0495: Clinical impact of second-generation everolimus eluting stent compared with first-generation sirolimus-eluting stent in diabetes mellitus patients

PurposeThis study sought to study the second-generation everolimuseluting stent (EES) as compared with first-generation sirolimus-eluting (SES) in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients.MethodsAll DM patients treated with EES or SES from January 2010, to December 2011 were included. The EES was compared with SES for the primary composite endpoint of clinically driven detected restenosis, definite stent thrombosis (ST), and all-cause mortality.ResultsIn 226 percutaneous coronary intervention-treated DM patients, 353 stents were implanted (EES 118, SES 235). The EES was associated with significantly lower restenosis rates compared with SES (SES vs. EES: 16.7% vs. 2.8%, p=0,001, OR: 2.96; 95% CI: 1.57 to 5.57). Lower incidence of ST (SES vs. EES: 2,1% vs 0,8%, p=0,38) and mortality (SES vs. EES: 1,7 % vs 0%, p=0,15) was noted but did not reach statistical significance.ConclusionsIn all-comer DM patients the use of EES was associated with improved outcomes compared with SES mainly driven by lower rates of clinically driven detected restenosis

0275: Diagnosis, complications and management of infective endocarditis: experience of Tunisian military hospital

BackgroundInfective endocarditis (IE) is lethal if not aggressively treated with antibiotics alone or in combination with surgery. The epidemiology of this condition has substantially changed over the past four decades, especially in industrialized countries. Once a disease that predominantly affected young adults with previously well-identified valve disease – mostly chronic rheumatic heart disease – IE nowadays tends to affect older patients and new at-risk groups, including intravenous-drug users, patients with intracardiac devices and degenerative valvular heart disease…ObjectivesWe aimed to evaluate demographic data, underlying cardiac abnormalities, clinical profile, microbiological features, treatments and complications of IE.MethodsA retrospective study of all cases with the diagnosis of definite endocarditis according to Duke Criteria admitted to The Tunisian Military Hospital between January 2001 and December 2007.ResultsThe study included 53 patients (32 males and 21 females; mean age 44.5±16.5 years). Infective endocarditis developed on a native valve in 48 patients (90%), a mechanical prosthetic valve in 5 patients (5%). Rheumatic heart disease in 26 cases (49%) was the most common preexisting valvular abnormality in native valve endocarditis. The mitral valve was the most commonly affected valve 23 (43.4%). Fever occurred in 50 (94%) of the cases. Trans-thoracic and/or trans-esophageal echocardiography showed vegetation and/or abcess in 33 patients (62.2%). Streptococci in 17 cases (32%) and Staphylococci in 13 cases (24%) were the most common causative agents. Twenty-six patients (49%) underwent surgical treatment. Cardiac complications occurred in 13% of cases, vascular complications in 18% of cases, cerebrovascular accidents in 15% of cases and septic metastatic complications in 15% of cases.ConclusionsIE usually occurred on rheumatic heart disease. Its diagnosis is based on hemocultures and echocardiography. There are deficiencies in applying prophylaxis, which is a justification for the improvement of patient management through education

Sub-chapter 3.4.1. Urbanization and land use as a driver of flood risk

Introduction Obviously, floods have natural causes – heavy rainfall in the case of flash floods – nevertheless, their consequences depend strongly on urbanization and land use. On both sides of the Mediterranean, regions have been subjected to fast changes which have led to a concentration of assets in valleys and coastal areas (Plan Bleu, 2008). Changes in land use play a predominant part in the “risk production process” i.e. in the increasing exposure of human activities to flood risk. This..

Multimodality imaging assessment of a caseous calcification of the mitral valve annulus

Caseous calcification of the mitral annulus (CCMA) is a rare echocardiographic finding. It is commonly misdiagnosed as an abscess, tumor or infective vegetation on the mitral valve. Since it is a benign process, differentiating it from malignant intra-cardiac mass is primordial to avoid unnecessary surgery. Various imaging modalities can be complimentary for definitive diagnosis. We present a case of CCMA in a 71-year-old female patient. Her medical history revealed hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidaemia and coronary artery disease. She was referred to our department for coronary catheterization because of angina symptoms upon minimal exertion. The lesion was detected during echocardiography and was defined as a mass of heterogeneous content with calcification points, located at the posterior side of the mitral valve annulus. Restricted motion of the posterior leaflet and the mass effect caused only minimal mitral regurgitation. To establish the correct diagnosis, we performed the full spectrum of noninvasive cardiac imaging modalities. Transesophageal echocardiography identified well-organized, composite lesion with regular edges, markedly calcified margins and more echolucent central portion. A computed tomography (CT) was performed, showing a hyperdense mass with hypodense center and a calcified peripheral rim located at the posterior mitral ring. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed that the mass was hypointense with respect to the myocardium in the T1 and T2-weighted sequences and only presented late-phase enhancement in the surrounding capsule. Based on the CT and MRI findings, the diagnosis of CCMA was established. The patient was managed conservatively

The Predictive Value of 2D Myocardial Strain for Epirubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity

Introduction. Although epirubicin has significantly improved outcome in breast cancer (BC) patients, it is responsible for myocardial dysfunction that affects patients’ quality of life. The use of 2D global longitudinal strain (GLS) has been reported to detect early myocardial dysfunction. The aim of this study was to evaluate how GLS changes can predict cardiotoxicity. Methods. We conducted a prospective study from March 2018 to March 2020 on 66 patients with no cardiovascular risk factors, who presented with BC and received epirubicin. We measured left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and GLS before chemotherapy, at three months (T3), and at 12 months (T12) from the last epirubicin infusion. Chemotherapy-Related-Cardiac-Dysfunction (CTRCD) was defined as a decrease of 10% in LVEF to a value below 53% according to ASE and EACI 2014 expert consensus. Results. The mean age at diagnosis was 47 ± 9 years old. At baseline, median LVEF was 70% and median GLS was −21%. Shortly after chemotherapy completion, two patients presented with symptomatic heart failure while asymptomatic CTRCD was revealed in three other patients at T12. Three months after the last epirubicin infusion, median LVEF was 65%, median GLS was −19%, and median GLS variation was 5%. However, in patients who presented with subsequent CTRCD, median GLS at T3 was −16% and median GLS variation was 19% (p=0.002 and p<0.001, respectively, when compared to patients who did not develop cardiotoxicity). Persistent GLS decrease at T3 was an independent predictor of CTRCD at T12. Age and left-sided thoracic irradiation did not increase the risk of cardiotoxicity in our study while the cumulative dose of epirubicin significantly affected cardiologic findings (p=0.001). Conclusion. This was the first North African study that assesses the value of measuring GLS to early detect cardiotoxicity. Patients whose GLS remained decreased after 3 months from anthracyclines-base chemotherapy had an increased risk for developing subsequent CTRCD. Further studies with larger sample size are warranted to identify the best cardioprotective molecules to be initiated in these patients before LVEF declines

Cardiac tamponade: an uncommon presenting feature of systemic lupus erythematosus (a case-based review)

Although pericarditis is the most prevalent cardiac involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), cardiac tamponade is extremely infrequent notably as the first manifestation of the disease. Here we report the case of a 22-year-old woman presenting with cardiac tamponade as the initial presentation of SLE

Epidemiology of heart failure and long-term follow-up outcomes in a north-African population: Results from the NAtional TUnisian REgistry of Heart Failure (NATURE-HF)

International audienceThe NATURE-HF registry was aimed to describe clinical epidemiology and 1-year outcomes of outpatients and inpatients with heart failure (HF). This is a prospective, multicenter, observational survey conducted in Tunisian Cardiology centers. A total of 2040 patients were included in the study. Of these, 1632 (80%) were outpatients with chronic HF (CHF). The mean hospital stay was 8.7 ± 8.2 days. The mortality rate during the initial hospitalization event for AHF was 7.4%. The all-cause 1-year mortality rate was 22.8% among AHF patients and 10.6% among CHF patients. Among CHF patients, the older age, diabetes, anemia, reduced EF, ischemic etiology, residual congestion and the absence of ACEI/ ARBs treatment were independent predictors of 1-year cumulative rates of rehospitalization and mortality. The female sex and the functional status were independent predictors of 1-year all-cause mortality and rehospitalization in AHF patients. This study confirmed that acute HF is still associated with a poor prognosis, while the mid-term outcomes in patients with chronic HF seems to be improved. Some differences across countries may be due to different clinical characteristics and differences in healthcare systems