Causality Between the Amplitude and Frequency of Cardiac Oscillations

Using an information-theoretic approach, causality between the systolic amplitude in blood pressure and the frequency of the heart beat was analyzed. Blood pressure and ECG were noninvasively recorded in young, healthy subjects. Three successive measurements were performed: during spontaneous breathing and during paced respiration—at frequencies both higher and lower than that of spontaneous respiration. We demonstrate that the amplitude and frequency of the cardiac rhythm are synchronized for most of the time. The synchronization is stronger during paced respiration at a frequency lower than that of spontaneous breathing. Episodes where the cardiac frequency was driven by the systolic pressure were also detected during slow, paced respiration.     

Pericardial effusion following pulmonary resection

Objective Postoperative pericardial effusion commonly occurs after open heart surgery. However, after general thoracotomy such as pulmonary resection, there have been few reports of pericardial effusion. The purpose of this study is to investigate patients with pericardial effusion following pulmonary resection.Methods: Among 2,385 patients with pulmonary resection for lung neoplasm in our institute, eight patients, whose pericardium had never been opened during the operation, developed pericardial effusion. The clinical characteristics of the eight patients were analyzed.Results: Pericardial effusion after pulmonary resection was divided into two subtypes: pericardial effusion in three patients with left thoracotomy occurring within 30 days postoperatively, and pericardial effusion in the remaining five patients with right thoracotomy occurring more than 30 days postoperatively. Pericardiotomy or pericardiocentesis was performed in three symptomatic patients, and the remaining five asymptomatic patients were treated with diuretics. Pericardial effusion disappeared in three of the five patients about 1–3 months after the conservative treatment, while, in the remaining patients, because pericardial effusion had increased gradually, pericardiocentesis was performed.Conclusion: From our experience, the treatment strategy of drainage for early pericardial effusion and diuretics for late pericardial effusion seems to be appropriate. (Jpn J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2006; 54:193-198)     

胸骨"T"形锯开微创切口保留后叶装置二尖瓣置换术临床探讨

目的 介绍胸骨中下段“T”行锯开微创切口、保留后叶装置、连续缝合法人工机械瓣二尖瓣置换术的临床观察结果。方法 本组42例患应用胸骨中下部“T”形锯开微创切口行保留二尖瓣后叶装置人工机械瓣置换术，其中男性18例，女24例，年龄31～56岁。结果 应用该手术技术的患，手术顺利，无术后并发症及死亡。结论 本术式具有安全、创伤小、术后心脏功能恢复快、并发症少等优点。     

应用胰岛素对颅脑外伤后高血糖预后探讨

目的:探讨及早应用胰岛素对颅脑外伤后高血糖患者治疗转归的影响。方法:对83例颅脑外伤后血糖升高者于入院时及伤后第1、2、3、5、7、10、14(如血糖仍未恢复正常者酌情延长时间)日晨空腹抽血检测血糖。且在使用胰岛素期间对末梢血糖进行动态的监测直至清晨空腹静脉血糖连续2次正常,同时制定饮食护理措施及对患者或家属进行相应的健康教育。结果:血糖升高者中72.12％(59例)的患者血糖在1-3d内恢复正常,且预后与血糖正常者无差别。组中仅7例患者血糖持续升高,均因伤情重而死亡,占本组重症(GCS≤8分)患者(25例)的29.41％,明显低于文献报道组。结论:对颅脑外伤后高糖血患者尽早应用胰岛素,能改善患者预后,降低死亡率。     

Validation of Probabilistic Linkage to Match De-identified Ambulance Records to a State Trauma Registry

Objectives: To validate the accuracy of using probabilistic linkage for matching de‐identified ambulance records to a state trauma registry. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort analysis. Three thousand nine hundred nineteen true matches between ambulance and state trauma registry data from 1998 to 2003 were identified by deterministic matching on trauma identification number and verified by human review. Two thousand thirty‐eight ambulance records from trauma patients not meeting criteria for a true match, and an identical number of trauma registry records randomly selected from the one local county served by a different EMS provider, were included as nonmatches. There were 17 variables considered for linkage, which included the following: age, gender, race, county, hospital, date, rural setting, call and arrival times, mechanism, penetrating injury, vital signs, intubation, and intoxication. Probabilistic linkage was used to link the two data sets, using seven different combinations of common variables (maximum, 17; minimum, 4). The sensitivity and specificity of identifying true matches and nonmatches (95% confidence intervals [95% CI]) were calculated for each combination of variables. Results: Using all 17 available variables, 3,766 of 3,919 true matches were appropriately linked (sensitivity, 96.1%; 95% CI = 95.4% to 96.7%), with eight mismatches (specificity, 99.6%; 95% CI = 99.2% to 99.8%). Sensitivity fell below 95% with < 15 variables; however, sensitivity was very dependent on the inclusion of variables with high discriminatory power. Specificity remained >98% regardless of the number of variables included. Conclusions: Probabilistic linkage is a valid method for matching ambulance records to a trauma registry without the use of patient identifiers; however, the sensitivity of identifying true matches is critically dependent on the number and type of common variables included in the analysis.     

Post–traumatic Alzheimer''s disease: preponderance of a single plaque type

The cause of Alzheimer's disease is unknown. Several factors have been proposed including head trauma. At present, the link between head injury and a subsequent neurodegenerative process is largely circumstantial, except in the case of dementia pugilistica (punch drunk syndrome) found in boxers. Recent studies have shown that the brains of boxers with this syndrome contain large numbers of 'diffuse' beta-protein immunoreactive plaques. We supposed that this plaque type might be associated with trauma induced Alzheimer-like degeneration. In order to test this hypothesis we have re-investigated a previously reported case of post-traumatic premature Alzheimer's disease. Immunocytochemistry using antibodies to amyloid beta-protein revealed large numbers of 'diffuse' non-Congophilic plaques with little or no neuritic component. A similar preponderance of this plaque type is present in the brains of boxers with dementia pugilistica. Our observations support the idea of a trauma induced Alzheimer-like degenerative process and indicate that such a condition is associated with a marked preponderance of 'diffuse' plaques.     

Haemodynamics as a determinant of the pharmacokinetics of and the plasma catecholamine responses to isoprenaline

Summary The total body clearance and fractional extraction of isoprenaline (ISO) have been determined, and the relation between these parameters and cardiac output established. Whether desipramine, an inhibitor of neuronal uptake, altered the plasma catecholamine response to ISO was also investigated.Seven healthy subjects were given i.v., infusions of ISO in two, consecutive 25-min periods, at constant dose rates of 31–43 and 80–124 pmol·kg^–1·min^–1, respectively. The total-body (ER), pulmonary (ER_p) and forearm (ER_f) fractional extractions and the total body clearance (CL) of ISO were obtained from measurements of cardiac output and the steady-state ISO concentration in mixed central venous, arterial and forearm venous plasma.ISO-induced increases in cardiac output resulted in increases in CL, decreases in ER and no consistent change in ER_f. ER_p did not differ from zero. ISO also produced a dose-dependent increase in the mixed venous plasma concentrations of noradrenaline and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylglycol (DOPEG), and a decrease in that of adrenaline. Pretreatment with desipramine did not alter any of the pharmacokinetic parameters of ISO. Desipramine, however, reduced the mixed venous baseline plasma levels of noradrenaline (47%) and DOPEG (40%), and tended to reduce that of adrenaline (34%). It enhanced the plasma noradrenaline response 2.4-fold, abolished the plasma DOPEG response and did not alter the plasma adrenaline response to ISO.Hence, owing to its haemodynamic effects, ISO modifies its own pharmacokinetics which involve non-neuronal removal processes only. The increased DOPEG in plasma resulting from the ISO-induced increase in noradrenaline release was presynaptic in origin. Desipramine appears to reduce sympathetic activity. The enhancement by desipramine of the ISO-induced increase in plasma noradrenaline points towards recapture by neuronal uptake of at least 58% of the noradrenaline released in response to ISO.     

21例心内直视术后急性心包填塞的临床分析

目的:分析21例心内直视术后急性心包填塞的临床特点,探讨其发生原因、预防、救治及其二次开胸的早期指征。方法:对1991年1月-2005年12月心内直视术(共1096例)后21例急性心包填塞二次开胸(发生率1．92％)病例进行总结分析。结果:急性心包填塞患者经二次剖胸解除心包填塞后17例痊愈出院,4例死亡,二次剖胸手术死亡率为19．05％。二次剖胸手术者所患疾病包括先天性心脏病6例,瓣膜病13例,大血管手术1例,心脏移植1例。结论:减少心内直视术后出血、渗血是避免术后发生急性心包填塞的关键,早期诊断并尽早行二次剖胸手术可明显降低围手术期死亡率。     

心脏手术后的认知功能障碍

大脑功能障碍是指智力下降等不同程度脑功能改变。随着心脏外科的发展，有关中枢神经系统并发症日益受到重视。 1 危险因素 术前已有中风、主动脉近端硬化、贫血与老龄化、高血压和糖尿病等均可使体外循环后中风风险增加。术中发生中风的主要风险因子是体外循环时间和反复地钳夹主动脉。其他如围术期心律失常、低心排综合征等情况也会使体外循环后认知功能障碍增加。