Background Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) leed to stroke, brain abscess, and hemorrhage in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). The current screening approach for PAVMs in HHT patients with ches...
详细信息
Background Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) leed to stroke, brain abscess, and hemorrhage in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). The current screening approach for PAVMs in HHT patients with chest radiograph (CXR) and oxygen shunt study has not been validated and is thought to be insensitive. We hypothesized that agitated saline contrast echocardiography (ECHO) would be a useful screening test for PAVMs. Methods and results A total of 106 sequential HHT patients underwent screening for PAVMs with ECHO in a prospective study. If the test was positive, or if the CXR or shunt study suggested PAVMs, pulmonary angiography was performed. A positive ECHO was defined as appearance of bubbles in the left atrium after injection of agitated saline solution. A positive shunt study was defined as a partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood <500 mm Hg while breathing 100% oxygen. The mean age was 41 years (range 15-80 years);66% were female. Forty-four patients had positive ECHO. Forty-one of the 44 patients underwent angiography. Three patients declined further testing. Thirty-three of the 41 patients who underwent angiography were diagnosed with PAVMs. Of the 62 patients with a negative ECHO, 18 underwent angiography because of either a shunt study or CXR that was suggestive of PAVMs. Of these 18 patients, 2 had PAVMs. In the total population of 106 patients, 35 (33%) had PAVMs. ECHO was the only positive screening test in 11 of 35 (31%) patients. The diagnosis of PAVMs in these 11 patients would have otherwise been missed. Conclusions ECHO is a useful screening tool for PAVMs in HHT.
We examined the management options used for epistaxis of varying severity in patients with hereditary, hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) to develop a treatment algorithm. Fifty patients with HHT were studied from 1991 ...
详细信息
We examined the management options used for epistaxis of varying severity in patients with hereditary, hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) to develop a treatment algorithm. Fifty patients with HHT were studied from 1991 to 1997 to consider various treatment options and their relative efficacy. There were 28 females and 22 men;their ages ranged from 15 to 85. Follow-up ranged from 6 months to 6 years. A wide variety of treatments had been used (including various forms of cautery, septal surgery, topical and systemic hormones, antifibrinolytic therapy, arterial ligation, laser therapy, and closure of the nostrils). Treatments used during the follow-up period were argon laser therapy (40), systemic estrogen or progesterone (17), septodermoplasty (12), or closure of the nostrils (14). Patients were divided into those with mild to moderate disease (requiring one or no blood transfusions during the course of their illness) and those with severe disease (requiring more than one blood transfusion). Using this broad categorization, those with mild to moderate disease did well with sequential argon laser therapy with or without the adjunct of septodermoplasty or hormone therapy. Those with severe disease did not find argon laser therapy beneficial but found their epistaxis completely slopped with closure of the nasal cavities. Based on these findings, a simple treatment algorithm defines the optimum treatment options for epistaxis in this difficult-to-treat group of patients.
A case of hereditary, hemorrhagic telangiectasia is described which has been under observation for more than 8 years. The clinical findings are discussed; light microscopic and electron microscopic findings as well as...
详细信息
A case of hereditary, hemorrhagic telangiectasia is described which has been under observation for more than 8 years. The clinical findings are discussed; light microscopic and electron microscopic findings as well as current research for a causative mechanism and recommended therapy are reviewed. The patient exhibited gingival telangiectatic participation. Another, even more severe case of this disease showed repeated, severe hemorrhage from mucosal lesions in the region of the incisive papilla, severe internal bleeding from the nasal mucosa and the gut and several punctate gingival telangiectases. The occurance of gingival lesions may not be as rare as thought. Such lesions may simply be rather inconspicuous.
暂无评论