International Journal of Artificial Organs最新文献

In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of regional citrate anticoagulation continuous renal replacement therapy (RCA-CRRT) in reducing blood calcium levels in three patients with hypercalcemia crisis caused by different etiologies. The sodium citrate chelation of calcium ions was utilized as an anticoagulant for treating severely affected patients. By adjusting the citrate anticoagulant dose and monitoring treatment indicators, RCA-CRRT parameters were actively modified to alleviate the hypercalcemia crisis and provide time for surgery or specialized treatment. Two patients experienced rapid and effective reductions in blood calcium levels, allowing for further treatment, while the third patient exhibited a repeated increase in blood calcium, which eventually decreased after parathyroid adenoma resection, leading to clinical discharge. Our findings suggest that RCA-CRRT can help alleviate hypercalcemia crisis, stabilize the patient's internal environment, and provide valuable time for clinical treatment in cases of various medical conditions causing abnormal blood calcium elevations.

Diabetes and post-transplant survival have been linked. However, the impact on post-transplant survival of patients supported on Continuous Flow (CF) axial left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) as a bridge to transplant (BTT) with diabetes has not been widely studied. This study attempts to assess the impact of diabetes type II (DM type II) as a comorbidity influencing survival patterns in the post-cardiac transplant population supported on LVADs and to test if the presence of a pre- transplant durable LVAD acts as an independent risk factor in long-term post-transplant survival. The UNOS database population from 2004 to 2015 was used to construct the cohorts. A total of 21,032 were transplanted during this period. The transplant data were further queried to extract CF-axial flow pumps BTT (HMII-BTT) patients and patients who did not have VAD support before the transplant. A total of 4224 transplant recipients had HMII at the time of transplant, and 13,131 did not have VAD support. Propensity analysis was performed, and 4107 recipients of similar patient characteristics to those in the BTT group were selected for comparison. The patients with a VAD had significantly reduced survival at 2 years post-transplant (p = 0.00514) but this trend did not persist at 5 years (p = 0.0617) and 10 years post-transplant (p = 0.183). Patients with diabetes and a VAD significantly decreased survival at 2 years (p = 0.00204), 5 years (p = 0.00029), and 10 years (p = 0.00193). The presence of a durable LVAD is not an independent risk factor for long-term survival. Diabetes has a longstanding effect on the posttransplant survival of BTT patients.

Objective: We investigated the effect of Remote Ischemic Preconditioning (RIPC) on the inflammatory response during CPB by means of serum presepsin levels at preoperative and postoperative 1st and 24th h.

Methods: In this prospective, randomized, cross-sectional study we included 81 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Patients were randomized and RIPC was applied to 40 patients in the study group before anesthesia. The remaining 41 patients were determined as the control group. The relationships between RIPC and factors such as presepsin, C-reactive protein (CRP), and leukocyte levels were investigated.

Results: There was no significant difference between the groups in postoperative leukocyte and CRP values (p = 0.52, p = 0.13, respectively). When the preoperative and postoperative first hour presepsin values of the patients were compared, no significant difference was found in the control group (p = 0.17), but a significant difference was found in the study group (p < 0.05). When the presepsin values were compared between the groups, a significant difference was found only in the postoperative first hour value (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: It was observed that RIPC application caused to increase the presepsin levels in the postoperative first hour significantly in the study group (p < 0.05).

Objective: To investigate the effects of different blood purification modes on left ventricular remodeling and its relationship with serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Method: A total of 108 patients with ESRD were selected, 55 cases were divided into hemodialysis combined with hemoperfusion (HD + HP) group, in which patients participants accepted routine hemodialysis for three times/week and hemoperfusion for three times/month; 53 cases in hemodialysis combined with hemodialysis filtration (HD + HDF) group, routine hemodialysis three times/week + hemodialysis filtration three times/month. The total duration of dialysis in the study was 1 year. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels were measured before dialysis and 1 year after treatment, and related parameters were measured by echocardiography, including ventricular septal thickness (IVST), left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWT), left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDd), left ventricular end systolic diameter (LVEDs), and left ventricular myocardial mass index (LVMI). The paired t test was used within the group. Correlation analysis was performed using Spearman correlation analysis.

Result: After treatment, the levels of cTnI, IVST, LVPWT, LVEDd, LVEDs, and LVMI in the two groups were increased, and the results were statistically significant (all p < 0.05). In addition, cTnI of the two groups was significantly correlated with IVST, LVPWT, LVEDd, LVEDs, and LVMI (all p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Left ventricular remodeling is common in patients with ESRD, HD + Hp, and HD + HDF cannot reduce the phenomenon of left ventricular remodeling, cTnI can be used as a predictor of left ventricular hypertrophy and enlargement.

Introduction: A feared complication of an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is cardiac arrest (CA). Even if return of spontaneous circulation is achieved, cardiogenic shock (CS) is common. Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) supports patients with CS and is often used in conjunction with an Impella device (2.5 and CP) to off-load the left ventricle, although limited evidence supports this approach.

Methods: The goal of this study was to determine whether a mortality difference was observed in VA-ECMO alone versus VA-ECMO with Impella (ECPELLA) in patients with CS from AMI and CA. A retrospective chart review of 50 patients with AMI-CS and CA and were supported with VA-ECMO (n = 34) or ECPELLA (n = 16) was performed. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality at 6-months from VA-ECMO or Impella implantation. Secondary outcomes included in-hospital mortality and complication rates between both cohorts and intensive care unit data.

Results: Baseline characteristics were similar, except patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction were more likely to be in the VA-ECMO group (p = 0.044). The ECPELLA cohort had significantly worse survival after VA-ECMO (SAVE) score (p = 0.032). Six-month all-cause mortality was not significantly different between the cohorts, even when adjusting for SAVE score. Secondary outcomes were notable for an increased rate of minor complications without an increased rate of major complications in the ECPELLA group.

Conclusions: Randomized trials are needed to determine if a mortality difference exists between VA-ECMO and ECPELLA platforms in patients with AMI complicated by CA and CS.

Artificial disc replacement (ADR) is a clinical procedure used to diagnose cervical degenerative disc disease, preserving range of motion (ROM) at the fixation level and preventing adjacent segment degeneration (ASD). This study analyzed the biomechanics of ADR by examining range of motion (ROM), stress levels in bone and implants, and strain in the bone-implant interface using multi-scale loadings. The study focused on single- and double-level patients across various loading scales during physiological motions within the cervical spine. Results showed increased ROM in single-level and double-level fixations during physiological loadings, while ROM decreased at the adjacent level of fixation with the intact cervical spine model. The Prodisc-Implant metal endplate experienced a maximum von Mises stress of 432 MPa during axial rotation, confirming the long durability and biomechanical performance of the bone-implant interface.

Background/objective: A high prevalence of fatigue and a positive association between fatigue and post-hemodialysis recovery have been reported in predominantly white populations of maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. The present study evaluates associations between self-reported fatigue by the 11-item Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire (CFQ-11) and the need for post-hemodialysis recovery in a predominantly African-descent MHD population.

Methods: A total of 233 patients (94% Black or Mixed-Race) participating in the "Prospective Study of the Prognosis of Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis" (PROHEMO), Salvador, Brazil were recruited for this cross-sectional study. The CFQ-11 was used to measure fatigue: <4 for absent or mild, ⩾4 for moderate to severe. Patients were also asked if they needed some time to recover after the hemodialysis. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratio (OR) of the association with adjustments for age, sex, race, educational level, economic class level, diabetes, hearth failure, and hemoglobin.

Results: Mean age was 51.5 ± 12.5 years. Moderate to severe fatigue (⩾4 points) was observed in 70.8% (165/233), and absent or mild fatigue (<4 points) in 29.2% (68/233). Compared to patients with fatigue scores <4 (20.6%), the need for post-hemodialysis recovery was 2.5 times greater in patients with fatigue scores ⩾4 (52.7%). The covariate-adjusted logistic regression OR was 4.60, 95% CI: 2.27, 9.21.

Conclusion: This study in MHD patients of predominantly African descent supports self-reported fatigue assessed by the CFQ-11 as a relevant predictor of the need for post-hemodialysis recovery. The results offer a rationale for investigating whether interventions to prevent fatigue reduce the need of post-hemodialysis recovery.

Performance evaluation of new dialysis membranes is primarily performed in vitro, which can lead to differences in clinical results. Currently, data on dialysis membrane performance and safety are available only for haemodialysis patients. Herein, we aimed to establish an in vivo animal model of dialysis that could be extrapolated to humans. We created a bilateral nephrectomy pig model of renal failure, which placed a double-lumen catheter with the hub exposed dorsally. Haemodialysis was performed in the same manner as in humans, during which clinically relevant physiologic data were evaluated. Next, to evaluate the utility of this model, the biocompatibility of two kinds of membranes coated with or without vitamin E used in haemodiafiltration therapy were compared. Haemodialysis treatment was successfully performed in nephrectomized pigs under the same dialysis conditions (4 h per session, every other day, for 2 weeks). In accordance with human clinical data, regular dialysis alleviated renal failure in pigs. The vitamin E-coated membrane showed a significant reduction rate of advanced oxidation protein products during dialysis than non-coated membrane. In conclusion, this model mimics the pathophysiology and dialysis condition of patients undergoing haemodialysis. This dialysis treatment model of renal failure will be useful for evaluating the performance and safety of dialysis membranes.

Background: This study investigates the hypothesis that presence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in LVAD patients increases thrombogenicity in the left ventricle (LV) and exacerbates stroke risk.

Methods: Using an anatomical LV model implanted with an LVAD inflow cannula, we analyze thrombogenic risk and blood flow patterns in either AF or sinus rhythm (SR) using unsteady computational fluid dynamics (CFD). To analyze platelet activation and thrombogenesis in the LV, hundreds of thousands of platelets are individually tracked to quantify platelet residence time (RT) and shear stress accumulation history (SH).

Results: The irregular and chaotic mitral inflow associated with AF results in markedly different intraventricular flow patterns, with profoundly negative impact on blood flow-induced stimuli experienced by platelets as they traverse the LV. Twice as many platelets accumulated very high SH in the LVAD + AF case, resulting in a 36% increase in thrombogenic potential score, relative to the LVAD + SR case.

Conclusions: This supports the hypothesis that AF results in unfavorable blood flow patterns in the LV adding to an increased stroke risk for LVAD + AF patients. Quantification of thrombogenic risk associated with AF for LVAD patients may help guide clinical decision-making on interventions to mitigate the increased risk of thromboembolic events.