ABSTRACT Introduction: The aim of this study is to present a series of six cases with thoracoabdominal aneurysm treated with hybrid technique in our center. Methods: Between May 2015 and December 2018, the data of six patients with thoracoabdominal aneurysms and various comorbidities who underwent visceral debranching followed by endovascular aortic aneurysm repair were reviewed retrospectively. Results: Patients’ mean age was 65.3±19.6 years. All of them were male. Comorbidities were old age, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, previous surgical interventions, and/or esophageal hemangioma. Except for one patient who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (inflow was taken from ascending aorta), debranching was performed from the right iliac artery. Debranching of four visceral arteries (superior mesenteric artery, celiac trunk, and bilateral renal right arteries) was performed in three patients, of three visceral arteries (superior mesenteric artery, celiac trunk, right renal artery) was performed in one, and of two visceral arteries (superior mesenteric artery, celiac trunk) was performed in two patients. Great saphenous vein and 6-mm polytetrafluoroethylene grafts were used in one and five patients, respectively, for debranching. Endovascular aneurysm repair was performed following debranching procedures as soon as the patients were stabilized. In total, three patients died at the early, mid, and long-term follow-up due to multiorgan failure, pneumonia, and unknown reasons. Conclusion: Hybrid repair of thoracoabdominal aneurysms may be an alternative to fenestrated or branched endovascular stent grafts in patients with increased risk factors for open surgical thoracoabdominal aneurysm repair; however, the procedure requires experience and care.

ABSTRACT Coronary artery involvement is quite rare in the course of Behçet’s disease. Complications secondary to coronary artery aneurysms, including rupture, dissection, and myocardial ischemia, may be fatal. In young patients without cardiovascular risk factors, systemic inflammatory vasculitis syndromes should be investigated in case of acute coronary syndrome secondary to dilated coronary arteries. In this report, we present our management strategy in a 31-year-old male patient with Bechet’s disease.

Resumo Fundamento Foi demonstrado que as subunidades de interleucina-35 (IL-35) estão fortemente expressas nas placas ateroscleróticas em humanos. Assim, considera-se que elas têm um papel na aterosclerose. Objetivos Neste estudo, os níveis de IL-35 foram comparados com o grupo controle em pacientes com doença arterial coronariana (DAC) estável, e a associação entre os níveis de IL-35 e o tipo, gravidade e extensão da lesão foram investigadas com o escore Gensini (GS) e o escore Syntax (SS) no grupo de pacientes Métodos Sessenta pacientes (18 mulheres e 42 homens) com DAC, diagnosticados por meio da angiografia coronária, que apresentaram dor no peito típica e teste de esforço não invasivo positivo, e 46 pacientes (18 mulheres e 28 homens) com luminograma normal, foram incluídos no estudo. Tanto o GS quanto o SS foram calculados para o grupo de pacientes, e esses valores foram comparados com os níveis de IL-35. Variáveis com distribuição não normal foram avaliadas com o teste U de Mann-Whitney, enquanto os parâmetros com distribuição normal foram analisados com o teste t de Student. A diferença entre as variáveis categóricas foi avaliada pelo teste de qui-quadrado ou de Fisher. Os valores de p<0,05 foram considerados como estatisticamente sinificativos. Resultados Não foram observadas diferenças significativas entre pacientes e o grupo controle em termos de características demográficas e achados laboratoriais. Em comparação ao grupo controle, os níveis de IL-35 no grupo com DAC foram consideravalmente menores (36,9±63,9 ng/ml vs. 33,2±13,2 ng/ml, p<0,008). Embora não tenha sido estatisticamente significativo, os níveis de IL-35 foram maiores em pacientes com SS mais baixo do que nos com SS mais alto (33,2±13,7 vs. 31,8±8,9, p=0,51). Os valores de IL-35 em pacientes com GS alto foram significativamente mais baixos do que em pacientes com GS baixo (35±17,4 vs. 30,7±8,6, p=0,043). Conclusão Demonstrou-se que os níveis de IL-35 podem ser um novo biomarcador para a DAC estável, e que a IL-35 está associada à extensão da DAC.

Abstract Background It has been shown that interleukin-35 (IL-35) subunits are strongly expressed in atherosclerotic plaques in humans. Therefore, it is considered to play a role in atherosclerosis. Objectives In this study, IL-35 levels were compared with the control group in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), and the association between IL-35 levels and the lesion type, lesion severity and extension was investigated with the Gensini score (GS) and the Syntax score (SS) in the patient group. Methods Sixty patients (18 female and 42 male) with CAD diagnosed by coronary angiography, who presented with typical chest pain and positive noninvasive cardiac stress test, and 46 patients (18 female and 28 male) with normal coronary lumenogram, were included in this study. Gensini and Syntax scores were calculated in the patient group, and these values were compared with IL-35 levels. Non-normally distributed variables were analyzed by the Mann-Whitney U test, whereas normally distributed parameters were assessed by Student’s t-test. The difference between categorical variables were evaluated by the Chi-square or Fisher test. P-values<0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results No significant differences were observed between patients and the control group in terms of demographic characteristics and laboratory findings. Compared to the control group, IL-35 levels of the CAD group were considerably lower (36.9±63.9 ng/ml vs. 33.2±13.2 ng/ml, p<0.008). Although not statistically significant, IL-35 levels were higher in patients with low SS than among those with high SS (33.2±13.7 vs. 31.8±8.9, p=0.51). The IL-35 values of the patients with high GS were significantly lower than in patients with low GS (35±17.4 vs. 30.7±8.6, p=0.043). Conclusion It has been shown that IL-35 levels can be a new biomarker for stable CAD, and IL-35 is associated with the extension of CAD.

Abstract Background: Treatment time in the emergency room for acute myocardial infarction is very important and can be life-saving if one understands the importance of a patient's chest pain. Objetice: The aim of this study is to evaluate how much patients entering the emergency room due to acute myocardial infection (AMI) know about chest pain and thrombolytic therapy. Materials and Methods: One hundred fifty patients (126 males,14 females) from three different institutes with complaints of chest pain were randomly chosen to participate in this study. The mean age of the patients was 55.4 ± 11.2 years (71+33). Patients were asked to fill out a questionnaire consisting of 70 questions within the first seven days. All differences in categorical variables were computed using the χ2-test and Fisher Exact test. A two-tailed hypothesis was used in all statistical evaluations, and p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: It was observed that 17% of the patients came to the hospital within the first 30 minutes; 18.3% of them came to the hospital between 30 minutes and 1 hour; 27.5% of them came to the hospital between 1 hour and 3 hours; and 21.4% of them came to the hospital more than 6 hours after symptoms began. It was also observed that 68% of the patients were not aware of the AMI, and 96% of them had no prior knowledge of antithrombolytic therapy. Conclusion: Because the majority of the patients did not have enough information about AMI, a training program should be implemented to ensure that people to come to the hospital earlier. (Int J Cardiovasc Sci. 2021; [online].ahead print, PP.0-0)

Abstract Objective: To investigate the safety and cost-effectiveness of preoperative cannulation and conventional approach techniques. Methods: Sixty-one patients who underwent redo open cardiac procedures between September 2015 and November 2018 were divided into two groups - Group A (n: 30), patients who underwent conventional cannulation after sternotomy, and Group B (n: 31), those who underwent cannulation before sternotomy. Patients were evaluated retrospectively for general complication rates and total hospital costs. Results: Mortality occurred in four patients from Group A and in one patient from Group B. Four patients required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in Group A, whereas two required ECMO in Group B. Duration of total operation, cardiopulmonary bypass, and cross-clamp times were longer in the conventional surgery group than in the pre-sternotomy cannulation group (420.29±188.84 vs. 314.77±187.38, P=0.036; 171.87±85.59 vs. 141.7±82.47, P=0.089; and 102.94±70.67 vs. 60.97±52.81, P=0.009; respectively). Total blood and blood product usage were higher in Group A than in Group B. Postoperative intensive care unit stay was 62.77±145.3 hours vs. 25.13±73.11 hours, ventilation time was 5.16±5.09 hours vs. 3.03±2.78 hours, duration of ward stay was 5.23±2.52 days vs. 5.57±2.16 days, and duration of hospital stay was 9.58±5.85 days vs. 9.8±5.31 days in conventional sternotomy and pre-sternotomy cannulation groups, respectively. Total hospital costs were calculated 35863.52±20803.99 Turkish Liras (TL) in Group A and 25744.74±16472.03 TL in Group B (P=0,042). Conclusion: Venous and arterial cannulations before sternotomy decreased myocardial injury and complication rates, blood and blood product usage, hospital stay, and, consequently, hospital costs in our modest cohort.

Abstract Objective: To detect and to compare the apoptotic effects of intraoperatively topically applied diltiazem, papaverine, and nitroprusside. Methods: Internal thoracic artery segments of ten patients were obtained during coronary bypass grafting surgery. Each internal thoracic artery segment was divided into four pieces and immersed into four different solutions containing separately saline (Group S), diltiazem (Group D), papaverine (Group P), and nitroprusside (Group N). Each segment was examined with both hematoxylin-eosin and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) method in order to determine and quantify apoptosis. Results: Apoptotic cells were counted in 50 microscopic areas of each segment. No significant difference was observed among the four groups according to hematoxylin-eosin staining. However, the TUNEL method revealed a significant increase in mean apoptotic cells in the diltiazem group when compared with the other three groups (Group S=4.25±1.4; Group D=13.31±2.8; Group N=9.48±2.09; Group P=10.75±2.37). The differences between groups were significant (P=0.0001). No difference was observed between the samples of the diabetic and non-diabetic patients in any of the study groups. Conclusion: The benefit of topically applied vasodilator drugs must outweigh the potential adverse effects. In terms of apoptosis, diltiazem was found to have the most deleterious effects on internal thoracic artery graft segments. Of the analyzed medical agents, nitroprusside was found to have the least apoptotic activity, followed by papaverine. Diabetes did not have significant effect on the occurrence of apoptosis in left internal thoracic artery grafts.

Abstract Aneurysms of the sinuses of Valsalva are defined as dilatation of the aortic root region between the aortic annulus and the sinotubular junction. Isolated aneurysms of the sinus of Valsalva are rare cardiovascular pathologies. They may be congenital, especially secondary to connective tissue disorders or in conjunction with congenital cardiac defects, or acquired such as secondary to infections or trauma. Small sized aneurysm without rupture in asymptomatic patients may be followed; however, latter cases require intervention and surgery is the gold standard treatment modality. In this report, a 41-year-old male patient was reported with giant aneurysm of the non-coronary sinus of Valsalva whom underwent aortic root sparing surgical aortic sinus of Valsalva reconstruction.