• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.498-501
• /
• 2012

A 10-month-old intact male Maltese dog (body weight, 1.6 kg) presented with intermittent cough and abnormal heart sounds. The dog was diagnosed with a left-to-right patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) on the basis of the results of transthoracic echocardiography, color flow Doppler examination, and angiography. Transcatheter occlusion of the PDA was performed using the $Amplatz^{(R)}$ Canine Duct Occluder (ACDO) via the femoral artery. The device was placed under fluoroscopic guidance and successfully occluded the PDA. The continuous heart murmur disappeared immediately after the correction and no residual flow was detected. The dog was discharged the following day and regularly examined for complications and safety. This is the first report demonstrating the clinical application of ACDO for the transcatheter closure of PDA via the femoral artery in a small-breed dog in Korea.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.46 no.12
• /
• pp.1207-1211
• /
• 2003

Purpose : This study was performed to observe the relationship of plasma L-arginine level and the severity of disease and pulmonary artery pressure in respiratory distress syndrome of premature infants. Methods : Peripheral blood samples were obtained at 1st, 3rd and 7th day from 21 premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome to analyze the L-arginine concentration. Oxygenation index (OI), an indicator of the severity of the disease, was calculated at the same time of the blood sampling. And pulmonary artery pressure was measured by Doppler echocardiography at each period. Plasma L-arginine level, OI and right ventricular systolic time interval(RVSTI) were analyzed. Results : Plasma L-arginine concentration of the 1st day was lower than 3rd and 7th day. OI and RVSTI were significantly correlated with each other(r=0.772, P<0.01). Plasma L- arginine level was correlated with oxygenation index(r=-0.346, P<0.01) and RVSTI(r=-0.416, P<0.01). Conclusion : Plasma L-arginine level was lowest in the 1st day during the study period. Plasma L-arginine concentration correlated significantly with the severity of respiratory distress syndrome and pulmonary artery pressure in premature infants.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.41-47
• /
• 2010

Purpose : Adiponectin is an endogenous modulator of vascular remodeling that suppresses vascular inflammation. However, the role of adiponectin in Kawasaki disease (KD) has not been elucidated. The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation between serum adiponectin level and several parameters, such as interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor $(TNF)-{\alpha}$, lipid profile, and C reactive protein (CRP), and to clarify the association between adiponectin and cardiac function. Methods : Twenty-two KD patients (22 patients in acute phase and 20 patients in subacute phase) were enrolled in the study group. The control group consisted of 31 subjects (13 febrile patients and 18 healthy children). Both groups underwent blood sampling and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI). Results : CRP was significantly increased in the KD group compared with the control group. There were no significant differences in serum $TNF-{\alpha}$, IL-6, and adiponectin levels between groups. However, a negative correlation was found between adiponectin level and CRP level or platelet count. Systolic myocardial velocity and A myocardial velocity measured by TDI were decreased significantly in the acute KD group compared with the subacute KD group and control group. Positive correlations were found between adiponectin level and systolic myocardial velocity or A myocardial velocity. Conclusion : In acute KD patients, low adiponectin level was related to severe inflammatory reactions and decreased left ventricular functions.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.31 no.7
• /
• pp.668-673
• /
• 1998

During the past several years, the maze operation has become the most effective method of treatment for chronic atrial fibrillation. When the maze procedure is done concomittantly with other cardiac operations, surgeons, in their initial experiences, may be concerned about the additional operative risks and uncertainty of the results. We performed the Cox-maze III procedure in six cases of chronic atrial fibrillation associated with mitral, mitral & aortic, or coronary arterial disease. Maze III procedure was done with open mitral commissurotomy(3 cases), mitral valve replacement(1 case), aortic and mitral valve replacement(1 case), and two-vessel coronary bypass graft(1 case). In spite of rather prolonged aortic cross clamp time, cardiac recovery was uneventful in all cases. No cases required reexploration for postoperative bleeding. All patients showed regular sinus rhythms immediate or between 2 and 20 days postoperateratively. Transient postoperative supraventricular arrhythmarias were easily controlled by various antiarrhythmic agents. In follow up evaluations, all cases showed regular sinus rhythm on ECG and the right and left atrial transport function was confirmed by Doppler echocardiography in all except one. Though our experience was limited in case number, the Cox-maze III procedure was effective in controlling the chronic atrial fibrillation without serious additional operative risks.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.30 no.12
• /
• pp.1184-1189
• /
• 1997

Tetralogy of Falloff is the most common cyanotic congenital cardiac malformation. Between April 1984 and December 1993, we experinced with 39 cases of total correction for the tetralogy of Falloff at the department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Masan Samsung General Hospital. The results were as follows; There were 14 males and 25 females, and their ages ranged from 2 to 36 years, with an average age of 13.33 $\pm$7.40 years. There was type I VSD in 10 cases(25.6%), type II VSD in 19 cases(48.8%) and type 1+ II VSD in 10 cases(25.6%) Types of right ventricular outflow tract obstruction were valvar + infundibular stenosis in 19 cases(48.7%), valvar + infundibular + annular stenosis in 10 cases(25.6%), infundibular stenosis in 9 cases(23.1%)and pure valvar stenosis in 1 case(2.6%). Right ventricular outflow tract patch widening was necessary in 33 cases(84.6%) and a Iransannular patch including 2 cases of Monocusp-bearing outflow patch was used in 10 cases. n 36 hospital survivors, 23 patients were evaluated by 2 dimensional and doppler echocardiography. The most common complication was arrthymia, especially complete right bundle branch block, in 30 cases (76.9%). The operative mortality was 7.7%, and the cause of death was low cardiac output syndrome.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.59 no.4
• /
• pp.432-435
• /
• 2005

An 82-year-old female non-smoker with a history of hypertension presented with increasing dyspnea, cough and some purulent sputum without fever. Upon admission, the patient was in a distressed condition. Auscultation revealed diminished breath sounds with no rales over the right lung. An examination of the heart revealed a regular rhythm and a systolic murmur radiating from the apex of the heart. There was no pitting edema in the lower extremities. The blood tests showed mild leukocytosis and an increased C-reactive protein level. The $O_2$ saturation was 98 % whilst breathing room air. The electrocardiogram demonstrated sinus tachycardia. The chest radiograph showed a moderate cardiomegaly, right lobe infiltrates, and blunting of the both costophrenic sulcus suggesting a small pleural effusion. Three days after admission, the symptoms became slightly aggravated despite being treated with empirical antibiotics for presumed community-acquired pneumonia. Transthoracic color Doppler echocardiography indicated an ejection fraction of 48 %, mild left ventricular enlargement, and moderate left atrial enlargement resulting in severe mitral regurgitation. The clinical symptoms and right pulmonary edema resolved quickly with intravenous furosemide treatment.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.367-370
• /
• 2014

The study was to observe hemodynamic alterations of cardiac function to design a model of canine mitral valve insufficiency (MVI) based on chordae tendinae rupture (CTR). Ten healthy beagles with normal heart function were used in this study. To measure hemodynamics, the patient monitor was equipped for invasive blood pressure and a Swan-Ganz catheter. Hemodynamic alterations were checked promptly during CTR procedures. MVI model was made by transection of the chordae tendinae with small arthroscopy hook knife through $5^{th}$ intercostal open chest. Color Doppler at the level of the mitral valve showed high-velocity regurgitant flow immediately after CTR at intraoperative echocardiography. In hemodynamic measurements, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) was significantly increased, while mean arterial pressure (MAP), venous pressure (VP), pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP), cardiac output (CO) and cardiac index (CI) were significantly decreased after CTR. It was known that the left atrium was overloaded by regurgitant volume from the left ventricle. In conclusion, the MVI model induced by CTR technique in this study should be used as suitable one for the effective research of canine mitral valve disease. Further study should be needed to measure the chronic alternation of mitral valve in the model.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.36 no.12
• /
• pp.961-969
• /
• 2003

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the fate of left atrioventricular valve regurgitation(LAVVR) following repair of complete atrioventricular septal defects (AVSDs). Material and Method: Between July 1984 and March 2002, repair of complete AV defects were performed in 77 patients. Mean age at surgery was 30.23$\pm$69.11 months (range 1 to 456). Echocardiograms of all survivors after isolated AVSDs correction were reviewed. LAVVR were evaluated with color doppler echocardiography in 64 survival periodically. On each study, LAVVR severity was graded on a 1 to 4 scale, based upon the size of the regurgitated jet. Result: Mild deterioration of LAVV function was fairly common. LAVVR severity increased by >1 grade in 19 patients (30.2%) during the course of the study. However, the deterioration in LAVVR function occurred primarily between 12 and 24 months postoperatively. After the initial 24 postoperative months, LAVVR worsened on only 8 occasions and in each instance worsened by only 1 grade. Deterioration more than 3+ LAVVR occurred in only 3 patients. And deterioration to 4+ LAVVR was not observed after the initial 24 postoperative months but one. Survival curve analysis predicted a 88.2% of ten-year freedom rate from development of 4+ LAVVR after initial operation of complete AVSDs. Conclusion: Postoperative LAVVR remains fairly stable following AVSDs repair, Serious deterioration is rare after 24 postoperative months, especially after the initial 48 postoperative months. But serial follow-up study with echocariogram was need till 24 postoperative months after repair of complete AVSDs.

• Neonatal Medicine
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.96-103
• /
• 2011

Purpose: Although infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) are at risk of developing secondary pulmonary hypertension (PH), which is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, little has been reported about the incidence, clinical course and prognosis of PH secondary to BPD in premature infants. This study was done to investigate the incidence, risk factors, clinical course, and the ultimate prognosis of PH developed secondary to BPD in very low birth weight infants (<1,500 g). Methods: Medical records of very low birth weight infant (VLBWI) admitted to Samsung Medical Center NICU from January 2000 to July 2007 were reviewed retrospectively. BPD was defined by Jobe's classification. The diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension was established as velocity of tricuspid valve regurgitation (TR) ${\geq}$3 m/s and a flattening of the intraventricular septum by conducting Doppler echocardiography. Results: The incidence of pulmonary hypertension was 6% in VLBWI with BPD and it developed in moderate to severe BPD. The diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension was made on postnatal 133 days (range 40-224 days) and the risk factors related to developing pulmonary hypertension were severe BPD, small for gestational age and outborn infants. The mortality rate was 57% and especially higher in severe BPD (70%). The time to recovery spent 3 months (range 1-10 months) in survived patients. Conclusion: Based on the results of this research, pulmonary hypertension secondary to BPD in VLBWI related to severity of BPD and had a poor prognosis. We expect that regular long-term echocardiography may be helpful in treating reversible in VLBWI with moderate to severe BPD.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.56 no.1
• /
• pp.67-76
• /
• 2004

Background : Pulmonary hypertension is a poor prognostic factor in patients with chronic respiratory disease. However, diagnosing pulmonary hypertension is a difficult procedure which often requires an invasive test. Thus new alternative biochemical markers would be useful in clinical field and are in search. We sought to assess the role of plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP) in patients with pulmonary hypertension. Method : We measured plasma NT-proBNP level in twenty nine patients suspected for pulmonary hypertension. Pulmonary hypertension was defined as being right ventricular systolic pressure more than 35 mm Hg estimated by Doppler echocardiography. Plasma NT-proBNP level was measured by electrochemiluminescence sandwich immunoassay. Results : The log-transformed values for plasma NT-proBNP levels showed a linear correlation (correlation coefficiency: 0.783, p-value <0.001) with right ventricular systolic pressure. Plasma NT-proBNP levels closely correlated with right ventricular systolic pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy, interventricular septal flattening and right ventricular dilatation. Conclusion : Our results suggest that the measurement of plasma NT-proBNP level is an useful marker of the presence of pulmonary hypertension.