (delayed) procedure in eight patients (20.5%), and was symptomatic in six. Infarct-region function (by the centerline method) measured initially, before discharge, and at 4 months was similar in both groups; improvement was significant (p less than 0.001) at discharge when compared with initial values with no further change at 4 months. However, patients with ineffective reperfusion had greater hypokinesia initially (p less than 0.05) compared with those with effective reperfusion (less than or equal to 90% stenosis plus TIMI flow 3). Moreover, independent of the timing of PTCA, improvement was greater before discharge in patients with ineffective reperfusion (p less than 0.05) with a trend also evident at 4 months. Importantly, 42 of 51 patients (82%) with a residual lumen less than 0.4 mm after thrombolysis had some improvement in function at discharge; this compared with a previous study in which patients with a similar degree of stenosis (without PTCA) had no improvement. Moreover, reocclusion occurred before scheduled (delayed) PTCA in 37% of patients with greater than 90% stenosis compared with only 5% in those with less than or equal to 90% stenosis (p = 0.02). Thus flow grade is an important determinant of myocardial function in patients with a patent artery after thrombolytic therapy and is predictive both of improvement in wall motion after PTCA and early reocclusion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗

Anion gap acidosis with hypoglycemia in acetaminophen toxicity.

Two case reports of patients with anion gap metabolic lactic acidosis and hypoglycemia are presented. Both patients subsequently died of acute liver failure secondary to acetaminophen hepatotoxicity. The development of type B lactic acidosis with hypoglycemia might have been caused by a deficit in gluconeogenesis secondary to severe hepatic failure and/or a toxic metabolite of acetaminophen. Our findings suggest that acetaminophen toxicity should be considered when lactic acidosis and hypoglycemia are seen.

Acetaminophen↗

Cefoxitin: a hospital study.

Cefoxitin is a new cephamycin antibiotic that has recently become available for clinical trial. We report here the results of an uncontrolled trial of cefoxitin treatment in 31 hospital patients with various acute infections, 20 of whom were cured. Serum, urine, and bile concentrations of cefoxitin greatly exceeded the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) required for clinically important Gram-negative organisms. We conclude that cefoxitin will have a place in the management of serious infections, particularly in the abdominal cavity and renal tracts.

Acute Disease↗

Bacterial endocarditis in England in the 1970's: a review of 70 patients.

The features of 70 cases of bacterial endocarditis are reported. Streptococcus viridans was the cause in 45 per cent, staphylococci in 27 per cent, and enterococci in 7 per cent. Rheumatic heart disease was the predisposing factor in less than one quarter of patients and in almost half there was no obvious pre-existing cardiac disease. Apart from cardiac murmurs and pyrexia, the classical features of infective endocarditis were uncommon, haematuria being observed in less than one-third. Most patients were over the age of 30, one-third more than 60 years of age and the peak incidence occurred in the seventh decade. The mortality was 34 per cent, being highest in infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Adverse prognostic features included cardiac failure, advanced age and peripheral embolization. One-third of infections were caused by bacteria resistant to penicillin.

Adolescent↗