Os Médicos na Vida e na Obra de Eça de Queiroz

O autor, depois de fazer uma rápida revisão dos conhecimentos alcançados pela Medicina até 1900, ano em que Eça de Queiroz morreu em Paris, analisa as doenças que afligiram o escritor ao longo da sua vida, com especial destaque para aquela que o vitimou, e refere-se aos vários médicos que o trataram. Numa segunda parte, faz a revisão dos personagens-médicos presentes nos livros que escreveu, alguns dos quais desempenham um papel fundamental na estrutura da sua obra literária.

Falso Aneurisma Supraclavicular Complexo. Caso Clínico

Os autores apresentam o caso clínico de um indivíduo do sexo masculino, de 29 anos de idade, saudável, vítima de acidente de viação com traumatismo craniano e torácico, de que resultou um período de internamento em unidade de cuidados intensivos durante cerca de 60 dias. Após a alta hospitalar, referiu o aparecimento de massa pulsátil na região supraclavicular esquerda, associada a crescimento lento e ao aparecimento de dor local e irradiada ao membro superior esquerdo. A investigação realizada demonstrou a existência de um falso aneurisma complexo, com fístulas arterio-venosas associadas, dissecando planos musculares cervicais e envolvendo o plexo braquial. Foi submetido a intervenção cirúrgica que consistiu na laqueação da artéria escapular aferente e da comunicação para a veia jugular interna, com redução franca do fluxo luminal. Foi posteriormente realizada injecção eco-guiada de trombina sob manobra de Valsalva, com trombose subsequente do falso aneurisma. Verificou-se desaparecimento rápido das queixas e redução progressiva do volume de massa (follow-up de 6 meses). Os autores discutem a etiopatogenia, a abordagem cirúrgica e a técnica de exclusão do falso aneurisma por meio de injecção eco-guiada de trombina.

Revascularização Infrainguinal Híbrida em Isquémia Crítica

A introdução de técnicas endovasculares na rotina dos serviços de Cirurgia Vascular permitiu alargar o leque de opções terapêuticas nas diversas áreas de intervenção da especialidade. A revascularização endoluminal pode ser utilizada como complemento às técnicas cirúrgicas convencionais. Foi realizada pontagem com enxerto protésico femoro-popliteu supra-genicular com e PTFE e seguidamente colocado um introdutor no próprio enxerto. Consegue-se um acesso simplificado a lesões dos vasos distais enquanto se oferece uma revascularização eficaz do sector femoro-popliteu. A revascularização distal foi realizada utilizando angioplastia e colocação de stent conforme os casos, de modo a conseguir fluxo contínuo em pelo menos uma das artérias tibiais ou na artéria peroneal. O objectivo deste tipo de intervenção é permitir a revascularização do sector femoro-popliteu de forma eficaz e seguidamente conseguir fluxo contínuo até pelo menos uma artéria do pé. Este tipo de intervenção pode ser especialmente atractivo para doentes em grau IV de Leriche-Fontaine e na ausência de enxerto venoso autólogo de qualidade.

Utilidade do Doppler Tecidular na Predição de Eventos Arrítmicos em Adultos com Tetralogia de Fallot Corrigida

INTRODUCTION: Adults with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) may be at risk for progressive right ventricular (RV) dilatation and dysfunction, which is commonly associated with arrhythmic events. In frequently volume-overloaded patients with congenital heart disease, tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) is particularly useful for assessing RV function. However, it is not known whether RV TDI can predict outcome in this population. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether RV TDI parameters are associated with supraventricular arrhythmic events in adults with repaired TOF. METHODS: We studied 40 consecutive patients with repaired TOF (mean age 35 +/- 11 years, 62% male) referred for routine echocardiographic exam between 2007 and 2008. The following echocardiographic measurements were obtained: left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, LV end-systolic volume, LV end-diastolic volume, RV fractional area change, RV end-systolic area, RV end-diastolic area, left and right atrial volumes, mitral E and A velocities, RV myocardial performance index (Tei index), tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), myocardial isovolumic acceleration (IVA), pulmonary regurgitation color flow area, TDI basal lateral, septal and RV lateral peak diastolic and systolic annular velocities (E' 1, A' 1, S' 1, E' s, A' s, S' s, E' rv, A' rv, S' rv), strain, strain rate and tissue tracking of the same segments. QRS duration on resting ECG, total duration of Bruce treadmill exercise stress test and presence of exercise-induced arrhythmias were also analyzed. The patients were subsequently divided into two groups: Group 1--12 patients with previous documented supraventricular arrhythmias (atrial tachycardia, fibrillation or flutter) and Group 2 (control group)--28 patients with no previous arrhythmic events. Univariate and multivariate analysis was used to assess the statistical association between the studied parameters and arrhythmic events. RESULTS: Patients with previous events were older (41 +/- 14 vs. 31 +/- 6 years, p = 0.005), had wider QRS (173 +/- 20 vs. 140 +/- 32 ms, p = 0.01) and lower maximum heart rate on treadmill stress testing (69 +/- 35 vs. 92 +/- 9%, p = 0.03). All patients were in NYHA class I or II. Clinical characteristics including age at corrective surgery, previous palliative surgery and residual defects did not differ significantly between the two groups. Left and right cardiac chamber dimensions and ventricular and valvular function as evaluated by conventional Doppler parameters were also not significantly different. Right ventricular strain and strain rate were similar between the groups. However, right ventricular myocardial TDI systolic (Sa: 5.4+2 vs. 8.5 +/- 3, p = 0.004) and diastolic indices and velocities (Ea, Aa, septal E/Ea, and RV free wall tissue tracking) were significantly reduced in patients with arrhythmias compared to the control group. Multivariate linear regression analysis identified RV early diastolic velocity as the sole variable independently associated with arrhythmic history (RV Ea: 4.5 +/- 1 vs. 6.7 +/- 2 cm/s, p = 0.01). A cut-off for RV Ea of < 6.1 cm/s identified patients in the arrhythmic group with 86% sensitivity and 59% specificity (AUC = 0.8). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that TDI may detect RV dysfunction in patients with apparently normal function as assessed by conventional echocardiographic parameters. Reduction in RV early diastolic velocity appears to be an early abnormality and is associated with occurrence of arrhythmic events. TDI may be useful in risk stratification of patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot.

Iron Overload in a Murine Model of Hereditary Hemochromatosis Is Associated with Accelerated Progression of Osteoarthritis Under Mechanical Stress

OBJECTIVE: Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is a disease caused by mutations in the Hfe gene characterised by systemic iron overload and associated with an increased prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) but the role of iron overload in the development of OA is still undefined. To further understand the molecular mechanisms involved we have used a murine model of HH and studied the progression of experimental OA under mechanical stress. DESIGN: OA was surgically induced in the knee joints of 10-week-old C57BL6 (wild-type) mice and Hfe-KO mice. OA progression was assessed using histology, micro CT, gene expression and immunohistochemistry at 8 weeks after surgery. RESULTS: Hfe-KO mice showed a systemic iron overload and an increased iron accumulation in the knee synovial membrane following surgery. The histological OA score was significantly higher in the Hfe-KO mice at 8 weeks after surgery. Micro CT study of the proximal tibia revealed increased subchondral bone volume and increased trabecular thickness. Gene expression and immunohistochemical analysis showed a significant increase in the expression of matrix metallopeptidase 3 (MMP-3) in the joints of Hfe-KO mice compared with control mice at 8 weeks after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: HH was associated with an accelerated development of OA in mice. Our findings suggest that synovial iron overload has a definite role in the progression of HH-related OA