Donor lymphocyte infusion for a patient with relapsing myelodysplastic syndrome after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C Cabrol.
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Clinical application of heart transplantation goes beyond 28 years experience. Ischaemic heart diseases remain, with idiopathic cardiomyopathies, the main indications for cardiac transplant. A combination of haemodynamic, contractile and viability measurements may be useful to choose between transplant and coronary revascularization for the failing ischaemic ventricle. Advances in the detection of early rejection, improved organ preservation procedures, and the introduction of new immunosuppressive therapy protocols have produced dramatic results in heart transplantation. Late graft atherosclerosis remains a serious threat despite retransplantation and, in some cases, mechanical circulatory support.
Between January 1973 and December 1993, 66 patients underwent surgery in our department for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy; mean basal outflow gradient was 48.4 +/- 36 mmHg, 20 patients had mitral valve lesions. Thirty six patients underwent myotomy-myomectomy alone, 13 mitral valve replacement alone, and 17 both myotomy-myomectomy and mitral valve replacement. The 30-day mortality rate was 7.5% for all patients; predominant risk factors were gender (female), greater cardiothoracic ratio, preoperative episodes of atrial fibrillation and lack of syncope. Overall survival rate (operative mortality included) was 65.3 +/- 8.6% at 13 years. Predominant risk factors for late mortality were the same than above, plus mitral valve replacement; so mitral valve repair, whenever feasible should be undertaken. Forty nine patients are still followed up: 46 are asymptomatic; Doppler mean basal outflow gradient was reduced to 10 +/- 1.4 mmHg. In conclusion, surgery relieves symptoms and outflow obstruction, and allows mitral valve reconstruction.
The ability of human internal mammary artery smooth muscle cells to maintain histoenzymatic activity and contractile response after various times of cold anoxia prior to and following cryostorage was evaluated. The results showed that the enzyme histochemical status of human mammary arteries was largely unchanged after both cold anoxia and cryopreservation. Neither in fresh nor in cryopreserved mammary arteries did cold anoxia for up to 24 h change maximal contractile responses to potassium depolarization and norepinephrine. However, compared to unfrozen controls, the contractile responses were significantly reduced in cryopreserved mammary arteries. In conclusion, after cryopreservation of human mammary arteries, the enzyme activities were globally maintained, whereas the contractile responses were reduced. For up to 24 h after harvesting cold anoxia at 4 degrees C is well tolerated and allows preservation of metabolic and functional properties of these arteries.
Severe acute endocarditis can be associated with major destruction of the annulus. Meticulous surgical debridement of friable necrotic material is always necessary and major damage to the annulus of the valve may impair secure seating of the prosthesis. Extra-annular implantation of a prosthesis may be a life-saving procedure when annular implantation is impossible. Between 1978 and 1989, 36 patients underwent extra-annular complex procedures for annular abscesses. The infection involved the aortic prosthesis and the annulus in 22 patients, and the mitral prosthesis and the annulus in 14 patients. In cases of aortic root abscess, a subcoronary valved graft (11 patients), a supracoronary valved conduit (ten patients) or a left ventricle-abdominal aorta valved conduit (one patient) were implanted. In cases of mitral valve endocarditis with extensive annular abscess, intra-atrial insertion of a mitral prosthesis was performed. In such cases, repair of the aortic root with a valved conduit or intra-atrial implantation of a mitral valvular prosthesis can be life saving and can be expected to give excellent long-term results.
Since April 1986, 82 patients have received a pneumatic total artificial heart, 62 a JARVIK-7, and 20 a Cardiowest. The duration of support ranged from less than 1 day to 603 days (mean duration: 27 +/- 82). The indications were for acute shock (38 cases) or for chronic deterioration on the transplant waiting list (44 cases). The etiology was mainly due to idiopathic and ischemic cardiomyopathy. With the help of our scoring system, we divided our patients in three groups: Chronic Implantation, represented by two females staying on device for 6 and 19 months, respectively; a High-Risk group of 29 patients characterized by high-risk indications; graft failure, rejection, postcardiotomy patient, postpartum cardiomyopathy, and valvular and congenital reoperation. In addition, the dilated and ischemic cardiomyopathy patients with a score over 6 were included in this group; and an Elective Indication group (51 patients) represented all of the dilated and ischemic cardiomyopathy patients with a score under 6. Due to the shortage of donors, our criteria for transplantation are very strict. Transplants should be made only in cases of hemodynamic stability, on an extubated patient with normal renal and liver functions, without coagulation problems or infection. With such criteria, in the high-risk group, only four patients could be transplanted and of these two are still alive. In contrast, in the elective group, 31 were transplanted (61%), and 71% of these patients were discharged. The rate is improved in the most recent cases, with 90% of the Cardiowest patients being survivors.
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Endocarditis of transvenous pacing leads is a rare condition. The authors review a series of 15 patients who developed bacteriologically proven septicaemia and/or endocarditis related to transvenous pacing leads, operated between 1988 and 1993. The interval between the last manipulation of the pacemaker and the onset of endocarditis was about 6 months. Six patients had had haematoma and/or infection of the pacemaker site. Endocarditis presented with chronic pyrexia (14 cases) associated with septicaemia (6 cases) and chronic local suppuration (1 case). The interval between the beginning of the pyrexia and the diagnosis was 3.4 months. Echocardiography showed a mass attached to the pacing lead in 8 cases and tricuspid valve vegetations in 4 cases. Blood cultures were positive in 13 patients and local wound swabs identified the organism in 1 patient. The commonest causal agent was the staphylococcus (epidermis in 7 cases, aureus in 4 cases). Appropriate antibiotic therapy was only effective in 1 case. The surgical indication in 13 cases was persistence of infection associated with pulmonary embolism (3) or tricuspid regurgitation (2). Complete ablation of the prosthetic material was performed by a peripheral vascular approach (2 cases), by a right atrial approach (1 case) and under cardiopulmonary bypass in 12 cases. The peroperative findings were of tricuspid valve vegetations (4 cases), thrombi on the pacing lead (7 cases) or in the right heart chambers (2 cases) or pulmonary artery (2 cases). The associated procedures performed under cardiopulmonary bypass were tricuspid valve repair (2 cases) and pulmonary thrombectomy (2 cases). Temporary and permanent epicardial leads were implanted in 10 patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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The search of small-caliber vascular prosthesis for myocardial revascularization and arterial reconstruction has led to an investigation of cryopreserved arterial allografts in a sheep model. Carotid arteries with an internal diameter of 4 mm and length of 10 cm were harvested from donor sheep and soaked immediately in a cold saline solution. Nine arteries were cryopreserved in a nutrient media containing 10% DMSO as cryoprotectant and then were stored in a liquid nitrogen vapor at -150 degrees C to -170 degrees C. In recipient sheep from different species, arterial substitution of a 10 cm segment of carotid artery was realised by implantation of fresh (n = 9) or cryopreserved (n = 9) carotid artery allografts. After 3 months, the allografts were harvested. In both groups: 7/9 were patent at the time of explantation. Components of arterial allograft rejection were observed in most fresh and cryopreserved arteries: intimal thickening with cell proliferation was seen in fresh (3/7) and cryopreserved (4/8) arteries; Loss of smooth muscle medial cells was constant; Adventitia was involved by a marked inflammatory reaction. A non cellular fibrous intimal thickening and presence of large medial calcifications were essentially observed in cryopreserved arteries. In conclusion, these results show that at three months post implantation, there is little difference in the outcome of fresh and cryopreserved arterial allografts. Cryopreservation does not reduce the apparent antigenicity of small diameter arterial allografts.
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The infectious complications after lung transplantation have been studied in 26 patients suffering from mucoviscidosis who had transplants in the Ile-de-France between July 1987 and October 1990. We counted 99 infections (74 bacterial infections, 23 viral infections and two fungal infections) during a cumulative observation period of 127 months. The majority of the infections (48%) were localised to the grafted lung. These infections were responsible for 61% of deaths (50% secondary to bacterial infections and 11% to viral infections). The risk of infection remains even after a considerable time after transplantation in this series. These studies underline the importance of infectious complications in the mortality and morbidity of lung transplant patients suffering from mucoviscidosis.
Biologic or synthetic grafts have had limited success in small vessel applications. Studies were initiated to assess the potential use of cryopreserved (CP) arteries as coronary artery bypass conduits. Sheep carotid arteries (internal diameter: 4 mm; length: 10 cm) were cryopreserved in a nutrient media containing 10% DMSO and were stored in a nitrogen vapor at -150 degrees C. After thawing, histological, enzyme-histochemical and functional studies showed slight histological alterations, preservation of enzymal activities and an abolition of the contractile response. In a sheep model, arterial substitution of a 10 cm segment of carotid artery was realised by implantation of fresh autografts ( n = 4); fresh allografts (n = 9) and CP allografts (n = 9). After 3 months, all autografts were patent with slight histological alterations. Fresh and CP allografts showed similar modifications: patency rate was 7/9 in both groups. Intimal thickening with cell proliferation was seen in fresh (3/7) and CP (4/8) arteries; loss of smooth muscle medial cells was constant. Adventitia was always involved by a marked inflammatory reaction. One characteristic of CP allografts was the frequent presence of large dystrophic calcifications. In conclusion, morphologic and functional arterial changes occurred after freezing and thawing. In spite of vascular rejection, the patency rate of allografts after 3 months of implantation in arterial circulation remained high and does not seem influenced by cryopreservation.
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Infectious lesions and extreme calcification of the mitral valve annulus can make classic anatomic implantation of a prosthesis impossible. Confronted with these circumstances, we have developed a technique of intraatrial insertion of a mitral prosthesis. The prosthesis has been modified by enlarging the circumference of the sewing ring with a Dacron collar. The collar can be sutured to the left atrial wall above the mitral annulus. From 1981 to 1989, this technique has been employed in 36 patients: 15 had acute valve endocarditis with destruction of the mitral annulus and 21 had extensive annular calcification. In all cases, circumferential or partial intraatrial insertion permitted a secure implantation of the prosthesis. One operative death was related to the technique. It was an intractable bleeding caused by tearing of the very thin and fragile wall of the left atrium in a kidney transplant patient. Four patients were reoperated on for periprosthetic leak, in 3 of whom healing and cleaning of the mitral annulus permitted annular implantation of a prosthetic valve. There was no ventricular wall rupture. Our results suggest that the technique can be performed in high operative risk patients when mitral valve replacement is impossible by conventional techniques.
Chronic constrictive pericarditis still poses diagnostic and therapeutic problems. A series of 84 cases (59 men-25 women; men age: 46 years) operated between 1979 and 1989 at the Pitié Hospital was reviewed. The majority of patients (72%) were in functional Classes III or IV; 88% had clinical signs of right ventricular failure and 18% had anasarca. The average duration of symptoms before diagnosis was 20 months. Chest X-ray showed pericardial calcification in 40% of cases. A characteristic dip-plateau pressure tracing was obtained in 76% of cases. A specific aetiology was only found in 36 cases (45%), only 12% being of tuberculous origin. A subtotal pericardectomy from phrenic to phrenic was carried out in 75 patients. The absence of planes of cleavage in 9 cases imposed a special operative technique consisting of "patchwork" sectioning of the visceral pericardium. The operative mortality was 2.3% (2 patients: pulmonary embolism and septicaemia). Non-fatal post-operative complications occurred in 8.2% of cases (7 patients). The survival rate excluding operative mortality was 94% at 3 years and 87% at 7 years. No patient was reoperated for recurrent constrictive pericarditis. At the last follow-up appointment, all patients were in functional Classes I or II. The authors conclude that the absence of specific symptoms, the low prevalence of the condition and the change in aetiology related to the decline in tuberculous infection make the diagnosis of chronic constrictive pericarditis very difficult. The diagnostic contributions of new imaging techniques such as CT and MR scanning should be assessed. This series confirms the efficacy of surgical treatment by subtotal pericardectomy.
Use of cryopreserved small-caliber arterial allografts for arterial bypass procedures has been suggested. In addition to immunological tolerance, long term in vivo success of these grafts may be dependent on the viability of arterial cells after cryopreservation. Metabolic and functional capabilities of arterial smooth muscle cells were evaluated by studying the enzyme histochemical expressions of sheep carotid arteries after various time of cryopreservation (7 days, 90 to 150 days) and their contractile responses after freezing. The results indicated that cryopreserved arteries exhibited 4 features: (a) the enzyme activities were globally maintained, (b) the spontaneous endogenous oxido-reduction (NitroBT test) was reduced, (c) contractile responses against KCl and norepinephrine were abolished, (d) metabolic status of frozen arteries was independent of the duration of cryopreservation. These data suggest that cryopreserved arterial muscle cells may be depleted in electron donors and/or energy-rich nucleotides substrates. This defect is present after short or long time of cryopreservation.