1/88. Anaesthetic considerations in a patient with lepromatous leprosy.PURPOSE: To consider the anaesthetic problems in a patient with lepromatous leprosy undergoing general anaesthesia. CLINICAL FEATURES: A 52 yr old man with lepromatous leprosy for five years was booked for elective radical nephrectomy. He received 100 mg dapsone per day po. The patient was asymptomatic for cardiovascular disease but his electrocardiogram showed complete left bundle branch block, inferior wall ischaemia with echocardiogram findings of 58% ejection fraction and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction. Other preoperative investigations (haemogram, serum urea and creatinine, liver function tests and chest X-ray) were normal. After premedication with diazepam, meperidine and promethazine, the patient received glycopyrrolate and anaesthesia was induced with thiopentone. atracurium was given to facilitate tracheal intubation. Anaesthesia was maintained with intermittent positive pressure ventilation using N2O in oxygen with halothane. Anaesthesia and surgery were uneventful except that the patient had a fixed heart rate that remained unchanged in response to administration of anticholinergic, laryngoscopy, intubation and extubation. CONCLUSION: patients with lepromatous leprosy may have cardiovascular dysautonomia even when they are asymptomatic for cardiovascular disease.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = chest (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/88. Electrocardiographic manifestations: patterns that confound the EKG diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction-left bundle branch block, ventricular paced rhythm, and left ventricular hypertrophy.The 12-lead electrocardiogram (EKG), a powerful tool used in evaluating the chest pain patient, has its shortcomings. One such failing is encountered in a patient with one of the following electrocardiographic patterns: left bundle branch block (LBBB), ventricular paced rhythm (VPR), and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). These patterns reduce the ability of the EKG to detect acute coronary ischemic change and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Several strategies are available to assist in the correct interpretation of these complicated electrocardiographic patterns, including a knowledge of the ST segment-T wave changes associated with these confounding patterns, performance of serial EKGs, and comparison with previous EKGs if available. This article suggests guidelines and interpretive tools for diagnosing AMI on EKG in patients with these confounding patterns.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 28.56790760424keywords = chest pain, chest, pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/88. Dangerous impact--commotio cordis.Sudden death following blunt chest trauma is a frightening occurrence known as 'commotio cordis' or 'concussion of the heart'. It is speculated that commotio cordis could be caused by ventricular fibrillation secondary to an impact-induced energy that was transmitted via the chest wall to the myocardium during its vulnerable repolarization period. We describe a survivor of commotio cordis caused by a baseball. In this patient, an initial ventricular fibrillation was documented and converted by direct current defibrillation. Serial electrocardiographic changes (bifascicular conduction block and T wave inversion in precordial leads) were noticed in this patient. Our case suggested that coronary vasospasm might also play a role in commotio cordis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = chest (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/88. Vasospastic angina accompanied by Brugada-type electrocardiographic abnormalities.brugada syndrome and Vasospastic Angina. We present two patients with vasospastic angina and Brugada-type ECG abnormalities. The first patient complained of chest pain, and transient ST segment elevation was confirmed on ECG. Coronary angiogram showed no organic stenosis. The second patient had syncopal episodes following anginal chest pain, and the same symptoms were reproduced by intracoronary acetylcholine injection that induced vasospasm. In both patients, ECG at rest showed ST segment elevation in leads V1 and V2 and a right bundle branch block pattern that were accentuated by a Class I antiarrhythmic drug. ventricular fibrillation also was induced by programmed electrical stimulation. Susceptibility to ventricular fibrillation can be modulated by the interaction of coronary vasospasm with brugada syndrome or vice versa; therefore, it is important to study the clinical implications of the coexistence of the two diseases in such patients.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 29.628017769562keywords = chest pain, chest, pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/88. Electrocardiographic ST-segment elevation: correct identification of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and non-AMI syndromes by emergency physicians.OBJECTIVE: To determine the emergency physician's (EP's) ability to identify the cause of ST-segment elevation (STE) in a hypothetical chest pain patient. methods: Eleven electrocardiograms (ECGs) with STE were given to EPs; the patient in each instance was a 45-year-old male with a medical history of hypertension and diabetes mellitus with the chief complaint of chest pain. The EP was asked to determine the cause of the STE and, if due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI), to decide whether thrombolytic therapy (TT) would be administered (the patient had no contraindication to such treatment). Rates of TT administration were determined; appropriate TT administration was defined as that occurring in an AMI patient, while inappropriate TT administration was defined as that in the non-AMI patient. RESULTS: Four hundred fifty-eight EPs completed the questionnaire; levels of medical experience included the following: postgraduate year 2-3, 193 (42%); and attending, 265 (58%). The overall rate of correct interpretation of the study ECGs was 94.9% (4,782 correct interpretations out of 5,038 instances). Acute myocardial infarction with typical STE, ventricular paced rhythm, and right bundle branch block were never misinterpreted. The remaining conditions were misinterpreted with rates ranging between 9% (left bundle branch block, LBBB) and 72% (left ventricular aneurysm, LVA). The overall rate of appropriate thrombolytic agent administration was 83% (1,525 correct administrations out of 1,832 indicated administrations). The leading diagnosis for which thrombolytic agent was given inappropriately was LVA (28%), followed by benign early repolarization (23%), pericarditis (21%), and LBBB without electrocardiographic AMI (5%). Thrombolytic agent was appropriately given in all cases of AMI except when associated with atypical STE, where it was inappropriately withheld 67% of the time. CONCLUSIONS: In this survey, EPs were asked whether they would give TT based on limited information (ECG). Certain syndromes with STE were frequently misdiagnosed. Emergency physician electrocardiographic education must focus on the proper identification of these syndromes so that TT may be appropriately utilized.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 57.135815208479keywords = chest pain, chest, pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/88. Electrocardiographic ST segment depression.Traditionally, ST segment depression has been associated with acute coronary syndromes; this electrocardiographic pattern may also be found in patients with nonischemic events, such as left bundle branch block (LBBB), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), and those with therapeutic digitalis levels. Using the ECG as an adjunct in distinguishing those patients with acute coronary syndromes from those with more "benign," nonacute causes of STSD will obviously lead to divergent treatment and management plans. The following cases illustrate the use the ECG in patients presenting with chest pain and electrocardiographic ST segment depression attributable to an ACS, LVH, LBBB, or digitalis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 28.56790760424keywords = chest pain, chest, pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/88. Myocardial perfusion and metabolic changes induced by biventricular pacing in dilated cardiomyopathy and left bundle branch block: description of a case evaluated by positron emission tomography.The effects of biventricular pacing on myocardial wall function are well known, but, at the moment, its real effects on myocardial metabolism are unclear. In patients affected by left bundle branch block, at positron emission tomography a septal defect of the uptake of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) was referred. There were no alterations in myocardial perfusion, suggesting possible metabolic damage. In this paper we report the case of a patient affected by dilated cardiomyopathy and left bundle branch block treated with a biventricular device. Biventricular pacing resolved both the wall motion alterations as well as the defect in FDG uptake present in the septal area. On the contrary, during biventricular pacing there were no modifications in myocardial perfusion as compared to basal evaluation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.025059256719488keywords = area (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/88. Surgically treated primary lung cancer associated with brugada syndrome: report of a case.A 71-year-old man with primary lung cancer associated with brugada syndrome was safely operated on following the placement of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). During examinations for brugada syndrome, a tumor in the apicoposterior segment of the left lung was incidentally detected by chest computed tomography. Following the implantation of an ICD, surgical treatment of the left lung tumor was scheduled. A lung biopsy was thoracoscopically performed and adenocarcinoma was diagnosed based on a frozen section analysis. A left upper lobectomy with lymph node dissection was performed through a standard posterolateral thoracotomy. ventricular fibrillation, which occurred during the night of the first day following surgery, was successfully managed by the ICD.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = chest (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/88. ECG of the month. Complex issues. myocardial infarction; left bundle branch block.A 64-year-old man came to the hospital complaining of recurrent chest pain and shortness of breath for the previous two days. Diagnoses included diabetes mellitus and hypertension for about six years and documented coronary artery disease. He was not compliant with treatment for any of these disorders. The initial 12-lead ECG and rhythm strip are shown below.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 28.56790760424keywords = chest pain, chest, pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/88. Class I antiarrhythmic drug and coronary vasospasm-induced T wave alternans and ventricular tachyarrhythmia in a patient with brugada syndrome and vasospastic angina.A 50-year-old man presented with a history of transient chest pain and palpitations. The 12-lead ECG at rest showed normal sinus rhythm. A slight ST segment elevation was observed in leads V1 to V3. During hospitalization, atrial fibrillation developed, and oral pilsicainide was administered. Thirty minutes after the drug was given, the ECG showed marked ST segment elevation in leads V1 to V3, and T wave alternans became visible in leads V2 and V3. Self-terminating ventricular tachycardia was initiated following frequent ventricular premature complexes, which showed a left bundle branch block pattern. The coronary angiogram was normal, but in the provocation test of vasospastic angina, acetylcholine administration into the left coronary artery resulted in complete occlusion of the left anterior descending and circumflex arteries. Marked ST segment elevation developed in leads I, aVL, and V3 to V6 concomitant with visible QT/T alternans in leads V4 and V5, and ventricular tachyarrhythmia was initiated. brugada syndrome and vasospastic angina coexisted in this patient, and T wave alternans can be used as a predictor of ventricular tachyarrhythmias in such patients.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 28.56790760424keywords = chest pain, chest, pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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