Although aortic annular abscess and rupture of the sinus of Valsalva are known as complications of infective endocarditis, few cases in children have been reported. We report a surgical case of a 6-year-old girl with active infective endocarditis complicated with an annular abscess and pseudoaneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva. The patient presented progressive symptoms of heart failure and a subsequent echocardiogram demonstrated severe aortic regurgitation. A computed tomography indicated pseudoaneurysm of sinus of Valsalva and an emergency operation was performed. At operation, a bicuspid aortic valve with vegetation was noted. The annular abscess caused a large tissue defect of the left coronary sinus of Valsalva and formed a pseudoaneurysm. The infected lesion was resected completely. The defective aortic annulus and sinus of Valsalva were repaired with a bovine pericardial patch and aortic valve was replaced with a mechanical valve. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged after adequate antibiotic treatment.

PURPOSE: Pain caused by osteoarthritis is primarily nociceptive pain; however, it is considered that a component of this pain is due to neuropathic pain (NP). We investigated the effects of total hip arthroplasty (THA) in patients with NP diagnosed by the PainDETECT questionnaire. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred sixty-three hips (161 patients) were evaluated. All patients were asked to complete the PainDETECT questionnaire based on their experience with NP, and clinical scores were evaluated using the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) Hip Score before and after THA. RESULTS: The patients of 24.5% reported NP before THA; 5.5% reported NP 2 months after THA. Prior to THA, there was no significant correlation between the PainDETECT score and the radiographic severity; however, there was a significant correlation between the PainDETECT score and JOA score. NP at 2 months after THA was not significantly correlated with pain scores at 1 week after THA; however, a significant correlation was observed between the preoperative pain score and NP at 2 months after THA. CONCLUSION: THA was useful for relieving nociceptive pain and for relieving NP in patients with hip osteoarthritis. Preoperative pain was a risk factor for NP after THA. Controlling preoperative pain may be effective for reducing postoperative NP.
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Hip ; Humans ; Neuralgia ; Nociceptive Pain ; Osteoarthritis ; Osteoarthritis, Hip ; Pain Measurement ; Pain, Postoperative ; Risk Factors