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Ann Thorac Surg 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio. Electronic address:

Background: Advanced aortic valve infective endocarditis (IE) with progression and destruction beyond the valve cusps-invasive IE-is incompletely characterized. We aimed to further characterize invasive disease extent, location, and stage and correlate macroscopic operative findings with microscopic disease patterns and progression.

Methods: Forty-three patients with invasive aortic valve IE were prospectively enrolled from 8/2017 to 7/2018. Read More

Eur Heart J Case Rep 2021 Jan 28;5(1):ytaa483. Epub 2020 Dec 28.

Cardiology Department, East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, Kings Drive, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN21 2UD, UK.

Background : Extrinsic coronary compression is an extremely rare complication of aortic root abscess formation and can manifest as an acute coronary syndrome in infective endocarditis. Optimal management strategies are unknown and therefore illustrative case reports may be informative.

Case Summary : We describe a 63-year-old man with a background history of a mechanical aortic valve who developed sepsis due to bacteraemia from a presumed urinary source. Read More

Int J Cardiol Heart Vasc 2021 Feb 12;32:100711. Epub 2021 Jan 12.

Cardiology Division, Policlinico di Modena, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Modena, Largo del Pozzo, 71, 41125 Modena, Italy.

Int J Surg Case Rep 2021 Feb 16;79:215-218. Epub 2021 Jan 16.

General Surgery Department, Santissimo Salvatore Hospital (ASP Catania), Paternò, Catania, Italy.

Introduction And Importance: Amyand hernia is a rare disease seen in approximatively 1% of all hernias, complications of it, like acute appendicitis, or perforated appendicitis are even more rare, about 0.1%. Its diagnosis is very difficult in the preoperative period: it is usually an incidental finding. Read More

Eur Heart J Case Rep 2020 Oct 4;4(5):1-8. Epub 2020 Sep 4.

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Blegdamsvej 9, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.

Background: Coronary artery ostial stenosis is a rare but well-known complication to aortic root replacement. The occurrence of this complication in patients with the Medtronic Freestyle bioprosthesis is poorly described. We report a case of late bilateral coronary ostial stenosis due to pseudointimal membranes within a Medtronic Freestyle bioprosthesis, resulting in acute coronary syndrome. Read More

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med 2020 2;7(12):001953. Epub 2020 Oct 2.

Internal Medical Department, Ahmadi Hospital - Kuwait Oil Company, Kuwait.

Cholesterol embolization syndrome (CES) is an atherosclerotic complication affecting different systems with various clinical manifestations, usually triggered iatrogenically by interventional and surgical procedures or thrombolytic therapy, although spontaneous cases have been reported. The hepatobiliary system can also be affected when the showered cholesterol crystals obliterate small vessels within this system causing both ischaemic and inflammatory responses. We describe a case of a male patient who initially developed multiple lacunar cerebral infarcts 10 days post-thrombolytic therapy and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) due to acute myocardial infarction. Read More

Eur Heart J Case Rep 2020 Oct 25;4(5):1-4. Epub 2020 Aug 25.

Department of Cardiology, St George Hospital, Sydney, NSW 2217, Australia.

Background: Coronary artery emboli can occur from a number of rare causes such as arterial thrombo-embolus or septic embolus. This diagnosis generally requires multi-modal imaging including echocardiography, computed tomography, or invasive coronary angiography. Septic coronary emboli is an extremely rare consequence of infective endocarditis (IE), having been reported in <1% of all cases. Read More

J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2020 Aug 26. Epub 2020 Aug 26.

Department of Cardiac Surgery, Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, Mich. Electronic address:

Objective: The study objective was to provide evidence for choosing a bioprosthesis in treating patients with active aortic valve endocarditis.

Methods: From 1998 to 2017, 265 patients with active aortic valve endocarditis underwent aortic valve replacement with a stented valve (n = 97, 37%) or a stentless valve (n = 168, 63%) with further breakdown into inclusion technique (n = 142, 85%) or total root replacement (n = 26, 15%). Data were obtained from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons database aided with chart review, surveys, and National Death Index data. Read More

Access Microbiol 2019 21;1(10):e000068. Epub 2019 Oct 21.

SC Malattie Infettive, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Integrata di Trieste, Trieste, Italy.

Introduction: Invasive infections due to spp. (a Gram-positive coryneform) are extremely rare. Only a few cases of bloodstream infections and endocarditis have been described, as bacteraemia due to coryneforms is usually discarded as blood culture contamination. Read More

Cureus 2020 Aug 17;12(8):e9802. Epub 2020 Aug 17.

Infectious Disease, Wayne State University, Detroit, USA.

Streptococcus constellatus is a member of Streptococcus milleri group which is a subgroup of Viridans streptococci, first described by Guthof in 1956 after being isolated from dental abscesses. S. constellatus, a gram positive, non-sporing, non-motile, catalase negative cocci, is the normal flora of the oropharyngeal, gastrointestinal and urogenital tract. Read More

Int J Surg 2020 Aug 15;80:157-161. Epub 2020 Jul 15.

Department of Surgery, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain; Department of Surgery, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos, Madrid, Spain.

Background: during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Acute Care Surgery procedures performed in Spanish hospitals decreased significantly. The aim of this study was to compare Acute Care Surgery activity during the COVID-19 pandemic and during a control period.

Material And Methods: a multicenter retrospective cohort study was performed including patients who underwent Acute Care Surgery in three tertiary care hospitals in Spain during a control (11 March 2019 to 21 April 2019) and a pandemic (16 March 2020 to 26 April 2020) period. Read More

Surg Case Rep 2020 Jun 5;6(1):128. Epub 2020 Jun 5.

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Jichi Medical University, Yakushiji 3311-1, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0498, Japan.

Background: Aspergillus endocarditis (AE) is a rare and lethal cardiac infection with a high rate of mortality. AE most commonly presents in immunocompromised patients and is associated with various co-morbidities. Herein, we present a case of AE associated with lung, brain, and cervical abscesses after chemotherapy for malignant lymphoma that was successfully treated by a combination of antifungal and surgical therapy. Read More

Zhonghua Xin Xue Guan Bing Za Zhi 2020 May;48(5):422-424

Department of Cardiology, Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital, Wuhan 430022, China.

J Vasc Surg 2021 01 19;73(1):108-116.e1. Epub 2020 May 19.

Division of Vascular Surgery, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY. Electronic address:

Objective: Volume-outcome relationships in surgery have been well established. Studies have shown that high-volume surgeons provide improved outcomes in performing open abdominal aneurysm repairs. The hypothesis of this study was that high-volume surgeons provide superior short-term and midterm outcomes of elective open aortic operations compared with low-volume surgeons. Read More

Diagnosis (Berl) 2021 02 14;8(1):67-84. Epub 2020 May 14.

Director of Patient Safety, CRICO Strategies, Boston, MA, USA.

Background: Missed vascular events, infections, and cancers account for ~75% of serious harms from diagnostic errors. Just 15 diseases from these "Big Three" categories account for nearly half of all serious misdiagnosis-related harms in malpractice claims. As part of a larger project estimating total US burden of serious misdiagnosis-related harms, we performed a focused literature review to measure diagnostic error and harm rates for these 15 conditions. Read More

Indian J Crit Care Med 2020 Jan;24(1):73-76

Department of Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Belagavi, Karnataka, India.

Aim: The aim of this paper is to present an interesting case of viral myocarditis complicated by sepsis, its sequelae, including multi-organ dysfunction syndrome, and the approach to manage it successfully.

Background: Viral myocarditis is an inflammatory disease of myocardium, often leading to residual heart disease. Commonly, dengue and Coxsackie B viruses are the causative agents. Read More

Clin Neurol Neurosurg 2020 06 2;193:105771. Epub 2020 Mar 2.

Anesthesiology, Montefiore Hospital Medical Center, United States.

Objectives: There is a scarcity of literature exploring the consequences of Failure To Extubate (FTE) and Delayed Reintubation (DRI) in spine surgery. While it is reasonable to believe that patients who FTE or undergo DRI after Posterior Lumbar Fusion (PLF) and Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF) are at risk for graver outcomes, there is minimal data to explicitly support that. The goal of this study was to investigate the morbidity and mortality associated with FTE and DRI after lumbar spine surgery in a large pool of patients. Read More

Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2020 03 24;13(3):e008303. Epub 2020 Jan 24.

Helmsley Electrophysiology Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY (J.S.K., K.K., I.K., S.R.D., V.Y.R.).

Background: Pulsed field ablation (PFA) can be myocardium selective, potentially sparing the esophagus during left atrial ablation. In an in vivo porcine esophageal injury model, we compared the effects of newer biphasic PFA with radiofrequency ablation (RFA).

Methods: In 10 animals, under general anesthesia, the lower esophagus was deflected toward the inferior vena cava using an esophageal deviation balloon, and ablation was performed from within the inferior vena cava at areas of esophageal contact. Read More

Pol Merkur Lekarski 2019 Dec;47(282):226-228

Clinical Department of Internal Diseases, Endocrinology and Diabetology, Central Clinical Hospital of Ministry of the Interior and Administration in Warsaw, Poland; Mossakowski Medical Research Centre Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland.

Colon perforation is most common in patients with colorectal cancer and diverticulitis. It is one of the causes of the so-called "acute abdomen". Herein do we present a case in which dyspnea was the main symptom of colon perforation. Read More

J Spinal Cord Med 2019 Dec 9:1-4. Epub 2019 Dec 9.

Center for Pain Medicine, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Episodic attacks of autonomic dysreflexia (AD) are regularly experienced by patients with a spinal cord injury (SCI) on T6 or higher levels. The episodes can result in a pounding headache, flushing, blurred vision, anxiety, a stroke, posturing, hyperthermia, retinal bleeding, seizures, myocardial ischemia, cardiac arrhythmias, and death. The observed associated bradycardia is explained as a baroreceptor reflex response to the high blood pressure. Read More

Am J Med 2020 04 9;133(4):508-514. Epub 2019 Nov 9.

Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta.

Background: Unexplained or persistent leukocytosis is an increasing common cause of consultation to infectious disease physicians. Patients appear to be in a state of continued inflammation recently described as the persistent inflammation-immunosuppression and catabolism syndrome (PICS). Hospital course of such patients is frequently prolonged and associated with extensive use of empiric broad-spectrum antibiotics. Read More

Med Leg J 2019 Dec 4;87(4):210-214. Epub 2019 Oct 4.

Department of Forensic Medicine, University College of Medical Sciences & GTB Hospital, Delhi, India.

Cardiac tamponade is a condition produced by the rapid accumulation of pericardial fluid, which restricts the filling of the heart. Often the forensic pathologist comes across different naturally occurring sudden deaths. Cardiovascular causes are the most common. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2019 Sep;98(38):e17141

Department of Medical Ultrasound.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the application of transthoracic echocardiography for the diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) to provide a basis for the better treatment of IE. From October 2016 to October 2018, 87 consecutive patients with IE at our hospital were selected for this study. All the patients were subjected to transthoracic echocardiography. Read More

J Cardiol Cases 2019 Sep 1;20(3):73-76. Epub 2019 May 1.

Department of Cardiology, Hiroshima City Hiroshima Citizens Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.

A 75-year-old man presented to the hospital with a low-grade fever and worsening dyspnea. Transthoracic echocardiogram and contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed a 20 × 20 mm lesion adjacent to the left ventricle with pericardial effusion. We suspected pericardial abscess, but no bacteria were detected even after 6 consecutive blood cultures. Read More

Acad Forensic Pathol 2018 Sep 31;8(3):653-691. Epub 2018 Aug 31.

Use of recreational drugs is associated with a number of histologic changes. These may be related to the method of administration or due to systemic effects of the drugs. This paper reviews the histopathological features seen following recreational drug use. Read More

J Vet Cardiol 2019 Jun 30;23:122-128. Epub 2019 Apr 30.

Marshfield Labs, Marshfield, WI, 54449, USA.

Abscess formation in the pericardial space has been described as a rare complication of trauma, congenital defects, penetrating foreign body, or extension of local myocardial infection in the dog. Presented here is a case of a juvenile dog with septic pericardial effusion secondary to an isolated intrapericardial abscess. Surgical pericardiectomy was successful in removing the abscess and nidus for septic effusion in this patient, and histopathology of the abscess tissue was suggestive of foreign plant material migration as the nidus for abscess formation. Read More

J Clin Neurosci 2019 Aug 13;66:277-279. Epub 2019 May 13.

Department of Radiology, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Bichat Hospital, 75018 Paris, France; INSERM U1148, Paris, France; Université Paris 7, Diderot, France. Electronic address:

A 72-year-old man without obvious risk factors initially presented with acute ischemic stroke and fever, without concomitant infection. Broad spectrum antibiotic therapy was initiated. Transthoracic and Transesophageal echocardiography, and cardiac MRI revealed a 20 mm round mass attached to the anterior mitral valve leaflet, suggesting the diagnosis of a benign cardiac tumor or a vegetation. Read More

Zhonghua Nei Ke Za Zhi 2019 May;58(5):361-365

Division of Infectious Disease, First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, China.

To describe the clinical characteristics of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKP) infection. To analyze the antibiotic susceptibility of hvKP to provide the empiric antibiotic options. To investigate capsule serotype and sequence type (ST) of hvKP and their correlation with clinical profiles. Read More

Eur Heart J Case Rep 2018 Jun 4;2(2):yty067. Epub 2018 Jun 4.

Department of Cardiology, Care Hospitals, 5-4-199, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

Introduction: Coronary artery stent infection is a rare event. We report a case of delayed coronary artery stent infection with coronary cameral fistula presented as pyrexia of unknown origin, 1 year after coronary intervention.

Case Presentation: A 66-year-old man presented with paroxysmal low-grade fever of 2 years duration. Read More