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Biomedical subjects

F J Kazmier

Publications and source records attributed to F J Kazmier.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Penetrating atherosclerotic ulcers of the thoracic aorta: natural history and clinicopathologic correlations.

Clinically, penetrating atheromatous ulceration of the aortic wall may be confused with either symptomatic thoracic aneurysm or classic spontaneous aortic dissection. Aortography and computed tomographic (CT) scanning of the thoracic aorta provide specific diagnostic information which permits one to distinguish this lesion from atherosclerotic aneurysm and classic dissection. Hallmarks of findings on aortography and CT scan include the presence of the ulcer and an intramural hematoma. Since the findings may be disarmingly subtle, the potentially progressive and serious nature of this condition may remain unappreciated. Recognition of the penetrating atheromatous ulcer and distinguishing it from aortic dissection arising just distal to the origin of the left subclavian artery is mandatory. Resection of only a conservative segment of the proximal descending aorta suffices for classic dissection in the upper descending thoracic aorta, but the penetrating aortic ulcer requires graft replacement in the area of the ulcer and intramural hematoma.

Aged↗

Axillary-subclavian venous occlusion: the morbidity of a nonlethal disease.

To evaluate results of medical and surgical treatment of axillary-subclavian venous occlusion, the clinical courses of 95 patients were reviewed. Twenty-three patients had acute axillary-subclavian venous thrombosis, and 72 patients had chronic occlusion. Thirty-four patients with thoracic outlet syndrome and axillary-subclavian occlusion represented 3.5% of the 969 patients treated for thoracic outlet syndrome during the same period. Nonlethal pulmonary embolization from the axillary-subclavian vein occurred in four patients. Sixty percent of patients were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms during strenuous exercise at last follow-up (mean, 5.4 years). Forty-eight of these 56 patients had received anticoagulation during the acute phase of the disease. Twenty-seven percent of patients had symptoms with moderate exercise and 12.6% had symptoms at rest. Thirteen patients had operations, with improvement demonstrable in 10 patients. All five patients who underwent first rib resection for intermittent venous occlusion or for thoracic outlet syndrome after thrombosis occurred on the contralateral side did well. Axillary-subclavian venous occlusion is a nonlethal disease but late sequelae occur in one third of patients. Early anticoagulation appears to be beneficial and, in some patients with concomitant thoracic outlet syndrome, first rib resection also appears to be helpful. Further data are needed to evaluate results of fibrinolytic treatment, thrombectomy, and venous reconstruction.

Adolescent↗

Conventional repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm in the high-risk patient: a plea for abandonment of nonresective treatment.

Recent reports in the literature have promulgated nonresective treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm as a safer procedure than conventional aneurysmectomy with graft replacement in high-risk patients. This review of 106 high-risk patients who underwent conventional aneurysm repair between 1980 and 1985 was undertaken to compare the relative risks, perioperative morbidity, and operative mortality of these patients to that reported for patients treated by nonresective therapy. Excluded were those patients who had rupture initially or underwent a concomitant renovascular procedure. Patients were considered to be at high risk if they met one or more of the following criteria: age equal to or greater than 85 years; receiving oxygen at home, PO2 less than 50 torr, or forced midexpiratory flow less than 25% of predicted; serum creatinine equal to or greater than 3 mg/dl; biopsy-proven cirrhosis with ascites; retroperitoneal fibrosis; or New York Heart Association functional class III-IV angina, left ventricular ejection fraction less than 30%, recent congestive heart failure, complex ventricular ectopy, large left ventricular aneurysm, severe valvular disease, recurrent congestive heart failure or angina after coronary artery bypass grafting, or severe unreconstructed coronary artery disease confirmed by angiography. The mortality rate for conventional aneurysm repair in high-risk patients was 5.7%, compared with a reported 7% mortality rate for nonresective therapy. In those patients with severe cardiac dysfunction, intraoperative pharmacologic manipulation and the selective use of intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation appeared helpful in achieving survival.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Age Factors↗

Recurrent aneurysms and late vascular complications following repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Between 1970 and 1976, 1,112 patients underwent abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Follow-up, ranging from six to 12 years, was complete in 1,087 patients (97.7%). The most frequent cause of late deaths was coronary artery disease (45.6%), but significant morbidity related to the peripheral vascular system had developed in 94 patients, and led to 8.4% (48 patients) of all late deaths. Forty-nine true, 14 anastomotic, and five dissecting aneurysms were detected in 59 patients (5.4%) a mean (+/- SD) of 5.2 +/- 3.1 years after the initial aneurysm repair. These aneurysms were located in the thoracic (24), thoracoabdominal (five), or abdominal aorta (11), and in the iliac (six), femoral (17), popliteal (four), and renal arteries (one). Only one of 26 patients presenting with a rupture of one of these secondary aneurysms survived. There was a significant association between preoperative hypertension and recurrent aneurysm. These findings suggest that subsequent vascular disease, including recurrent aneurysms and graft complications, cause significant late morbidity and mortality after repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm. Careful follow-up and adequate control of hypertension may allow reduction in morbidity and an improvement in late survival.

Adult↗

Lupus anticoagulant: an analysis of the clinical and laboratory features of 219 cases.

To define clinical and laboratory characteristics of the lupus anticoagulant (LA), we reviewed our experience (219 subjects). Subjects were divided into group A, those with the LA and the diagnosis of lupus erythematosus, group B, those with the LA but nonlupus diagnoses, and group C, those with drug-related lupus syndromes. The typical laboratory findings consisted of a prolonged and inhibited plasma clot time (an average of 1.9 times control time) which was proportionately more prolonged than the partial thromboplastin time or activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) (average 1.3 times control). Ninety-eight percent had a prolonged plasma clot time and 94% had a prolonged partial thromboplastin time. The prothrombin and thrombin times were prolonged in 33 and 25% of subjects, respectively. Washed platelets shortened the APTT in the 22 subjects so tested. Monoclonal protein peaks were seen in 7% of patients. Seventeen episodes of bleeding were observed, but in all but one instance there was another hemostatic defect present. In the 18 patients who underwent major operations, there were no hemorrhagic complications. Fifty-eight episodes of thrombosis were observed with the same incidence in group A (25%) as in group B (26%). Bleeding is rare with the LA but thrombosis is common even without SLE and lupuslike syndromes. The plasma clot time in platelet-rich plasma is more prolonged, and in our experience, is more sensitive in detecting the lupus anticoagulant than is the partial thromboplastin time.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

Venous air embolism. Life-threatening complication of orogenital sex during pregnancy.

Vaginal insufflation in pregnant women leading to acute venous air embolism has been appreciated by obstetricians and pathologists for several decades. Initially described as a complication of powder insufflation for treatment of trichomonal vaginitis, insufflation-induced air embolism has been more recently associated with orogenital sex. The case herein illustrates a typical history that is almost pathognomonic. Clinical and laboratory abnormalities as well as treatment measures are briefly described. Familiarity with this syndrome is essential if prompt and appropriate therapy is to be rendered.

Acute Disease↗

Factor VIII-von Willebrand factor in giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica.

Levels of three factor VIII-von Willebrand factor components (von Willebrand antigen, ristocetin cofactor, and factor VIII coagulant) were higher in specimens of plasma from 27 patients with giant cell arteritis and 18 patients with polymyalgia rheumatica than in specimens from 21 normal control subjects. Values in patients with active giant cell arteritis were higher than those in patients with either inactive giant cell arteritis or active polymyalgia rheumatica. Levels of factor VIII-von Willebrand factor components tended to decline gradually after disease activity had been suppressed by corticosteroid therapy and therefore may be indicators of vascular damage. These levels, however, did not revert to normal rapidly in response to corticosteroid therapy as did the patients' symptoms and the usual laboratory measurements indicative of inflammation; thus, measurements of these components are unlikely to be useful in day-to-day management of these diseases. Electrophoretic analysis suggested that the elevated values are due to increased amounts of normal factor VIII-von Willebrand factor rather than to the presence of an abnormal molecule.

Aged↗

Systemic embolism in chronic left ventricular aneurysm: incidence and the role of anticoagulation.

The incidence and prevention of systemic embolism in patients with chronic left ventricular aneurysm have been controversial. This retrospective study investigated the incidence of clinically evident embolic events and the effect of oral anticoagulation in patients with unequivocal angiographically defined left ventricular aneurysm. Between 1971 and 1979, 76 patients met the ventriculographic criteria and received initial medical management. The median interval from myocardial infarction to ventriculography was 11 months (range 1 month to 16 years) and subsequent median follow-up time was 5 years. Twenty patients receiving anticoagulant therapy were followed up for a total of 40 patient-years and 69 patients not on anticoagulant therapy were followed up for a total of 288 patient-years; 13 patients were included in both subsets. Twenty-eight patients died during follow-up and the 3 and 5 year survival rates were 75 and 61%, respectively. Only one patient not receiving anticoagulant therapy had a clinical embolic event, resulting in an incidence of 0.35 per 100 patient-years. Therefore, in the absence of other predisposing conditions, the extremely low incidence of systemic emboli in these patients with chronic (first documented at least 1 month after myocardial infarction) left ventricular aneurysm does not justify the use of long-term oral anticoagulant therapy.

Adult↗

Reproducibility of noninvasive tests of peripheral occlusive arterial disease.

We studied the reproducibility of four tests of peripheral occlusive arterial disease in 54 subjects, 32 of whom had this disease. We found that the reproducibility of systolic blood pressures obtained at rest from the thighs, calves, and ankles approximated that of arm systolic and diastolic blood pressures, as did the ankle-to-arm systolic blood pressure ratios. The average of the tenth and ninetieth percentile ranges of the resting systolic blood pressure ankle-to-arm ratios was +/- 0.10. Systolic blood pressures from the fingers were somewhat less reproducible, and those from the toes were even more variable. Systolic blood pressure ankle-to-arm ratios measured after the patient had exercised were less reproducible than resting ratios. The average of the tenth and ninetieth percentile ranges of the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-minute ratios after exercise was -0.13 to +0.16. Skin temperatures from the fingers and toes were approximately as reproducible as systolic blood pressures from the arms and legs and as the resting ankle-to-arm blood pressure ratios. Pulse-volume recordings from the thighs, calves, ankles, feet, toes, and fingers were very poorly reproducible. We conclude that information on the reproducibility of these measurements is essential in the evaluation of noninvasive arterial tests that are used to determine the course of peripheral occlusive arterial disease.

Arm↗

Takayasu arteritis. A study of 32 North American patients.

Thirty-two patients (26 female, 6 male) with angiographically diagnosed Takayasu arteritis were seen at the Mayo Clinic between 1971 and 1982. Racial composition of this group was 23 North American Caucasians, 4 Mexicans, 3 Orientals, 1 Native American, and 1 patient of Middle Eastern origin. Incidence of the disease in Olmsted County, Minnesota, was 2.6/million/year. Diagnosis was often delayed for long periods of time, with a median delay of 18 months. Patients had both non-vascular symptoms (arthralgias in 56%, fever in 44%, weight loss in 38%) and symptoms of vascular stenosis such as arm claudication (47%) and hypertension due to renal artery stenosis (41%). All patients had either multiple vascular bruits (94%) or absent pulses (50%). Laboratory findings included anemia (44%) and elevations of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (78%). Almost all patients had multiple sites of arterial involvement documented by angiogram with various combinations of stenosis, luminal irregularity and aneurysm formation. Response to corticosteroid treatment was usually very good, with dramatic improvement in non-vascular symptoms and return of pulses in 8 of the 16 patients with absent pulses prior to treatment. Five-year survival rate from time of diagnosis was 94%. Twelve patients underwent surgical procedures involving the carotid arteries (5 cases), subclavian artery (4 cases) and renal arteries (3 cases). Three aneurysms were resected, one had aortic valve replacement for severe aortic regurgitation, and two patients underwent transluminal angioplasty. Pathologic changes were restricted to the media and adventitial layers of the vessel wall and were indistinguishable from those of giant-cell or temporal arteritis. Takayasu arteritis is more common than previously suspected in North America, is not restricted to any one racial group, and is readily treatable with corticosteroids and surgical vascular reconstruction.

Adolescent↗

Late survival after abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: influence of coronary artery disease.

To evaluate long-term survival in relation to preoperative risk factors, we reviewed 1112 patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair from 1970 to 1975. A 6-to 12-year follow-up was obtained on 1087 patients (97.7%) by chart review, death certificates, autopsy reports, and questionnaires returned by patients and referring physicians. Preoperatively 24% of patients had a history of prior myocardial infarction, 19.9% had a history of angina, and 40.4% were hypertensive. Emergency operation for ruptured aneurysm was performed in 6.5% and for expanding aneurysm in 3.4% of patients. The survival rate at 5 years was 67.5% and at 10 years was 40.7%. Cardiac-related problems were the most frequent cause of death (38%); 23% died of myocardial infarction and 15% from other heart disease or sudden death. Other causes included neoplasm (14.6%), other ruptured aneurysm (8.2%), and stroke (6.8%). Cause of death was unknown in 19.6%. A significant correlation of reduced survival time was noted in patients with advanced age and those with evidence of heart disease or hypertension. For patients without preoperative evidence of heart disease or hypertension, the 5-year mortality rate from myocardial infarction was 3.7%, compared with 11.7% for those with a positive history of hypertension and heart disease (p = 0.0001). For patients with no preoperative evidence of hypertension or heart disease, the length of survival after AAA repair was the same as that expected for the general population with the same age and sex composition. This study supports the contention that coronary angiography and prophylactic coronary bypass grafting should be performed selectively. Decisions regarding the need for coronary revascularization should be based on symptoms, noninvasive testing, and selective coronary angiography because aneurysmal disease alone is not shown in this study to increase the risk of death from myocardial disease. For patients with clinical findings of coronary artery disease, an aggressive diagnostic approach appears to be justified.

Aged↗

Management of hemophilia A and B during surgical correction of transposition of the great arteries.

Two patients--one an infant and the other an adolescent--with transposition of the great arteries and hemophilia underwent a successful major reconstructive open-heart surgical procedure. Despite a severe coagulation deficiency, a major reconstructive cardiac operation was performed with the use of a detailed replacement plan, which took into consideration the potency of the replacement material and its potential hazards, biologic half-life, and anticipated in vivo recovery on the basis of the patient's plasma volume. To our knowledge, these are the first reports of successful surgical repair of this type in patients with severe coagulation factor deficiency.

Adolescent↗

Isolated iliac artery aneurysms.

The records of 50 patients with isolated iliac artery aneurysms seen between January 1970 and January 1982 were reviewed. Forty-seven were men and three were women. Their ages ranged from 41 to 92 years (mean 69.7 years). Aneurysm diameter ranged from 2 to 20 cm (mean 4.7 cm). Seventeen patients had multiple aneurysms. Sixty-two percent of aneurysms were on the right side. Eighty-nine percent were located in the common iliac artery, 10% in the internal iliac artery, and 1% in the external iliac artery. Twelve patients had symptoms; all presented with sudden pain. Rupture occurred in seven patients; only three patients survived. Twenty-four patients had surgical treatment. Aneurysmorrhaphy with graft interposition was the most common procedure. There were no deaths during elective operation. Nineteen patients who did not undergo operation were followed from 0.25 to 11 years (mean 4.9 years). Enlargement occurred in nine patients and rupture in one. We conclude that the natural history of isolated iliac artery aneurysms is similar to that of other atherosclerotic aneurysms. Elective resection and arterial reconstruction are recommended.

Adult↗

Abdominal aortic aneurysm and coronary artery disease.

To delineate the role of routine preoperative coronary angiography in patients undergoing elective abdominal aortic aneurysm resection, we reviewed the records of 422 such patients at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. One hundred seventy-three patients (41%) had a history of either myocardial infarction or angina pectoris; 146 (35%) had a previous myocardial infarction; 111 (26%) had a history of stable angina. Six patients underwent coronary artery bypass grafting prior to aneurysmorrhaphy. Ten patients (2.4%) died within the first 30 postoperative days. Seven deaths (1.7%) were secondary to myocardial infarction. Mortality from myocardial infarction was 0.8% in patients who had no history of coronary artery disease and 2.9% in patients with a history. Mortality was not increased in elderly patients. Coronary angiography should be selectively obtained prior to elective aneurysmorrhaphy. A 0.8% mortality from myocardial infarction in patients without a history of coronary artery disease and an overall mortality of 1.7% do not justify routine coronary angiography prior to elective resection of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Adult↗