• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.58 no.6
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• pp.218-223
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• 2015

Purpose: Idiopathic scoliosis is a structural lateral curvature of the spine of unknown etiology. The relationship between degree of spine curvature and cardiopulmonary function has not yet been investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between scoliosis and cardiopulmonary characteristics. Methods: Ninety children who underwent preoperative pulmonary or cardiac evaluation at a single spine institution over 41 months were included. They were divided into the thoracic-dominant scoliosis (group A, n=78) and lumbar-dominant scoliosis (group B, n=12) groups. Scoliosis severity was evaluated using the Cobb method. In each group, relationships between Cobb angles and cardiopulmonary markers such as forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second ($FEV_1$), $FEV_1$/FVC, left ventricular ejection fraction, pulmonary artery flow velocity, and tissue Doppler velocities (E/E', E'/A') were analyzed by correlation analysis linear regression. Results: In group A, 72 patients (92.3%) underwent pulmonary function tests (PFTs), and 41 (52.6%) underwent echocardiography. In group B, 9 patients (75.0%) underwent PFT and 8 (66.7%) underwent echocardiography. Cobb angles showed a significant negative correlation with FVC and $FEV_1$ in group A (both P<0.05), but no such correlation in group B, and a significant negative correlation with mitral E/A ratio (P<0.05) and tissue Doppler E'/A' (P<0.05) in group A, with a positive correlation with mitral E/A ratio (P<0.05) in group B. Conclusion: Pulmonary and cardiac function was significantly correlated with the degree of scoliosis in patients with thoracic-dominant scoliosis. Myocardial diastolic function might be impaired in patients with the most severe scoliosis.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.709-718
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• 2019

Objective: To investigate the association of myocardial blood flow (MBF) quantified by dynamic computed tomography (CT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) with troponin level and left ventricle (LV) function in patients with ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI). Materials and Methods: Thirty-five STEMI patients who successfully had undergone reperfusion treatment within 1 week of their infarction were consecutively enrolled. All patients were referred for dynamic CT-MPI. Serial high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-TnT) levels and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) measured by echocardiography were recorded. Twenty-six patients with 427 segments were included for analysis. Various quantitative parameters derived from dynamic CT-MPI were analyzed to determine if there was a correlation between hs-TnT levels and LVEF on admission and again at the 6-month mark. Results: The mean radiation dose for dynamic CT-MPI was 3.2 ± 1.1 mSv. Infarcted territories had significantly lower MBF (30.5 ± 7.4 mL/min/100 mL versus 73.4 ± 8.1 mL/min/100 mL, p < 0.001) and myocardial blood volume (MBV) (2.8 ± 0.9 mL/100 mL versus 4.2 ± 1.1 mL/100 mL, p = 0.044) compared with those of reference territories. MBF showed the best correlation with the level of peak hs-TnT (r = -0.682, p < 0.001), and MBV showed a moderate correlation with the level of peak hs-TnT (r = -0.437, p = 0.026); however, the other parameters did not show any significant correlation with hs-TnT levels. As for the association with LV function, only MBF was significantly correlated with LVEF at the time of admission (r = 0.469, p = 0.016) and at 6 months (r = 0.585, p = 0.001). Conclusion: MBF quantified by dynamic CT-MPI is significantly inversely correlated with the level of peak hs-TnT. In addition, patients with lower MBF tended to have impaired LV function at the time of their admission and at 6 months.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.468-472
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• 2013

A 12-year-old intact female mixed dog (weighing 6.2 kg) was referred with primary complaints of severe abdominal distension, persistent coughing and exercise intolerance. Diagnostic studies found ascites, jugular distension, loud left and right apical systolic (grade 4/6) murmur, generalized cardiomegaly with caudal vena cava distension and left atrial dilation. Echocardiographic findings were consistent with degenerative mitral and tricuspid valve endocardiosis and bi-ventricular congestive heart failure. There was also a left to right shunting patent foramen ovale. The LV systolic function is depressed relative to the degree of volume overload. Based on diagnostic findings, this case was diagnosed as PFO complicated with mitral and tricuspid valve endocardiosis with ISACHC IIIa heart failure. The dog was treated with furosemide (2 mg/kg, q12hr, PO), sildenafil (1 mg/kg, q8hr, PO), pimobendan (0.3 mg/kg, q12hr, PO), enalapril (0.5 mg/kg, q12hr, PO) and spironolactone (1 mg/kg, q12hr). The clinical signs were gradually improved after medical therapy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.220-224
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• 2014

Background: For the surgical management of anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA), there have been various techniques that reduce the tension and kinking of the coronary artery during reimplantation to the aorta. The aim of this study is to describe the results of our modified technique of coronary reimplantation for the treatment of ALCAPA. Methods: Between October 2003 and February 2011, seven patients underwent coronary reimplantation with the modified technique (tubing formation with the sinus wall of the pulmonary artery and trapdoor formation at the site of implantation in the aorta). The median follow-up duration was 52 months (range, 4 to 72 months). Clinical outcomes and serial echocardiographic data were reviewed. Results: There was no mortality. One patient had a small amount of cerebral hemorrhage postoperatively and improved without any sequelae. Another patient had left diaphragm palsy and underwent diaphragm plication. Follow-up echocardiogram showed that all patients had normal ventricular function without chamber enlargement. Conclusion: Our modified technique (tubing formation with the sinus wall of the pulmonary artery and trapdoor formation at the site of implantation in the aorta) demonstrated successful clinical outcomes. We conclude that this surgical technique can be a potential alternative for the treatment of ALCAPA.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.11
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• pp.1202-1210
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• 2006

Purpose : A quantitative and easily measured Doppler index of combined systolic and diastolic ventricular myocardial performance (Tei index) was recently proposed as a potentially useful predictor of global myocardial performance. However, presence of heart rate fluctuation makes it unreliable. Therefore, the modified Tei index was introduced by using tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) which enables measuring contraction and relaxation velocities from myocardium simultaneously. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the modified Tei index in the evaluation of global cardiac function. Methods : Forty eight patients in the acute phase of Kawasaki disease (KD) were studied. These patients were divided into two groups according to the modified Tei index. TDI and conventional echocardiography were performed. Systolic velocity, systolic displacement, E' velocity, E' displacement, A' velocity and A' displacement were measured at the base, mid-septum and the apex of the interventricular septum. Ejection fraction (EF), Tei index and modified Tei index were estimated. Results : Modified Tei index correlated negatively with systolic displacement, E' displacement and A' displacement at the base. Modified Tei index correlated positively with ESR and CRP. EF and Tei index were normal in KD patients. Conclusion : Modified Tei index is a safe, feasible and sensitive index for evaluating global ventricular functions in spite of normal EF and Tei index in KD.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.364-374
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• 1980

Twenty-two patients were selected for evaluation of pre-and postoperative pulmonary function. These patients were performed open cardiac surgery with the extracorporeal circulation from March 1979 to July 1980 at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Kyungbook National University Hospital. Patients were classified with ventricular septal defect 5 cases, atrial septal defect 5 cases, tetralogy of Fallot 5 cases, mitral stenosis 4 cases, rupture of aneurysm of sinus Valsalva 1 case, left atrial myxoma I case, and aortic insufficiency 1 case. The pulmonary function tests were performed and listed: [1] respiratory rate, tidal volume [TV], and minute volume[MV], [2] forced vital capacity [FVC] and forced expiratory volume[FEV 0.5 & FEV 1.0], [3] forced expiratory flow [FEF 200-1200 ml & FEF 25-75%]. [4] Maximal voluntary ventilation [MVV], [5] residual volume [RV] and functional residual capacity[FRC], measured by a helium dilution technique. Respiratory rate increased during the early postoperative days and tidal volume decreased significantly. These values returned to the preoperative levels after postoperative 5-6 days. Minute volume decreased slightly, but essentially unchanged. Preoperative mean values of the forced vital capacity, functional residual capacity and total lung capacity decreased [63.2%, 87.2% & 77.3% predicted, respectively], and early postoperatively these values decreased further [19.6%, 76.0% & 38.0% predicted], but later progressively increased to the preoperative levels. In residual volume, there was no decline in the preoperative mean values [100.9% predicted] and postoperatively the value rather increased [106.3-161.7% predicted]. Forced expiratory volume [FEV 0.5 & FEV 1.0] and forced expiratory flow [FEF 200-1200 ml & FEF 25-75%] also revealed significant declines in the early postoperative period. There was no significant difference in values of the spirometric pulmonary function tests, such as FEF 1.O and FEF 25-75% between successful weaning group [17 cases] extubated within 24 hrs post-operatively and unsuccessful weaning group [5 cases] extubated beyond 24 hrs. Static compliance and airway resistance measured for the two cases during assisted ventilation, however, any information was not obtained. Long term follow-up pulmonary function studies were carried out for 8 cases in 9 months post-operatively. All of the results returned to the pre-operative or to normal predicted levels except FVC, FEV 1.0, and FEF 25-75% those showed minimal declines compared to the pre-operative figures.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.161-168
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• 1995

It has been found that various stress challenges induce the myocardial antioxidant enzymes and produce an acquisition of the cellular resistance to the ischemic injury in animal hearts. Most of the stresses, however, seem to be guite dangerous to an animal's life. In the present study, therefore, we tried to search for safely applicable stress modalities which could lead to the induction of antioxidant enzymes and the production of myocardial tolerance to the ischemia-reperfusion injury. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (200-250 g) were exposed to various non-fatal stress conditions, i.e., hyperthermia (environmental temperature of $42^{\circ}C$ for 30 min, non-anesthetized animal), iramobilization (60 min), treadmill exercise (20 m/min, 30min), swimming (30 min), and hyperbaric oxyflenation (3 atm, 60 min), once a day for 5 days. The activities of myocardial antioxidant enzymes and the ischemia-reperfusion injury of isolated hearts were evaluated at 24 hr after the last application of the stresses. The activities of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), were assayed in the freshly excised ventricular tissues. The ischemia-reperfusion injury was produced by 20 min-global ischemia followed by 30 min-reperfusion using a Langendorff perfusion system. In swimming and hyperbaric oxygenation groups, the activities of SOD and G6PD increased significantly and in the hyperthermia group, the catalase activity was elevated by 63% compared to the control. The percentile recoveries of cardiac function at 30 min of the post-ischemic reperfusion were 55.4%, 73.4%, and 74.2% in swimming, the hyperbaric oxygenation and the hyperthermia groups, respectively. The values were significantly higher than that of the control (38.6%). In additions, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and lactate dehydrogenase release were significantly reduced in the stress groups. The results suggest that the antioxidant enzymes in the heart could be induced by the apparently safe in vivo-stresses and this may be involved in the myocardial protection from the ischemia-reperfusion injury.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.247-252
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• 1997

Ten acute and chronic in vivo studies were utilized to develop a pneumatic ventricular assist device (VAD) as a bridge to heart transplantation or a circulatory assist device for patients with end-stage heart disease or poor myocardial funct on after cardiac surgery. Two sizes of blood pump of 70cc for adult patients and 34cc for pediatric patients were implanted in the animals. Ventricle of the blood pump was made from the polyurethaae to enhance antithrombogenecity. The VAD was implanted between the left atrium and the descending aorta. Average flow rate was 2.38 L/min for adult and 0.41 L/min for pediatric VAD at the rate of 60 bum. The duration of support ranged from 1 to 26 hours. The most frequent complication was bleeding. Main causes of death were heart failure and respiratory failure. The device function was good for short term use. Studies to date suggest that, with further refinement, a reliable long term VAD that will have clinical application can be developed.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1525-1536
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• 2021

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of cine three-dimensional (3D) balanced steady-state free precession (b-SSFP) imaging combined with a non-local means (NLM) algorithm for image denoising in evaluating cardiac function in children with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF). Materials and Methods: Thirty-five patients with rTOF (mean age, 12 years; range, 7-18 years) were enrolled to undergo cardiac cine image acquisition, including two-dimensional (2D) b-SSFP, 3D b-SSFP, and 3D b-SSFP combined with NLM. End-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), stroke volume (SV), and ejection fraction (EF) of the two ventricles were measured and indexed by body surface index. Acquisition time and image quality were recorded and compared among the three imaging sequences. Results: 3D b-SSFP with denoising vs. 2D b-SSFP had high correlation coefficients for EDV, ESV, SV, and EF of the left (0.959-0.991; p < 0.001) as well as right (0.755-0.965; p < 0.001) ventricular metrics. The image acquisition time ± standard deviation (SD) was 25.1 ± 2.4 seconds for 3D b-SSFP compared with 277.6 ± 0.7 seconds for 2D b-SSFP, indicating a significantly shorter time with the 3D than the 2D sequence (p < 0.001). Image quality score was better with 3D b-SSFP combined with denoising than with 3D b-SSFP (mean ± SD, 3.8 ± 0.6 vs. 3.5 ± 0.6; p = 0.005). Signal-to-noise ratios for blood and myocardium as well as contrast between blood and myocardium were higher for 3D b-SSFP combined with denoising than for 3D b-SSFP (p < 0.05 for all but septal myocardium). Conclusion: The 3D b-SSFP sequence can significantly reduce acquisition time compared to the 2D b-SSFP sequence for cine imaging in the evaluation of ventricular function in children with rTOF, and its quality can be further improved by combining it with an NLM denoising method.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.39 no.8 s.265
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• pp.611-618
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• 2006

Background: There have been controversies whether mitral valvular surgery is necessary in the patients with moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the long term clinical results of patients with moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation. Material and Method: Between January 1992 and February 2005, 44 patients with moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation underwent coronary artery bypass grafting. Concomitant mitral valvular procedure was performed in 20 patients (group 1) and isolated coronary artery bypass grafting was performed in 24 patients (group 2). There were no significant difference between groups except cardiopulmonary bypass time (p<0.01). Postoperative follow up duration was $30.1{\pm}29.6$ months and last follow up echocardiographic examination was performed at $21.2{\pm}28.0$ months. Result: There was no difference in operative mortality between groups (group 1 vs group 2, 15.0% vs 8.3%, p=0.493). Grade of mitral regurgitation ${(0.81{\pm}0.91\;vs\;1.50{\pm}0.05,\;p=0.046)}$ and reduction in regurgitation grade ${(1.75{\pm}0.93\;vs\;0.70{\pm}1.26,\;p=0.009)}$ were different between two groups. But there were no significant differences in left ventricular ejection fraction ${(34.1{\pm}11.4%\;vs\;41.6{\pm}12.9%)}$, left ventricular end systolic volume ${(118.2{\pm}63.9\;ml%\;vs\;85.6{\pm}281\;ml)}$, New York Heart Association functional class ${(2.1{\pm}0.2\;vs\;2.4{\pm}1.2)}$ and 5 year survival rate ${(85{\pm}8%\;vs\;82{\pm}8%)}$. There was no risk factor for operative mortality and the only risk factor for late death was preoperative atrial fibrillation (p=0.042). There was no significant correlation between mitral valvular surgery and late death. Conclusion: Concomitant mitral valvular procedure in patients with moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting had no significant positive effect on survival and ventricular function compared with isolated coronary artery bypass grafting. Prospective randomized study may be needed to evaluate the necessity of concomitant mitral procedure and to find more effective method for the improvement of ventricular function.