Circulating cardio-enriched microRNAs are associated with long-term prognosis following myocardial infarction.

Increased levels of cardio-enriched microRNAs (miRNAs) have been described in patients with myocardial infarction (MI). We wanted to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic potential of cardio-enriched miRNAs in patients presenting with a suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS)

Platelets activated during myocardial infarction release functional miRNA which can be taken up by endothelial cells and regulate ICAM1 expression.

Key points Myocardial infarction patients have altered platelet miRNA profilesActivated platelets release miRNAs that can be taken up by endothelial cells and regulate ICAM1 gene expression

The brain-enriched microRNA miR-124 in plasma predicts neurological outcome after cardiac arrest

Introduction: Early prognostication after successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation is difficult, and there is a need for novel methods to estimate the extent of brain injury and predict outcome. In this study, we evaluated the impact of the cardiac arrest syndrome on the plasma levels of selected tissue-specific microRNAs (miRNAs) and assessed their ability to prognosticate death and neurological disability. Methods: We included 65 patients treated with hypothermia after cardiac arrest in the study. Blood samples were obtained at 24 hours and at 48 hours. For miRNA-screening purposes, custom quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) panels were first used. Thereafter individual miRNAs were assessed at 48 hours with qPCR. miRNAs that successfully predicted prognosis at 48 hours were further analysed at 24 hours. Outcomes were measured according to the Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) score at 6 months after cardiac arrest and stratified into good (CPC score 1 or 2) or poor (CPC scores 3 to 5). Results: At 48 hours, miR-146a, miR-122, miR-208b, miR-21, miR-9 and miR-128 did not differ between the good and poor neurological outcome groups. In contrast, miR-124 was significantly elevated in patients with poor outcomes compared with those with favourable outcomes (P < 0.0001) at 24 hours and 48 hours after cardiac arrest. Analysis of receiver operating characteristic curves at 24 and 48 hours after cardiac arrest showed areas under the curve of 0.87 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.79 to 0.96) and 0.89 (95% CI = 0.80 to 0.97), respectively. Conclusions: The brain-enriched miRNA miR-124 is a promising novel biomarker for prediction of neurological prognosis following cardiac arrest

Capnocytophaga canimorsus tricuspid valve endocarditis

Capnocytophaga canimorsus is an uncommon cause of infective endocarditis (IE) and mainly affects persons with compromised immune-systems who have been in contact with dogs. We describe a case of C. canimorsus tricuspid valve IE in a 70 year-old dog-owner where diagnosis and treatment were delayed. The reason for the delayed diagnosis in this case was likely due to that initial blood cultures were negative due to preceding antibiotic treatment, discrepancies between echocardiographic investigations, and a thymoma and colonic polyps which were thought to explain the symptoms. A multi-diciplinary approach in cases with suspected IE might help to avoid diagnostic delays

Bacteraemia and infective endocarditis with Streptococcus bovis-Streptococcus equinus-complex: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Streptococcus bovis/equinus complex (SBSEC) comprise several species and subspecies and is a common cause of infective endocarditis (IE). S. gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus (Sg gallolyticus) accounts for a majority of SBSEC IE, but the risk of IE for other subspecies is largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the clinical presentation of bacteraemia, and proportion of patients with IE in bacteraemia with the most common subspecies.METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of SBSEC-bacteraemia identified in clinical laboratory databases, in Skåne Region, Sweden, 2003-2018. Bacteraemia with Sg gallolyticus, S. gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus (Sg pasteurianus), S. lutetiensis and S. infantarius subsp. infantarius (Si infantarius) were included. Subspecies was identified by whole genome sequencing. Medical charts were reviewed according to a predetermined protocol, IE was defined by the criteria from European Society of Cardiology.RESULTS: In total, 210 episodes of SBSEC-bacteraemia were included. Definite IE was identified in 28/210 (13%) episodes. Of these, 7/28 (25%) were prosthetic valve-IE, 1/28 (4%) related to a cardiovascular implantable electronic device and 10/28 (36%) required heart valve surgery. The proportions of IE among different subspecies were: Sg gallolyticus 17/52 (33%), Si infantarius 5/31 (16%), Sg pasteurianus 4/83 (5%) and S. lutetiensis 2/44 (5%) (p < 0.001). Sg pasteurianus and S. lutetiensis were more often associated with intra-abdominal- and polymicrobial infection.CONCLUSION: The proportion of IE in SBSEC-bacteraemia varies substantially depending on subspecies. Echocardiography should always be considered in bacteraemia with Sg gallolyticus and Si infantarius, and can sometimes be omitted in bacteraemia with Sg pasteurianus and S. lutetiensis

Short time to blood culture positivity in Enterococcus faecalis infective endocarditis

Time to blood culture positivity (TTP) is an indirect measure of bacterial concentration in blood. A short TTP has been linked to the presence of infective endocarditis (IE) and to poor prognosis in Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. We analyze factors influencing TTP in bacteremia with Enterococcus faecalis. This retrospective observational study of medical records included adults diagnosed with monomicrobial E. faecalis bacteremia between 2015 and 2018 in the Skåne region (Sweden). For each episode, the shortest TTP was recorded. Median TTP was compared between patients grouped based on age, sex, comorbidity, site of acquisition, and focus of infection. Using a dichotomized TTP (shorter or longer than 12 h), a multivariable logistic regression for factors associated to TTP was performed. The association between TTP and IE or mortality was evaluated. Three hundred sixty-seven episodes with monomicrobial E. faecalis bacteremia with the corresponding TTP were identified. Median TTP for the entire cohort was 11.6 (IQR 9.9–14.1) h and a significantly shorter TTP was noted for episodes which represented IE (n = 55, 9.4 (IQR 6.4–10.6) h). Only IE remained associated with a short TTP (≤ 12 h) in binary logistic regression analysis. Factors associated with IE were investigated and TTP was associated with IE also when adjusted for age, gender, comorbidity, and nosocomial acquisition. There was no association between TTP and mortality. A low TTP is associated with IE in E. faecalis bacteremia and could be used as a help in determining the need for echocardiography in patients with this condition

Time to blood culture positivity in Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia to determine risk of infective endocarditis

Objectives: Patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) at risk for infective endocarditis (IE) need to be identified because they should undergo echocardiography. We validated previous scoring systems for IE risk determination and evaluated whether time to blood culture positivity (TTP) could improve scoring systems. Methods: This retrospective population-based study included adults with SAB in 2016 in a derivation cohort and those from 2017 in a validation cohort. TTP was compared between patients with and without IE. A new score including TTP was constructed using a least absolute shrinkage selection operator. The new POSITIVE score was compared to the previously described PREDICT and VIRSTA scores. Results: A total of 465 episodes with SAB were included in the derivation cohort, of which 38 (8.2%) represented IE. Median (interquartile range) TTP was significantly shorter in episodes with IE, at 8.7 (7.7–10.6) hours compared to those without, at 13.3 (10.5–16.5) hours. When using a cutoff at 13 hours, TTP had a sensitivity of 100% (95% confidence interval (CI), 91–100) and specificity of 52% (95% CI, 47–57) for IE. The POSITIVE score included TTP, intravenous drug use, embolizations and presence of preexisting heart conditions. It had a sensitivity of 93% (95% CI, 76–99) and a specificity of 70% (95% CI, 66–74) in the validation cohort. The performance of POSITIVE was superior to PREDICT, and the specificity was higher than that of VIRSTA. Conclusions: TTP, either by itself or as part of the POSITIVE score, can be used to identify patients with SAB at low risk for IE. Further validation is needed because TTP is sensitive to several external factors