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PubMed · 7970561

Postpump retinopathy.

Abstract

Postpump syndrome is a systemic manifestation which occurs somewhat frequently after cardiac surgery when cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is used. It is probably caused by platelet injury secondary to plasma contact with the CPB machinery. Damaged platelets aggregate and result in small emboli which course throughout the body, causing short-lived infarcts in the smaller blood vessels in multiple organs including the eyes where the result is retinopathy. Postpump syndrome is well documented in the cardiovascular literature but not in the ophthalmologic literature. We report a case of postpump syndrome retinopathy seen in a 56-year-old black male who had previously undergone valve replacement surgery for endocarditis. Follow-up revealed a postoperative embolus which necessitated further evaluation by the cardiologist and cooperative care with the optometrist/ophthalmologist team at The Eye Institute. Sequential photographs document this retinopathy as well as the embolic complication.

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BibTeXRIS

S E Marren. 1994. Postpump retinopathy.. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006324-199407000-00006

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Cardiopulmonary Bypass↗

Continuous SvO2 measurement in infants undergoing congenital heart surgery--first clinical experiences with a new fiberoptic probe.

BACKGROUND: SvO2-guided therapy, using fiberoptic oximetric catheters can help to improve the outcome after complex congenital heart surgery especially in infants undergoing the Stage 1-Norwood-Procedure. So far, fiberoptic catheters have to be placed transthoracically by the surgeon into the vena cava or the pulmonary artery putting the infant at an additional risk of bleeding at the time of catheter removal. METHODS: We used a new percutaneously applicable fiberoptic probe for continuous monitoring of central venous saturation in three infants undergoing modifications of the Stage 1-Norwood-Procedure (reconstruction of the aortic arch), two in combination with a bidirectional cavopulmonary connection (Glenn shunt), the third with reconstruction of the pulmonary arteries (biventricular repair). The approved clinical monitoring system consisted of a small (2 F) fiberoptic probe and a bed-side-monitor. The probe was inserted via the routine central venous access for such a case. RESULTS: Continuous SvO2 measurement is feasible in infants using the CeVOX system in combination with routine central venous access, and the advantages of continuous monitoring are discussed. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that compared with transthoracically inserted oximetric catheter, the presented percutaneous technique avoids additional risks at the time of catheter removal (i.e. bleeding) and has become part of our standard management.

Cardiopulmonary Bypass↗

An alternative pathway for fibrinolysis is activated in patients who have undergone cardiopulmonary bypass surgery and major abdominal surgery.

INTRODUCTION: We conducted this prospective study in order to investigate the hypotheses that an alternative pathway for fibrinolysis is activated in patients who have undergone cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) surgery and major abdominal surgery and that the levels of fibrin degradation products digested by polymorphonuclear neutrophil elastase (elastase-XDP) and the D-dimer increase in the patients' plasma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied a total of 77 patients who were scheduled to undergo either CPB surgery (36 patients) or major abdominal surgery (41 patients) and then measured the elastase-XDP and D-dimer levels at several time points both during and after the surgeries. The CPB surgery was divided into surgery for aortic dissection (AD) and cardiac surgery. The major abdominal surgery consists of hepatic resection and esophagectomy. RESULTS: The elastase-XDP and D-dimer levels significantly increased in the patients who underwent both CPB surgery and major abdominal surgery. The elastase-XDP levels in AD surgery showed highest values at the end of the CPB, while the levels in the other surgeries reached their peak on the day after the surgery. Statistical difference was seen in the levels of elastase-XDP among the three subgroups undergoing a hepatic resection. While we found significant correlations between the levels of elastase-XDP and D-dimer in patients undergoing CPB surgery and a subsegmentectomy of a cirrhotic liver, the correlation coefficients were markedly low in comparison to those of the other surgeries. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrated that the elastase-mediated pathway of fibrinolysis is activated to varying degrees depending on the surgery performed. Variations in the correlation coefficients between the levels of elastase-XDP and D-dimer may suggest that elastase-mediated fibrinolysis play a different role from the physiological fibrinolysis mediated by plasmin.

Cardiopulmonary Bypass↗