Enes Duman

Higher dose intra-arterial milrinone and intra-arterial combined milrinone-nimodipine infusion as a rescue therapy for refractory cerebral vasospasm

Background Cerebral vasospasm (CV) is a major cause of delayed morbidity and mortality in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Various cerebral protectants have been tested in patients with aneurysmal SAH. We aimed to research the success rate of treatment of CV via intra-arterial milrinone injection and aggressive pharmacological therapy for refractory CV. Methods A total of 25 consecutive patients who received intra-arterial milrinone and nimodipine treatment for CV following SAH between 2014 and 2017 were included in the study. Patients who underwent surgical clipping were excluded. Refractory vasospasm was defined as patients with CV refractory to therapies requiring ≥3 endovascular interventions. Overall, six patients had refractory CV. Long-term neurological outcome was assessed 6–18 months after SAH using a modified Rankin score and Barthel index. Results The median modified Rankin scores were 1 (min: 0, max: 3) and Barthel index scores were 85 (min: 70, max: 100) From each vasospastic territory maximal 10–16 mg milrinone was given to patients; a maximum of 24 mg milrinone was given to each patient in a session and a maximum of 42 mg milrinone was given to a patient in a day. Both milrinone and nimodipine were given to three patients. There was a large vessel diameter increase after milrinone and nimodipine injections. No patient died due to CV; only one patient had motor dysfunction on the right lower extremity. Conclusion Higher doses of milrinone can be used effectively to control refractory CV. For exceptional patients with refractory CV, high dose intra-arterial nimodipine and milrinone infusion can be used as a rescue therapy.

Endovascular treatment of wide necked ruptured saccular aneurysms with flow- diverter stent.

AIM Flow diverter (FD) stents have been used in the treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms. There are a few studies that report the use of these devices in ruptured blister-like aneurysms. We present 5 consecutive patients, who had ruptured intracranial wide necked or side branch close to the neck of saccular aneurysms, with no other treatment options, treated with FD stents and coil embolization. MATERIAL AND METHODS Between September 2012 and April 2015, 139 ruptured aneurysms of 133 consequent patients were treated. Of these, 48 were surgically treated aneurysms. Five of the remaining 85 aneurysms treated with FD stents. Three aneurysms were in the posterior communicating artery, and 2 were in the supraclinoid internal carotid artery (ICA). Partial coil embolization was performed in addition to FD stents in three patients. All patients were treated in the first 3 days after bleeding. RESULTS Technical success was 100%. Inappropriate deployment of silk stent and partial thrombus formation occurred in one patient due to the jailed micro-catheter. Inappropriate apposition of stent was corrected with a balloon, and the thrombus resolved with tirofiban, tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) injections. No other complication or death occurred related to the procedure. One patient who had a giant ICA aneurysm and Fisher grade 4 bleeding died due to vasospasm, cerebral edema and sepsis on the postoperative 13 < sup > th < /sup > day. The other patients were followed-up uneventfully with computed tomography angiography (CTA) at 6th month and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) at 12 < sup > th < /sup > month. CONCLUSION FD stents can be used in the treatment of ruptured large wide necked or side branch close to the neck of saccular aneurysms when other treatment options can not be used.

Can neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio be a predictor of cerebral vasospasm in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage?

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and development of vasospasm in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Materials and Methods The study was performed by retrospectively analyzing the data of 170 aneurysmal SAH patients who admitted to the intensive care unit of our hospital between 2011 and 2017. We investigated the ability of NLR values calculated from the blood samples taken at the time of admission to predict for vasospasm. Results Thirty-five percent of the patients developed vasospasm. NLR values were associated with the development of vasospasm (OR 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-1.22; p

Evaluation of retrobulbar blood flow and choroidal thickness in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

PurposeTo evaluate whether retrobulbar blood flow and choroidal thickness (CT) are affected in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and the relationship between these values.MethodsWe evaluated 40 eyes of 20 RA patients and 40 eyes of 20 healthy controls. The enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography, color Doppler imaging, was held. Statistical analysis was performed.ResultsPeak systolic velocity (PSV) of ophthalmic (OA) and central retinal artery (CRA) were significantly higher in RA. No significant difference was observed when end-diastolic velocity (EDV) of OA and CRA was compared between the groups. The resistivity index (RI) of OA and CRA was higher in RA. Perifoveal/subfoveal CT was lower in RA. Negative correlation was detected between the RI of OA and the perifoveal CT, and a positive correlation was detected between RI of CRA and CT.ConclusionsOcular hemodynamics is effected by RA and can exaggerate ocular complications of various vascular diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, retinal vascular occlusions.

Evaluation of Prostatic Artery Embolization Efficiency in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Patients with High Comorbidity

Ad dress for Cor res pon den ce/Ya z›fl ma Ad re si: İsmail Okan Yıldırım MD, İnönü University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Malatya, Turkey Phone: +90 422 341 06 60/5707 E-mail: ioyildirim@gmail.com ORCID-ID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3641-0103 Re cei ved: 28.11.2017 Ac cep ted: 25.12.2017 Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate efficacy outcomes following prostate artery embolization (PAE) for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients with high comorbidity. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 22 patients treated with PAE from May 2015 to June 2017. Patients with Charlson comorbidity index ≥2, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) >12, prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels <4 ng/mL or between 4 and 10 ng/mL with negative prostate biopsy and total prostate volume (TPV) >90 cm3 were included. Total PSA, maximum flow rate (Qmax), TPV, IPSS, post-voiding residual (PVR) values were recorded in all patients in the urology clinic before PAE and at 3 and 6 months after PAE. Results: The average patient age was 73.86±6.25 years and operative time was 80 minutes (range, 60-120 min). Pre-PAE and 6-month post-PAE values were: IPSS: 25.18±6.75 an d 11.27±3.29 (p<0.05), Qmax: 8.31±3.12 and 17.22±3.23 (p<0.05), PVR: 87.9±19.25 and 25.86±7.72 (p<0.05), TPV: 134.45±57.56 and 86±15.4 (p<0.05), and PSA: 3.89±1.26 and 2.11±1.06 (p<0.05). Embolization was performed unilaterally due to atherosclerosis and strictures in the internal iliac artery branches in 2 patients. After the procedure, 2 patients experienced transient hematuria which did not require bladder irrigation, 1 patient had acute urinary retention due to dysuria, and 1 patient had transient hematospermia. Conclusion: PAE may be an alternative treatment method in BPH patients with high comorbidity.

High Prolactin Level as a Predictor of Vasospasm in Aneurysmal Subarachnoidal Hemorrhage

Background Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a destructive syndrome with a mortality rate of 50%. Recent studies have also suggested a high pervasiveness of hypothalamic-pituitary insufficiency in up to 45% of patients after aSAH. Prolactin has been associated with the pathogenesis of hypertensive irregularities that are linked to pregnancy. Material/Methods We identified a group of 141 patients with spontaneous SAH due to a ruptured cerebral aneurysm; these patients were operated on at our institution’s Neurosurgery and Interventional Radiology Department between 2011 and June 2015. All of the data were obtained retrospectively from medical records. Results The hormonal abnormalities observed in the initial 24 h after ictus in subjects with subarachnoid SAH were caused by stressful stimulation aggravated by intracranial bleeding. Conclusions The elevated prolactin levels that occur in patients with aSAH can be used in conjunction with other auxiliary factors that we believe may be beneficial to vasospasm.

Evaluation of the Ocular Blood Flow and Choroidal Thickness in Patients with Chronic Renal Failure

Received: 07.09.2017 Accepted: 20.11.2017 1Department of Radiology, Baskent University, Konya, Turkey 2Department of Internal Medicine, Baskent University, Konya, Turkey 3Department of Ophthalmology, Baskent University, Konya, Turkey Yazışma adresi: Enes Duman, Department of Radiology, Baskent University, Saray Cad. Hocacihan Mah. 42080 Selçuklu Konya Turkey e-mail: drenesduman@hotmail.com GİRİŞ

Is There a Real Correlation Between Red Cell Distribution Width and Peripheral Arterial Disease

Summary Background: Few data is available concerning the association between peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and red cell distribution width (RDW). In this study, we analyzed the relationship between RDW and atherosclerosis of the vessels other than coronary arteries in patients who had undergone digital substraction angiography (DSA). Methods: This study included 730 patients who had undergone DSA. Patients were divided into two groups according to their angiographic images. The association between RDW and atherosclerosis of peripheral arteries was analyzed. The relationship between atherosclerosis and smoking, hypertension (HT), diabetes mellitus (DM), hs-CRP, hemoglobin, white blood cell (WBC), triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol levels was assessed. Results: Atherosclerosis was observed more common in male and patients with older age, HT, DM and smoking (p<0.001). hs-CRP and WBC levels were both in significantly positive association with atherosclerosis (p<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the RDW levels, hemoglobin, triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL and HDL cholesterol levels in the groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: Our results seem to demonstrate that older age, male gender, HT, DM and smoking are powerful risk factors for PAD. In contrast to the previous reports, RDW levels are found not to be associated with atherosclerosis of peripheral arteries.

Association between brain venous drainage and cerebral aneurysm formation and aneurysm rupture.

AIM The brain venous drainage dominance is generally divided into three groups; right or left dominance and co-dominance. There is no study in the literature examining the link between brain venous drainage and aneurysm formation or rupture. Our aim was to evaluate the association between venous dominancy, aneurysm formation and rupture. MATERIAL AND METHODS Eighty-six patients, who underwent cerebral digital subtraction angiography and who had cerebral aneurysms, were included in the study. The angiographic images, patient charts, and tomography images were scanned retrospectively. We recorded the aneurysms location, size, dome to neck ratio (D/N); the patients gender, age, whether there was a ruptured aneurysm, smoking history, and/or hypertension; dominance of venous drainage, aneurysm side, Fisher scores and the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) Grading System for Subarachnoid Hemorrhage scores for patients who had a ruptured aneurysm. We assessed whether or not venous drainage was associated with rupture of the aneurysm and if venous dominance was a predisposing factor for aneurysm formation like location, size, and hypertension. RESULTS There was a statistically significant association between venous dominance and side of aneurysm; and also a statistically significant association between venous dominance and rupture. There was a positive correlation between hypertension and rupture. The most common aneurysm location was the anterior communicating artery, followed by the middle cerebral artery. CONCLUSION Brain venous drainage dominance may be a predisposing factor for aneurysm formation and it can be predictive for rupture.

Severe hypernatremia associated catheter malposition in an intensive care patient

We present a catheter related severe hypernatremia in a 2-month-old baby who was admitted to the pediatric intensive care. Imbalance of plasma sodium is commonly seen in pediatric intensive care patients. The water and sodium balance is a complex process. Especially, brain and kidneys are the most important organs that affect the water and sodium balance. Other mechanisms of the cellular structure include osmoreceptors, Na-K ATPase systems, and vasopressin. Hypernatremia is usually an iatrogenic condition in hospitalized patients due to mismanagement of water electrolyte imbalance. Central venous catheterization is frequently used in pediatric intensive care patients. Complications of central venous catheter placement still continue despite the usage of ultrasound guidance. Malposition of central venous catheter in the brain veins should be kept in mind as a rare cause of iatrogenic hypernatremia.