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Biomedical subjects

J Fraile

Publications and source records attributed to J Fraile.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Enteral nutrition by percutaneous endoscopic gastrojejunostomy in severe hyperemesis gravidarum: a report of two cases.

We describe the first two cases in which percutaneous endoscopic gastrojejunostomy was used as a means to provide enteral nutrition in severe hypermesis gravidarum. The use of this method of enteral access provided an alternative to parenteral nutrition, was well tolerated, cost-effective and had no major complications. In both cases the nutritional goal for mothers as well as appropriate fetal growth and development were achieved.

Adult

[Candida endocarditis in non-addict patients: a disease with high mortality. A clinico-pathological study of 3 cases].

Candida endocarditis is a rare infection which occurs under particular epidemiological circumstances, such a drug addiction, immunosuppression, prolonged intravenous therapy and valvular replacement surgery. Diagnosis requires a high suspicious index and is based on the demonstration of the organism in cardiac vegetations, peripheral embolisms or in positive blood-cultures; also when valvular insufficiency murmurs, embolic phenomena and echocardiogram-proved vegetations are present. In spite of antifungal therapy and valvular replacement, the mortality rate in Candida endocarditis is still higher than 80%. Three new cases of the entity are here reported stressing the diagnostic and therapeutical difficulties.

Aged

[Aortic valvular endocarditis caused by Brucella melitensis with initial acute myocardial infarction manifestation].

This is the case of a 31 year old man with Brucella aortic valvular endocarditis which first manifested itself clinically as an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). He subsequently developed an acute aortic regurgitation, which together with the ventricular disfunction secondary to the myocardial necrosis caused severe heart failure requiring aortic valve replacement and aortic coronary graft in a first operation. The patient's subsequent evolution was negative with congestive heart failure refractory to medical treatment. For this reason he was submitted to a second operation in which an orthotopic cardiac transplant was carried out with good results. The patient remains symptom-free and has returned to his work.

Adult

Mechanical cardiac valve thrombosis. Is thrombectomy justified?

To determine the incidence and results of the treatment offered to acute thrombotic obstructions of mechanical valvular prostheses, we have reviewed a series of 3,637 consecutive hospital survivors who, between January 1970 and September 1990, underwent single mitral or aortic and double mitroaortic valve replacements (MVR, AVR, and DVR, respectively). The cumulative follow-up in these patients was 22,783 years (mean, 7.2 years; range, 0.6-19 years). Sixty-five patients (24 MVR, 13 AVR, and 28 DVR) experienced 72 thrombotic prosthetic obstructions (42 mitral and 41 aortic prostheses) at a mean interval of 3.4 years (range, 0.6-14 years) after the operation. The actuarial prosthetic thrombosis free estimates were 96 +/- 0.9% for MVR, 97 +/- 0.9% for AVR, and 96 +/- 0.8% for DVR (all NS). Mortality associated with prosthetic thrombosis was 25% (four in the MVR group, five in the AVR group, and seven in the DVR group). Fifty-seven patients (22 MVR, 12 AVR, and 23 DVR) underwent a total of 62 reoperations, with a hospital mortality of 17% (two MVR, four AVR, and four DVR). In 37 of the latter patients (20 MVR, three AVR, and 14 DVR), we performed valve replacement (31 mitral prostheses and 14 aortic prostheses), with a hospital mortality of 16% (six of 37) and only one case of subsequent rethrombosis (actuarial rethrombosis free estimate, 96 +/- 3.6%). Conversely, five of the 27 patients (actuarial rethrombosis free estimate, 41 +/- 20%) (two MVR, 11 AVR, and 14 DVR) (seven mitral prostheses and 21 aortic prostheses) whose prosthetic valves were debrided developed rethrombosis during follow-up (p = 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Actuarial Analysis

Q fever endocarditis on porcine bioprosthetic valves. Clinicopathologic features and microbiologic findings in three patients treated with doxycycline, cotrimoxazole, and valve replacement.

Three patients developed Q fever endocarditis on porcine bioprosthetic valves. They had a subacute or chronic course with nonspecific symptoms, enlargement of the liver and spleen, and cardiac failure due to destruction of the cusps, without disruption of the valve ring. High-phase I-specific IgG and IgA antibody titers against Coxiella burnetii were found. C. burnetii was isolated in each patient by inoculating suspensions of valve tissue into a human fetal diploid fibroblast cell line, which was grown as monolayers on slides contained inside rubber-stoppered tube cultures. Patients were treated successfully with doxycycline, cotrimoxazole, and valve replacement and were followed up for periods of 24 to 42 months; no evidence of deterioration was found. The human fetal diploid cell culture may be an expeditious, easy, and safe method to isolate C. burnetii from cardiac valves. Valve replacement seemed necessary to cure prosthetic-valve endocarditis due to C. burnetii infection. Combined therapy with doxycycline and cotrimoxazole may control the disease and prevent reinfection of the homografts replacing the valves.

Adult

Reoperations for left-sided low-profile mechanical prosthetic obstructions.

A series of 2,474 hospital survivors of primary mitral, aortic, and double mitral-aortic valve replacement were observed for a cumulative period of 11.945 years (mean, 4.2 years; range, 0.6-14 years). The linearized incidences of reoperations for thrombotic obstructions were 0.33 +/- 0.08% for mitral valve replacement, 0.36 +/- 0.1% for aortic valve replacement, and 0.42 +/- 0.1% for double valve replacement (p = not significant). Forty-one patients (16 mitral, 12 aortic, and 13 double valve replacements) underwent a total of 44 reoperations with a mean interval of 36 +/- 29 months (range, 0.25-85 months) between operations. Diagnosis was established invasively only in 13 patients (30%). Hospital mortality at reoperation was 18% (8 patients); 28 patients (63%) required emergency surgery. The choice surgical procedures were thrombectomy for clotted aortic prostheses (18 of 24) and valve replacement for obstructed mitral valves (22 of 25; p less than .001). Rethrombosis occurred in 3 patients (1 aortic and 2 double valve replacements). At hospital admission 17 patients (38%) had prothrombin times outside therapeutic ranges (between 20 to 30% of the normal value). The incidence of reoperations for thrombosis in low-profile mechanical prostheses was unaffected by valvar position and number of prostheses implanted. Rethrombosis occurred only in previously cleaned valves, although its occurrence was not significant. The present results indicate that, as experience is gained in the diagnosis and surgical management of this complication, hospital mortality can be reduced significantly (from 37% to 4%).

Aortic Valve

Surgical treatment of active prosthetic valve endocarditis. Results in 66 patients.

The results of combined medical and surgical management of 66 patients with active prosthetic valve endocarditis (APVE) are analyzed. Between 1970 and 1985, 3510 patients were operative survivors of mitral, aortic or double mitral-aortic valve replacement. Cumulative follow-up was 15,640 patient-years (mean 4.4 years). The overall annual incidence of reoperation for APVE was 0.42 +/- 0.05% (0.34 +/- 0.08% for biological and 0.46 +/- 0.06% for mechanical prostheses, p = n.s.). Early APVE occurred in 21 patients and 45 patients had late APVE. Indications for surgery were heart failure in 92%, systemic emboli in 5% and persistent sepsis in 3% of patients. Overall operative mortality (less than 30 days) was 38% (25/66). (Early APVE 52% and late APVE 31%). Anatomical location, valve design and number of prostheses implanted did not correlate with a higher operative risk. Overall endocarditis-related mortality was 56% (37/66). Uni and multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis identified: 1) date of surgery (p = 0.01), 2) renal failure (p = 0.03) and 3) early APVE (p = 0.03) as predictors of endocarditis-related death. Actuarial survival at 1, 5 and 10 postoperative years was 41 +/- 6%, 30 +/- 6% and 24 +/- 7% respectively. This study confirms the high lethality of APVE. However, with adequate and aggressive combined medical and surgical management, some patients can be saved.

Adult

Prosthetic valve endocarditis caused by Brucella melitensis. A report of four cases successfully treated with tetracycline, streptomycin, and sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim plus valve replacement.

Optimal treatment of prosthetic valve endocarditis due to Brucella melitensis is unknown. The presence of ring abscess makes extensive surgical débridement and valve replacement essential steps of management. Antimicrobial therapy with tetracycline hydrochloride plus streptomycin sulfate or sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim can achieve the sterilization of infected cardiac tissue. Late bland periprosthetic leaks occur frequently. Reoperation can be safely performed after a period of antimicrobial therapy. Prolonged treatment with doxycycline hyclate seems advisable.

Adult

Comparative clinical results with Omniscience (STM1), Medtronic-Hall, and Björk-Shiley convexo-concave (70 degrees) prostheses in mitral valve replacement.

The intermediate clinical results of 289 patients undergoing isolated mitral valve replacement with three different low-profile mechanical prostheses have been retrospectively analyzed and compared. Between June, 1980, and September, 1983, 70 patients received the Omniscience prosthesis, 159 patients the Medtronic-Hall valve, and 60 patients the convexo-concave 70 degree Björk-Shiley prosthesis. Hospital mortality was 15% for the Björk-Shiley group, 4.4% for the Medtronic-Hall group, and 7.1% for the Omniscience group. Cumulative follow-up was 88 years (mean 1.7 years) for the Björk-Shiley, 229 years (mean 1.5 years) for the Medtronic-Hall, and 223 years (mean 3.3 years) for the Omniscience group. All patients were placed on a program of anticoagulant therapy (dicumarol) postoperatively. Actuarial survival rates (+/-SE) 2 years postoperatively were comparable for the three groups: Björk-Shiley, 90% +/- 4.7%; Medtronic-Hall, 93% +/- 2.2%; and Omniscience, 88% +/- 4.1% (p = NS). Late mortality, expressed at linearized rates (percent patient-year +/-SE), was 3.4% +/- 1.9% for the Björk-Shiley group, 1.7% +/- 0.8% for the Medtronic-Hall group, and 3.6% +/- 1.2% for the Omniscience group (p = NS). Actuarially determined rates of freedom from thromboembolic complications (systemic embolism and valvular thrombosis) 2 years postoperatively were 97% +/- 2.2% for the Björk-Shiley group, 94% +/- 2.1% for the Medtronic-Hall, and 84% +/- 4.7% for the Omniscience group (p = 0.05, Omniscience versus Medtronic-Hall; p = 0.02, Omniscience versus Björk-Shiley) The actuarial probability of being free from reoperation 2 years postoperatively was 92 +/- 3.5 for the Björk-Shiley group, 92 +/- 2.9 for the Medtronic-Hall group, and 82 +/- 3.9 for the Omniscience group (p = 0.04). The major cause for reoperation in the Omniscience group was valve thrombosis (seven patients), yielding a linearized incidence (+/-SE) of 3.1 +/- 1.1 (p = 0.01). No statistically significant differences were obtained regarding the incidence of prosthetic infective endocarditis or perivalvular leak. Overall rates of anticoagulant-related hemorrhage were comparable for the three groups.

Actuarial Analysis

Prophylaxis of infective endocarditis for dental procedures. Report of a working party of the European Society of Cardiology.

Bacterial endocarditis still remains a serious disease with significant morbidity and mortality. In patients with known valve disease, most cases are caused by oral viridans streptococci. These organisms are present in vast numbers on the gum margins and in gum pockets. They cause transient bacteraemia during eating and tooth brushing. More substantial, but short-lived bacteraemia can occur during dental treatment such as extraction and scaling. Bacteria may then become attached to abnormal endocardium leading to the development of infective endocarditis. Prophylaxis of endocarditis during dental procedures in patients with known valve disease should thus be aimed at reducing the number of bacteria entering the blood stream and eliminating those that get there. This can be sought first by good oro-dental hygiene and secondly by the use of prophylactic antibiotics. In this paper, we set out simple guidelines for practitioners in those countries that do not already have recommendations of their own. They are based on guidelines already in use in the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland and the United States.

Anti-Bacterial Agents

Long-term comparative analysis of the Björk-Shiley and Hancock valves implanted in 1975.

The long-term results in all patients undergoing isolated mitral, aortic, or double mitral-aortic heart valve replacement operated upon in 1975 has been retrospectively analyzed. A total of 153 patients received the standard Björk-Shiley (flat pyrolytic disc) mechanical prostheses and 150 patients received the noncomposite Hancock porcine xenograft. Overall operative mortality was not significantly different between groups. All patients receiving a Björk-Shiley prosthesis, but none in the Hancock group, received long-term anticoagulant therapy. Medium and long-term actuarial survival rates (5 and 10 years postoperatively) were comparable for the two groups (88% for Björk-Shiley and 84% for Hancock [NS] at 5 years; 86% for Björk-Shiley and 80% for Hancock at 10 years [NS]). The incidence of systemic embolism was similar in the two groups (1.6% +/- 0.4% per patient-year for the Björk-Shiley group and 1.3% +/- 0.3% per patient-year for the Hancock group [NS]). Also the incidence of endocarditis was similar (0.6% +/- 0.2% per patient-year for the Björk-Shiley group and 0.8% +/- 0.3% per patient-year for the Hancock group [NS]). In the Hancock group the overall incidence of reoperations was significantly higher than in the Björk-Shiley group (4.2% +/- 0.6% per patient-year versus 0.9% +/- 0.3% per patient-year (p = 0.001). The major cause for reoperation in the Hancock group was primary tissue failure (3% +/- 0.5% per patient-year). In the Björk-Shiley group the major cause of reoperation was valve thrombosis (0.5% +/- 0.2% per patient-year). Therefore, accepting the fact that other bioprostheses may behave differently from the Hancock noncomposite xenograft, we currently restrict our indications for valve replacement with bioprostheses.

Actuarial Analysis

Results and complications with the Omniscience prosthesis.

A clinical trial with the Omniscience heart valve was conducted from June, 1980, until May, 1981. In this period 166 patients underwent heart valve replacement: mitral valve replacement (MVR) 70 patients, aortic valve replacement (AVR) 37, and combined mitral-aortic valve replacement (M/AVR) 59 patients. There were 20 hospital deaths, for a mortality of 12%. Total follow-up was 226 patient-years (range 6 to 28 months, mean 18 months). There were eight late deaths (MVR 4.6%, AVR 3.1%, and M/AVR 8.1%). All patients were taking oral anticoagulants. The incidence of valve-related complications (expressed as events per 100 patient-years) was as follows: Systemic embolism--MVR 2, AVR 4.7, and M/AVR 2.5; and anticoagulant complications--MVR 1.9, AVR 2.3, and M/AVR 0. The incidence of valvular dysfunction (expressed as events per 100 patient-years) was as follows: valvular thrombosis--MVR 4.8, AVR 0, and M/AVR 1.2; perivalvular leakage--MVR 1.9, AVR 2.3, and M/AVR 2.5; and infective endocarditis--MVR 0.96, AVR 0, and M/AVR 1.2. The actuarial probability of being free of valvular dysfunction 30 months postoperatively is 73% for the MVR group, 90% for the AVR group, and 71% for the M/AVR group. Despite a short follow-up, the incidence of valvular dysfunction has been significant. For this reason, we have discontinued using these prostheses for heart valve replacement.

Aortic Valve