Successful repair of a large aortic abscess causing apical displacement of the anterior mitral valve

Anatomic continuity between the anterior mitral leaflet and the aortic root may predispose those patients with aortic root pathology to functional changes of the mitral valve without any involvement of this valve. A 34-year-old man presented with aortic valve endocarditis. Transthoracic echocardiograpy showed severe aortic regurgitation with a large aortic root abscess. The anterior leaflet of the mitral valve was displaced towards the apex of the heart causing moderate mitral regurgitation. The patient underwent aortic valve replacement with reconstruction of the aortic annulus and ventriculoaortic continuity. This procedure alone restored the mitral valve structure and function without any need for intervention on the mitral valve. Aortic abscess is a serious complication of aortic valve endocarditis and may alter the function of other structures of the heart, especially the mitral valve. Restoration of aortic wall integrity and left ventricular – aortic continuity usually restores the mitral valve structure and function if the valve is unaffected by the infection. A decision on the mitral valve should be made following correction of the aortic pathology.     

Tricuspid annulus motion and mitral annulus motion: Anatomical intimacy causing a good correlation?

BACKGROUND:

Echocardiographic evaluation of the heart and its function, especially left ventricular systolic function, has great clinical importance. Systolic function can be measured using several methods, such as the amplitude of motion of the left atrioventricular plane (mitral annulus motion [MAM]) toward the apex during systole. Similarly, right ventricular systolic function can be measured using the motion of the right atrioventricular plane (tricuspid annulus motion [TAM]) toward the apex during systole.

OBJECTIVES:

Because the mitral and tricuspid annuli are situated close to each other in the fibrous skeleton between both ventricles and atria, one might think that a decrease in the amplitude of MAM would be followed by a decrease in the amplitude of TAM. The present study was developed to determinine if this anatomical intimacy causes a good correlation between the amplitudes of TAM and MAM.

METHODS:

Nineteen healthy subjects and 103 consecutive patients were included in the study and examined using echocardiography. The amplitudes of TAM and MAM were measured and the correlation between the amplitudes was calculated.

RESULTS:

In the 103 consecutive patients, a significant but relatively weak positive correlation was found between TAM and MAM amplitudes (Pearson’s correlation coefficient [r]=0.58; P<0.001). In the 19 healthy subjects, no significant correlation was found.

CONCLUSIONS:

Despite the anatomical intimacy of the annuli, the correlation between the amplitudes of TAM and MAM in consecutive patients was rather weak, and there was no correlation in healthy subjects. These findings could be due to anatomical and physiological differences between the right and left ventricles.     

Duration of symptoms and the effects of a more aggressive surgical policy: two factors affecting prognosis of infective endocarditis

One hundred and six patients were analysed in order to assessthe effect of a more aggressive surgical policy in relationto the delays in diagnosis of infective endocarditis. The averageduration of symptoms before diagnosis was 9.7 weeks, even thoughthe patients had sought medical advice at a relatively earlystage of their illness (2.2 weeks). Three of the 29 (10.3%)patients who were treated surgically died and all three wereoperated upon five weeks or later after diagnosis. Seventy-sevenpatients did not have surgery and 15 died (19.5%). The outcome of surgical treatment for prosthetic valve endocarditiswas no worse than for native valve endocarditis. The mortalityof prosthetic valve endocarditis including early infectionswas 32% with medical but only 10% with surgical management comparedwith 14.5% and 10.5% in native valve endocarditis.Endocarditiscannot always be prevented but earlier diagnosis would reducemortality and prevent complications. When medical treatmentis failing then surgery should be considered early and urgentlyparticularly in staphylococcal infection or when large mobilevegetations are recognized; surgery is mandatory in fungal endocarditis.Earlier diagnosis would greatly reduce the current high incidenceof surgery, but that depends on a much heightened index of suspicionamongst both general practitioners and hospital physicians.     

老年人退行性心脏瓣膜病166例超声心动图分析

目的探讨老年人退行性心脏瓣膜病的超声心动图特点。方法采用美国HP5500及飞凡彩色多普勒超声诊断仪，观察166例老年退行性心脏瓣膜病患者的心脏结构及心功能变化。结果单纯主动脉瓣膜钙化者93例（56．0％），单纯二尖瓣钙化18例（10．8％），主动脉瓣和二尖瓣联合钙化为55例（33．1％）；左房扩大116例（69．9％），左心室舒张功能减退142例（85．5％）；136例导致心脏瓣膜功能障碍，其中主动脉瓣返流70例，占42．2％，主动脉瓣狭窄23例，占13．9％，二尖瓣返流20例，占12．0％，二尖瓣狭窄8例，占4．8％，主动脉瓣返流＋主动脉瓣狭窄10例，占6．0％，二尖瓣返流＋二尖瓣狭窄5例，占3．0％。瓣膜功能障碍检出率最高为主动脉关闭不全（42．2％），其次为主动脉瓣狭窄（13．9％），发病率最低为二尖瓣狭窄伴关闭不全（3．0％）。结论老年人退行性心脏瓣膜病缺乏特异的临床表现，随着年龄的增加，联合瓣膜钙化比例增加，瓣膜功能障碍中主动脉瓣关闭不全比例最高，左房扩大的比例也增加。     

European reference values for Doppler indices of left ventricular diastolic filling

The European Study Group on diastolic heart failure requires objective evidence of abnormal left ventricular diastolic function to establish the diagnosis of diastolic heart failure, which is common in older people. Reference values for Doppler indices of transmitral flow, used to assess left ventricular diastolic function, have not been reported for people 70 years and over in Europe. The aim of this study was to establish reference values for these Doppler indices of transmitral flow in older people. A random sample of 355 subjects aged 70 and over, living in the community underwent clinical assessment and echocardiography. Asymptomatic subjects with no cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk factors were identified. Measurements of five commonly used Doppler indices of transmitral flow from these subjects were obtained and reference range expressed as mean+/-2 standard deviations and as percentiles. We have therefore generated reference Doppler values of transmitral flow for people aged over 70 in a British population.     

Is antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent infective endocarditis worthwhile?

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare condition which is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Almost 100 years ago, the links between endocarditis and procedures, particularly dental procedures, were postulated. Over 50 years ago the first guidelines recommending antibiotic prophylaxis (AP), with the aim of preventing IE developing after procedures, were proposed. However, there has only ever been circumstantial evidence in humans that AP prevents IE. The rarity of IE has made a randomised controlled clinical trial impractical to date. This article outlines the history of AP and reviews the evidence base for the use of AP to prevent IE.     

冠心病心功能分级与心脏彩超相关性分析

目的 对冠心病(CHD)患者心脏彩超参数进行分析,探讨其与心功能分级的相关性。方法 166例CHD患者根据美国纽约心脏病协会(NYHA)心功能分级进行分组：心功能Ⅰ级(A组48例)、心功能Ⅱ级(B组45例)、心功能Ⅲ级(C组40例)、心功能Ⅳ级(33例),同期选择50名健康体检者作为正常对照组(NC组),对两组进行心脏超声检查,比较各组左室收缩末期内径(LVESD)、左室舒张末期内径(LVEDD)、左室射血分数(LVEF)、二尖瓣舒张早期峰值流速/二尖瓣环舒张早期峰值流速(E/Ea)。同时,绘制ROC曲线,计算曲线下面积(AUC),以评价各指标在CHD中的诊断价值,并对心功能分级、LVESD、LVEDD、LVEF、E/Ea进行相关性分析。结果 1) 随着心功能分级的进展,LVESD、LVEDD、E/Ea显著升高,LVEF显著降低(P＜0.05);2) 通过ROC曲线分析,LVESD、LVEDD、LVEF、E/Ea在CHD诊断中的AUC分别为0.888、0.753、0.123、0.770;3) 心功能分级与LVESD、LVEDD、E/Ea显著正相关,与LVEF显著负相关(P＜0.001)。结论 对CHD患者行心脏超声监测LVESD、LVEDD、LVEF、E/Ea可用于评价CHD心功能变化。     

主动脉弓离断的超声误诊分析

正主动脉弓离断(interruption of aortic arch,IAA)是主动脉弓的两个节段之间或主动脉弓与降主动脉之间的管腔完全失去解剖上的连续性,或仅由闭锁的纤维束条相连,而无直接的血液相通。因血流动力学影响严重、预后差,未及时治疗,75%多于出生后1个月死亡,90%在1年内死亡~([1]),因此早期诊断及手术非常     

Daptomycin therapy in 6 cases of left-sided infective endocarditis and literature review北大核心CSCD

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of daptomycin in the treatment of left-sided infective endocarditis after failing to respond to vancomycin. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted for 6 cases of infective endocarditis. Results Five of the six infective endocarditis patients were complicated with paravalvular abscess (artificial valve in 3 cases, native valve in 2 cases). Their disease deteriorated even under vancomycin treatment. Four of these patients received emergency valve replacement surgery but still febrile after operation. The antimicrobial therapy was switched to daptomycin at dose of 6 mg/kg daily for 2 to 4 weeks. The patients responded satisfactorily to daptomycin. The infection was controlled to some extent in the fifth patient after switching to daptomycin, but recurred later, and died suddenly on day 21 after reoperation. The sixth patient had infective endocarditis of native valve, and had treated with piperacillin-tazobactam for 2 weeks and vancomycin for 3 weeks, but responded poorly. The patient still had fever and enlarged vegetation. Switching to daptomycin reduced the body temperature and vegetation. Serum creatine kinase elevated moderately in one patient, and normal in the other 5 patients. No other apparent adverse reaction was reported. One patient died and the other five patient survived well for 18 months to 5 years. Conclusions Preliminary observation demonstrates the efficacy of daptomycin salvage treatment in a few cases of left-sided infective endocarditis after failing to respond to vancomycin therapy. © 2018, Editorial Department of Chinese Journal of Infection. All rights reserved.