Laure Sarda

Myocarditis in patients with clinical presentation of myocardial infarction and normal coronary angiograms

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to assess the diagnosis of myocarditis in patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction (MI) and normal coronary angiograms. BACKGROUND Most often in these patients, the etiologic diagnosis remains unclear once they are found to have normal coronary arteries. The diagnosis of myocarditis mimicking MI is clinically relevant, because numerous arguments suggest a relation between myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy. Myocardial indium-111 (111In)-antimyosin antibody (AMA)/rest thallium-201 (201Tl) imaging allows noninvasive detection of myocarditis. METHODS Forty-five patients admitted to three intensive care units for suspicion of acute MI, with normal coronary angiograms, were investigated. Indium-111-AMA planar images and then a dual-isotope rest AMA/201Tl tomographic study were performed. Six-month echocardiographic follow-up was obtained in 80% of the patients with initial left ventricular (LV) wall motion abnormalities. RESULTS In eight patients, AMA and 201Tl scintigraphy were negative. In two patients, a matched 201Tl defect and focal AMA uptake suggested acute MI (due to prolonged vasospasm or spontaneously reperfused coronary occlusion). In 17 patients, diffuse AMA uptake over the whole LV suggested diffuse myocarditis. In 18 patients, focal AMA uptake with a normal 201Tl scan suggested diffuse but heterogeneous, or focal myocarditis. Complete functional recovery was observed in 81% of the patients with a pattern of myocarditis. CONCLUSIONS Among 45 patients presenting with acute MI and normal coronary angiograms, 38% had diffuse myocarditis and 40% had a scintigraphic pattern of heterogeneous or focal myocarditis. Short-term follow-up showed complete LV functional recovery in 81% of these patients.

Preoperative detection of duodenal gastrinomas and peripancreatic lymph nodes by somatostatin receptor scintigraphy. Groupe D'etude Du Syndrome De Zollinger-Ellison

BACKGROUND & AIMS Duodenal gastrinomas and peripancreatic lymph nodes are difficult to localize. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of Octreoscan scintigraphy to detect such tumors. METHODS Results of Octreoscan scintigraphy in 21 consecutive patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome were compared with those of conventional imaging techniques, including endoscopic ultrasonography, and with the surgical findings. RESULTS Surgical exploration found 27 duodenal and/or lymph node gastrinomas in 19 patients. None had pancreatic gastrinoma. Octreoscan scintigraphy was the only positive preoperative technique in 32% of the patients. The sensitivities of conventional techniques, Octreoscan scintigraphy, and their association were 58%, 58%, and 90%, respectively, for all resected gastrinomas. The smallest duodenal gastrinoma detected by Octreoscan scintigraphy measured 3 mm. Endoscopic ultrasonography detected all the tumors visualized by any other conventional technique and was considered falsely positive, as was Octreoscan scintigraphy, in 1 patient. Follow-up and comparison between the number of resected gastrinomas and the number of preoperative hot spots suggested that surgeons should find at least as many tumors as the number of hot spots. CONCLUSIONS Octreoscan scintigraphy improved the preoperative detection of extrapancreatic gastrinomas, mainly by endoscopic ultrasonography. Surgeons should find at least as many gastrinomas as the number of hot spots.

Impact of liver transplantation on cardiac autonomic denervation in familial amyloid polyneuropathy.

Abstract: Familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) is a rare and severe hereditary form of amyloidosis, due to the deposition of a genetic variant transthyretin essentially produced by the liver, and characterized by both sensorimotor and autonomic neuropathy. Liver transplantation (LT) is the most effective treatment to stop the progression of the disease. Cardiac amyloid infiltration is usually associated with cardiac denervation, restrictive cardiomyopathy, conduction disturbances, and sometimes sudden death. Whether the cardiac involvement related to amyloid deposition may be altered after LT remains unclear. We conducted the present study to define the outcome of cardiac involvement after LT in 31 patients with FAP (age, 39 ± 12 yr). Patients were evaluated before and after LT (24 ± 15 mo). Cardiac sympathetic denervation was assessed by both iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy and heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. The scintigraphic importance of sympathetic denervation was evaluated globally on planar imaging using heart-to-mediastinum activity ratio (H/M) measured 4 hours after injection, and regionally using single-photon emission tomography (SPET) imaging. Amyloid myocardial infiltration was assessed by echocardiography. Diffuse sympathetic denervation was found when using cardiac MIBG planar imaging in patients evaluated before LT and compared with 12 control subjects (H/M: 1.45 ± 0.29 vs. 1.98 ± 0.35, p < 0.001). On SPET images, defects were diffuse in 12 patients and focal in 19 patients, with predominance at the inferior and apical segments. No change in sympathetic innervation was found in patients after LT as assessed either with planar imaging (H/M after LT: 1.46 ± 0.28, p = not significant vs. H/M before LT) or with SPET imaging. HRV nonspectral indexes showed that the standard deviation of all cycles was significantly lower in patients compared with control subjects, and remained unchanged after LT. Conduction disturbances and ventricular arrhythmias were associated with low cardiac MIBG uptake, and progressed after LT. The left ventricular wall was slightly thickened in patients, and a further increase was observed after LT (posterior wall from 9.2 ± 1.8 to 10.1 ± 2.3 mm, p = 0.02; septal wall from 10.6 ± 2.7 to 12.1 ± 4, p = 0.046). Neurologic status stabilized in 26 patients, but worsened in the 5 patients who had the most severe cardiac sympathetic denervation before LT as measured by MIBG imaging. The magnitude of the cardiac sympathetic denervation remained stable 2 years after LT in patients with FAP, whereas the cardiac amyloid infiltration progressed. The importance of cardiac sympathetic denervation found in FAP patients before LT was associated with a neurologic worsening after LT. Abbreviations: FAP = familial amyloid polyneuropathy, H = heart, H/M = heart-to-mediastinum activity ratio at 4 hours,HRV = heart rate variability, IVS = interventricular septal thickness, SDNN = standard deviation of all cycles, SPET = single-photon emission tomography.

Usefulness of somatostatin receptor scintigraphy in the management of patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Groupe de Recherche et d'Etude du Syndrome de Zollinger-Ellison (GRESZE).

BACKGROUND: Management of patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (ZES) depends on the presence of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN 1) or liver metastases, or both. Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) detects previously unknown endocrine tumours. AIM AND METHODS: To evaluate SRS findings susceptible to modifying the management of patients with ZES-that is, relevant findings, and the specificity of these findings. The latter were defined according to our current therapeutic strategy in three subgroups of patients (sporadic, MEN 1, and liver metastases). PATIENTS: 85 consecutive patients without known extra-abdominal metastases were studied between September 1991 and March 1996. RESULTS: Relevant findings were found in 41% of 49 patients with sporadic disease but without liver metastases, in 22% of 18 patients with MEN 1 but without liver metastases, and in 17% of 18 patients with liver metastases. Follow up was available for 20 (74%) of 27 patients who had 23 relevant findings. Nineteen relevant findings (83%) were confirmed at a median of three (range 0.25-45) months of follow up; four (17%) were not confirmed at 30 (range 12-52) months (p = 0.025). Findings located in the duodenopancreatic area (90%), chest (100%), bone (100%), and liver (60%) were confirmed. Most findings for patients with MEN 1 involved the chest. CONCLUSION: SRS detects many anomalies susceptible to modifying management of patients with ZES, especially in those with sporadic disease. The specificity of hot spots located outside the liver seems very high. By contrast, the specificity of hot spots located in the liver remains to be evaluated when conventional imaging is negative.

Temporal and spatial dimensions of discourse organisation

Time is generally recognised as a ubiquitous component in the way discourse is organised: the discourse-level analysis of time has led to numerous studies, mostly focused on verb tense and temporal adverbials. The discourse role of space seems less obvious: not only is space not systematically marked in the sentence, but it does not lead in itself to any discourse relation. In addition to “classical” approaches, which all deal with connection between (groups of) clauses, we present another approach: Discourse Framing. A discourse frame is described as the grouping together of a number of sentences which are linked by the fact that they must be interpreted with reference to a specific criterion, realised in an initial introducing expression.

Residual area at risk after anterior myocardial infarction: are ST segment changes during coronary angioplasty a reliable indicator? A comparison with technetium 99m-labeled sestamibi single-photon emission computed tomography.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to assess whether, after anterior myocardial infarction, ST segment changes during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) of the left anterior descending coronary artery correlated with the amount of ischemic myocardium in the area at risk, measured with 99mTc-labeled sestamibi single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) during ballon inflation.Methods and ResultsQuantitative continuous monitoring of the ST segment was performed during PTCA of the left anterior descending coronary artery in 11 patients, and corresponding SPECT imaging was compared with a rest acquisition performed before PTCA. SPECT was quantified by a bull’s-eye analysis according to main criteria: (1) the planimetered defect size during PTCA as an indicator of the size of the area at risk, (2) the change in the pathologic/normal area count ratio in the area at risk as an index of the severity of ischemia, and (3) the difference between the size of the defect during PTCA and at baseline. ST segment changes were correlated to the variation in pathologic/normal area count ratio (19%±14%; r=0.61; p<0.05) but not to the sizes of the scintigraphic defects.ConclusionST segment changes induced by occlusion of the infarct-related coronary artery during PTCA are related mostly to the severity of ischemia rather than to the size of the area at risk.

Prognostic value of 201Tl myocardial scintigraphy after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Background 201Tl myocardial scintigraphy (201Tl SPECT) is of strong prognostic value in various populations with suspected or known coronary artery disease. However, its value in patients with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is not fully assessed. Methods We examined 115 consecutive patients to determine the relation between clinical data/stress 201Tl SPECT performed 5±3 years after CABG, and subsequent cardiac events. Results Thirteen patients (11%) had stress-induced angina, 22 (19%) had electrical positivity, and 97 (84%) had abnormal scintigraphy, including 62 (54%) with reversible defects. During follow-up (35±22 months), there were nine cardiac deaths, seven myocardial infarctions, and 20 revascularization procedures. Multivariate Cox analysis identified the delay between CABG and scintigraphy (P<0.01, relative risk (RR) = 1.01), the extent of stress 201Tl defects (P = 0.04, RR = 1.18), and increased stress 201Tl lung uptake (P = 0.03, RR = 3.56) as significant predictors of cardiac deaths/infarctions. Delay between CABG and scintigraphy (P<0.001, RR = 1.01), the extent of stress 201Tl defects (P = 0.03, RR = 1.15), and that of reversible defects (P = 0.05, RR = 1.13) were the only significant predictors of total events. Conclusions Besides the delay between CABG and scintigraphy, the scintigraphic parameters were the only significant and additive predictors of cardiac events in 115 patients with CABG.

Spontaneous late improvement of myocardial viability in the chronic infarct zone is possible, depending on persistent TIMI 3 flow and a low grade stenosis of the infarct artery

OBJECTIVE In the chronic phase of myocardial infarction, the relation between myocardial recovery and infarct related artery status remains unclear. The spontaneous changes in rest-redistribution thallium defect size were prospectively studied over six months in 52 patients with chronic Q wave myocardial infarction. DESIGN Changes in rest thallium defect size, thallium uptake in the infarct area, and radionuclide left ventricular ejection fraction were compared to the quantitative coronary angiogram data. Two groups of patients were considered: patients with a percentage of stenosis below 100% (group 1, n = 31); and patients with an occluded artery (group 2, n = 21). RESULTS In the overall population, the mean (SD) defect size decreased from 28.2 (17.2)% to 24.9 (19.3)% of the whole myocardium (p = 0.01), while, in this area, the thallium uptake increased from 62.9 (13.7)% to 66.9 (15.6)% (p < 0.001). At the time of inclusion, the defect size, thallium uptake, and ejection fraction were similar in both groups. In group 1 patients only, the reduction in defect size correlated with the improvement in ejection fraction (r = 0.41, p = 0.02) and was related to the percentage of coronary artery stenosis. TIMI 3 patients reduced the defect size while other patients increased this defect (−5.1 (7.0)% v +11.0 (14.4)%, p < 0.001). In contrast, no significant relations were found in group 2 patients. CONCLUSION Late spontaneous recovery in thallium defect can occur in patients with a patent infarct related artery, depending on the TIMI flow grade and a low grade stenosis of the infarct related artery, and is associated with functional improvement.

Acute myocarditis presenting as acute myocardial infarction and sudden death with complete atrioventricular block: value of antimyosin scintigraphy.

ConclusionBecause endomyocardial biopsy may have poor sensitivity in clinical practice, antimyosin scintigraphy can be an effective noninvasive tool for diagnosing diffuse myocyte necrosis in acute myocarditis. In case of acute AV block, the diagnosis of myocarditis is clinically relevant because permanent pacing is not usually required, and the differential diagnosis with acute myocardial infarction may be difficult. Antimyosin scintigraphy may thus have therapeutic implications in acute AV block.

111Indium antimyosin antibody imaging of primary myocardial invovement in systemic diseases

OBJECTIVE The diagnosis of primary myocardial involvement in systemic diseases is clinically relevant but difficult in the absence of specific criteria. Whatever the underlying disease, myocytes degeneration is observed during the active phase of myocardial damage. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic value of scintigraphic imaging with111Indium antimyosin antibody (AM), a specific marker of the damaged myocyte, for ongoing myocardial damage related to systemic diseases. METHODS 40 patients with histologically confirmed systemic diseases were studied. They were classified into two groups according to the presence (group 1, n=30), or the absence (group 2, n=10) of clinical, electrocardiographic (ECG) or echocardiographic signs suggestive of myocardial involvement. Planar and tomographic acquisitions were obtained 48 hours after injection of AM (90 MBq). Rest 201thallium (Tl) scintigraphy was also performed to assess myocardial perfusion and scarring. Clinical, ECG, and echocardiographic ± scintigraphic evaluations were repeated during follow up (17 ±19 months) in 36 of 40 patients. RESULTS In group 1, 13 of 30 patients (43%) showed diffuse significant AM uptake throughout the left ventricle (LV), and no or mild Tl abnormality. Two of these were asymptomatic, four had normal ECG, and two had no clinical or echographic LV dysfunction. All patients in group 2 had negative AMA scintigraphy and normal Tl scintigraphy. During follow up of 12 AM positive patients, cardiac status improved after immunosuppressive treatment was intensified in nine cases, worsened in two cases, and remained stable in one. During follow up of 24 AM negative patients, cardiac status remained stable in 23 cases despite treatment not being increased in 20, including two patients with sequellary myocardial involvement. The last patient developed mild LV dysfunction after 36 months. CONCLUSION AM scintigraphy allows detection of active myocardial damage related to systemic diseases, with increased specificity compared with conventional methods, and increased sensitivity in some cases. Further studies are needed to assess the potential value of AM scintigraphy as a therapeutic guide.