Cardiology in the young
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Cardiology in the young · Oct 2016
Case ReportsSewing needle: a rare cause of intra-cardiac foreign body in a 3-year-old child.
Sewing needles are rare causes of penetrating cardiac injury. Suicidal attempt, accidental penetration, domestic violence, and child abuse are likely causes for such injury. 1 Owing to their sharp nature, needles can rapidly migrate through the tissues. Fatalities are due to cardiac tamponade, infection, peripheral embolism, and valve dysfunction.
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Cardiology in the young · Aug 2016
Comparative StudyPredictive value of red blood cell distribution width for coronary artery lesions in patients with Kawasaki disease.
Recent studies have shown that elevated red blood cell distribution width is associated with poor outcome in cardiovascular diseases. In order to assess the predictive value of red blood cell distribution width, before treatment with intravenous immunoglobulins, for coronary artery lesions in patient with Kawasaki disease, we compared 83 patients with coronary artery lesions and 339 patients without coronary artery lesions before treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin. Clinical, echocardiographic, and biochemical values were evaluated along with red blood cell distribution width. ⋯ According to receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the optimal red blood cell distribution width cut-off value for predicting coronary artery lesions was 14.55% (area under the curve was 0.721; p=0.000); eighty-three patients (19.7%) had coronary artery lesions, and 70% of the patients with coronary artery lesions had red blood cell distribution width level >14.55%. Logistic regression analysis revealed that fever duration >14 days (odds ratio was 3.42, 95% confidence interval was 1.27-9.22; p=0.015), intravenous immunoglobulin resistance (odds ratio was 2.33, 95% confidence interval was 1.02-5.29; p=0.04), and red blood cell distribution width >14.55% (odds ratio was 3.49, 95% confidence interval was 2.01-6.05; p=0.000) were independent predictors of coronary artery lesions in patients with Kawasaki disease. In Conclusion, red blood cell distribution width may be helpful for predicting coronary artery lesions in patients with Kawasaki disease.
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Cardiology in the young · Aug 2016
Accuracy of the Masimo SET® LNCS neo peripheral pulse oximeter in cyanotic congenital heart disease.
Introduction Non-invasive peripheral pulse oximeters are routinely used to measure oxyhaemoglobin saturation (SpO2) in cyanotic congenital heart disease. These probes are calibrated in healthy adult volunteers between arterial saturations of ~75 and 100%, using the gold standard of co-oximetry on arterial blood samples. There are little data to attest their accuracy in cyanotic congenital heart disease. Aims We aimed to assess the accuracy of a commonly used probe in children with cyanotic congenital heart disease. ⋯ The performance of the Masimo SET® LNCS Neo pulse oximeter is poor when arterial oxyhaemoglobin saturations are below 75%. It tends to overestimate saturations in children with cyanotic congenital heart disease. This may have serious implications for clinical decisions.
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Cardiology in the young · Aug 2016
Characteristics and safety of interventions and procedures performed during catheterisation of patients with congenital heart disease: early report from the national cardiovascular data registry.
The objective of this study was to report procedural characteristics and adverse events on the data collected in the IMproving Paediatric and Adult Congenital Treatment registry. ⋯ The IMproving Paediatric and Adult Congenital Treatment registry has provided important data on the frequency and spectrum of cardiac catheterisation procedures performed in the present era. For many procedures, more data and work are needed to identify more subtle differences between case categories, especially as it relates to the incidence of major adverse events, and to further develop a risk-adjustment methodology to allow equitable comparisons among institutions.
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Cardiology in the young · Jun 2016
ReviewDrug therapy in the prevention of failure of the Fontan circulation: a systematic review.
The Fontan circulation is the optimal treatment for patients with univentricular hearts. These patients are at high risk of circulatory failure. There is no consensus on the optimal drug treatment for the prevention of failure of the Fontan circulation. The aim of this systematic review was to provide an overview of evidence for drug therapy used in the prevention of Fontan circulatory failure. ⋯ The studies analysed in this review suggest that bosentan, sildenafil, and iloprost may improve exercise capacity at the short term. Given the limitations of the studies, more, larger, placebo-controlled studies with longer follow-up periods are needed to better understand which drug therapies are effective in the prevention of failure of the Fontan circulation.