BACKGROUND Stroke after open heart surgery is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Up to 60% of intraoperative cerebral events are caused by emboli generated by manipulations of the aorta during surgery. This is the first animal study evaluating the safety and efficacy of a novel aortic cannula designed to extract solid and gaseous emboli during cardiac surgery. METHODS Seven domestic pi...

During the course of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, patients are at constant risk of exposure to air emboli. Air emboli may enter the circuit during routine lab sampling, medication administration, air entrainment through the venous cannula, or via a circuit disruption. Circuit components have been designed and positioned to minimize the quantity of air that travels through the arterial l...

BACKGROUND Risks associated with air emboli introduced during cardiac surgery have been highlighted by reports of postoperative neuropsychological dysfunction, myocardial dysfunction, and mortality. Presently, there are no standard effective methods for quantifying potential emboli in the bloodstream during cardiac surgery. Our objective was to develop software that can automatically detect and...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE There is emerging evidence that coronary catheterization can cause cerebrovascular embolization. We aimed to assess the proportion of cardiac patients with retinal emboli before coronary catheterization and the proportion with newly developed retinal embolism shortly after coronary catheterization. METHODS Ninety-seven patients attending Westmead Hospital for coronary c...

It is now generally believed that the majority of strokes are caused by emboli from distal sites, rather than by local haemorrhagic or occlusive processes. The discovery that emboli of various types can be detected using Doppler ultrasound as they are carried through the major cerebral arteries has led to a new field of study, which appears to have considerable potential both in research and cl...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE To assess 10-year incidence of retinal emboli and its predictors in an older population. METHODS Survivors of 3654 Blue Mountains Eye Study participants > or =49 years of age were re-examined 5 and 10 years later. Incident emboli were assessed from retinal photographs. RESULTS Cumulative 10-year incidence was 2.9% (95% CI, 2.1% to 3.6%) among 2361 at risk. Age was ass...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Inadvertent foreign body embolization is a rarely diagnosed and neglected complication of cerebral angiography that has not been studied systematically. METHODS We undertook a comprehensive 5-year retrospective study of all available postmortem cases of postangiographic neurologic complications, as well as a comprehensive histologic examination of all surgically resecte...

Background and Purpose: Asymptomatic retinal cholesterol emboli are sometimes encountered on ophthalmoscopic examination. They are associated with decreased survival, but their clinical significance is not fully known. We sought to determine which vascular risk factors are associated with such emboli. Methods: We studied 70 consecutive men (55-84 years old) with asymptomatic retinal cholesterol...

Gaseous microemboli have been associated with post operative neurological deficits in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass. Creating an optimal perfusion system that minimizes microemboli production and has enhanced abilities to sequester entrained air during the bypass procedure has been an important focus. This study examines the air-handling capabilities of a cardiopulmonary bypass cir...

Quantification of pulmonary emboli has become important in assessing the results of thrombolytic therapy and in following the natural history of thromboemboli. This study evaluated angiography as a quantitative procedure by comparing sequential changes in emboli of known size and weight with alterations on angiograms. Twenty-four aged thrombi formed in vivo were embolized intact into 12 recipie...