International journal of cardiology
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Health outcomes in decompensated congestive heart failure: a comparison of tertiary hospitals in Brazil and United States.
Few international studies prospectively compared evidence-based practices and health outcomes among congestive heart failure (CHF) cohorts from countries with different cultural and economic backgrounds. ⋯ Medical practice and health-related outcomes were different between U.S. and Brazilian congestive heart failure patients. In order to improve management worldwide, potential factors (structural, cultural or disease-related) that might be associated with these differences need to be evaluated in future studies.
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Comparative Study
Assessment of left ventricular function by Doppler tissue imaging in patients with atrial fibrillation following acute myocardial infarction.
We studied tissue Doppler parameters in patients with atrial fibrillation following acute myocardial infarction, and their relation to P wave durations and P dispersion. ⋯ The patients with atrial fibrillation following acute myocardial infarction have reduced systolic and diastolic mitral annular velocities and increased E/Em ratio, P maximum and P dispersion values compared to those without. P dispersion is correlated with systolic and diastolic left ventricular function after acute myocardial infarction. The E/Em ratio appears to be a useful parameter for assessing the risk of atrial fibrillation occurrence after anterior acute myocardial infarction.
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Comparative Study
Anatomical consideration of the radial artery for transradial coronary procedures: arterial diameter, branching anomaly and vessel tortuosity.
The radial artery is currently regarded as a useful vascular access site for coronary procedures. Adequate anatomical information of the radial artery should be helpful in performing the transradial coronary procedure. Therefore, we tried to evaluate the size of radial artery, the incidence and clinical significance of anomalous branching patterns and tortuosity of the radial artery related with transradial coronary procedure. ⋯ In our study, radial artery diameter was larger than the outer diameter of 5Fr sheath in 82.7% for transradial coronary procedure. Radial artery occlusion was associated with coronary intervention using larger size sheath than diagnostic angiography using 5Fr sheath. The incidence in branching anomaly and tortuosity of radial artery was not rare in our study. Radial artery tortuosity was associated with old age and prolonged procedure time.
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Letter Case Reports
Plastic bronchitis; a serious complication of the Fontan operation.
Plastic bronchitis is characterised by the formation of large bronchial casts, which develop in the tracheobronchial tree and can cause airway obstruction. It has been increasingly encountered in more recent years as a serious complication of the Fontan operation with a reported mortality of up to 50% [Am. J. ⋯ Crit. Care Med. 155 (1997) 364]. We report a case of a 4-year-old girl with Fontan circulation who developed plastic bronchitis and was successfully treated.