The case report of a 31-year-old man with giant cell myocarditis successfully treated with combined immunosuppression and veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for 21 days

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Body mass index and circulating oestrone sulphate in women treated with adjuvant letrozole

Background: Obesity is an independent adverse prognostic factor in early breast cancer patients, but it is still controversial whether obesity may affect adjuvant endocrine therapy efficacy. The aim of our study (ancillary to the two clinical trials Gruppo Italiano Mammella (GIM)4 and GIM5) was to investigate whether the circulating oestrogen levels during treatment with the aromatase inhibitor letrozole are related to body mass index (BMI) in postmenopausal women with breast cancer. Methods: Plasma concentration of oestrone sulphate (ES) was evaluated by radioimmunoassay in 370 patients. Plasma samples were obtained after at least 6 weeks of letrozole therapy (steady-state time). Patients were divided into four groups according to BMI. Differences among the geometric means (by ANOVA and ANCOVA) and correlation (by Spearman's rho) between the ES levels and BMI were assessed. Results: Picomolar geometric mean values (95% confidence interval, n=patients) of circulating ES during letrozole were 58.6 (51.0-67.2, n=150) when BMI was <25.0 kg m-2; 65.6 (57.8-74.6, n=154) when 25.0-29.9 kg m-2; 59.3 (47.1-74.6, n=50) when 30.0-34.9 kg m -2; and 43.3 (23.0-81.7, n=16) when 6535.0 kg m-2. No statistically significant difference in terms of ES levels among groups and no correlation with BMI were observed. Conclusions: Body mass index does not seem to affect circulating oestrogen levels in letrozole-treated patient

Breast cancer "tailored follow-up" in Italian oncology units: a web-based survey

urpose: Breast cancer follow-up procedures after primary treatment are still a controversial issue. Aim of this study was to investigate, through a web-based survey, surveillance methodologies selected by Italian oncologists in everyday clinical practice. Methods: Referents of Italian medical oncology units were invited to participate to the study via e-mail through the SurveyMonkey website. Participants were asked how, in their institution, exams of disease staging and follow-up are planned in asymptomatic women and if surveillance continues beyond the 5th year. Results: Between February and May 2013, 125 out of 233 (53.6%) invited referents of Italian medical oncology units agreed to participate in the survey. Ninety-seven (77.6%) referents state that modalities of breast cancer follow-up are planned according to the risk of disease progression at diagnosis and only 12 (9.6%) oncology units apply the minimal follow-up procedures according to international guidelines. Minimal follow-up is never applied in high risk asymptomatic women. Ninety-eight (78.4%) oncology units continue follow-up in all patients beyond 5 years. Conclusions: Our survey shows that 90.4% of participating Italian oncology units declare they do not apply the minimal breast cancer follow-up procedures after primary treatment in asymptomatic women, as suggested by national and international guidelines. Interestingly, about 80.0% of interviewed referents performs the so called "tailored follow-up", high intensity for high risk, low intensity for low risk patients. There is an urgent need of randomized clinical trials able to determine the effectiveness of risk-based follow-up modalities, their ideal frequency and persistence in time

Incidence and prognostic significance of atrial fibrillation in acute myocardial infarction: the GISSI-3 data

BACKGROUND—Atrial fibrillation is the most common supraventricular arrhythmia in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Recent advances in pharmacological treatment of myocardial infarction may have changed the impact of this arrhythmia.
OBJECTIVE—To assess the incidence and prognosis of atrial fibrillation complicating myocardial infarction in a large population of patients receiving optimal treatment, including angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.
METHODS—Data were derived from the GISSI-3 trial, which included 17 944 patients within the first 24 hours after acute myocardial infarction. Atrial fibrillation was recorded during the hospital stay, and follow up visits were planned at six weeks and six months. Survival of the patients at four years was assessed through census offices.
RESULTS—The incidence of in-hospital atrial fibrillation or flutter was 7.8%. Atrial fibrillation was associated with indicators of a worse prognosis (age > 70 years, female sex, higher Killip class, previous myocardial infarction, treated hypertension, high systolic blood pressure at entry, insulin dependent diabetes, signs or symptoms of heart failure) and with some adverse clinical events (reinfarction, sustained ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation). After adjustment for other prognostic factors, atrial fibrillation remained an independent predictor of increased in-hospital mortality: 12.6% v 5%, adjusted relative risk (RR) 1.98, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.67 to 2.34. Data on long term mortality (four years after acute myocardial infarction) confirmed the persistent negative influence of atrial fibrillation (RR 1.78, 95% CI 1.60 to 1.99).
CONCLUSIONS—Atrial fibrillation is an indicator of worse prognosis after acute myocardial infarction, both in the short term and in the long term, even in an unselected population.


Keywords: atrial fibrillation; acute myocardial infarction; prognosi

Il Rischio in Menopausa: La percezione del Rischio da parte dell'Ostetrica.

La menopausa rappresenta per la donna un momento critico in coincidenza del quale modificazioni importanti spesso silenti possono costituire fattori di rischio per altrettante patologie come la sindrome neurovegetativa, la patologia distrofica uro-genitale, la malattia cardiovascolare e l’osteoporosi. Inoltre è da considerare che l’età menopausale (in media intorno ai 50-51 anni) e in senso più largo l’età climaterica (45-55 anni) coincidono, indipendentemente dalle modifiche ormonali presenti in questo periodo, con aumento del rischio oncologico, in modo particolare a livello mammario e del colon.L’ostetrica che ha l’opportunità di dedicare la propria attività lavorativa all’assistenza sanitaria alla donna in età climaterica deve avere competenza nelle problematiche menopausali . I campi specifici di applicazione della sua attività in tale settore sono: a) informazione alla donna e alla popolazione femminile; b) monitoraggio dei rischi menopausali sulla singola donna e a livello di popolazione; c) counseling nel corso del follow-up climaterico. In particolare il monitoraggio dei rischi menopausali rappresenta l’attività più critica al fine di assicurare una efficace azione di prevenzione nei confronti delle possibili patologie correlate alla menopausa (sindrome neurovegetativa, uroginecologica, osteoporosi, malattia cardiovascolar

Blood glutathione as a marker of cardiac allograft vasculopathy in heart transplant recipients

Background: Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) limits survival after heart transplantation (HTx). Between immunologic and non-immunologic factors, reactive oxygen species generation has been proposed as pathogenetic mechanism. This study was aimed at evaluating redox status in HTx recipients and verifying whether it could be independently associated with CAV. Methods: Fifty-five consecutive male HTx recipients, median [interquartile range] age 60 yr [50, 64], underwent angiography 67 months [21, 97] after HTx to assess CAV, defined as significant stenosis in 651 epicardial vessel or any distal vessel attenuation. All patients underwent blood sampling 89 months [67, 119] after HTx for biochemical (glucose, creatinine, total and LDL cholesterol, and cyclosporin levels) and redox evaluation [plasma reduced and total homocysteine, cysteine, cysteinylglycine, glutathione, blood reduced glutathione (GSHbl) and vitamin E]. Univariate Odds Ratios (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI, highest vs. lowest quartile) were estimated on the basis of a logistic regression analysis between clinical, conventional biochemical and redox data. Only the significant variables at univariate entered into multivariate analysis. Results: CAV was documented in 15 (27%) patients. Univariate analysis showed that time from HTx to angiography (OR 3.97, 95% CI 1.15-14, p = 0.03) and GSHbl (OR 0.31, 95% CI: 0.14-0.70, p = 0.005) were significantly associated with CAV. However, multivariate analysis revealed GSHbl as the only independent predictor of CAV (OR 0.31, 95% CI: 0.13-0.74, p = 0.008). Conclusions: In HTx recipients reduced levels of GSHbl are independently associated with CAV. Given its potent intracellular scavenger properties, GSHbl may serve as a marker of antioxidant defence consumption, favouring CAV development

Bone marrow micrometastases in 109 breast cancer patients: correlations with clinical and pathological features and prognosis

BACKGROUND: The presence in bone marrow of cells which react with monoclonal antibodies against tumor-associated antigens has been proposed over the last few years as a new prognostic factor in breast cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Bone marrow aspirates were obtained from 109 stage I and II breast cancer patients during or 2-4 weeks after primary surgery. The samples were processed for leukocyte separation on a Ficoll-Hypaque gradient and then used to prepare cytospin slides for immunocytochemical analysis. The slides were stained with a pool of monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) which recognize tumor associated antigens, using the alkaline phosphatase anti-alkaline phosphatase method. The median follow-up was 36 months (range 15-62): 22 patients relapsed and 7 died. RESULTS: Thirty-four of the 109 patients (31.1%) had MoAb positive bone marrow cells. The bone marrow was positive in 28/74 (37.9%) patients who had the aspirate taken during surgery and in 6/35 (17.1%) who had it taken after surgery (p = 0.055). No association was found between bone marrow positivity and tumour size, nodal status, menopausal status, estrogen receptor positivity or the proliferative index. No association was found between bone marrow and prognosis: the log-rank test was 0.291 (p > 0.5) for OS and 0.023 for DFS; the hazard ratio (positive vs negative) was 1.51 for OS (95% CI: 0.33-6.86) and 0.93 for DFS (95% CI: 0.35-2.45). CONCLUSIONS: In our series, bone marrow positivity did not correlate with prognostic parameters or prognosis. Of interest is the relative excess of positivity when the bone marrow was obtained during surgery