11/1352. Hydatid pulmonary embolism from a ruptured mediastinal cyst: high-resolution computed tomography, angiographic, and pathologic findings. Hydatid disease is a parasitic infestation caused by the larval stage of a tapeworm of the genus echinococcus. This report describes an extremely rare complication of echinococcal disease in which severe pulmonary hypertension developed after massive hydatid pulmonary embolism. ( info) |
| A 32-year-old female is described, who was admitted with symptoms of severe right heart failure. The most likely diagnosis of pulmonary embolism was excluded. echocardiography and left-right catheterisation confirmed the diagnosis of primary pulmonary hypertension. A possible mediator in the process of PPH could be the appetite suppressants she had taken for some months after her second pregnancy. Before further pharmacologic tests could be performed the patient died in circulatory collapse. Postmortem pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of PPH by the presence of narrowed pulmonary arterioles, media hypertrophy, thrombotic lesions and normal surrounding pulmonary parenchyma. The literature on primary pulmonary hypertension is revised with special emphasis on diagnosis and treatment algorithms. ( info) |
13/1352. Right ventricular myocardial bridge in a patient with pulmonary hypertension--a case report. Myocardial bridge is a not uncommon finding in routine diagnostic coronary angiography or pathological examination of the heart. It is almost always confined to the left ventricle and the left anterior descending coronary artery. This report describes a patient with chronic lung disease, severe left ventricular dysfunction, and pulmonary hypertension in whom coronary angiography revealed bridging of the right ventricular branch of the right coronary artery. ( info) |
14/1352. Transient left ventricular failure following bilateral lung transplantation for pulmonary hypertension. BACKGROUND: Bilateral lung transplantation is an established therapy for end-stage pulmonary hypertension. Its early postoperative outcome may be biased by various complications resulting in unexpected deterioration of the patient in terms of hemodynamics and blood gases. methods: We have reviewed the early postoperative course of patients who underwent bilateral lung transplantation for pulmonary hypertension at our institution and analyzed all available data, especially hemodynamic measurements, echocardiographic documentation and therapeutical strategies, in those cases where cardiac dysfunction was found to be responsible for clinical deterioration. RESULTS: Three out of 20 lung transplant recipients operated for pulmonary hypertension experienced severe respiratory insufficiency accompanied by hemodynamic decompensation during the first days after surgery. Clinical and laboratory findings together with results of echocardiography and pulmonary artery catheterism helped establish the diagnosis of left ventricular failure. This proved to be transitory, but the response to therapy (inotropic drugs, afterload reduction and eventually prostaglandins) was very variable. Adequately treated, this complication did not preclude the outcome of transplantation by itself. CONCLUSION: Left ventricular failure is a possible complication after lung transplantation for pulmonary hypertension. echocardiography and pulmonary artery catheterism may be useful adjuvant diagnostic tools, beside routine physical examination, chest X-ray, and laboratory analysis. Therapy of this complication must be adapted individually and may be complex. ( info) |
| PURPOSE: We report a case of a 33 yr old woman with pulmonary hypertension secondary to uncorrected right coronary artery to pulmonary artery fistula who underwent two successful operative deliveries under general anesthesia. CLINICAL FEATURES: This woman underwent an emergency Caesarean section at 32 wk gestation because she presented in NYHA Class IV, heart failure and premature labour. She did not have antenatal follow-up. For her second pregnancy, she was managed from the first trimester of pregnancy by the cardiologist, obstetrician and anesthesiologist. She received oral furosemide and digoxin from eight weeks gestation. pregnancy was managed to term before she progressed to NYHA Class IV and cardiac failure at 37 wk gestation. She had a Caesarean section under general anesthesia. She received rapid sequence induction of anesthesia and tracheal intubation with 0.1 mg x kg(-1) etomidate, 2 mg x kg(-1) succinylcholine and maintenance with nitrous oxide 50% in oxygen, isoflurane 1% and 0.1 mg x kg(-1) vecuronium. fentanyl, 2 microg x kg(-1) helped to obtund the hypertensive response to intubation. analgesia was provided with 1 mg x kg(-1) morphine. Glyceryl trinitrate infusion, 10-30 microg x min(-1) was used in addition to the anti-heart failure therapy. End-tidal capnography, electrocardiogram, pulse oximetry, continuous arterial blood pressure and pulmonary arterial catheter provided hemodynamic monitoring. The lungs were mechanically ventilated for 24 hr postoperatively. She received anti-heart failure therapy which she continued after discharge. She was NYHA class II upon discharge. She defaulted from further follow-up. CONCLUSION: Although the literature advocates, in this situation, controlled vaginal delivery utilising epidural analgesia, we describe the successful outcome for operative delivery under general anesthesia in a patient with secondary pulmonary hypertension and heart failure. ( info) |
16/1352. pulmonary edema during acute infusion of epoprostenol in a patient with pulmonary hypertension and limited scleroderma. epoprostenol (prostacyclin) is currently approved for treatment of primary pulmonary hypertension; however, it is being evaluated in other forms of pulmonary hypertension, particularly scleroderma. Side effects associated with this medication are usually minor; serious complications are most often due to the delivery system required for continuous infusion. We describe a life threatening side effect of acute epoprostenol infusion (pulmonary edema) in a patient with pulmonary hypertension associated with limited scleroderma and discuss its management and potential etiology. This is the first case where epoprostenol has been successfully reinstituted. ( info) |
17/1352. A successful case of pulmonary thromboendarterectomy for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension with a thrombus in the right ventricle. Chronic thromboembolism is a frequent cause of progressive hypertension and carries a poor prognosis. Medical treatment is not effective and surgery provides the only potential for a cure at present. We herein report a successful case of thromboendarterectomy treated via a median sternotomy with intermittent circulatory arrest. A 43-year-old man was admitted to our hospital complaining of progressive dyspnea, edema of the lower extremities, and a fever with an unknown origin. A subsequent definitive evaluation showed him to be suffering from surgically accessible chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension with a thrombus in the right ventricle. He underwent a pulmonary thromboendarterectomy and thrombectomy via a median sternotomy with intermittent circulatory arrest on November 24, 1994. Postoperatively he showed a marked improvement in his hemodynamic status and blood gas analysis. He has also returned to work with no trouble. Deep vein thrombosis appeared to be the pathogenesis of this case, but we could not find the origin of his unknown fever. He is currently being controlled by treatment with methylprednisolone as before. ( info) |
18/1352. Mast cell chymase in pulmonary hypertension. mast cells are known to be involved in various types of tissue remodelling but their role in pulmonary hypertension is still poorly understood. Two subtypes of mast cells have recently been identified by demonstrating one protease, chymase. This enzyme might be implicated in vascular remodelling. The changes in mast cells in lung tissue from three patients with primary or secondary pulmonary hypertension were therefore investigated. Compared with tissue from four control subjects the number of mast cells in the three patients was markedly increased, which suggests that chymase containing mast cells are involved in tissue remodelling accompanied by fibrotic changes in primary and secondary pulmonary hypertension. ( info) |
19/1352. Management of postoperative chylothorax with nitric oxide: a case report. OBJECTIVE: To describe the use of inhaled nitric oxide in the management of refractory postoperative chylothorax. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: A pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary care children's hospital. PATIENT: A neonate with refractory chylothoraces complicated by moderate pulmonary hypertension after a complicated arterial switch operation. INTERVENTIONS: Administration of inhaled nitric oxide through a ventilator circuit. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The institution of inhaled nitric oxide at 20 ppm resulted in a marked reduction in chest tube drainage and a decrease in echocardiographically estimated pulmonary artery pressure from 50%-75% systemic to 30%-50% systemic. Chest tube drainage doubled when the nitric oxide was decreased to 10 ppm and, again, dramatically decreased after raising nitric oxide back to 20 ppm. After 8 days of nitric oxide therapy, the chest tube drainage ceased. nitric oxide therapy was successfully discontinued 19 days after initiation, with no recurrence of chylothorax. There was no effect of nitric oxide on systemic blood pressure. methemoglobin levels while on NO remained <1.7%. CONCLUSION: Consideration may be given to the use of inhaled nitric oxide in the therapy of refractory chylothoraces complicated by central venous hypertension. ( info) |
20/1352. Post-Mustard procedure pulmonary venous obstruction: An opportunity for anatomic correction with a one-stage arterial switch. A 14-year-old boy after a Mustard procedure for transposition of the great arteries developed pulmonary hypertension secondary to baffle obstruction. This occurred over several years without apparent significant symptomatology. Systemic-level pressure prevailed in the left (pulmonary) ventricle and provided an opportunity to perform a successful one-stage arterial switch. ( info) |