Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of intravenous thrombolysis bridging endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) in patients with acute cardioembolic stroke. Methods We retrospectively included patients with cardioembolic stroke who were admitted within 24 h after onset of stroke symptoms and had received EVT in the Department of Neurology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University between January 2017 and December 2021. Based on whether they had received intravenous thrombolysis, the patients were divided into bridging therapy group and direct EVT group. The primary outcome was unfavorable outcome by 3 months, defined as a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 3 to 6. The secondary outcomes included intracranial hemorrhage during hospitalization and 3-month death. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the treatment effect on the primary outcome after adjusting for confounding factors. Results A total of 285 patients were enrolled. Among them, 174 (61.1%) were female, the median age was 74 years (interquartile range 64-80 years), and the median time from stroke onset to admission was 4.0 h (interquartile range 3.0-5.0 h). Compared to patients in the direct EVT group (n=202), patients in the bridging therapy group (n=83) had a lower rate of unfavorable functional outcome (55.4% vs 68.3%, P=0.039) by 3 months, while the incidences of intracranial hemorrhage (47.0% vs. 39.6%, P=0.251) and 3-month death (20.5% vs. 30.7%, P=0.080) were comparable between the two groups. After adjusting for confounding factors, the bridging therapy improved 3-month functional outcomes over direct EVT [odds ratio=0.482, 95% confidence interval (0.249, 0.934), P=0.031]. Conclusion In patients with acute cardioembolic stroke, intravenous thrombolysis bridging endovascular treatment can significantly improve 3-month functional outcomes without increasing the risk of intracranial hemorrhage.
Cardiogenic shock (CS) describes a physiological state of end-organ hypoperfusion characterized by reduced cardiac output in the presence of adequate intravascular volume. Mortality still remains exceptionally high. Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) has become the preferred device for short-term hemodynamic support in patients with CS. ECMO provides the highest cardiac output, complete cardiopulmonary support. In addition, the device has portable characteristics, more familiar to medical personnel. VA ECMO provides cardiopulmonary support for patients in profound CS as a bridge to myocardial recovery. This review provides an overview of VA ECMO in salvage of CS, emphasizing the indications, management and further direction.
Objective To investigate multi-slice spiral CT (MSCT) and MRI features of stasis cirrhosis and the diagnostic value of MSCT and MRI. Methods MSCT and MRI findings of 35 patients with stasis cirrhosis were studied. The size of liver and spleen, the diameter of hepatic vein (HV), enhancement pattern of liver parenchyma, contrast medium reflux in inferior vena cava (IVC) and (or) HV, ascites, number of varices and correlated abnormalities were reviewed. Results The volume index of liver and spleen of 35 patients was 4434.95 cm3 and 621.92 cm3 respectively. The mean diameter of HV of 27 patients (77.1%) was 3.61 cm and HV of other 8 patients (22.9%) were too small to show. Number of patients showed waves of borderline, inhomogeneous pattern of parenchymal contrast enhancement, contrast medium reflux in IVC and (or) HV, varices and ascites was 5 (14.3%), 29 (82.9%), 20 (57.1%), 16 (45.7%), and 6 (17.1%), respectively. Correlated abnormalities included cardiac enlargement 〔4 cases (11.4%)〕, pericardium thickening 〔11 cases (31.4%)〕, and pericardial effusion 〔2 cases (5.7%)〕. Conclusions Stasis cirrhosis mainly demonstrate liver enlargement, inhomogeneous pattern of parenchymal contrast enhancement, contrast medium reflux in IVC and (or) HV, and slight portal hypertension. MSCT and MRI play invaluable roles in diagnosis, differential diagnosis and etiological diagnosis of stasis cirrhosis.
Objective To summarize the efficacy and clinical experiences of emergent coronary artery bypass grafting (E-CABG) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and to discuss the operative opportunity and procedures. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 21 patients with AMI undergoing E-CABG in Sun Yatsen Cardiovascular Disease Hospital between June 1999 and December 2009. Among the patients, there were 14 males and 7 females with their age ranged from 24 to 81 years (63.9±12.4 years). Six patients were operated within 6 hours after the onset of AMI, 7 patients were operated from 6 hours to 3 days after the onset of AMI, and 8 patients were operated from 3 days to 30 days after the onset of AMI. Eight patients had the cardiogenic shock after AMI, one had rupture of ventricular septum and cardiogenic shock, two had rupture of coronary artery after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, eight had unstable angina and frequent ventricular arrhythmia, one had ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest, and one had cardiac trauma. Ten patients were treated with intraaortic balloon pump (IABP). Conventional CABG was performed for 12 patients, off-pump CABG for 5 patients, and on-pump-beating CABG for 4 patients. Results Five patients died after E-CABG with a mortality of 23.8% which was obviously higher than the overall CABG mortality (23.8% vs. 3.1%, χ2=21.184, P＜0.05). There were respectively 2, 2 and 1 deaths with a mortality of 33.3%, 28.6% and 12.5% respectively for operations within 6 hours, 6 hours to 3 days and 3 to 30 days after the onset of AMI. The mortality of those patients who were operated within 3 days after AMI was obviously lower (P＜0.05). The primary causes of death were low cardiac output syndrome, perioperative acute myocardial infarction after CABG and sapremia. There was one death each for patients operated with off-pump and on-pump-beating CABG. Sixteeen patients were discharged from the hospital. The follow-up was from 6 months to 10 years. There were 6 late deaths among which 5 died of cardiac failure accompanied by pulmonary infection, one died of noncardiac factor. Ten patients survived at present, and the quality of life among 5 patients was unsatisfactory. Conclusion The mortality of E-CABG is obviously higher in patients operated within 3 days of AMI. With the support of IABP, if the operation can be carried out 3 days after the onset of AMI, the surgical success rate will be greatly improved by adopting proper offpump and onpumpbeating procedures.
Objective To investigate the effects of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) on patients with acute left heart failure. Methods Twenty patients with acute left heart failure diagnosed between September 2013 and July 2014 were randomized into treatment group (n=10) and control group (n=10). Both groups used conventional sedations, diuretics and drugs that strengthened the heart and dilated the vessels, while early use of NPPV was applied in the experimental group. Arterial blood gas analysis [pH value, pressure of arterial carbon dioxide (PaCO2), and pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2)], heart rate (HR), respiration, duration of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay and invasive mechanical ventilation, duration of overall mechanical ventilation, and success case numbers before and two hours after treatment were observed and analyzed. Results For the control group, two hours after treatment, PaO2 was (67.0±8.5) mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa), HR was (124±10) times/min, Respiration was (34±4) times/min, the duration of ICU stay was (6.0±1.1) days, invasive ventilation was for (32.0±3.1) hours, and the total time of mechanical ventilation was (32.0±3.1) hours. Those indexes for the treatment group two hours after treatment were: PaO2, (82.3±8.9) mm Hg; HR, (98±11) times/min; respiration, (24±4) times/min; the duration of ICU stay, (4.0±0.8) days; invasive ventilation time, (16.0±1.3) hours; the total time of mechanical ventilation, (26.0±1.8) hours. All the differences for each index between the two groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion Early application of NPPV can rapidly relieve clinical symptoms and reduce the medical cost for patients with acute left heart failure.
Aortic stenosis accounts for a large proportion of valvular heart disease in China. This article described an unusual case of severe aortic stenosis with severe cardiopulmonary decompensation treated by emergency transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Preoperative assessment was performed by transesophageal echocardiography. The extracorporeal membrane oxygenation team was informed to be ready. During the operation, no obvious perivalve leakage was observed after valve released. The transvalvular pressure gradient decreased to 7 mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa).The patient’s symptoms were completely relieved after the operation, and no adverse events occurred during the hospitalization. After discharge, color Doppler echocardiography showed that stenosis was eliminated, cardiac function was improved, no significant perivalvular leakage was observed, and pulmonary hypertension reduced to moderate. The success of this operation confirmed the efficacy of emergency transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and showed that after a rigorous evaluation, emergency transcatheter aortic valve replacement may be a reasonable choice for patients with severe aortic valve stenosis.