Alveolar Hemorrhage Following Tirofiban Treatment. A Misleading Diagnosis

An n=8 worldsheet superfield action is proposed for describing chiralfermions in the twistor-like formulation of an N=1, D=10 heterotic superstring

Non-cardiogenic pleural effusion after amlodipine intoxication and hyperinsulinemic therapy

We report a patient with amlodipine intoxication who presented to hospital 30 hours after suicidal intake of the drug. Admitted to the intensive care unit, the patient had profound hypotension and need for fluid replacement and infusion of dopamine and noradrenaline. The patient was also administered insulin and calcium gluconate. In addition to profound hypotension, massive non-cardiogenic pleural effusion also complicated the clinical picture. Bilateral pleurocans were placed and non-invasive ventilation was administered in continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mode. Hyperinsulinemic euglycemic therapy was also applied. Following the onset of insulin therapy mean blood pressure increased and need for vasopressors was reduced. Possible positive inotropic action of insulin therapy in this patient suffering calcium channel blocker intoxication is in accordance with previous reports. It has been suggested that hyperinsulinemic euglycemic therapy may be considered as a first-line therapy in amlodipine intoxication. [Med-Science 2016; 5(4.000): 1024-6

The effect of high-dose steroid treatment used for the treatment of acute demyelinating diseases on endothelial and cardiac functions

Objective: The cardiovascular effects of short-term high-dose steroid treatment (pulse steroid treatment) have not yet been clarified. We examined the short-and long-term effects of pulse steroid treatment in demyelinating diseases on endothelial and cardiac functions. Methods: In this prospective study, we included 35 patients (20 females and 15 males; mean age, 32.8 +/- 9.3 years) who were not treated with steroids and who were previously diagnosed with multiple sclerosis or neuromyelitis optica. Patients were evaluated before, 1 week after, and 3 months after the steroid treatment. Brachial artery flow-mediated relaxation and cardiac systolic/diastolic function were evaluated using echocardiography to assess physical examination results, carotid intima-media thickness, and endothelial function. Results: There was no difference between biochemical values, systolic function, left ventricular dimensions, and carotid intima-media thicknesses in the three evaluation periods. There were significant increases in the body mass index, body weight, and systolic/diastolic blood pressure measurements at 1 week and 3 months after treatment (p<0.001). There was a significant decrease in brachial artery flow-mediated relaxation at 1 week and 3 months (1 versus 2, p=0.042; 1 versus 3, p=0.003). In Doppler measurements at 1 week and 3 months, there was an increase in mitral A velocity, IVRT, and EDT values and a decrease in the E/A ratio in line with diastolic dysfunction. Conclusion: Pulse steroid therapy used for demyelinating diseases deteriorated endothelial and left ventricular diastolic functions in the early and late periods. Future studies are needed to evaluate the development of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in patients receiving this type of treatment

Association of lipid profile with echocardiographic Wilkins score in patients with moderate to severe mitral stenosis: Possible impact on prognosis

Background: Association of valvular heart disease and lipid profile might be important as in the case of aortic stenosis. However, it has not been so far considered in detail the probable association of other valvular diseases, particularly of mitral stenosis (MS) with lipid profile. In our study, we aimed to search possible association of echocardiographic mitral valve score, evaluated according to Wilkins score, with lipid parameters in a group of patients with mitral stenosis, who were referred for possible percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty

Fine vs. coarse atrial fibrillation: Which one is more risky?

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a frequent arrhythmia, associated with morbidity and mortality. It is identified by two types on surface electrocardiogram as fine and coarse AF. We aimed to search the association of subtypes of AF with clinical parameters. Methods: Eight hundred and eleven consecutive patients, who had AF attack which lasted longer than 24 h or more, were evaluated along with clinical and laboratory data. Results: Coarse AF was noticed in 51.7% (n = 419), and fine AF in 48.3% (n = 392). Sex was associated with subtype of AF such that coarse AF was present in 46.5% of male patients, but in 56.1% of female patients (p = 0.009). Coarse AF was present in 85.3% of patients with mitral stenosis, whereas it was present in 35.3% of patients with normal heart valve (p < 0.001).). Patients having fine AF were significantly older than those having coarse AF (64 +/- 12, 57 +/- 13 years, p < 0.001). 19.6% of those with coarse AF had history of cerebrovascular event (CVE), whereas 13.5% of those with fine AF had history of CVE (p = 0.021). After controlling for age in the multivariable logistic regression analysis, presence of coarse AF (B = 1.585, p = 0.031) was found to be independently associated with the history of CVE. Conclusion: AF is identified by two morphological forms on the surface electrocardiogram. These two forms were found to be associated with different clinical parameters, acting on vascular endpoints differently. Copyright (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

Increased frequency of occurrence of bendopnea is associated with poor outcomes in heart failure outpatients

Background Relationship between the frequency of occurrence of bendopnea during the daily life of heart failure (HF) outpatients and clinical outcomes has never been evaluated before. Methods Turkish Research Team-Heart Failure (TREAT-HF) is a network between HF centres, which undertakes multicentric observational studies in HF. Herein, the data including stable 573 HF patients with reduced ejection fraction out of seven HF centres were presented. A questionnaire was filled by the patients, with the question 'Do you experience shortness of breath while tying your shoelace?', assessing the presence and frequency of bendopnea. Results To the question related to bendopnea, 48% of the patients answered 'yes, every time', 31% answered 'yes, sometimes', and 21% answered 'No'. Patients were followed for an average of 24 +/- 14 months, and the patients who answered 'yes, every time' and 'yes, sometimes' to the bendopnea question were found having increased risk for both HF-related hospitalisations (HR:3.2,p < .001- HR:2.8,p = .005) and composite outcome consisting of 'HF-related hospitalisations and all-cause death in the multi-variate analysis (HR:3.1,p < .001- HR:3.0,p < .001). Kaplan Meier analysis for HF-related hospitalisation, all-cause death, and the composite of these were provided for these three groups, yielding significant and graded divergence curves with the best prognosis in 'no' group, with the moderate prognosis in 'sometimes' group, and with the worst prognosis in the 'every time' group. Conclusion For the first time in the literature, our study shows that the increased frequency of bendopnea occurrence in daily life is associated with poor outcomes in HF outpatients

Fate of Internal Mammary Artery Grafted to Left Anterior Descending Artery Is Influenced by Native Vessel Stenosis and Viable Myocardium

In this study, factors leading to the failure of internal mammary artery grafting was investigated among patients with coronary bypass. In all, 1323 patients were evaluated. It was found that lower grade diameter stenosis in the native vessel during postoperative angiogram and wall motion score index independently affected the fate of internal mammary artery as a graft. Grafting with internal mammary artery to native vessels with lower grade stenosis and to myocardium with poor wall score might not be a rational approach