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Query: UMLS:C0018801 (heart failure)
 72,216 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The incidence of endocarditis due to Cardiobacterium hominis is probably underestimated because clinical presentations vary greatly and culture of this Gram negative germ is difficult. A 48-year-old man with a past history of post-streptococcic aortic regurgitation was hospitalized twice within 1 week for fever (38 degrees C) and junctional tachycardia which responded to amiodarone. Subsequently, infero-apical necrosis was documented. Based on the result of the laboratory tests, coronary embolism was suspected although 12 blood cultures were negative. The patient recovered well with a standard antibiotic treatment. Fifteen days later, the blood cultures revealed Cardiobacterium hominis. Antibiotic therapy was adapted and aortic valve replacement was programmed. Two months later the patient died from uncontrollable left heart failure. A 63-year-old man who had had mitral valve replacement 10 years earlier for Streptococcus mitis endocarditis was hospitalized for fever (38 degrees C) and a painful left calf. Phlebocavography eliminated deep vein thrombosis and a complete cardiac work-up was inconclusive. Endocarditis was suspected although blood cultures were negative. The patient was given oral penicillin and discharged after one week. Three months later, the patient was again febrile (38 degrees C) and suffered a cerebral vascular event. Fourteen days after blood sampling, cultures revealed Cardiobacterium hominis. The patient's haemodynamic status worsened and valve replacement with atrioplasty was performed. Outcome after 4 years follow-up has been favourable. Endocarditis due to Cardiobacterium hominis, a saprophitic germ of the upper airway and the female genital tract, has been reported in 64 cases in the literature. The clinical picture is often limited to fever and a heart murmur and laboratory tests show an accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and hyperleukocytosis. Inflammatory type anaemia is often found due to the latency of the endocarditis. Complications are frequent and can be fatal due to massive pulmonary emboli, cerebral vascular events or irreversible heart failure. C. hominis is sensitive to amoxycillin and netilmicin. Surgical treatment of the valvulopathy is indicated.
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PMID:[Endocarditis caused by Cardiobacterium hominis]. 820 92

With improved technology and development of several mechanical assist devices, the indications of percutaneous transluminal coronary revascularization have been extended. In 39 patients (30 men, mean age = 60.1 +/- 8.1 years) with angina pectoris or heart failure, with poor operative risk-benefit ratio and ejection fraction < 35% and/or target vessel supplying > 50% of the viable myocardium, we performed assisted percutaneous transluminal coronary revascularization. Intraortic balloon counterpulsation (n = 16), extracorporal circulation (n = 21), or hemopump (n = 2) were used for mechanical support. Complete 6-week follow up was possible in 27 patients. An improvement of left-ventricular function (patients with EF < or = 35% demonstrated an improvement: 27 +/- 7 vs 36 +/- 10%, p < 0.05), heart failure (patients with EF < or = 35% demonstrated an improvement of maximal oxygen uptake: 14 +/- 4 vs 17 +/- 4 ml/kg/min; p < 0.05) and a marked improvement of angina (23/38 demonstrated CCS-improvement of at least one class) was found. Hospital mortality was as low as 2.6%. Major postinterventional complications included nonfatal myocardial infarction (n = 2), fatal retroperitoneal bleeding (n = 1), pulmonary edema (n = 1), nonfatal ventricular fibrillation (n = 1), cerebrovascular event without residual (n = 1), and deep vein thrombosis (n = 4). In conclusion, assisted percutaneous revascularization was successful in a high risk subset of patients with increased surgical risk and/or poor ventricular function.
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PMID:[Percutaneous "high risk" angioplasty with prophylactic cardiopulmonary support. High risk PTCA with mechanical circulatory support]. 902 3

Two cases of fatal bleeding in patients treated with low molecular weight heparin for deep vein thrombosis are reported. Risk factors for bleeding were: severe underlying disease (cancer in one case, morbid obesity and cardiac failure in the other), age over 80 years and worsening of renal insufficiency in both cases, recent surgical procedure in one case. Anti-Xa activity was beyond the therapeutic range at the time of bleeding in both cases. The usefulness of biologically monitoring the treatment of deep vein thrombosis with low molecular weight heparin is discussed.
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PMID:[Severe hemorrhagic complications during treatment with low molecular weight heparin. Apropos of 2 cases]. 918 51

Antibodies against phospholipid-binding plasma proteins, such as beta2-glycoprotein I (beta2-GPI) and prothrombin, are associated with thromboembolic events in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and also in subjects with no evident underlying diseases. We wanted to examine whether increased levels of antibodies to negatively-charged phospholipids (cardiolipin), to phospholipid-binding plasma proteins beta2-GPI and prothrombin and to oxidised low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were associated with risk of deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism in subjects with no previous thrombosis. The antibodies were measured in stored serum samples from 265 cases of deep venous thrombosis of the lower extremity or pulmonary embolism occurring during a median follow-up of about 7 years and from 265 individually matched controls. The study subjects were middle-aged men participating in a cancer prevention trial of alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene and the cases of thromboembolic events were identified from nationwide Hospital Discharge Register. The risk for thrombotic events was significantly increased only in relation to antiprothrombin antibodies. As adjusted for body mass index, number of daily cigarettes and history of chronic bronchitis, myocardial infarction and heart failure at baseline, the odds ratio per one unit of antibody was 6.56 (95% confidence interval 1.73-25.0). The seven highest individual optical density-unit values of antiprothrombin antibodies were all confined to subjects with thromboembolic episodes. In conclusion, the present nested case-control study showed that high autoantibody levels against prothrombin implied a risk of deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism and could be involved in the development of the thrombotic processes.
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PMID:High antibody levels to prothrombin imply a risk of deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in middle-aged men--a nested case-control study. 936 81

Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is a rare, late complication of lumbar disc surgery. It is often not suspected and the symptoms are diagnosed as heart failure or deep venous thrombosis. We report a case in which the patient developed leg swelling and high-output congestive heart failure due to a left ilioiliac AVF after lumbar laminectomy.
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PMID:Arteriovenous fistula as a complication of lumbar disc surgery: case report. 973 Mar 48

Five hundred and thirteen (513) patients with intrauterine fetal death managed between 1983 and 1990 at Hacettepe University Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Fetal death rate was 20.5/1,000 deliveries during the study period. The mean age of the mothers at diagnosis was 27.6 years. Of the 326 multigravida patients, 113 (34.6%) had a history of abortion and 113 had a history of previous intrauterine fetal death. The leading causes of intrauterine fetal death in this series were maternal hypertension in 167 patients (32.5%) followed by abruptio placentae in 38, Rh incompatibility in 30 and congenital anomalies in 30 patients. However, in 175 patients (34.1%), the cause of intrauterine fetal death could be explained. Three mothers were lost: one from pulmonary embolism complicating deep venous thrombosis, one from heart failure due to rheumatic disease, and one from cerebral injury following a traffic accident. The patients with a history of fetal demise should be managed under high risk category with close antepartum surveillance, especially in the last trimester, so as to reduce intrauterine fetal deaths which are mostly attributable to preventable causes.
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PMID:The clinical predictors of intrauterine fetal death. 1002 63

Although an increasing incidence of upper extremity venous thrombosis (U/E-DVT) has been reported, a relative paucity of information regarding the etiologic categories, precipitating causes, and proper management for this disorder is available. To settle on a strategy for the management of U/E-DVT, retrospective analyses were performed using records from the authors' hospital. In 12 patients (seven men, five women), 61 (mean) years of age, diagnosed as having symptomatic venography-proved U/E-DVT and followed up for 41 (mean) months, etiologic factors, precipitating causes, treatments, and outcomes were retrospectively analyzed. As etiologic factors, five of the patients had neoplastic disease, one had hemodialysis, and two had transvenous pacemaker implantations. Among various precipitating causes of U/E-DVT, hypoproteinemia was most frequently noted (67%). Various types of therapeutic management were selected: from thrombolysis with urokinase in six, balloon angioplasty in two, thrombectomy in two, and venous bypass surgery in one patient. Pulmonary embolism did not occur in any of the patients and only three of them complained of mild intermittent arm swelling during the follow-up period. Four patients died of neoplastic disease or heart failure (three within the first 6 months). This study, though limited, suggests that the rate of mortality depends on multiple underlying medical problems in U/E-DVT patients. Low incidences of late postthrombotic sequelae and pulmonary embolism were noted in this series. Symptomatic U/E-DVT patients could be managed conservatively with a revised supplementary therapy for their precipitating causes of U/E-DVT.
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PMID:Upper extremity vein thrombosis: etiologic categories, precipitating causes, and management. 1043 94

Cleavage of crosslinked fibrin by the fibrinolytic enzyme plasmin leads to the formation of fibrin degradation products, among them D-dimers. D-Dimer can easily be measured in plasma or in whole blood by means of monoclonal antibodies directed against epitopes of the D-dimer fragment. Elevated plasma levels of D-dimers are characteristic for patients with venous thromboembolism (DVT, PE), but occur also in patients with infectious diseases, malignant neoplasms and heart failure. Given the high sensitivity of ELISA D-dimer assays with respect to venous thromboembolism it is possible to reliably rule out DVT or PE when the plasma concentration of D-dimer is below the cut-off level. Thus, it is possible to rule out DVT in about 30% of outpatients with suspected venous thromboembolism by the measurement of D-dimer-concentration with a validated assay avoiding further diagnostic procedures.
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PMID:[D-dimer determination in suspected deep venous thrombosis or lung embolism]. 1051 27

Aneurysms of the infra-renal abdominal aorta or iliac arteries result in ilio-caval compression in about 10% of cases which may cause venous thrombosis by stasis and pulmonary embolism. Fistulisation of these aneurysms into the inferior vena cava or an iliac vein is rare and paradoxical pulmonary embolism from arterial thrombus of the aneurysmal pouch is exceptionally rare. The authors report a new case in which the ilio-iliac arteriovenous fistula caused high output cardiac failure, ischaemia of the homolateral leg and pulmonary embolism. Doppler ultrasonography diagnosed the fistula and excluded a deep vein thrombosis. This case illustrated the essential value of clinical examination and of Doppler ultrasonography, especially of the abdomen, in the investigation of the causes of pulmonary embolism.
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PMID:[Paradoxical pulmonary embolism. A rare complication of arteriovenous fistulization of an aorto-iliac aneurysm]. 1059 33

Prophylaxis of deep vein thrombosis with standard heparin and low molecular weight heparin has been studied in many clinical trials in surgical patients and in few and various medical conditions in hospitalized subjects. Clinical trials have been conducted in patients with recent myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, pulmonary sepsis, cancer, or any acute disease with a high risk factors for deep vein thrombosis (previous thromboembolism, thrombophilia, obesity, recent bedridden, dehydratation.). The combination of a high risk disease with a high risk factor related to the history of the patient might reasonably conduct to a prophylaxis with low molecular weight heparins. The duration of this treatment has to be short and limited to the period of the acute medical condition inducing a high risk for deep vein thrombosis. Prophylaxis has to be offered to patients with ischemic stroke, cardiac failure, recent myocardial infarction, active cancer or any other acute medical disease in patients with a previous thromboembolism or thrombophilia history. Bedridden status and age are not, by themselves, an indication for prophylaxis with heparins. A widespread diffusion of these recommendations is needed to reduce overprescriptions.
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PMID:[Prevention of deep venous thrombosis in medical patients]. 1089 73


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