Journal of vascular surgery
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Abdominal duplex ultrasound screening for occult aortic aneurysm during carotid arterial evaluation.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of a modified abdominal ultrasound examination, which was performed at the time of routine diagnostic carotid artery duplex evaluation, to identify patients at risk for aortic aneurysms. ⋯ Hemodynamically significant carotid artery disease, as diagnosed by duplex examination, appears to be a definite marker for an increased incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm when compared with the general population. When selective abdominal aortic ultrasonography is done in conjunction with the carotid study, the requirements of additional equipment and technologist time are modest, and the potential benefit to the patient may be significant.
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Comparative Study
Thromboembolic complications of polycythemia: polycythemia vera versus smokers' polycythemia.
This report compares patients with the hypercoagulable state of polycythemia vera to patients with secondary polycythemia caused by tobacco use to determine whether the incidence of thromboembolic events is equivalent. ⋯ Thus the results of this study demonstrate that smokers' polycythemia does not represent a hypercoagulable state equivalent to that of polycythemia vera.
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Acute mesenteric ischemia is an uncommon but catastrophic event after cardiopulmonary bypass. From 1980 to 1990, 16,951 cardiac procedures requiring cardiopulmonary bypass were performed at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Ga. Eighteen patients (0.1%) had acute mesenteric ischemia that resulted in intestinal infarction. ⋯ Nonocclusive mesenteric arterial ischemia was the determined cause in all cases. Statistically significant risk factors associated with acute mesenteric ischemia after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery included (1) emergency cardiac surgery (p less than 0.0001), (2) the use of an intraaortic balloon pump (p less than 0.0001), (3) failed angioplasty requiring emergency surgery (p = 0.0074), (4) prolonged pump time (p = 0.0093), and (5) advanced age (p = 0.0016). A high index of suspicion for mesenteric ischemia after cardiopulmonary bypass in patients with identified risk factors may decrease the diagnostic delay and lead to an improvement in the 67% mortality rate seen in this series.
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The evaluation and management of potential arterial injuries in penetrating neck trauma are controversial. Routine surgical exploration or arteriography can be very expensive and time-consuming and can overburden available resources if used in all patients. We reviewed the records of 4035 patients seen in our trauma center during a 20-month period and identified a total of 110 patients (2.7%) with penetrating wounds to zone II of the neck; 50 were from gunshot wounds, 43 from stab wounds, 7 from shotgun injuries, and 10 from lacerations. ⋯ Only one patient (of the 110) had a significant major arterial injury requiring surgery that was not predicted by physical findings. Nine arterial injuries were treated nonoperatively: six vertebral, two common carotid intimal flaps, and one small distal internal carotid pseudoaneurysm (diagnosed late). Three additional minor external carotid artery injuries were observed with no adverse sequelae.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)