Expeditious diagnosis of primary prosthetic valve failure.
Primary prosthetic valve failure is a catastrophic complication of prosthetic valves. Expeditious diagnosis of this complication is crucial because survival time is minutes to hours after valvular dysfunction. The only life-saving therapy for primary prosthetic valve failure is immediate surgical intervention for valve replacement. Because primary prosthetic valve failure rarely occurs, most physicians do not have experience with such patients and appropriate diagnosis and management may be delayed. A case is presented of a patient with primary prosthetic valve failure. This case illustrates how rapidly such a patient can deteriorate. This report discusses how recognition of key findings on history, physical examination, and plain chest radiography can lead to a rapid diagnosis.
Chan
L
L
Department of Emergency Medicine, Albany Medical Center, NY 12208, USA.
Duncan
T
T
D000328:Adult; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004452:Echocardiography; D004630:Emergencies; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000209:etiology; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000601:surgery; D008944:Mitral Valve Insufficiency / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D012214:Rheumatic Heart Disease / Q000601:surgery