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Biomedical subjects

N Stolf

Publications and source records attributed to N Stolf.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

[Severe pulmonary embolism in a single lung].

A 68 years old white man complaining of hemoptysis in the last 2 months was admitted for evaluation. He was a heavy smoker and thorax radiography as week as CT Scan showed a 5 cm mass in the right pulmonary hilum. Endoscopy with biopsy demonstrated an adenocarcinoma of middle lobe. He was operated on and a tumor was found in the middle lobe with invasion of the other two lobes and pericardium. A right pneumectomy was performed. In the 10th postoperative day the patient sustained a pulmonary thromboembolism. A pulmonary scintigraphy showed hypoperfusion of large areas of left lung. He was medically treated and had a good response. The patient was discharged in the 22nd postoperative day. Pulmonary thromboembolism in bowen more severe in patients with single lung, nevertheless the recovery of this patients was good with early diagnosis and treatment.

Adenocarcinoma↗

[Surgical treatment of right ventricular fibroma in infants. Report of 2 cases].

Two patients under 8 months of age, with right ventricular fibroma, presented with clinical manifestations of pulmonary stenosis. The diagnosis was established in one by echocardiography and in the other by echocardiography. CT scan and angiocardiographic study. The patients were operated and the tumors were successfully resected.

Angiocardiography↗

[Pericardial disease erroneously diagnosed as endomyocardial fibrosis. Report of 2 cases].

Two patients who were sent to operation with diagnosis of endomyocardial fibrosis (EMF) turned out to have pericardial disease. EMF had been suspected on the basis of clinical history, electrocardiographic, radiologic and echocardiographic data. The hemodynamic studies were "typical", and included apex amputation, flat ventricular surface and mitral and tricuspid insufficiencies. Thus, ventriculography should not be considered specific, but rather suggestive of endomyocardial fibrosis.

Adult↗

[Comparison of histologic changes in Chagas' cardiomyopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy].

In this study the histopathologic features of Chagas' disease and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy were compared in 38 patients with congestive heart failure, classes II or III. Biopsy specimens were obtained with the Stanford model needle for right ventricle. Twenty-two patients presented non-chagasic dilated cardiomyopathy, and 16 were carriers of Chagas' disease. Twenty-three were male and 15 were female; their ages varied 18 and 49 years (mean 35.5). Fibrosis was slightly more frequently and intense in Chagas' disease than in dilated cardiomyopathy. Myocarditis aspect also was more frequent in Chagas' disease than in dilated cardiomyopathy (62.4% vs. 50%), with all cases showing a chronic form; acute myocarditis was observed only in dilated myocardiopathy. These differences, however, did not reach statistical significance. In conclusion, the presence of fibrosis, hypertrophy and moderate to severe degrees of chronic inflammatory infiltrate are suggestive of but not pathognomonic of Chagas' disease. On the other hand, dilated myocardiopathies are more frequently associated with less fibrosis or hypertrophy and the presence of mild degree of inflammatory infiltrate. The arrangement of this inflammatory infiltrate tends to be diffuse in dilated cardiomyopathy and in chagasic myocarditis it is multifocal, very similar to the histopathological aspect found in myocardial rejections episodes of transplanted hearts.

Adolescent↗

[Combined surgical treatment of endocarditis of the right atrium by Aspergillus sp and pulmonary fungus ball. Report of a case].

Endocarditis due to Aspergillus is rare and associated with a high mortality. The authors report the case of a 23 year-old patient with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome who was admitted with dyspnea and loss of weight. The physical examination showed split second sound and presystolic accentuation. In the chest x ray there were cavities in the upper lobe of the right lung and pleural thickening. The echocardiogram and the hemodynamic evaluation demonstrated an image suggesting a right atrial tumor. The patient was operated on under cardiopulmonary bypass, a vegetation in the valve of the inferior vena cava was resected and a lesion of the right lung was also resected. The histologic study showed that the lesions was caused by Aspergillus. The patient had had an uneventful recovery, was discharged on the 13th postoperative day and is well 65 months after the operation.

Adult↗

[Histopathologic aspects of hyperacute graft rejection in human cardiac transplantation. A case report].

The first case of a hyperacute rejection of a human cardiac allograft in Brazil is reported. The histopathological aspects of hyperacute cardiac rejection in its earlier moments are described when degenerative and necrotic features of the cardiac fibers are not totally developed. The authors believe that neutrophilic exudation and lesion of the vessel wall are good signs for a correct diagnosis of hyperacute rejection. Furthermore, they observed that the process is diffuse enough to justify the indication of endomyocardial biopsy when there are reasons to suspect this diagnosis. Presence of IgM and complement (C3) are also useful.

Adult↗

The role of active myocarditis in the development of heart failure in chronic Chagas' disease: a study based on endomyocardial biopsies.

The authors analyze the presence of active myocarditis in endomyocardial biopsies from 38 patients with chronic Chagas' disease diagnosed serologically. The patients were divided into three clinical groups of increasing severity. Group I: 13 patients with normal electrocardiograms, normal chest x-rays, and no symptoms; Group II: 13 patients with abnormal electrocardiograms and no cardiomegaly; and Group III: 12 patients with abnormal electrocardiograms, cardiomegaly and heart failure. In order to diagnose myocarditis activity, two sets of criteria were used: one mainly observing histopathologic aspects of inflammatory cells aggressing cardiac fibers; and the other counting the mean number of lymphocytes per high power microscopic field. The results of both methods showed a higher incidence of active myocarditis in the clinical group with heart failure. The present report clearly shows the important role played by activity of myocarditis in the development of heart failure in chronic Chagas' disease. Therefore, the possibility of using drugs to control early stages of the activity of the inflammatory process is suggested. On the other hand, endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) seems to be an adequate method to evaluate the intensity of the cardiac inflammatory process in Chagas' heart disease.

Adolescent↗

Right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy in chronic Chagas' disease.

Right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy was used to study myocardial involvement in 42 patients with chronic Chagas' disease. Patients were divided into three groups: group A included 16 patients with normal ECGs, normal chest x-rays, and no symptoms; group B included 15 patients with abnormal ECGs and no cardiomegaly; and group C included 11 patients with abnormal ECGs and cardiomegaly. Biopsy fragments were analyzed for hypertrophy, degeneration of myocardial fibers, and interstitial changes such as edema, fibrosis, and inflammatory infiltrate. In group A, 5 of 16 biopsies exhibited none of the previously mentioned alterations. The frequencies pathologic alterations in groups A, B, and C, respectively, were: hypertrophy 31%, 66%, and 100%; degeneration 50%, 86%, and 81%; edema 43%, 46%, and 36%; fibrosis 12%, 33%, and 54%; and inflammatory infiltrate 37%, 66%, and 65%. These data suggest that myocardial lesions of Chagas' disease represent a continuous progression from fiber destruction to substitution by fibrosis, with compensatory hypertrophy; these data also suggest that cardiac dilatation occurs when the extent of fibrosis no longer allows for efficient compensatory hypertrophy.

Adolescent↗

Favorable effects of immunosuppressive therapy in children with dilated cardiomyopathy and active myocarditis.

Among 68 children with severe dilated cardiomyopathy, 43 (aged 10 months to 15 years) presented with active myocarditis, diagnosed by endomyocardial biopsy. They were divided into four treatment groups: I, controls: 9 patients submitted to conventional treatment (digitalis, diuretics, and vasodilators) for 8.1 +/- 0.7 (SD) months; II, prednisone: 12 patients received conventional therapy plus prednisone; III, azathioprine: 16 patients submitted to conventional therapy plus prednisone and azathioprine; IV, cyclosporine: 13 patients treated with conventional therapy plus prednisone and cyclosporine. Immunosuppressive therapy was maintained for a mean of 8.4 +/- 1.2 months. They were submitted to noninvasive (electrocardiogram, chest radiograph, Doppler echocardiogram, and radioisotopic scintigraphy) and invasive (hemodynamic) studies. In the control group only 2 of 9 patients showed clinical and hemodynamic improvement and 1 of 4, histologic regression of the myocarditis. Among patients submitted to conventional therapy plus prednisone, 3 of 12 presented clinical and hemodynamic improvement; 2 of 5 also showed histologic regression of inflammatory process. By contrast, patients treated with azathioprine or cyclosporine associated with prednisone had significantly better results: 13 of 16 and 10 of 13 patients, respectively, had clinical and hemodynamic improvement; all 6 patients in the azathioprine group and all 4 patients in the cyclosporine group had histologic regression of the myocarditis. Two patients in the prednisone group, one in the azathioprine group, and one in the cyclosporine group died during treatment, in cardiogenic shock. In our experience immunosuppressive therapy with azathioprine or cyclosporine associated with prednisone improves the prognosis of children with active myocarditis and severe ventricular dysfunction.

Adolescent↗