EJCTS Click here for details of sales representative
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Personal Folders
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Permission Requests
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wilkinson, G. A.
Right arrow Articles by Williams, W. G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Wilkinson, G. A.
Right arrow Articles by Williams, W. G.

European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Vol 3, 178-183, Copyright © 1989 by European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery

ARTICLES

Fibrinolytic treatment of acute prosthetic heart valve thrombosis. 5 cases and a review

GA Wilkinson and WG Williams
Cardiothoracic Surgical Unit, Walsgrave Hospital, Coventry, UK.

Acute thrombotic obstruction of prosthetic heart valves has usually needed an emergency operation and carries a high mortality. Over the past 16 years, sporadic papers have appeared reporting the successful use of fibrinolytic therapy with a low mortality. We report five consecutive cases treated in this way. The diagnosis of valve thrombosis was made on clinical, echocardiographic and cineradiographic grounds. Treatment consisted of streptokinase (SPK) in a loading dose of 250,000 units in one case and 500,000 units in the remaining four cases, followed by 100,000 units hourly. Rapid improvement in clinical state was seen in all five patients. Four patients recovered completely and have been followed up for a minimum of 3 years. One patient died of a retroperitoneal haemorrhage, a recognised complication of fibrinolytic therapy. A review of the literature is presented. Fibrinolytic therapy is recommended in the acute episode and should result in either a return to normal valve function or sufficient improvement in haemodynamics to allow semielective surgery at considerably lower risk.




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
ANN THORAC SURG ASIAN CARDIOVASC THORAC ANN EUR J CARDIOTHORAC SURG
J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG ICVTS ALL CTSNet JOURNALS
Copyright © 1989 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier. All rights reserved.