Objective To evaluate the clinical value of computer tomography angiography( CTA) in the diagnosis of anomalous pulmonary artery. Methods Clinical data of 9 patients with anomalous pulmonary artery diagnosed by CTA were retrospectively analyzed, and CTA results were compared with those of echocardiographic examination. Results CTA clearly demonstrated the origin sites and topography of anomalous pulmonary arteries in all 9 patients. One patients presented with left pulmonary artery sling, and 8 patients presented with anomalous right pulmonary artery which originated fromthe proximal ascending aorta. Among them1 patient was with isolated anomalous origin of right pulmonary, and the others were complicated with patent ductus artery( 5 cases) , ventricular septal defect ( 3 cases) , and aortopulmonary septal defect ( 1 case) , etc. Conclusions CTA is highly valuable in the diagnosis of anomalous origin of pulmonary artery and associated abnormities by clearly developing the pathologic anatomic features and complicated cardiovascular malformations
Objective To investigate the security and feasibility of silk ligating for pulmonary artery in video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy, and to summarize the clinical skills. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 68 patients underwent the video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy from April 2013 to March 2015. There were 49 males and 19 females with the mean age of 59.6±10.3 years, ranging from 38 to 76 years. We divided the patients into an ECR60W cut-up group (31 patients) and a silk ligation group (37 patients). There were 22 males and 9 females patients with the average age of 59.3±9.9 years with ECR60W. There were 27 males and 10 females patients with the average age of 59.9±10.5 years with silk ligation. We observed the effect of hemostasis, and analyzed the amount of bleeding loss during operation, postoperative suction drainage and the cost of operation material between the two groups. Results There were 4 patients out of 68 converted to the open lobectomy, and all of them used ECR60W. The application of silk ligation for pulmo-nary artery could effectively control bleeding loss and avoid massive amount of bleeding due to the vascular tear in opera-tions. Furthermore, the application can reduce the rate of severe complications such as massive bleeding resulting from postoperative silk ligation slippage. There was a statistical difference between the two groups on the cost of operation mate-rials (P < 0.01). Conclusions Silk ligation for pulmonary artery in video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy is simple and prac-tical to apply. Compared with the ECR60W, it can significantly reduce the cost of operation material. It's worth to popularize in clinic.
Abstract: Objective To investigate the clinical features, differential diagnosis, surgical treatment and outcome of primary pulmonary artery sarcoma. Methods Between January 1994 and December 2004, 5 patients with primary pulmonary artery sarcoma were identified at operation and treated by surgical resection. Pulmonary valve stenosis were initially diagnosed in 3 patients, and chronic pulmonary embolism were initially diagnosed in 2 patients. Tumor resection from the vascular bed was performed in 1 patient and tumor resection and homograft reconstruction of pulmonary arteries were performed in 4 patients. Results One patient died of postoperative refractory pulmonary hypertension, 2 patients died 4 months after operation because of brain metastases, 1 patient was alive for 9 months after operation with recurrent pulmonary tumor, and 1 patient was alive for 2 years after operation without clinical or radiological signs of tumor recurrence or metastasis. Histological examinations showed 4 malignant mesenchymomas and 1 fibrosarcoma. Conclusions Primary pulmonary artery sarcomas are rare and usually fatal tumors of the cardiovascular system. The diagnosis is difficult and this disease is frequently misdiagnosed as chronic pulmonary hromboembolism and pulmonary valve stenosis. Early diagnosis can be improved by computerized tomography scanning and magnetic resonance imaging. Radical surgical resection was the most effective modality for shortterm palliation. The prognosis of pulmonary artery sarcoma is poor. The survival time after resection varies from several months to several years depending on the presence of recurrence or metastasis.
Objective To investigate the role of Kv1. 5 in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension simulated by hypobaria and hypoxia, and the effects of dichloroacetate ( DCA) on the Kv1. 5 expression in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells ( PASMCs ) and mean pulmonary arterial pressure ( mPAP) . Methods Twenty-four SD rats were randomly divided into a normal group ( N group) , a high altitude group ( HA group) , and a DCA treated group ( DCA group) . The N group were fed in normalconditions, the HA group and DCA group were fed in a hypobaria and hypoxia chamber simulated to an altitude of 5000 meters. In addition, the DCA group rats were gastric gavaged with DCA ( 70 mg · kg - 1 · d - 1 ) .Twenty-one days later, percentage of wall thickness ( WT% ) and percentage of wall area ( WA% ) of the pulmonary arteriole, mPAP, and the ratio of right ventricle / left ventricle and septum ( RV/ LV + S) were evaluated. Real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry and Western blot were carried out to detect the Kv1. 5 expression in PASMCs. Results In the HA group, WT% , and WA% of pulmonary arteriole, mPAP and RV/ ( LV + S) all increased significantly compared with the N group ( P lt;0. 01) . These changes in the DCA group were significantly lower than those in the HA group( P lt; 0. 01) . Furthermore, the protein and mRNA expression of Kv1. 5 in the PASMCs deceased significantly in the HA group compared with the N group( P lt;0. 01) , but recovered in the DCA group ( P lt;0. 01) . Conclusions The expression of Kv1. 5 in PASMCs is tremendously inhibited in rats fed in high altitude, which might be a important role of pulmonaryhypertension. DCA can inhibit the remodeling of pulmonary arterials probably by recovering Kv1. 5 expression.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the feasibility to use ultrasonic cardiac output monitoring (USCOM) for patients after coronary artery bypass grafting. MethodsClinical data of 32 patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting in General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region between April and June 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 17 male and 15 female patients with their age of 46-76 (63.2±7.6) years. USCOM and pulmonary artery catheterization (PAC) were used to measure cardiac output (CO) synchronously,and the results were compared between USCOM and PAC. ResultsSixty-four pairs of data were collected from those 32 patients. No adverse event was observed with either USCOM or PAC. Mean CO was 4.27±0.92 L/min with USCOM and 4.49±0.75 L/min with PAC respectively,which were not statistically different (P=0.12) but significantly correlated (r=0.84,P<0.001). ConclusionThere is close correlation between USCOM and PAC for CO measurement. USCOM can not only measure CO accurately,but also has the advantages of being noninvasive,easy to perform and low cost.
ObjectiveTo investigate pulmonary artery growth, valvular regurgitation and right heart function after right ventricle-pulmonary artery (RV-PA) anastomosis for right ventricle outflow (RVOT) reconstruction in patients with different types of pulmonary atresia and ventricle septal defect (PA/VSD). MethodsClinical data of 31 PA/VSD patients who underwent right ventricle-pulmonary anastomosis for RVOT reconstruction from November 2002 to September 2012 in Guangdong General Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. There were 20 male and 11 female patients with their age ranging from 14 days to 14.50 years (47.90±53.84 months). Patients were followed up after discharge to evaluate the anastomasis, pulmonary artery growth, pulmonary artery and tricuspid regurgitation and their relationship with follow-up duration. Right ventricular strain and other echocardiography indexes were used to evaluate right heart function. ResultsThree patients died postoperatively. Twenty-seven patients (27/31, 87.1%)were followed up for 4-129 (35.97±28.24)months. There was no late death during follow-up. There was no anastomotic restenosis in patients who received radical surgery. Four patients who received palliative surgery had comparative anastomotic restenosis. The diameters of RV-PA anastomasis, left and right branches of the pulmonary artery during follow-up were significantly larger than early postoperative diameters (P < 0.05). Echocardiography showed that pulmonary artery and tricuspid regurgitation were aggravated, which was not correlated to follow-up duration. Overall right heart function was good during follow-up. ConclusionsClinical outcomes of RV-PA anastomosis for RVOT reconstruction in patients with PA/VSD are satisfactory. RV-PA anastomasis, left and right branches of the pulmonary artery can keep their growth and development. Mid-term and long-term right heart function is good.
ObjectiveIn order to correct left pulmonary artery (LPA) stenosis in tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), a technique for LPA reconstruction by widening pulmonary arterial posterior wall was devised. To evaluate its surgical technique as well as postoperative outcome. MethodsFrom January 2008 through August 2014 year, 1 142 consecutive patients underwent repair of TOF including 44 patients with TOF and LPA stenosis in our hospital. We used widening pulmonary arterial posterior wall for LPA reconstruction in 21 patients. The median age was 22.8 months (range, 1 month to 11 years), and the median weight was 9.1 kg (range, 3.8-29 kg). ResultsThere was one operative death. No death occurred during the follow-up period in the other 20 patients. There were 4 patients with complicate unbalanced pulmonary perfusion postoperatively. Echocardiography at 3-72 months follow-up demonstrated no obvious stenosis was found at LPA in 14 patients, and mild stenosis (32.8±12.7 mm Hg) in 6 patients. Only 1 patient required further interventions because of restenosis of LPA. ConclusionsLPA reconstruction by widening pulmonary arterial posterior wall is an effective method in the management of stenosis of LPA in the patients with TOF. We emphasize division of the arterial duct or ligamentum completely because it will tether and kink the LPA. This procedure retains the better growth potential by increasing autogenous tissue of native tissue.
Objective To review and summarize the clinical outcomes of neonatal D-transposition of the great arteries by rapid two-stage arterial switch operation. Methods Between September 2002 and May 2003, five neonates with D-transposition of the great arteries were repaired by rapid two-stage arterial switch operation. The operative age was 83.0±72.2 day and weight was 4.7±0.9 kg. Because these patients came to the hospital late, the left ventricle was unable to accommodate the systemic pressure, so the left ventricle had to be prepared by pulmonary artery banding and systemic-pulmonary arterial shunt. After 6-9 days, the arterial switch procedure was performed. Results At first stage, one patient died of supraventricular tachycardia and oliguria after peritoneal dialysis. Four patients were repaired by arterial switch operation with no death. These patients were followed up for 2 to 10 months and had good development. The echocardiogram showed that there were no intracardiac residual shunt , the aorta and pulmonary artery anastomosis had no obstruction . The heart function was good, ejection fraction 0.68-0.77,fractional shortening 0.24-0.37. One patient had mild aortic valve regurgitation. Conclusion Rapid two-stage arterial switch operation is the best way for neonatal D-transposition of the great arteries that the left ventricle was unable to accommodate the systemic pressure.
ObjectiveTo propose a lung artery segmentation method that integrates shape and position prior knowledge, aiming to solve the issues of inaccurate segmentation caused by the high similarity and small size differences between the lung arteries and surrounding tissues in CT images. MethodsBased on the three-dimensional U-Net network architecture and relying on the PARSE 2022 database image data, shape and position prior knowledge was introduced to design feature extraction and fusion strategies to enhance the ability of lung artery segmentation. The data of the patients were divided into three groups: a training set, a validation set, and a test set. The performance metrics for evaluating the model included Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), sensitivity, accuracy, and Hausdorff distance (HD95). ResultsThe study included lung artery imaging data from 203 patients, including 100 patients in the training set, 30 patients in the validation set, and 73 patients in the test set. Through the backbone network, a rough segmentation of the lung arteries was performed to obtain a complete vascular structure; the branch network integrating shape and position information was used to extract features of small pulmonary arteries, reducing interference from the pulmonary artery trunk and left and right pulmonary arteries. Experimental results showed that the segmentation model based on shape and position prior knowledge had a higher DSC (82.81%±3.20% vs. 80.47%±3.17% vs. 80.36%±3.43%), sensitivity (85.30%±8.04% vs. 80.95%±6.89% vs. 82.82%±7.29%), and accuracy (81.63%±7.53% vs. 81.19%±8.35% vs. 79.36%±8.98%) compared to traditional three-dimensional U-Net and V-Net methods. HD95 could reach (9.52±4.29) mm, which was 6.05 mm shorter than traditional methods, showing excellent performance in segmentation boundaries. ConclusionThe lung artery segmentation method based on shape and position prior knowledge can achieve precise segmentation of lung artery vessels and has potential application value in tasks such as bronchoscopy or percutaneous puncture surgery navigation.
ObjectiveTo investigate the feasibility, safety and accuracy of inserting a left atrial piezometer tube and pulmonary artery flotation catheter (PAFC)via the internal jugular vein (IJV)for postoperative monitoring of adult patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)after open cardiac surgery. MethodsA prospective study was conducted in 100 patients aged over 18 years who underwent open cardiac surgery in Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital from 2010 to 2012. There were 43 male and 57 female patients with their age of 46-65 (47±16)years. All the patients were divided into 2 groups, including 50 patients with severe PAH who underwent heart valve replacement (HVR)in group A, and 50 patients with mild to moderate PAH who underwent HVR in group B. All the patients received insertion of ARROW 5 Fr three-cavity catheter by piercing the atrial septum via IJV for continuous monitoring of left atrial pressure (LAP), and insertion of ARROW 8 Fr high-flow sheath for PAFC implantation via IJV in the same side. LAP and pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP)were continuously monitored after the patients entering the intensive care unit (ICU). The corelation and accuracy of LAP and PAWP were observed in the 2 groups. ResultsAll the patients successfully received continuous LAP and PAWP monitoring without serious catheter-related complications. There was no statistical difference in operation time or extracorporeal circulation time between group A and B (P > 0.05). There was statistical difference in postoperative mechanical ventilation time and length of ICU stay between the 2 groups (P < 0.05). Mean pulmonary artery pressure (PAPmean), mean LAP (LAPmean), mean PAWP (PAWPmean), and mean difference between PAWP and LAP (PAWP-LAPmean)of group A were significantly higher than those of group B (P < 0.01). PAWP was well correlated with LAP in both groups, and the correlation in group A was significantly milder than that in group B (P < 0.01). ConclusionIt is safe and feasible for LAP and PAFC monitoring via IJV after cardiac surgery. PAWP can not accurately reflect left ventricular preload, and LAP is more accurate to monitor left ventricular preload for patients with severe PAH.