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Biomedical subjects

A Carpentier

Publications and source records attributed to A Carpentier.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

[Corynebacterium diphtheriae endocarditis complicated by septic arthritis and cerebral abscess].

The authors report a rare case of the mitis type Corynebacterium diphteriae endocarditis on a prosthetic valve complicated by septic arthritis and cerebral abscess. The authors underline the importance of regular transoesophageal echocardiographic control and underline the diagnostic value of ultrafast computed tomography for the diagnosis of aortic annular and interventricular septal abscesses in patients with mechanical prosthetic valves.

Arthritis, Infectious↗

Technique of homograft replacement of the mitral valve.

In this paper, we have reviewed previous experiences in the technique of homograft replacement of the mitral valve. Following laboratory studies, we have initiated a clinical program of partial and total homograft replacement of the mitral valve and present our early results in the first 32 patients.

Cardiac Surgical Procedures↗

[Consensus and controversy on the treatment of differentiated thyroid cancers].

Differentiated thyroid carcinomas are the most common endocrine neoplasia. Because of their rather benign evolution, the treatment varies widely from minimal to aggressive interventions. Therefore there are considerable controversies as to the best therapeutic choice. In this article we review the literature on the subject and we discuss the advantages and drawbacks of the different treatments. Furthermore we present a consensus on the subject recently adopted by l'Association des endocrinologues du Québec. We propose an ipsilateral lobectomy for small papillary cancers of less than 1.5 cm without metastasis, in patients less than 40 year-old. In all the other tumors we recommend a total thyroidectomy followed by a dose of 131I for complete ablation of the thyroid tissue.

Combined Modality Therapy↗

Combined coronary and femoral revascularization using an ascending aorta to bifemoral bypass.

OBJECTIVE: Coronary artery and aortoiliac disease frequently coexist. In rare instances simultaneous procedures may be required. This study reports our experience with ascending aorta to bifemoral bypass. DESIGN: Prospective consecutive sample study. PATIENTS: Ten male patients who underwent concomitant aortoiliac and coronary revascularization with the ascending aorta as the source of inflow to the femoral arteries between 1989 and 1991. RESULTS: One hospital death was unrelated to the surgical technique. All survivors displayed an uneventful recovery and were free of symptoms. Follow-up was obtained in all nine cases, they all stayed asymptomatic in terms of coronary artery disease and peripheral vascular disease. Echo-doppler studies showed perfect patency of the aorto-femoral grafts in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the ascending aorta to bifemoral bypass constitutes an interesting alternative in selected cases mainly those with severe ischemia coronary and leg ischemia. It offers the following advantages: (1) it is easy to perform, (2) does not require an intraperitoneal procedure, (3) the graft's position behind the muscles of the abdominal wall is not compressible, (4) the ascending aorta is the source of inflow, and (5) it allows a shorter duration of hospital stay.

Aged↗

Peripheral vascular involvement in heart transplant patients.

Between 1984 and 1991 a total of 200 patients underwent heart transplantation in our unit. The records of 121 patients who were followed up for more than 1 year were reviewed for peripheral vascular abnormalities, which were found in 12 (9.9%). Most of these patients underwent transplantation for ischemic heart disease, and peripheral vascular disease preceded the heart transplantation in 80%. Although surgical risks are low in this setting, particular caution should be exercised to prevent septic complications in the femoral triangle. Among the risk factors studied, only elevated blood cholesterol was frequently found in the vascular patients before or after transplantation. Peripheral vascular involvement in heart transplant patients corresponds to the natural course of atheroma rather than to an accelerated process of atherosclerosis.

Adolescent↗

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis following open heart surgery.

We recently observed five cases of early thrombus formation in patients undergoing anticoagulation with subcutaneous heparin following open heart surgery. The reasons prompting surgery were as follows: one mitral valve replacement, one double valve replacement, one mitral valve reconstruction, one aortic valve replacement associated with coronary bypass. In all cases, intravenous heparin was begun on the day of surgery and replaced by subcutaneous (SC) heparin on postoperative day 1. Acute thrombocytopenia was observed between the 6th and 11th postoperative day. This was interpreted as denoting an idiosyncratic reaction to heparin which was replaced by low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) in two cases and by acenocoumarol in the other cases. Massive thrombosis of the aortic valve resulted in the death of one patient. Thrombosis of the left atrium occurred in three patients (two of whom had a transient ischemic attack (TIA)). One patient had aorto-iliac thrombosis. Successful reoperation was carried out in four of the five patients. Although heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis [HITT] is a rare complication of heparin therapy, serial platelet count monitoring and in vitro platelet aggregation tests are mandatory in the diagnosis of this syndrome. Discontinuation of heparin is indicated as soon as the syndrome is recognized and the institution of aspirin is recommended if the thromboembolic complication requires reoperation and reexposure to heparin.

Acenocoumarol↗

Myocardial neutrophil sequestration and activation related to the reperfusion of human heart during coronary artery surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to determine if neutrophils are activated and sequestered as they pass through postischaemic human myocardium. METHODS: The occurrence of neutrophil activation during the reperfusion of the ischaemic myocardium was investigated in 16 selected patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery. Neutrophils were counted and elastase and lactoferrin released into the plasma were measured simultaneously in myocardial venous blood and in peripheral venous blood, before aortic cross clamping (T0), and two (T1), 10 (T2), and 20 (T3) min after unclamping. RESULTS: At T0, no statistically significant difference was noted between peripheral and myocardial blood with respect to the three variables studied. Reperfusion was associated with a significantly lower neutrophil count in myocardial blood compared to peripheral blood (p < 0.001), suggesting that neutrophils were trapped within the myocardium during reperfusion. In addition, levels of elastase (T1, T2, and T3), and lactoferrin (T1) were significantly higher in myocardial blood as compared to peripheral blood (p < 0.001), suggesting that activated neutrophils released their granular content into the plasma milieu. CONCLUSION: We provide evidence consistent with local neutrophil activation during myocardial reperfusion in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery, in addition to the well described systemic activation related to cardiopulmonary bypass.

Adult↗

Twitch analysis as an approach to motor unit activation during electrical stimulation.

The mechanical twitch in response to increasing electrical stimulus intensity, delivered both over the motor point and motor nerve, was recorded in the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) and the adductor pollicis (AP), and only over the motor point in the soleus (Sol), lateral (LG), and medial (MG) gastrocnemius muscles of human subjects. The relationship between intensity of electrical stimulation (ES) and twitch torque showed a positive linear regression in all muscles. In the FDI and AP the relationship was not significantly different when ES was applied at the motor point or over the motor nerve. At small intensities of activation, ES induced larger twitch torques in the MG and LG, which contain a roughly equal proportion of slow and fast motor units (MUs) compared to the Sol, which is composed mainly of slow type fibres. Moreover, the relationship between ES intensity and twitch time-to-peak is best fitted in all muscles by a power curve that shows a greater twitch time-to-peak range in its initial part for muscles containing a larger proportion of fast MUs (LG, MG) than for muscles mainly composed of slow MUs (Sol). In conclusion, these results induced by ES at the motor point and/or over the motor nerve confirm the concept of a reversed sequence of MU activation, as compared to voluntary contractions, and document this viewpoint in muscles of different function and composition. The reversed sequence of MU activation is more clearly evident during motor point ES.

Adult↗

[Training of surgeons for laboratory research].

A degree in surgical research has been set up in 1986 in France. It includes a one-year full time work in a research laboratory, and seminars (one to three days long, each). General surgical research objectives are gathered in a first seminar. Then, candidates select one among four optional subjects: biomaterials-artificial organs, transplantation, oncology, and neurosciences. Two prerequisites are necessary in order to register. The first is to write a research project according to standardized rules, and the second is to attend two seminars, one dealing with scientific communication and the other with methodology in clinical research. A nation-wide valid Academic degree is delivered to candidates who pass an oral presentation of their research report and who attended all seminars according to the optional subject that they selected. From 1986 to 1993, 434 students attended the formation. They came from different regions of France, proving the nation-wide characteristic of the degree, and some from foreign countries. Seminars were held in different French University towns. An increasing number of students become Ph.D.

Education, Medical, Graduate↗

[Mitral valve replacement with cryopreserved mitral homograft].

Mitral valve replacement using a cryopreserved mitral homograft was performed in a 49 year old patient with calcified mitral stenosis. The surgical technique is described. The postoperative course was uneventful. Transoesophageal echo performed 4 months later showed a normal function of the mitral homograft.

Chordae Tendineae↗

Postoperative pseudoaneurysm of ascending aorta: role of ultrafast computed tomography imaging.

A 34-year-old woman, who had undergone a thoracic aortic aneurysmectomy and replacement with a prosthetic tube graft several months previously, presented with a pseudoaneurysm arising from the proximal anastomotic site. This pseudoaneurysm was studied with contrast-enhanced ultrasfast computed tomography. The exact location of the suture dehiscence was located by the presence of a contrast jet flow through the aortic wall. This case shows the feasibility of demonstrating blood flow at the entry site of a pseudoaneurysm with ultrafast computed tomography which may avoid conventional angiography.

Adult↗

Double mitral homograft for recurrent bacterial endocarditis of the mitral and tricuspid valves.

A young patient suffering from acute bacterial endocarditis underwent reconstructive surgery of the mitral and tricuspid valves. One year later a recurrent endocarditis occurred that could not be controlled with antibiotic therapy. Two separate mitral homografts were used to replace both the mitral and the tricuspid valves. The homografts' papillary muscles were sutured side to side to the recipient's and a circumferential suture of the leaflet tissue was accomplished. Homograft implantation was associated with Carpentier ring annuloplasty of the atrioventricular valves. In the right sided position, the mitral homograft was oriented in an anti-anatomical manner and an inverted semi-rigid prosthetic ring of the mitral type was inserted. Clinical and echocardiographic follow up at four months was excellent.

Acute Disease↗

[Phosphocalcium metabolism in patients with calcified valvular bioprosthesis].

Calcium and gla-protein content are increased in the calcifications of cardiac bioprostheses. Such calcifications are more frequent during growth, pregnancy and renal failure when bone gla-protein levels are elevated. We investigated whether bone gla-protein and other markers of calcium metabolism play a role in bioprostheses calcifications. Forty-seven patients were separated into 2 groups according to the presence (group A, n = 9) or absence (group B, n = 38) of bioprostheses calcifications, as assessed by echo-doppler and surgery. Plasma levels of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, creatinine and alkaline phosphatases were measured by standard laboratory methods, parathormone and those of bone gla-protein by specific radioimmunoassays. Results (mean +/- SEM) were compared (group A versus group B, P < 0.01) using Student's test and one-factor variance analysis (ANOVA). Age was similar in both group (53 +/- 12.9 vs 50 +/- 12.3 yrs), whereas duration of implant was greater in group A (104 +/- 12.4 vs 66 +/- 6.5 months, P < 0.01). No statistically significant difference was found between group A and B concerning biochemical and/or hormonal markers of calcium metabolism. These negative results merit to be discussed, and further studies will be needed to explore the potential role of circulating bone gla-protein in bioprostheses calcifications.

Aortic Valve↗