Contractile reserve and contrast uptake pattern by magnetic resonance imaging and functional recovery after reperfused myocardial infarction

AbstractOBJECTIVESWe hypothesized that contrast-enhanced and dobutamine tagged magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could investigate microvascular integrity and contractile reserve of reperfused myocardial infarction (MI) in one examination.BACKGROUNDIn reperfused MI, microvascular integrity and contractile reserve are important determinants of functional recovery.METHODSTwenty-three patients with a reperfused first MI were studied. On day 3 ± 1 after MI, patients underwent tagged MRI at baseline and during infusion of 5 and 10 μg/kg/min of dobutamine followed by contrast-enhanced MRI (first pass and delayed imaging) after a bolus infusion of gadolinium-diethylenetriaminepenta-acetic acid. Tagged MRI was performed 9 ± 1 weeks later (follow-up). Eighty-four transmural regions with hyperenhancement on delayed contrast-enhanced images were defined as COMB (first pass hypoenhancement) or HYPER (normal first pass signal enhancement). Percent circumferential segment shortening was measured within the subendocardium and subepicardum of each region of HYPER or COMB at baseline, peak dobutamine and follow-up.RESULTSShortening improved in COMB regions from 4 ± 1% at baseline to 10 ± 1% at peak dobutamine and 10 ± 1% at follow-up, respectively (p < 0.0003 vs. baseline for both). The HYPER regions likewise improved from 10 ± 1% at baseline to 16 ± 1% and 17 ± 1%, respectively (p < 0.0004 vs. baseline for both). Function within COMB regions was less than that of HYPER at baseline, peak dobutamine and follow-up (p < 0.0003 for all).CONCLUSIONSDobutamine magnetic resonance tagging and contrast enhanced MRI are complementary in assessing functional recovery after reperfused MI. Regions of delayed contrast hyperenhancement demonstrate both contractile reserve and late functional recovery. However, if these regions demonstrate first pass contrast hypoenhancement, they are associated with greater myocardial damage

Needles in a haystack: Extremely rare invasive fungal infections reported in FungiScope (R)-Global Registry for Emerging Fungal Infections

Objectives: Emerging invasive fungal infections (IFI) have become a notable challenge. Apart from the more frequently described fusariosis, lomentosporiosis, mucormycosis, scedosporiosis, and certain dematiaceae or yeasts, little is known about extremely rare IFI. Methods: Extremely rare IFI collected in the FungiScope (R) registry were grouped as Dematiaceae, Hypocreales, Saccharomycetales, Eurotiales, Dermatomycetes, Agaricales, and Mucorales. Results: Between 2003 and June 2019, 186 extremely rare IFI were documented in FungiScope (R). Dematiaceae (35.5%), Hypocreales (23.1%), Mucorales (11.8%), and Saccharomycetales (11.3%) caused most IFI. Most patients had an underlying malignancy (38.7%) with acute leukemia accounting for 50% of cancers. Dissemination was observed in 26.9% of the patients. Complete or partial clinical response rate was 68.3%, being highest in Eurotiales (82.4%) and in Agaricales (80.0%). Overall mortality rate was 29.3%, ranging from 11.8% in Eurotiales to 50.0% in Mucorales. Conclusions: Physicians are confronted with a complex variety of fungal pathogens, for which treatment recommendations are lacking and successful outcome might be incidental. Through an international consortium of physicians and scientists, these cases of extremely rare IFI can be collected to further investigate their epidemiology and eventually identify effective treatment regimens. (C) 2020 The British Infection Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved