Triassic clam shrimps (“Conchostraca”; Branchiopoda: Diplostraca) from Mallorca: Taxonomic description and interregional comparisons

We describe four upper Lower Triassic to lower Middle Triassic clam shrimp-bearing intervals from Mallorca, which include the clam shrimp species Hornestheria sp. aff. Hornestheria sollingensis and several other forms of carapace valve morphology: Hornestheria? Morphotype 1, Hornestheria? Morphotype 2, and other undetermined carapace valves. All of this material was obtained from red-bed units cropping out in the Serra de Tramuntana mountains of Mallorca (western Mediterranean). Except for a few morphologically similar carapace valves of Middle Triassic age from China, Hornestheria is known only from the type locality of its type species, Hornestheria sollingensis Kozur et Lepper, in the Solling Formation (Middle Buntsandstein Subgroup) in the German part of the Central European Basin. According to its original definition, the larval carapace valve of Hornestheria Kozur et Lepper is characterized by a radial sculpture, but this characteristic apparently is only variably developed. Due to both a limited number of previously known occurrences of Hornestheria and its poorly known carapace valve morphology, open nomenclature is applied to the taxonomy herein. The studied specimens were freshly collected from outcrop sections composed of greyish-green to greyish-red laminated claystones and siltstones that accumulated in a fluvial facies. The clam shrimp specimens are accompanied by remains of insects and fishes, invertebrate and tetrapod ichnofossils, and micro-/macroplant remains, all of which either have been described by previous workers or are currently part of a separate study.

Validation of New Real-Time Three-Dimensional Transesophageal Echocardiographic Scoring System in Prediction of Immediate and Long-term Outcome After Percutaneous Balloon Mitral Valvuloplasty

Dear Editor,The guidelines recommend percutaneous mitral balloon commissurotomy (PMBC) as the first choice therapy for symptomatic patients with moderate or severe mitral stenosis (MS) with favorable valve morphology and for asymptomatic MS patients with pulmonary hypertension (1). Echocardiography is the main diagnostic imaging method for assessing mitral valve stenosis and evaluating the severity and hemodynamic consequences of MS as well as valve morphology and disease extension (2). The main predictor of successful BMV is mitral valve morphology. Therefore, the MV scoring system using echocardiography is very important. Several two-dimensional echocardiographic scoring systems have been proposed to evaluate MV morphology, the severity of which is related to immediate and long-term outcome (3). Most cardiologists use the Wilkins score for evaluation of MV anatomy. Although, none of the available 2DE scores have not been shown to be superior to any of the other scores (4). The evaluation of the MV Wilkins score depends on the assessment of four parameters, which include: leaflets mobility, thickness, calcification, and subvalvular involvement. Each parameter is given a score of 1-4 and by calculating its sum, the total score of 1-16/16 (mild involvement = 1-4/16, moderate involvement = 5-8/16, and severe involvement > 8/16) is obtained (3). The ideal echocardiographic scoring system should have the following characteristics:Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of each component of the MV apparatus separately to determine the deformity in a specific portionThe inclusion of all the points that have been proven through a large study affects the BMV resultEasy to use and interpretable by most cardiologists at a reasonable timeHigh reliability and reproducibility (4)In recent years, real-time three-dimensional echocardiography technology has evolved rapidly. RT3DE provides detailed morphologic display and analysis of the mitral valve structure. Improving the RT3DE probe technology, especially transesophageal probes, highlights the need to introduce a RT3DE scoring system (5). Anwar et al. introduced the first scoring system using real-time three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (RT3D-TTE) in patients with mitral valve stenosis candidate BMV, and compared the new score with the Wilkins score in predicting outcome after BMV. In the new RT3DE score, each leaflet was divided into three scallops (anterolateral A1-P1, middle A2-P2, and posteromedial A3-P3) and each scallop was scored separately for thickness, calcification, and mobility, as follows: 0 for normal thickness and mobility, 1 for abnormal thickness and restricted mobility, and for scoring calcification: 0 for the absence of calcification, 1 for calcification of middle scallop (A2 or P2) and 2 if there is calcification of commissural scallops (A1, A3-P1, P3). For scoring subvalvular apparatus, the anterior and posterior chordae were scored at three levels as follows: proximal (valve level), middle, and distal (papillary muscle level). Each level was scored separately for thickness and separation in between as follows: 0 for normal thickness, 1 for abnormal thickness, also 0 in case of normal chordal separation (distance in between >5 mm), 1 in case of partial separation (distance in between <5 mm) and 2 in case of absence separation. From the sum of these points, a total score of 0-31/31 (mild MV involvement <8, moderate MV involvement 8-13, and severe MV involvement >14) is obtained (6). 3D-Anwar score is complex and time consuming. This is due to the many anatomical and morphological components to achieve an accurate assessment. The available 3D score is highly selective for optimal BMV result, which leads to more patients being referred for surgery (5). So we decided to introduce a three-dimensional transesophageal (3D-TEE) echocardiographic scoring system that meets the criteria of an ideal echocardiographic scoring system, and evaluate the validity of the new score in predicting the immediate and long-term outcome of patients after BMV. We also believe that many studies are needed to achieve an ideal RT3DE scoring system.

Echocardiographic assessment before and after Percutaneous Transvenous Mitral Commissurotomy in patients with Rheumatic Mitral Stenosis

Objectives: To determine the changes produced in mitral valve morphology after Percutaneous Trans-Venous Mitral Commissurotomy. Methods: Patients with mitral stenosis who underwent PTMC at the cardiology department of Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan, from 2006-2016 were included in this study. All the data were manually obtained from the electronic medical record (M.F.E.). Wilkin’s echocardiographic scoring system was used to assess the severity of mitral valve thickness, leaflet mobility, valvular calcification, and Subvalvular disease. The student t-test was used for mean comparison. P-value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Of the total 229 patients, males were 96(41.9%), and females were 133(58.1%). The mean [SD] age of the patients was 25 ± 11years. The total Wilkin score was 7 ±1.5. 151(65.9%) were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III, and 78(34.1%) were in NYHA class IV. There was no immediate change after PTMC in systolic myocardial velocities (SV) measured at the lateral tricuspid annulus. The 2D mitral valve area increased from 0.98±0.94 cm2 to 1.78 ± 0.44 cm2 (P=0.001). Left Atrium diameter was 5.16±0.75 mm prior to PTMC, significantly decreased to 4.7± 0.7 mm (p=0.005) after PTMC. Ejection fraction (Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction) changed from 60.45± 8.25 mm Hg to 62.76±10 mm Hg (p=0.001). Mean Right Ventricular Ejection Fraction (RVEF) of patients before PTMC was 48.7 ± 4.7%, did not change significantly immediately after PTMC. Conclusion: PTMC is associated with significant changes in mitral valve morphology in terms of splitting of the fused mitral commissures, increased MVA, improved leaflet excursion, and splitting of the subvalvular structures. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.1.2446 How to cite this:Khan A, Shafiq I, Jan M, Hassan Z. Echocardiographic assessment before and after Percutaneous Transvenous Mitral Commissurotomy in patients with Rheumatic Mitral Stenosis. Pak J Med Sci. 2021;37(1):104-108. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.1.2446 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.