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Biomedical subjects

J Langlois

Publications and source records attributed to J Langlois.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

[Thromboses of heart valve prostheses: predisposing and prognostic factors based on a study of 41 patients].

Forty one patients were admitted with a diagnosis of prosthetic valve thrombosis. One patient was thrombolyzed successfully, and 40 underwent surgical procedures. In 13 cases, prosthetic valve thrombosis occurred in the first month after valve replacement. 18 patients were in functional class IV of the NYHA classification. Among the thrombosed prostheses, 91% were mechanical, and 61% in mitral position. Adequacy of anticoagulation was the most important risk factor, as this treatment was inappropriate in 20 patients. In 10 other patients, it had been changed for medical (bleeding events, pregnancy) or surgical (non cardiac surgery) reasons. The perioperative mortality rate was high (32.4%). It was 12% in patients in functional class II and 46% in those in class IV (p < 0.05). This underlines the value of early diagnosis, in which echocardiography, especially with a transesophageal probe, takes a major place, allowing prompt surgical treatment.

Adult↗

[Thrombosis of heart valve prostheses: favourable and prognostic factors based on a study of 41 patients].

Forty one patients were admitted with a diagnosis of prosthetic valve thrombosis. One patient was thrombolysed successfully, and 40 underwent surgical procedures. In 13 cases, prosthetic valve thrombosis occurred in the first month after valve replacement. 18 patients were in functional class IV of the NYHA classification. Among the thrombosed prostheses, 91% were mechanical, and 61% in mitral position. Adequacy of anti-coagulation was the most important risk factor, as this treatment was inappropriate in 20 patients. In 10 other patients, it had been changed for medical (bleeding events, pregnancy) or surgical (non cardiac surgery) reasons. The perioperative mortality rate was high (32.4%). It was 12% in patients in functional class II and 46% in those in class IV (p < 0.05). This underlines the value of early diagnosis, in which echocardiography, especially with a transesophageal probe, takes a major place, allowing prompt surgical treatment.

Adult↗

Effect of positioning on the breathing pattern of preterm infants.

Respiration, as judged by gas exchange and pulmonary function, is improved in preterm infants kept in the prone rather than the supine position. The influence of position on the breathing pattern as documented by the pneumogram was studied in 14 stable preterm infants with recent clinical apnoea. Ten of the infants had oximetry and nasal flow studies simultaneously with the impedance pneumogram. Each infant had consecutive nocturnal pneumograms, one in the prone, one in the supine position. The infants were kept for more than six hours in the assigned position. A significant increase in apnoea density and in periodic breathing was found in the supine v the prone position (mean (SE) 4.5 (0.7)% v 2.5 (0.5)%, and 13.6 (3.2)% v 7.7 (2.2)%, respectively). There was no positional difference in the incidence of bradycardia and prolonged apnoea. The examination of obstructive apnoea, mixed apnoea, and cyanotic spells did not reveal a consistent disparity between the two positions. These findings indicate an increase in central apnoea in preterm infants kept predominantly in the supine position. Possible relations of positional changes to lung mechanics are discussed. When evaluating pneumograms, attention must be given to the position in which they were performed.

Apnea↗

Motor vehicle deaths in children: geographic variations.

Motor vehicle-related injury is the leading cause of death in children ages 0-14 years in the United States. Using data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the Fatal Accident Reporting System, specific types of motor vehicle injury death in children were examined for the years 1980-1985 (using NCHS data) and 1985-1986 (using FARS data). Death rates were calculated for each specific category of motor vehicle injury for each state and were then mapped to determine patterns of geographic variation. In general, nontraffic pedestrian death rates and death rates for crashes involving light trucks and/or rollovers were higher in the West, and rates of pedestrian deaths in traffic were highest in the South. Some of the likely contributing factors and possible interventions are discussed.

Accidents, Traffic↗

[Interrupted aortic arch. A series of 15 patients].

Between 1983 and 1989, 15 children underwent surgical repair of interrupted aortic arch at 1 to 20 days of age. The anatomical form was a Celoria and Patton type B in all patients with an associated perimembranous ventricular septal defect in all but one who had multiple ventricular septal defects, and patent ductus arteriosus. Six children had a retro-esophageal right subclavian artery, two had subaortic stenosis and two had a right-sided descending thoracic aorta. In two children with severe hypoplasia of the ascending aorta the repair was performed in one stage with two deaths due to left ventricular failure. In the other B cases, a two-stage repair was carried out. The reconstruction of the aortic arch varied according to the individual case. All children had pulmonary artery banding. Seven children survived longer than 30 days. Six of them later underwent a complete repair. The only survivors were those patients in whom the neo-aortic arch grew harmoniously. The authors conclude that: a two-stage repair gave disappointing results in this series of consecutive patients, mainly because of the poor quality of the reconstruction of the aortic arch by thoracotomy.

Anastomosis, Surgical↗

[Early results of coronary surgery in patients between 71 and 80 years of age].

One hundred consecutive patients aged 71 to 80 without other cardiac pathology underwent coronary bypass surgery by the same surgical team between January 1986 and May 1989. These patients were recruited from a group of 687 patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery in the same period. The indication was always based on the severity of clinical symptoms resistant to medical therapy. Recent unstable angina despite triple therapy was a particularly common indication in this group of patients (61%). Preoperative coronary angiography showed a high incidence of triple vessel (62 cases) and left main stem disease (23 cases). Double vessel (12 cases) and single vessel disease (3 cases) were less common. Preoperative myocardial infarction was observed in 35% of cases; the site was nearly always on the inferior wall. In all, 230 bypasses were performed including 23 internal mammary artery bypasses (average 2.3 bypasses per patient). Six patients developed perioperative myocardial infarction confirmed by ECG and a rise in cardiac enzymes in 4 cases and by a rise in the cardiac enzymes alone in 2 cases. The mortality was low in this group of patients (3%). This was due to strict selection of patients in this age group and also to the improvement in the techniques of myocardial protection, anaesthesia and intensive care. Our results justify the operative indications in this group of patients in whom medical therapy has failed.

Age Factors↗

[Phrenic nerve palsy after heart surgery. The Bichat Hospital experience].

The frequency of phrenic nerve palsy varies from 2.5 to 8.3%, according to different authors. Contact of the phrenic nerve with cold (ice or saline) seems to be the most frequent etiology. This study points out that good insulation between phrenic nerve and ice slush, used in the pericardium, results in almost complete disappearance of this complication, which is not a benign one, as emphasized by the two deaths in our series.

Adolescent↗

[Accessory mitral tissue responsible for left ventricular outflow obstruction. Reports of 7 cases].

The authors report the medico-surgical experience of Marie Lannelongue hospital of a rare condition: accessory mitral valve tissue. Seven patients aged 2 to 28 years (average: 8.7 years) had left ventricular outflow obstruction due to accessory mitral valve tissue. The diagnostic was not obvious clinically and was based on the association of echocardiographic and angiographic data. This condition was associated with another intra-cardiac malformation in 6 of the 7 patients. Surgical treatment included resection of the accessory mitral valve tissue by an aortic or combined aorto-left atrial approach, together with correction of the associated intracardiac abnormality. The postoperative results were excellent with the regression of the ventriculo-aortic pressure gradient and the physiological integrity of the mitral valve.

Adolescent↗

Beta-adrenergic receptor changes during coronary artery bypass grafting.

To evaluate whether the function of beta-adrenergic receptors, essential to the biologic activity of catecholamines, is altered during coronary artery bypass grafting, we measured, in 16 patients undergoing myocardial revascularization, the density and the affinity of lymphocyte beta-adrenergic receptors before anesthesia induction (control) and at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass. Variations in the density and affinity of beta-adrenergic receptors were determined in vitro. Repeated determinations of plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine concentrations were also performed. Overall, no significant modification was observed in mean density and affinity of beta-adrenergic receptors at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass when compared with control values. However, a significant decrease (p less than 0.05) in affinity for isoproterenol was found in the six patients who had high catecholamine levels during cardiopulmonary bypass. In contrast, no significant modification of beta-adrenoreceptor affinity for isoproterenol was observed in the 10 patients who did not have this degree of adrenergic activation. In addition, beta-adrenoreceptor affinity for isoproterenol was decreased in the three patients in whom intraaortic balloon pumping was mandatory after discontinuation of cardiopulmonary bypass. We suggest that this decreased affinity of lymphocyte beta-adrenergic receptors could be related, at least in part, to a sustained adrenergic activation occurring in some patients during cardiopulmonary bypass.

Anesthesia↗

The incidence of erythema multiforme, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and toxic epidermal necrolysis. A population-based study with particular reference to reactions caused by drugs among outpatients.

We carried out a study to estimate the incidence of erythema multiforme (EM), Stevens Johnson syndrome (SJS), and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) requiring hospitalization and to determine which drug therapies were associated with these reactions. We reviewed the clinical records of all patients who were hospitalized with these discharge diagnoses at Group Health Cooperative (GHC) of Puget Sound, Seattle, Wash, from 1972 through 1986. During this 14-year period, an average of about 260,000 persons, with demographic characteristics similar to those of the general population, received their care from GHC, and there were about 25,000 admissions to hospitals per year at the GHC hospitals. Based on International Classification of Diseases-Adapted coding, a total of 61 suspect cases of EM, SJS, or TEN were identified from the computerized hospital discharge file. Based on record review and the application of a uniform set of diagnostic criteria, a total of 37 patients (61%) were classified as having EM, SJS, or TEN. Of these, 16 cases (43%) were attributed to drugs administered to these patients prior to hospitalization. The overall incidence of hospitalization for EM, SJS, or TEN due to all causes was 4.2 per 10(6) person-years. The incidence of TEN alone due to all causes was 0.5 per 10(6) person-years. The incidence of EM, SJS, or TEN associated with drug use were 7.0, 1.8, and 9.0 per 10(6) person-years, respectively, for persons younger than 20 years of age, 20 to 64 years of age, and 65 years of age and older. Drug therapies with reaction rates in excess of 1 per 100,000 exposed individuals include phenobarbital (20 per 100,000), nitrofurantoin (7 per 100,000), sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim, and ampicillin (both 3 per 100,000), and amoxicillin (2 per 100,000). Overall, our data suggest that cases of EM, SJS, and TEN sufficiently severe to require hospitalization are infrequent among outpatients using well-established drug therapies. A continuing challenge is the evaluation of these severe cutaneous reactions that are associated with newly marketed or less frequently prescribed drug therapies.

Adolescent↗

[Immediate postoperative results following conservative surgery of rheumatic mitral valve insufficiency in children].

The immediate post-operative results of conservative surgery were evaluated objectively in 31 children aged under 13 years referred to us for surgical correction of severe rheumatic mitral valve regurgitation. 16 patients had pure mitral regurgitation. In the others, lesions which required additional surgery were aortic regurgitation in 7 cases, tricuspid of the mitral valve and left ventricle was studied by two-dimensional TM-mode echocardiography. This examination was combined with a pulsed doppler study in search of a possible residual mitral regurgitation signal, with special attention to the depth at which it was recorded in the left atrium -- a semi-quantitative indication of the severity of residual leakage. Two mitral valve replacements were performed, and two early reoperations were needed for residual regurgitation developed between the 5th and 8th post-operative days. Three deaths occurred due to supra-systemic pulmonary arterial hypertension. The post-operative evaluation of mitral valvuloplasty results therefore involved 25 patients. In the absence of significant residual mitral regurgitation, two-dimensional echocardiography was inconclusive since the images obtained varied considerably according to the surgical procedures performed. There was a distinct reduction of end-diastolic diameters (43.5 +/- 5.9 versus 62.1 +/- 8.7 mm pre-operatively), reflecting the disappearance or marked decrease of the pre-operative ventricular volume overload consecutive to mitral regurgitation. The reduction of end-systolic diameters was also significant (31.2 +/- 6.7 mm versus 39.2 +/- 7.1 mm pre-operatively), though less pronounced than that of end-diastolic diameters, which explains the diminution observed in the percentage of fibre shortening, although the figures remained within normal limits (28.7 +/- 9.7 p. 100 versus 37.0 +/- 6.8 p. 100).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cardiac Surgical Procedures↗

[Abnormalities of the aortic arch in adults. A rare cause of tracheo-oesophageal compression. Apropos of 2 cases].

Two cases of symptomatic aortic arch anomalies in adults are reported: a case of Neuhauser's ligamentum arteriosum with compressive retro-oesophageal diverticulum, and a case of double aortic arch revealed by postoperative tracheal compression. In both cases, surgical correction was made very difficult by the aneurysmal progression of the compressive vascular anomalies and resection of the thoracic aorta under cardiopulmonary by-pass was necessary. These therapeutic difficulties therefore highlight the differences between aortic arch anomalies in adults and those in infants which can be simply and effectively treated with no mortality in our experience. These observations argue in favour of systematic surgical correction of any aortic arch anomalies in infants, even when they are responsible for few symptoms.

Adult↗