American heart journal
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American heart journal · Nov 1988
The epidemiology of the postpericardiotomy syndrome: a common complication of cardiac surgery.
PPS is a major cause of morbidity after cardiac surgery and may cause bypass graft closure and fatal cardiac tamponade. Little is known about its incidence and cause. To better define this syndrome characterized by postoperative fever, pericardial friction rub, and pericardial pain, we used two out of three of the preceding criteria to diagnose PPS. ⋯ The incidence was increased in younger patients, in those with a history of prednisone use in the past, in patients with a past history of pericarditis, those with aortic valve replacement, and in patients who received enflurane or halothane anesthesia. PPS is a common syndrome. Knowledge of risk factors associated with PPS may allow its prevention and identification of patients who warrant early and aggressive treatment.
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Mobitz type II second-degree block manifests with several consecutive impulses conducted with a constant conduction time that are followed by block. This study reflects an entirely new concept of the Mobitz type II phenomenon, wherein consecutive impulses have constant conduction times, but instead of being followed by a block of conduction, are in fact followed by a conduction delay. ⋯ The recognition of this manifestation at the sinoatrial junction is suggested when, during regular sinus rhythm with manifest episodes of Mobitz type II sinoatrial block, the sinus rhythm is at times also complicated by a sudden unexpected prolongation of a P-P interval, which is followed by an shortened P-P interval. This new phenomenon is termed by Mobitz type II delay.