Effectiveness of Ultrafiltration in Patients with Congestive Heart Failure

Among all cardiac diseases, congestive heart failure (CHF) is the leading cause of patient rehospitalization. Fluid overload and lung congestion are the major reasons for these recurrent admissions. This disease can be associated with worsening renal function, a phenomenon called cardiorenal syndrome (CRS), which is challenging to manage. Conventional diuretic therapy of both CRS and diuretic resistance has offered limited efficacy. Compared with conventional therapy, hemodiafiltration (HDF) has shown promising results for fluid removal in some clinical trials, with inconclusive effects on all-cause mortality and rehospitalizations. Nonetheless, the results are inconsistent because of the high heterogeneity among these studies. In this chapter, we shed light on the role of different methods of ultrafiltration, including peritoneal ultrafiltration, sustained slow efficiency dialysis, and HDF, in the management of CHF, and review the current literature

Dożylna emulsja tłuszczowa u pacjenta z arytmią z szerokimi zespołami QRS z naprzemiennym blokiem odnóg pęczka Hisa po przedawkowaniu kokainy

We describe the management of a young patient who had experienced a cocaine overdose. The patient presented with altered mental status and seizures and subsequently developed a wide complex arrhythmia with a rare alternating bundle branch block pattern. Intravenous lipid emulsion was administered following initial resuscitation and endotracheal intubation, because conservative methods of treating the persistent cardiac arrhythmias failed

Tacrolimus as a Rare Cause of Pericardial Effusion in a Renal Transplant Recipient

Pericardial effusion in a renal transplant recipient represents a diagnostic conundrum with a variety of differential diagnoses. Immunosuppressive medications such as sirolimus have been linked to pericardial effusions in the reported literature. Tacrolimus has been reported to be associated with pleural effusions and ascites. We present a case of a patient with tacrolimus as the likely cause of a recurrent pericardial effusion

Giant interatrial septal aneurysm mimicking a left atrial mass

Interatrial septal aneurysm (IASA) consists of redundant atrial septal tissue, which bulges into either the left or the right atrium. The clinical implications of this entity are not entirely clear; however, if it is associated with other cardiac abnormalities such as patent foramen ovale and atrial septal defects. It may assume significance by increasing the risk of cardioembolic events such as stroke. We present a case of an individual with giant IASA detected by transesophageal echocardiography, which was mimicking a left atrial mass on transthoracic echocardiography. This case emphasizes the superiority of transesophageal imaging over transthoracic echocardiography for this clinical entity

Rituximab Induced Left Bundle Branch Block

Rituximab (a monoclonal antibody directed against CD 20) therapy can be acutely complicated by infusion reactions and cardiac arrhythmia on rare occasions. We report the first case of a new onset left bundle branch block (LBBB) after rituximab therapy for Wegener′s vasculitis