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Biomedical subjects

M M Applefeld

Publications and source records attributed to M M Applefeld.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Congestive heart failure and endocardial fibroelastosis caused by chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Endocardial fibroelastosis developed in the heart of a patient who had chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Leukemic infiltrates were found in the endocardial scar tissue, myocardium, coronary arteries, and other viscera. In view of the absence of any other known cause of endocardial fibroelastosis, it is postulated that endocardial fibroelastosis was caused by myocardial leukemic infiltration. This is the first reported case of endocardial fibroelastosis in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Endocardial Fibroelastosis↗

Aspergillus vegetative endocarditis and complete heart block in a patient with acute leukemia.

Aspergillus flavus vegetative endocarditis together with myocardial abscesses and pneumonitis developed in a patient with acute lymphocytic leukemia. The initial diagnosis was not suspected until 67gallium imaging revealed a radiographically undetectable thoracic abnormality. Despite apparently "early" diagnosis, antifungal therapy was inadequate to prevent disruption of the bundle of His, complete heart block and death.

Aspergillosis↗

Traumatic left anterior descending coronary artery to right ventricle fistula: report of two cases.

Two cases of traumatic fistulas between the left anterior descending coronary artery and right ventricular outflow tract are presented. One was due to a stab wound and the other to blunt chest trauma. Both patients had small left-to-right shunts. The first patient had surgical closure of the fistula, but it recurred postoperatively. His murmur subsequently disappeared spontaneously four months later. The second patient is being treated medically. Based upon review of the available data, we believe that surgical therapy should be individualized, that asymptomatic individuals with small shunts may be treated conservatively, and that this entity may be more common than previously thought.

Adult↗

Digoxin pharmacokinetics in congestive heart failure.

The steady-state pharmacokinetics of oral digoxin in eight hospitalized patients was compared upon their admission with marked right-sided congestive heart failure and later when they were compensated. Large intersubject variations in the serum digoxin concentration profiles were observed. However, over a 24-hour dosing interval, digoxin concentrations in each patient studied during heart failure were either similar or higher than those observed when the patient became compensated. There were no significant differences in digoxin half-life of elimination between the two states. In contrast, the mean ratio of the fraction of digoxin dose absorbed to its apparent volume of distribution was increased by 37 per cent (P less than 0.05) in heart failure. Contrary to the prevailing notion, we found that the oral administration of supplemental doses of digoxin only on the basis of its reduced serum concentration in patients with congestive heart failure is unwarranted.

Adult↗

Intermittent dobutamine hydrochloride infusions in outpatients with chronic congestive heart failure.

Patients with severe chronic congestive heart failure were treated with intermittent dobutamine hydrochloride infusions administered on an outpatient basis with a portable infusion device. Eleven patients (eight women and three men), ages 28-71 years, were given initial dobutamine hydrochloride infusions at a rate of 1-2 micrograms/kg/min, and the dose was gradually increased to a maximum dose of 15 micrograms/kg/min. Patients were considered dobutamine responders if their cardiac output increased by at least 30% and pulmonary-capillary wedge pressure did not rise. After a sustained hemodynamic response was demonstrated, the infusion was discontinued to assess the patients' symptoms during drug-free intervals. The patients were instructed and trained in proper catheter care after a venous-access catheter was surgically implanted. Patients were also shown how to use the ambulatory infusion pump. The patients were treated with long-term intermittent dobutamine hydrochloride infusions for 3-24 months. All patients adjusted easily to the routine of catheter and pump care and drug administration. The mean dose of dobutamine hydrochloride resulting in the maximum improvement in cardiac index was 9.4 micrograms/kg/min. All patients observed an improvement in their symptoms of congestive heart failure during the drug infusions and the intervals between the infusions. There was a mean reduction of 1.2 in New York Heart Association functional class. There were 18 congestive heart failure-related hospital readmissions among the 11 patients during 108 cumulative months of long-term dobutamine therapy. The intermittent administration of dobutamine hydrochloride via a portable infusion system appears to have improved the functional capacity of the 11 patients studied. This may be a viable treatment alternative for selected ambulatory patients with severe heart failure who demonstrate hemodynamic improvement with dobutamine.

Adult↗

Oral torsemide in patients with chronic congestive heart failure: effects on body weight, edema, and electrolyte excretion. Torsemide Investigators Group.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of torsemide on the primary end point of change in body weight from baseline, and the following secondary end points: urinary sodium, potassium, and chloride excretion, and urine volume after the first dose of drug. DESIGN: Randomized, parallel, double-blind, multicenter study in patients treated with torsemide 5 mg (n = 19), 10 mg (n = 18), or 20 mg (n = 14), or placebo (n = 15) for 7 days. PATIENTS: Sixty-six patients with New York Heart Association class II or III congestive heart failure and edema. RESULTS: At the end of the study, patients treated with torsemide 10 and 20 mg demonstrated a significant reduction in body weight compared with those receiving placebo (-1.62 and -1.30 kg, respectively), and those treated with torsemide 5 mg did not (-0.60 kg). The severity of edema decreased with increasing torsemide dose. Torsemide caused no greater frequency of adverse effects with increasing dose. CONCLUSION: Orally administered torsemide 5, 10, and 20 mg once/day for 7 days were well tolerated. Doses of 10 and 20 mg were effective in producing weight loss.

Administration, Oral↗