Project description:Graphical abstract Highlights • Right-sided IE is associated with IVDU.• Percutaneous debulking of TV vegetations can be a therapeutic option.• TEE can help guide debulking.• TEE can be used to monitor for and prevent complications.
Project description:BackgroundPercutaneous mitral balloon commissurotomy (PMBC) is the gold standard for the treatment of patients with symptomatic rheumatic mitral valve (MV) stenosis and favorable valve morphology. Intracardiac ultrasound (ICE)-guided PMBC is an attractive alternative to standard transesophageal echocardiography guidance for simplification of procedure and avoiding general anesthesia.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective analysis of all ICE-guided PMBC cases at our institution between July 2020 and November 2023. Procedural success was defined as post-PMBC MV area ≥1.5 cm2; or an increase of ≥0.5 cm2 in MV area associated with echocardiographic mitral regurgitation (MR) that is ≤moderate post-PMBC. Six-month follow-up data were collected.ResultsWe identified 11 subjects for whom ICE-guided PMBC was attempted. The mean age of the subjects was 61.7 (±12.1) years. All, but one, were females. Out of the 11 subjects, 2 did not undergo PMBC; one had baseline severe MV regurgitation identified on ICE, and the other developed a pericardial effusion following transeptal puncture that needed an urgent pericardial window. The protocol-defined procedural success was achieved in all nine patients who underwent PMBC. Post-PMBC mean MV gradient was 4.4 (±2.0) as compared to 11.1 (±2.9) mmHg at baseline. At 6-month follow-up, 8 of the 9 patients had ≤New York Heart Association class II symptoms.ConclusionsICE-guided PMBC appears to be feasible and safe. ICE-guided PMBC offers several advantages over transesophageal echocardiography guidance including improving patient comfort and eliminating the need for patient intubation and general anesthesia.
Project description:Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) is a suitable alternative to oral anticoagulant therapy to prevent stroke in patients with AF. Most procedures are performed under transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) guidance, which facilitates transseptal puncture, reduces the risk of procedurerelated complications and provides an additional method for device selection and real-time monitoring during device deployment. However, TOE has significant shortcomings, including the need for general anaesthesia/deep sedation as well as a significant risk of procedure-related adverse events. More recently, intracardiac echocardiography has been proposed as an alternative to TOE guidance during LAAO procedures. In this review, we summarise the available evidence as well as providing a step-by-step approach for intracardiac echocardiography-guided LAAO.
Project description:Patients with severe symptomatic tricuspid regurgitation face a significant dilemma in treatment options, as the yearly mortality with medical therapy and the surgical mortality for tricuspid repair or replacement are high. Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) for the tricuspid valve is becoming a viable option in patients, although procedural success is dependent on high-quality imaging. While transesophageal echocardiography remains the standard for tricuspid TEER procedures, intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) with three-dimensional (3D) multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) has many theoretical and practical advantages. The aim of this article was to describe the in vitro wet lab-based imaging work done to facilitate the best approach to 3D MPR ICE imaging and the procedural experience gained with 3D MPR ICE in tricuspid TEER procedures with the PASCAL device.
Project description:Steam pop (SP) refers to audible sound related to the intramyocardial explosion when tissue temperatures reach 100 °C. In this case the SP was recorded using intracardiac echocardiography (ICE), using Sound-star probe and Smart-touch catheter with ablation index (AI) module (Biosense-Webster Inc., Diamond-Bar, CA, USA). Guided by the anatomical reconstruction (EAM) and electrograms, we applied radiofrequencies (RF) in a "point-by-point" along the entire line on cavo-tricuspid-isthmus (CTI) using a target of an AI ≥500. The tip-tissue force recorded was 12-18 g and a power of 35 W. ICE imaging was important so that the anatomical position of the catheter tip can be precisely monitored. During RF, ICE showed a growing, hyperechogenic intramyocardial bubble at the catheter-tissue interface. ICE imaging showed a hyperechogenic intramyocardial formation at the moment of occurrence of the SP. ICE imaging showed that the formation suddenly expanded to a sphere over the course of several seconds. After SP we reduced the RF output energy from 35 W to 30 W. After RF line on CTI the patient had no complications and no recurrence of atrial flutter was recorded. <Learning objective: The use of intracardiac echocardiography during cavo-tricuspid-isthmus ablation permits the detection of the increase of microbubbles before steam pop formation.>.
Project description:Infective endocarditis is a rare but serious disease with increasing prevalence in women of childbearing age because of the opioid epidemic. Therefore, it is an increasingly frequent pregnancy complication. The gold standard of treatment is intravenous antibiotics with surgery reserved for refractory cases. However, pregnancy complicates decisions about the risk and timing of surgery. AngioVac represents a percutaneous alternative to surgical intervention. Here, we present a case of a 22-year-old G2P1001 woman with a history of intravenous drug use and infective endocarditis who continued to show signs and symptoms of septic pulmonary emboli despite management with intravenous antibiotics. The patient was deemed not to be a surgical candidate while pregnant and had an AngioVac procedure at 30 2/7 weeks of gestation with the removal of tricuspid vegetations. The patient was delivered via cesarean delivery at 32 5/7 weeks of gestation because of a nonreassuring fetal heart tracing. The patient's tricuspid valve was replaced on postpartum day 16. This case demonstrates that AngioVac can be safely used in the third trimester of pregnancy and may be considered in consultation with a multidisciplinary team for the management of infective endocarditis refractory to antibiotic treatment as an interim measure until surgery can be safely performed.
Project description:BackgroundBased on a plenty of different applications, intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) is now a well-established technology in complex electrophysiological procedures. Recently, ICE has become the most widely used ultrasound-based imaging tool to guide diagnostic endomyocardial biopsy (EMB). EMB of cardiac mass guided by ICE is an interesting application of ICE. Allowing a correct positioning of the bioptome, ICE reduce the procedure-related risks and the need of a diagnostic open-chest procedure reserving the more invasive approach to selected cases.Case presentationHereby we report a case series of right ventricular masses in which the EMB was safely and effectively performed under ICE guidance giving essential information for planning the therapeutic strategy.ConclusionsThe diagnosis of both metastatic and primary cardiac tumors relies on the histopathological analyses. The endomyocardial biopsy is a valuable tool for preoperative diagnosis and surgical planning of intracardiac masses suspected for tumors. In our experience, the use of ICE for right ventricle EMB of an intracardiac mass is an attractive modality thanks to the precise localization of the cardiac structures and the ability to guide bioptic withdrawal in the target area.
Project description:A patient presented with severe right heart failure due to a large LV-to-RA shunt with left-to-right shunting and torrential tricuspid regurgitation 6-weeks following surgical sub-aortic stenosis resection. Retrograde delivery of an Occlutech ventricular septal defect device produced instantaneous resolution of shunt, reduction in tricuspid regurgitation, and impressive diuresis of 28 kg.