Abstract: Prosthetic valve endocarditis(PVE) is a catastrophic complication of cardiac valve replacement, associated with high mortality rates. In the past nearly five decades, the microbiology, pathophysiology, clinical features, and therapeutic options in PVE have changed a lot, and there are new insight into the pathogenesis of PVE. The current comprehensive review will address various issues involved in the diagnosis and management of this complication.
Objective To summarize the experiences of surgical treatment for periprosthetic leakage(PPL). Methods A total of 63 patients with PPL (mitral PPL in 34, aortic PPL in 29), age 41±12 years, underwent reoperation with prosthetic valve replacement from Dec. 1980 to Dec. 2005 in this department. Patient characteristics, operative profiles and follow-up data were described and analyzed in detail. Results The perioperative complications occurred in 11 patients (17.5%), five of whom died (the overall hospital mortality: 7.9%). Fifty-five patients were in close follow-up and three of them lost in that period, five patients died in late. Fifty patients long-term survivals were in New York Heart Association class Ⅰ-Ⅱ and follow-up evaluation by echocardiography showed no evidence of recurrence or residual PPL and PPL-related complications. Conclusion More attention should be paid to the study on etiology, pathophysiology, diagnostic methods, and clinical classification of PPL. For patients with PPL, reoperation with prosthetic valve replacement is considerably effective and can obtain an acceptable longterm results.
Objective\ To understand the effects of serum of patients with rheumatic heart disease and γ interferon on collagen synthesis by valvular fibroblast cultured in vitro, so as to investigate the possible role of transforming growth factor β in genesis of valvular fibrosis and the possibility of γ interferon used to prevent valvular fibrosis in patient with rheumatic heart disease.\ Methods\ Mitral and aortic valve fibroblasts from 5 patients with rheumatic heart disease were cultured in vitro, the cultured ...