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A Hernigou

Publications and source records attributed to A Hernigou.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

[Value of helical CT in Takayasu arteritis].

In the past, the diagnosis and course of Takayasu arteritis were monitored by following angiographic findings, in addition to clinical symptoms and biological tests. More recently, cross-sectional imaging techniques especially Computed Tomography (CT) depicted mural changes in aorta and main vessels in this disease. Within the same acquisition, spiral mode also allows to show luminal changes, similarly to conventional angiography. In addition to its diagnostic value especially in the early phase of the disease, CT seems accurate in the follow-up of treated patients and may be proposed as a therapeutic guide. CT features are presented, according to the stage of the disease and the vessels involved.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed2000

Infectious pseudoaneurysms suspected at echocardiography: electron-beam CT findings.

PURPOSE: To review the electron-beam computed tomographic (CT) findings in patients with clinical endocarditis and suspected of having perivalvular pseudoaneurysms at echocardiography and to compare these findings with echocardiographic data. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data on 17 patients who underwent electron-beam CT for suspicion of perivalvular infectious pseudoaneurysm at echocardiography were retrospectively reviewed. Thirteen patients had a history of valvular surgery. Electron-beam CT findings-lesion size, number, extent, and relationships with surrounding structures, and associated lesions-were compared with echocardiographic and surgical and/or autopsy data. RESULTS: In all patients, electron-beam CT depicted one or more abnormal cavities that filled with contrast material after bolus injection. The mean size (3.5 cm) and number (n = 21) of pseudoaneurysms recorded with electron-beam CT were greater than those recorded with echocardiography (2.9 cm and n = 13, respectively). Associated electron-beam CT findings included valvular vegetations in three patients; mediastinitis in two; and coronary arterial involvement in six. In eight (47%) patients, electron-beam CT depicted a pseudoaneurysm or an additional pseudoaneurysm that was only suspected-not depicted-at echocardiography. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography resulted in underestimation of lesion number, size, and extent and associated lesions, particularly in patients with valvular prostheses or voluminous lesions. CONCLUSION: Thoracic infectious pseudoaneurysms are well depicted with electron-beam CT, which may be a useful addition to echocardiography for detection of this disease and thus help in preoperative planning.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

[Pulmonary embolism: is scintigraphy useful after initial angio-CT?].

PURPOSE: To assess the value of ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy after an initial helical CT with absence of pulmonary embolism (PE). MATERIAL: and methods. Twenty eight consecutive patients with clinical suspicion of pulmonary embolism underwent helical CT scan to look for an intra-luminal clot. When the CT-scan was positive for PE, diagnosis was retained. If the result was negative, a ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy was performed. If the result was also negative, diagnosis of PE was excluded. In case of discrepancy, a pulmonary angiography was performed and used as gold-standard. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients showed PE at CT-angio and 7 did not. Two of these 7 had normal or low probability scintigraphy, excluding diagnosis of PE. One had intermediate V/P scan and 4 had high probability V/P scan. For these 5 discrepancies, none of them had PE on angiography. CONCLUSION: In this population, scintigraphy was not appropriate after a negative CT-angio for PE. In case of persistent doubt after a normal initial helical CT, pulmonary angiography is required

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Maximal thickness of the normal human pericardium assessed by electron-beam computed tomography.

The purpose of this study was to determine the maximal value of normal pericardial thickness with an electron-beam computed tomography unit allowing fast scan times of 100 ms to reduce cardiac motion artifacts. Electron-beam computed tomography was performed in 260 patients with hypercholesterolemia and/or hypertension, as these pathologies have no effect on pericardial thickness. The pixel size was 0.5 mm. Measurements could be performed in front of the right ventricle, the right atrioventricular groove, the right atrium, the left ventricle, and the interventricular groove. Maximal thickness of normal pericardium was defined at the 95th percentile. Inter-observer and intra-observer reproducibility studies were assessed from additional CT scans by the Bland and Altman method [24]. The maximal thickness of the normal pericardium was 2 mm for 95 % of cases. For the reproducibility studies, there was no significant relationship between the inter-observer and intra-observer measurements, but all pericardial thickness measurements were </= 1.6 mm. Using electron-beam computed tomography, which assists in decreasing substantially cardiac motion artifacts, the threshold of detection of thickened pericardium is statistically established as being 2 mm for 95 % of the patients with hypercholesterolemia and/or hypertension. However, the spatial resolution available prevents a reproducible measure of the real thickness of thin pericardium.

Female↗
PubMed1999

Intracerebral calcification in systemic sclerosis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Advanced cerebrovascular wall calcification was recently observed at autopsy in 2 patients with systemic sclerosis. To further investigate this issue, we conducted a prospective CT study of scleroderma patients to detect intracerebral calcification. METHODS: Thirty-seven consecutive patients with systemic sclerosis underwent unenhanced brain CT. Images were blindly interpreted, together with those of 2 age-matched (+/-1 year) and sex-matched control subjects per patient. RESULTS: Intracerebral calcification was found in 12 patients (32.4%) and 7 controls (9.5%) (P=0.006). Among the patients, intracerebral calcification was associated with the duration of Raynaud's phenomenon (P=0.005) and not with age (P=0.086). CONCLUSIONS: Intracerebral calcification is closely associated with scleroderma, which suggests that scleroderma causes primary cerebrovascular changes.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Electron beam CT features of the pulmonary artery in Takayasu's arteritis.

OBJECTIVE: Pulmonary artery involvement in Takayasu's arteritis is suggestive of the disease. Our aim was to use electron beam CT to study pulmonary artery changes in patients with Takayasu's arteritis. CONCLUSION: Diffuse wall thickening and dilatation or stenosis were significantly more frequent on CT in patients with Takayasu's arteritis than in the control subjects. Knowledge of these findings may be of value when assessing pulmonary artery involvement and thus may be helpful for the diagnosis of Takayasu's arteritis.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

[Infectious aneurysm due to Listeria monocytogenes: a new case and review of the literature].

INTRODUCTION: Infections due to Listeria monocytogenes usually occur in pregnant women, in the elderly and in immunocompromised patients. Arterial aneurysms due to this germ are rare. Only 16 cases have been previously described in the literature. EXEGESIS: We report the case of a patient who had been hospitalized for recurrent fever over the past 3 months. Aortic mycotic aneurysm was diagnosed; blood and aneurysm cultures revealed Gram-positive bacilli consistent with the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. We also review previous reports focusing on infections due to Listeria monocytogenes. Mycotic aneurysms due to this germ are mainly observed in elderly male patients and occur on large arteries. In the present study, only one patient was immunocompromised. Furthermore, all patients who were not operated on died. CONCLUSION: Arterial aneurysm due to Listeria moncytogenes is best managed via surgical resection in combination with antimicrobial therapy. Immunosuppression is not necessary for the development of arterial aneurysm due to Listeria. Bacteriological and histological examinations should be done systematically when surgical resection of an aneurysm is required.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

[Diagnostic approach of pulmonary embolism by spiral angioscanner].

Spiral volumetric computerized tomography (CT) allows the exploration of the whole chest during a single contrast injection and breath-hold. For the diagnosis of central pulmonary embolisms, the sensibility is between 78 and 98% and the specificity between 86 and 94% depending on the direct visualization of the endoluminal defect. Detection of intercurrent parenchymal pathologies or of non-obstructive arterial thrombi explain some false positive or inconclusive results of the ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy. Sub-segmental thrombi are less easily detected and sensibility for both central and sub-segmental embolisms is only 63%, explaining some rare false negatives of the CT on isolated sub-segmental embolisms. Chronic thrombi are outlying and contiguous with the arterial wall. They are associated with arterial stenosis, cut-off and loops and an oligemic mosaic pattern of the parenchyma. CT allows pre-operative staging before surgical recanalization and the intra-venous injection does not interfere with the arterial pressure. CT is a non-invasive, reliable and easily available technique which clearly plays an important role in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.

Angiography↗
PubMed1997

Endomyocardial fibrosis in Behçet's disease.

OBJECTIVE: To report on four patients with Behçet's disease associated with endomyocardial fibrosis involving the right or the left ventricle. METHODS: Charts of more than 350 patients with Behçet's disease were reviewed. Endomyocardial fibrosis was confirmed because of cardiac failure in three patients and incidentally discovered by histological examination of an operative specimen in one patient. Echocardiography displayed bright echogen endocardium. Angiocardiography showed a reduced ventricular size. Electron beam computed tomography demonstrated a lowdense area involving the endocardium. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a mass of intermediate intensity on T1 weighted images. Diagnosis of endomyocardial fibrosis was based on histological study of a biopsy specimen in one patient and of an operative specimen in three. RESULTS: Six other similar cases of endomyocardial fibrosis complicating Behçet's disease were previously reported in the medical literature. Endomyocardial fibrosis predominantly involved the right ventricle. It can be considered a feature of Behçet's disease because: (a) no other cause was discovered; (b) arteritis, valvulopathy, and intraventricular thrombus were closely linked, and (c) all patients with endomyocardial fibrosis had vasculo-Behçet pattern. CONCLUSION: Endomyocardial fibrosis may be the sequelae of vasculitis involving endocardium or myocardium, or both and complicated with intraventricular thrombosis. Behçet's disease should be added to the list of causes of endomyocardial fibrosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Experimental bilateral lobar lung transplantation and its application in humans.

BACKGROUND: The critical lack of donor organs from people of small size or children has created great difficulties in transplantation for recipients who are of smaller size. Surgical techniques of organ reduction and partial transplantation may to some extent solve the problem of disparity in organ size, be it liver or lung, and lessen the problem of scarcity of paediatric organs. METHODS: In a series of experiments on dogs the surgical technique of pulmonary partition of a large organ from a grown dog followed by transplantation of lobes, either unilaterally or bilaterally, into a young dog was studied. Two series of experiments were performed in two groups of animals; in group 1 transplantation of a single right lobe (n = 6) or single left lobe (n = 6) from a split adult lung was carried out and in group 2 (n = 10) animals received bilateral lobar transplants from a single split adult lung. The animals were sacrificed at fixed intervals (days 8-120 in group 1, days 7-10 in group 2) and the results of the surgical technique were assessed. RESULTS: Healing of lobar bronchial anastomoses was found to be excellent with no histological evidence of dehiscence or ulceration. There was one bronchial anastomotic stenosis and one arterial thrombosis. Morphological and functional adaptation of the lobes in the thorax was found to be excellent in both groups of animals. The technique has been applied in a clinical setting and the first patient with bilateral lobar lung transplantation followed for 30 months is reported. CONCLUSION: Lung partition and subsequent lobar transplantation, either unilaterally or bilaterally, is associated with satisfactory early results in an animal experimental model. Initial clinical experience in one patient has been successful.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Study of muscular and ventricular function in dynamic cardiomyoplasty: a ten-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: The basic physiologic principle underlying cardiomyoplasty is long-term electrostimulation of a latissimus dorsi muscle (LDM) wrapped around the heart to obtain a phasic activity that could be integrated with ventricular kinetics. The aim of cardiomyoplasty is to prolong survival and to improve the quality of life of patients with severe chronic and irreversible myocardial failure by improving systolic contraction and correcting diastolic dysfunction. METHODS: To evaluate the long-term outcome of cardiomyoplasty, we investigated 82 patients electively undergoing this procedure in-our hospital. All patients had severe chronic heart failure that did not respond to optimal medical treatment. Patients had a mean age of 50 +/- 12 years (84% males). The cause of heart failure was ischemic (55%), idiopathic cardiomyopathy (34%), ventricular tumor (6%), and other (5%). The mean follow-up was 4.3 years. RESULTS: The mean New York Heart Association functional class improved after operation from 3.2 to 1.8. Average radioisotopic left ventricular ejection fraction increased from 17% +/- 6% to 28% +/- 3% (p < 0.05). Stroke volume index increased from 35 +/- 9 to 46 +/- 8 ml/beat/m2 (p < 0.05). The heart size remained stable at long term (evaluated by echo and computed tomography scanning). After cardiomyoplasty the number of successive hospitalizations resulting from congestive heart failure was reduced to 0.4 hospitalizations/patient/year (before operation 2.5, p < 0.05). Computed tomography scans showed at long-term a preserved LDM structure in 82% of patients who underwent operation. Survival probability at 7 years was 54% for the totality of patients, and 66% for patients who underwent operation in New York Heart Association functional class 3. Five patients underwent heart transplantation after cardiomyoplasty (mean delay 29 months), principally as a result of the natural evolution of their underlying heart disease, without major technical difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: Our 10-year clinical experience demonstrates that cardiomyoplasty increases ejection fraction, improves functional class, and ameliorates quality of life. Ventricular volumes and diameters remain stable long term. LDM structure is maintained long term if electrostimulation is performed avoiding excessive myostimulation. Patient selection is the most important determinant for early and late outcome. Late death in patients undergoing cardiomyoplasty is principally due to sudden death. Our future aim is to incorporate a cardioverter-defibrillator in the cardiomyostimulator, thus improving long-term results. Cardiomyoplasty may delay or prevent end-stage heart failure and the need for heart transplantation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Reproducibility of coronary calcification detection with electron-beam computed tomography.

If coronary calcification scores obtained with electron-beam computed tomography (EBT) were proved to be correlated to coronary atherosclerosis, the reproducibility of the technique had to be assessed before being used for patient follow-up. A total of 150 patients, selected as a result of a cholesterol screening programme, were studied by EBT. Twelve contiguous 3-mm-thick transverse slices beginning on the proximal coronary arteries were obtained through the base of the heart. The amount of calcium was evaluated as the calcified area weighted by a coefficient depending on the density peak level. The value was expressed as a logarithmic scale. Intra-observer, inter-observer and inter-examination reproducibilities were calculated. They were 1.9, 1.3 and 7.2%, respectively. These results were good enough to allow the use of EBT for longitudinal studies. The influence of acquisition and calculation conditions on score computation were also analysed.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1996

Evaluation by electron beam computed tomography of intracardiac masses suspected by transoesophageal echocardiography.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the suitability of electron beam computed tomography (EBT) in evaluating and subsequently managing cardiac masses suspected as a result of examination by transthoracic and transoesophageal cross sectional echocardiography. DESIGN AND PATIENTS: In 76 consecutive patients with suspected cardiac masses, the impact of the EBT examination was analysed by reviewing whether EBT examination altered management by confirming or excluding a mass, whether EBT imaging substantially contributed to decision-making, and lastly whether EBT influenced the decision to operate on the patient. RESULTS: EBT modified the diagnosis or confirmed results which had been questionable with cross sectional echocardiography in 53 cases (70%): these cases included those with anatomical features such as dense calcifications or fatty structures (n = 20), lipomatous lesions (n = 5), equivocal thrombi (n = 5), pericardial masses (n = 5), or hydatid cysts (n = 2). EBT gave information over and above cross sectional echocardiography in all patients with malignant tumours (n = 16) by providing a better delineation of the relation between intracavity masses and normal structures, including the mural site of tumour attachment and tumour extension to the great vessels and the adjacent extracardiac mediastinal structures. EBT provided no additional information over cross sectional echocardiography in the remaining patients (n = 23), particularly in those with myxomas (n = 11) or small valvar lesions (n = 6). EBT only confirmed that the lesion was well demarcated, limited in extent, or not associated with a mass. CONCLUSIONS: EBT has considerable potential for clinical management and surgical planning and may help clinicians to decide against surgery, particularly in patients with unresectable tumours.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Endomyocardial fibrosis: electron-beam CT features.

PURPOSE: To present morphologic and functional electron-beam computed tomographic (CT) features of endomyocardial fibrosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve patients with histologic evidence of endomyocardial fibrosis and/or definitive echocardiographic and angiocardiographic findings were examined with electron-beam CT. RESULTS: Endomyocardial fibrosis was depicted as linear calcifications and/or a thin tissue band of low attenuation within the endomyocardium. In right ventricular involvement, CT depicted obliteration of the apex associated with extension along the free wall and/or papillary muscles of the tricuspid valve. In left ventricular involvement, a large amount of endocardial tissue led to severe obliteration within the inflow tract and/or of the apex. At ventricular volume analysis, restrictive patterns of the disease were determined. CONCLUSION: Electron-beam CT allows direct visualization of endomyocardial fibrosis and the resulting volumetric changes and enables distinction of the disease from constrictive pericarditis.

Adolescent↗