Acute symptomatic sinus bradycardia in a woman treated with pulse dose steroids for multiple sclerosis: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Sinus bradycardia has been reported after administration of pulse dose steroids, although most cases have occurred in children and are asymptomatic. We report a case of acute symptomatic sinus bradycardia due to pulse dose steroids in a woman with multiple sclerosis. Interestingly, this patient also suffered from inappropriate sinus tachycardia due to autonomic involvement of multiple sclerosis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 48-year-old Caucasian woman with multiple sclerosis and chronic palpitations due to inappropriate sinus tachycardia was prescribed a 5-day course of intravenous methylprednisolone for treatment of an acute flare. Immediately following the fourth dose of intravenous methylprednisolone, she developed dyspnea, chest heaviness, and lightheadedness. She was referred to the emergency department where an electrocardiogram showed marked sinus bradycardia (40 beats per minute). Initial laboratory test results, including a complete blood count, basic metabolic profile and cardiac biomarkers, were normal. She was admitted for observation on telemetry monitoring. Her heart rate gradually increased and her symptoms resolved. Her outpatient dose of atenolol, taken for symptomatic inappropriate sinus tachycardia, was resumed. CONCLUSIONS: Our patient\u27s acute symptoms were attributed to symptomatic sinus bradycardia due to pulse dose steroid treatment. Although several theories have been suggested to explain this phenomenon, the exact mechanism still remains unknown. It does not warrant any specific treatment, as it is a self-limiting side effect that resolves after discontinuing steroid infusion. Young patients who are free of any active cardiac conditions can safely be administered pulse dose steroids without monitoring. However, older patients with active cardiac conditions should have heart rate and blood pressure monitoring during infusion. Our patient also suffered from inappropriate sinus tachycardia, a manifestation of autonomic involvement of multiple sclerosis that has not been previously described. This case has implications for the pathogenesis and treatment of dysautonomia in patients with multiple sclerosis

Recent Trends in Oral Anticoagulant Use and Post-Discharge Complications Among Atrial Fibrillation Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common complication of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).The CHA2DS2VAScand CHADS2risk scoresare used to identifypatients with AF at risk for strokeand to guide oral anticoagulants (OAC) use, including patients with AMI. However, the epidemiology of AF, further stratifiedaccording to patients\u27 risk of stroke, has not been wellcharacterized among those hospitalized for AMI. Methods: We examined trends in the frequency of AF, rates of discharge OAC use, and post-discharge outcomes among 6,627 residents of the Worcester, Massachusetts area who survived hospitalization for AMI at 11 medical centers between 1997 and 2011. Results: A total of 1,050AMI patients had AF (16%) andthe majority (91%)had a CHA2DS2VAScscore \u3e 2.AF rates were highest among patients in the highest stroke risk group.In comparison to patients without AF, patients with AMI and AF in the highest stroke risk category had higher rates of post-discharge complications, including higher 30-day re-hospitalization [27 % vs. 17 %], 30-day post-discharge death [10 % vs. 5%], and 1-year post-discharge death [46 % vs. 18 %] (p \u3c 0.001 for all). Notably, fewer than half of guideline-eligible AF patients received an OAC prescription at discharge. Usage rates for other evidence-based therapies such as statins and beta-blockers,lagged in comparison to AMI patients free from AF. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the need to enhance efforts towards stroke prevention among AMI survivors with AF

Hemoptysis from intralobar pulmonary sequestration in an adult patient

A 20-year-old male patient with no previous medical history presented with new-onset hemoptysis for 2 days with episodes of severe coughing, which was initially nonproductive. However, he went on to have 10–15 episodes of expectoration of bright red blood. The patient did not complain of any dyspnea, chest pain, fever, light-headedness, abdominal pain, melena, nausea, or vomiting. Other review of symptoms was negative. He denied any smoking, alcohol, or drug use and had no significant family history

Bilateral vas deferens calcification in a patient with multi-vessel coronary artery disease and severe aortic stenosis: linking infertility with cardiovascular disease

Vas deferens calcification is a chronic arterio-sclerotic process that develops over many years and is strongly associated with infertility. Incidental findings on imaging are the most common means of diagnosing this condition. We report a case of a 56-year man who likely has male factor infertility and was found to have bilateral vas deferens calcification on CT imaging. This was performed during pre-procedural workup for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for management of severe aortic stenosis (AS). The patient was also had severe calcific multi-vessel coronary artery disease requiring percutaneous coronary intervention with atherectomy. This case highlights a novel clinical association linking infertility with coronary and valvular heart disease. It is possible that this association exists in larger numbers than previously recognized. Closer monitoring of pelvic imaging for TAVR access planning in patients with severe AS may bring more cases to light

Novel Role of Famotidine in Downregulation of Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 during Protection of Ethanol-induced Acute Gastric Ulcer

Gastric ulcer is a multifaceted process including acid secretion, reactive oxygen species generation, prostaglandin inhibition, and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have the ability to cleave and remodel the ECM. We investigated the activity and expression of MMP-9 and -2 in ethanol-induced acute gastric ulceration in rats. We found that severity of gastric ulcer was strongly correlated with increasing doses of ethanol and increased secretion of proMMP-9. ProMMP-9 was upregulated ∼25-fold at maximum ulcer index. Increased secretion of proMMP-9 was associated with increased expression of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6. We examined the effect of H2- receptor antagonists and antioxidants on proMMP-9 secretion and synthesis during prevention of ethanol-induced gastric ulcer. Our data reveal that famotidine dose dependently blocked increased secretion and synthesis of proMMP-9 during gastroprotection and arrested infiltration of inflammatory cells as well as oxidative stress in rat gastric tissues. Similar to H2-receptor antagonists, N-acetylcysteine and dimethyl sulfoxide, well-known antioxidants, inhibited proMMP-9 upregulation to the control level. In conclusion, ethanol-induced gastric ulceration is associated with increased expression of proMMP-9 that can be attenuated by H2-receptor antagonists and antioxidants. These findings furnish a novel MMP-9- mediated pathway and its inhibition via proinflammatory cytokines by famotidine in ethanol-induced gastric ulceration

Intracranial hemorrhage with target specific oral anticoagulants in patients with atrial fibrillation: An updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Although individual trials with Target Specific Oral Anticoagulants (TSOACs) have shown decreased rates of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), there is limited data regarding the absolute and relative benefit of TSOACs in prevention of ICH. We performed a meta analysis to evaluate the absolute risk of ICH with TSOACs in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), using data from the most recent clinical trials

Sex-differences in post-discharge outcomes among patients hospitalized for atrial fibrillation

BACKGROUND: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are at risk for both thromboembolic and bleeding complications. While the risk for thromboembolism is higher among women with AF than men, the sex-related differences in post-discharge outcomes after hospitalization is not clearly understood. HYPOTHESIS: Compared to men, women hospitalized for AF are at a higher risk of both thromboembolic and bleeding complications. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the 2013 to 2014 Nationwide Readmission Database (NRD), to compare outcomes among men and women, \u3e /=50 years of age after hospitalization for AF. The primary patient outcome was all-cause rehospitalization at 90-days after initial hospitalization. Survey-weighted Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) for bleeding events at 30, 60, 90, and 270 days after hospitalization. RESULTS: From the 28 million patients in the NRD, we identified 522 521 individuals with an index hospitalization for AF. Compared to men, women hospitalized for AF accounted for 53.3% of the cohort and had higher rates of thrombotic (1.7%, 1.4%) and bleeding complications (1.4%, 1.1%). After adjustment, the 90-day risk among women vs men was significantly greater; all-cause rehospitalization (24.2%, 17.0%; HR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.05-1.09), rehospitalization related to ischemic stroke (0.6%, 0.3%; HR 1.31, 95% CI = 1.14-1.51), pulmonary embolism (0.4%, 0.2%; HR 1.21, 95% CI = 1.01-1.45), and any thrombotic event (1.3%, 0.7%; HR 1.20, 95% CI = 1.09-1.32). CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalization for AF is common and frequently associated with both in-hospital complications and readmission, which were more commonly observed among women with AF. Further research into epidemiological factors and treatment differences between men and women with AF is warranted