OBJECTIVE Evaluate the clinical and functional behavior of the ventricular and atrioventricular stimulation modes in the elective replacement of pulse generator in patients with chagasic cardiopathy and atrioventricular block. METHODS Twenty-seven patients under ventricular and atrioventricular stimulation were comparatively evaluated at the beginning of the study, and alternately in ventricu...

Re-use of DDD pulse generators explanted from patients died of unrelated causes is associated with an additional cost of two transvenous leads if implanted as DDD itself, and high rate of infection according to some studies. We studied the clinical and economical aspects of reutilization of explanted DDD pacemakers programmed to VDD mode. Out of 28 patients who received VDD pacemaker during the...

INTRODUCTION Low-back pain (LBP) has been correlated to the presence of intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration on T2-weighted (T2w) MRI. It remains challenging, however, to accurately stage degenerative disc disease (DDD) based on T2w MRI and measurements of IVD height, particularly for early DDD. Several quantitative MRI techniques have been introduced to detect changes in matrix composition s...

OBJECTIVE To compare symptoms and exercise tolerance during dual chamber universal (DDD) and ventricular rate response (VVIR) pacing in elderly (> or = 75) patients. DESIGN Randomised, double blind, crossover study. SETTING Regional cardiac department. PATIENTS Twenty elderly patients (mean age 80.5 (1) years) with high grade atrioventricular block and sinus rhythm. Patients with pre-exis...

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to evaluate regional myocardial blood flow (MBF) and global left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) during chronic pacing in patients with sick sinus syndrome (SSS) randomized to either single chamber atrial (AAI) or dual chamber (DDD) pacing. BACKGROUND Experimental studies indicate that chronic pacing in the right ventricular apex changes regional MBF, thereby ...

AIMS Implantation of single-lead VDD pacemakers is an established alternative to DDD pacing in patients with atrioventricular block. This study compares the long-term costs of both systems. METHODS AND RESULTS Three hundred and sixty patients with atrioventricular block received VDD or DDD pacemakers in alternating order. Primary costs of implantation included: devices, leads and operation ma...

STUDY DESIGN A retrospective comparative cohort study. OBJECTIVE To compare return to work (RTW) rates for patients who underwent single-level cervical fusion for radiculopathy compared with fusion for degenerative disc disease (DDD) as an indication for surgery. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Studies have shown that workers' compensation subjects have less favorable surgical and functional out...

The renal disorder C3 glomerulopathy with dense deposit disease (C3G-DDD) pattern results from complement dysfunction and primarily affects children and young adults. There is no effective treatment, and patients often progress to end-stage renal failure. A small fraction of C3G-DDD cases linked to factor H or C3 gene mutations as well as autoantibodies have been reported. Here, we examined an ...

AIMS In patients with sinus node disease, dual-chamber pacing (DDD) possibly results in adverse effects on the ventricular function. We have compared the incidence of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with sinus node disease and with atrioventricular (AV) synchronous pacemakers, DDD vs. atrial pacing (AAI). METHODS AND RESULTS A nation-wide population-based cohort of 8777 pat...

Cardiac resynchronization therapy is not commonly used in the early postoperative period in patients undergoing cardiac surgery who have left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and a history of heart failure. We performed a prospective randomized clinical trial to compare atrial synchronous right ventricular (DDD RV) and biventricular (DDD BIV) pacing within 72 hours after cardiac surgery in patients...