Seasonal variation in the incidence of deep vein thrombosis in patients with deficiency of protein C or protein S.

An attempt was made to identify circaseptanal or seasonal variation of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in a population with protein C or protein S deficit. Forty-four patients with DVT and protein C or protein S deficit were studied for 1 year. A significant circannual rhythm was found for the total population that peaked during winter. There was also a significant falling circaseptanal rhythm on Fridays. These observations may optimize an adequate and precise anticoagulant therapy in patients witi protein C or protein S deficits

Type IIB von Willebrand Disease: Role of Qualitative Defects in Atherosclerosis and Endothelial Dysfunction

Objective. To verify whether a hereditary bleeding tendency, such as von Willebrand disease (vWD) type IIB, protects against the onset of atherosclerosis. Participants and Methods. Twenty-four patients with vWD type IIB and 24 healthy controls, matched for common atherosclerotic risk factors. All patients were evaluated by color Doppler ultrasound of the common carotid, carotid bifurcation, common femoral artery, brachial artery, and abdominal aorta, investigating intima-media thickness (IMT) and presence of plaques in each arterial district. Flow mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery was used to test endothelial function. Results. vWD type IIB patients presented no significant difference in IMT in any arterial district. FMD showed no differences between the 2 groups. Conclusions. The quantitative clotting defect characteristic of vWD type IIB does not seem to protect against atherosclerosis

Effects of external irradiation of the neck region on intima media thickness of the common carotid artery

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several studies have shown that common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is increased after radiotherapy (RT) to the head and neck. However, further studies are needed to define the exact mechanism of radiation-induced injury in large vessels, investigate the relationship between radiation dose and large vessel injury and evaluate the rate of progress of atherosclerosis in irradiated vessels.</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>To investigate whether external irradiation to the carotid area has any effect on IMT of the common carotid artery in a group of patients who received RT vs control group matched for age, gender and race.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We studied 19 patients (10 male; 47.8 ± 17.4 years) during a 5-month period (January 2009-July 2009); they had completed RT with a mean of 2.9 years before (range: 1 month-6 years) The mean radiation dose to the neck in the irradiated patients was 41.2 ± 15.6 Gy (range: 25-70 Gy). Common carotid IMT was measured with echo-color Doppler. Nineteen healthy adult patients (10 male; 47.8 ± 17.6) were recruited as a control group.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>IMT was not significantly higher in patients when compared to the control group (0.59 ± 0.16 vs 0.56 ± 0.16 mm, p = 0.4). There was no significant difference between the two groups in relation to the absence (p = 0.7) or presence (p = 0.6) of vascular risk factors. Although the difference did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.1), the irradiated young patients (age ≤ 52 years) had IMT measurements higher (0.54 ± 0.08 mm) than the non-irradiated young patients (0.49 ± 0.14 mm). The mean carotid IMT increased with increasing doses of radiation to the neck (p = 0.04).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study shows that increased IMT of the common carotid artery after RT is radiation-dose-related. Therefore it is important to monitor IMT, which can be used as an imaging biomarker for early diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease in patients who have had radiotherapy for treatment of cancer of the head and neck and who are at increased risk for accelerated atherosclerosis in carotid arteries.</p

Does Hepatitis C Virus Infection Increase Risk for Stroke? A Population-Based Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: The relationship between hepatitis C virus infection and risk of stroke remains inconsistent. This study evaluates the risk of stroke in association with chronic hepatitis C infection in a longitudinal population-based cohort. METHODS: We identified 4,094 adults newly diagnosed with hepatitis C infection in 2002-2004 from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Comparison group consisted of 16,376 adults without hepatitis C infection randomly selected from the same dataset, frequency matched by age and sex. Events of stroke from 2002-2008 were ascertained from medical claims (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, ICD-9-CM, codes 430-438). Multivariate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for potential associated factors including HCV infection, age, sex, low-income status, urbanization, cessation of cigarette smoking, alcohol-related illness, obesity, history of chronic diseases and medication use. FINDINGS: During 96,752 person-years of follow-up, there were 1981 newly diagnosed stroke cases. The HRs of stroke associated with medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease were 1.48 (95% CI 1.33 to 1.65), 1.23 (95% CI 1.11 to 1.36) and 1.17 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.30), respectively, after adjustment for covariates. The cumulative risk of stroke for people with hepatitis C and without hepatitis C infections was 2.5% and 1.9%, respectively (p<0.0001). Compared with people without hepatitis C infection, the adjusted HR of stroke was 1.27 (95% CI 1.14 to 1.41) for people with hepatitis C infection. CONCLUSION: Chronic hepatitis C infection increases stroke risk and should be considered an important and independent risk factor

Rate and duration of hospitalisation for acute pulmonary embolism in the real-world clinical practice of different countries : Analysis from the RIETE registry

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TREATMENT OF HEART FAILURE AND ASCITES WITH ULTRAFILTRATION IN PATIENTS WITH INTRACTABLE ALCOHOLIC CARDIOMYOPATHY.

Background. In Western countries the excess of alcohol intake causes, secondary, non ischaemic cardiomyopathy and cirrhosis. Frequently, therapy is not effective so ultrafiltration was tried on patients affected, with positive effects on life quality. We tried to verify utility and tolerance to peritoneal ultrafiltration in a group of subjects affected by heart failure secondary to alcoholic cardiomyopathy, refractary to conventional therapy. Methods. Sixteen patients (14 males, 2 females) with heart failure and ascites affected by alcoholic cardiomyopathy were studied. All subjects were in IV class NYHA (New York Heart Association); ejection fraction (EF) was evaluated by echocardiogram and ascites by abdominal ultrasound. Patients were submitted to clinical exam, body weight, abdominal circumference, diuresis and routine biohumoral exams, electrocardiogram and chest X-ray. Subsequently they underwent intermittent nocturnal peritoneal dialysis with a changing cycle of 6-12 hours per session. After 5 days, subjects were checked through echocardiogram and abdominal ultrasound. Results. The patients mean age was 56.7+/-3.2 years. After ultrafiltration, all subjects showed decreased body weight, abdominal circumference and urea; there was an increase of diuresis and Natriuria. Fifteen subjects entered III NYHA class without variation of EF; all of them showed clinical and echographic reduction of ascites. Mean ultrafiltration quantity was 6.084 ml with mean dialysis hours 20; 7.36% of patients had fever that disappared within 24 hours with antibiotic therapy. All subjects referred to feel well and the mean hospitalization period was of 7 day in spite of the usual 22 days