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Riccardo Sinatra

Publications and source records attributed to Riccardo Sinatra.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Clinical utility of tissue Doppler imaging in prediction of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting.

BACKGROUND: Atrial systolic dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease might influence the development of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Tissue Doppler imaging of the mitral annulus during atrial systole has proved to quantify, accurately, left atrial contractile function. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the correlation between preoperative left atrial dysfunction assessed by tissue Doppler and postoperative atrial fibrillation after CABG. METHODS: We studied a total of 96 patients (mean age 67 +/- 6 years; range, 55 to 81) undergoing CABG who were preoperatively in sinus rhythm. All patients underwent a preoperative transthoracic echocardiography with tissue Doppler evaluation. Until the day of discharge, all patients were monitored with continuous electrocardiographic telemetry. RESULTS: There were no hospital deaths. Postoperative atrial fibrillation was recorded in 24 of 96 patients (25%). Patients with postoperative atrial fibrillation were significantly older (70 +/- 6 vs 65 +/- 8 years; p = 0.006), had a preoperative larger left atrium diameter (38 +/- 5 vs 36 +/- 4 mm; p = 0.045), a larger left atrium area (13.2 +/- 3.4 vs 11.5 +/- 2.3 cm2; p = 0.007), and a lower peak atrial systolic mitral annular tissue Doppler velocity (10 +/- 3 vs 13 +/- 5 cm/second; p = 0.01). Stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that age 70 years or greater (p = 0.02; odds ratio [OR] 2.0), preoperative medication with beta-blockers (p = 0.04; OR 0.7), left atrium area 13 cm2 or greater (p = 0.02; OR 2.5), and peak atrial systolic mitral annular tissue Doppler velocity 9 cm/second or less (p = 0.03; OR 1.8) were independently related with the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation. CONCLUSIONS: Tissue Doppler is useful for assessing preoperative atrial dysfunction and predicting atrial fibrillation after CABG. Further studies are needed to confirm this finding.

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Indexed effective orifice area after mechanical aortic valve replacement does not affect left ventricular mass regression in elderly.

OBJECTIVE: After aortic valve replacement, the effects of a small functional prosthesis on the extent and pattern of regression of left ventricular hypertrophy and on clinical outcomes may be less significant in older patients with low cardiac output requirements. The objective of this study was therefore to determine whether patient-prosthesis mismatch affects left ventricular mass regression in the elderly. METHODS: The population studied was made up of 88 patients over 65 years of age with pure aortic stenosis who underwent mechanical aortic valve replacement. The effective orifice area index was calculated for each patient on the basis of the projected prosthesis in vivo effective orifice area. It was considered a continuous variable and influence of its entire range of values on the extent of left ventricular mass regression was analyzed in a multivariate prediction model. RESULTS: Even though, in the group with prosthesis-patient mismatch there was a trend for lower postoperative left ventricular mass index (115+/-24 g/m(2) vs 102+/-27 g/m(2), p=0.24) and postoperative peak trans-prosthetic gradients (32+/-9.8 mmHg vs 28.9+/-7.79 mmHg, p=0.35) these differences were not statistically significant. The prevalence of residual left ventricular hypertrophy at follow-up was 50% in the group with patient-prosthesis mismatch and 50% in the group without patient-prosthesis mismatch (p=0.83). In multivariate analysis the only factors associated with indexed left ventricular mass were the follow-up time (p=0.015, r(2)=0.22) and preoperative indexed left ventricular mass (p=0.0012, r(2)=0.11). CONCLUSIONS: The major finding of our study is that patient-prosthesis mismatch does not affect left ventricular mass regression in patients older than 65 with pure aortic stenosis who underwent mechanical aortic valve replacement. In older patients with low cardiac output requirements, even a small change in the valve effective orifice area after aortic valve replacement with modern efficient mechanical prosthesis, will result in a marked reduction of pressure gradient and this will be associated with a significant regression of left ventricular mass.

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Emergency repair of coronary perforation following percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty failure: A high-risk choice?

Coronary perforation is a recognized hazard following cardiac catheterization and may lead to a catastrophic outcome. Prompt decision-making following diagnosis is of key importance. Whether to perform prolonged attempts at percutaneous repair or to promptly refer the patient for emergency surgery soon after diagnosis still remains a matter of debate. We report the case of a 78-year-old woman suffering from coronary artery perforation during left anterior descending coronary artery percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty-stenting, who underwent unsuccessful multiple prolonged attempts at percutaneous repair followed by subsequent successful emergency surgery.

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Left ventricular aneurysm repair: early survival.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the early survival in patients submitted to left ventricular (LV) repair and concomitant myocardial revascularization. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 51 patients who were submitted to LV repair and concomitant myocardial revascularization between January 1998 and June 2003. Of 51 patients (44 males with a mean age of 60+/-9.2 years, and 7 females with a mean age of 61+/-6.5 years), 29 (56.9 %) were submitted to the McCarthy technique, 16 (31.3 %) to the technique that was described by Jatene and modified by Dor, and 6 (11.8%) to the Cooley technique (linear repair). The mean preoperative LV ejection fraction was 36.5+/-7.7 %, the mean preoperative LV end-diastolic diameter was 61.8+/-3.9 mm, the mean preoperative LV end-systolic diameter was 49.9+/-5.1 mm, the mean preoperative interventricular septal thickness was 9.7+/-1.7 mm, and finally, the mean posterior wall thickness was 8.9+/-1 mm. The mean follow-up was 30.7+/-23.4 months (range 11-82 months). RESULTS: One patient died during surgery (1.9%) and one early postoperatively (1.9%). The causes of death were respectively irreversible ventricular fibrillation and low cardiac output syndrome. The overall survival at follow-up was 98% (49 patients). One patient died during follow-up of myocardial infarction. At follow-up, all patients presented with improved clinical symptoms, and had a better mean NYHA functional class with respect to the preoperative value (3.3+/-0.3 vs 2.0+/-0.5, p < 0.05). Besides, the mean CCS angina class decreased in all patients (3.4+/-0.2 vs 1.9+/-0.3, p < 0.05). The average LV ejection fraction increased from 36.3+/-7.7 to 44.3+/-4.9% (p < 0.001), the average LV end-diastolic diameter decreased from 61.7+/-3.9 to 55.5+/-5.6 mm (p < 0.001), and the average LV end-systolic diameter decreased from 49.9+/-5.1 to 40.4+/-5.1 mm (p < 0.001). No statistically significant difference was found between the preoperative and postoperative data regarding the interventricular septal thickness (9.7+/-1.7 vs 10.3+/-1.6 mm, p = NS), and the posterior wall thickness (9.7+/-1 vs 8.8+/-1.3 mm, p = NS). CONCLUSIONS: LV aneurysm repair and concomitant myocardial revascularization may be performed with an acceptable surgical risk and a good early survival.

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Off-pump versus on-pump coronary artery bypass: does number of grafts performed represent a selection bias in comparative studies? Results from a matched cohort comparison.

BACKGROUND: Several retrospective studies comparing off-pump and on-pump coronary surgery and the largest randomized studies published to date showed a lower number of grafts performed in patients submitted to off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery (OPCAB). These findings bring about the question of the general applicability of the results. We eliminated the selection bias correlated with the number of grafts per patient by comparing the short-term outcomes of patients undergoing OPCAB and standard coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) matched for number of grafts. METHODS: Eighty-seven consecutive patients undergoing OPCAB (group A) were selected from the database of our Institution during a 2-year period. Matching was performed by iterative selection prioritizing, in the following sequence: number of grafts, EuroSCORE, and age. A total of 87 patients operated upon with the on-pump technique represented the control group (group B). RESULTS: There were no significant differences in preoperative characteristics between the two groups. The number of grafts per patient was 2.2 +/- 0.5 in group A and 2.2 +/- 0.5 in group B. Early mortality did not differ between the two groups and it was 2.2% (2 patients) in group A and 3.4% (3 patients) in group B (p = NS). The incidence of myocardial infarction did not differ between the two groups. No patient in either group had stroke or coma. Five (5.7%) patients in group A and 7 (8.0%) patients in group B had atrial fibrillation (p = NS). CONCLUSIONS: We were unable to demonstrate any significant differences in short-term mortality or morbidity outcome between OPCAB and standard CABG patients Our findings suggest that excellent results can be obtained with both surgical approaches.

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Myocardial bridging in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: a plea for surgical correction.

Myocardial bridging may be associated with an unfavorable prognosis in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. We describe a case of a young symptomatic patient with myocardial bridging associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy successfully treated by surgical unroofing. Such a procedure should be strongly recommended in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Adult↗

Occluding clamp technique during coronary artery bypass grafting: single or double-clamp technique?

BACKGROUND: External manipulation of the diseased aorta during cardiac surgery is the most important mechanism leading to the detachment of atherosclerotic debris due, especially, to the use of aortic clamping. The aim of the present study was to determine the best occluding clamp technique to minimize the risk of postoperative cerebrovascular accidents in patients who undergo isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG): single-clamp technique (SCT) or double-clamp technique (DCT)? METHODS: Two hundred and eighty-one consecutive patients undergoing isolated CABG in our center between January 2001 and December 2003 were enrolled. SCT was used in 145 cases and DCT was used in 136 cases. Postoperative adverse events were retrospectively compared between these two groups. RESULTS: The aortic cross-clamp times were longer for patients in the SCT group, whereas the mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was shorter in the DCT group. There were no differences between the two groups in terms of postoperative stroke (0.6% SCT vs 0.7% DCT, p = NS) and hospital mortality (1.3% SCT vs 1.4% DCT, p = NS). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that, among patients who undergo CABG, there are no differences in neurologic outcome between those in whom DCT was used and those in whom SCT was employed.

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Reoperations in patients with patent left internal mammary artery.

In the past decade the rate of reoperative coronary bypass grafting has averaged 8%. In these patients adequate myocardial protection is often difficult because delivery of cardioplegia is frequently suboptimal when the internal mammary artery graft is patent. We describe a simple technique for performing cardiac reoperation in patients with a patent left internal mammary artery graft through a balloon catheter used for angioplasty and positioned in the left internal mammary artery graft. Our study included 3 patients and there were no operative deaths and complications.

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