In-hospital and late outcome of rescue versus primary percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

Introduction: Despite high technical success of rescue Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) and also its significant impact on left ventricular function, the therapeutic outcome of this PCI technique in comparison with primary PCI for coronary reperfusion has remained uncertain. The present study aimed to conduct a comparative analysis of early and long-term results of patients with ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI), who had undergone primary or rescue PCI.Methods: One hundred and twenty-nine consecutive patients with the diagnosis of STEMI, who underwent primary PCI (n = 107) or rescue PCI (n = 22) from April 2012 to September 2013 were retrospectively included. In addition to early assessment of procedural consequences, the patients were followed-up to assess and compare long-term mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events.Results: Comparing in-hospital consequences of the two rescue PCI and primary PCI procedures showed no significant differences in in-hospital mortality (9.5% vs. 3.7%, P = 0.255), total hospital stay (6.32 ± 2.24 days vs. 6.61 ± 3.43 days, P = 0.720) and also in early procedural complications. Long-term death was found only in 1.9% of patients in the primary group and none of the patients in the rescue group (P = 0.999). There was also no difference in the prevalence of late stent thrombosis between the two groups. However, the in-hospital Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF) was lower in the rescue PCI group vs. primary PCI group (36.82 ± 11.19 vs. 43.48 ± 9.14, P = 0.014), but after six months, LVEF was similar between the two groups (41.05 ± 9.57 vs. 44.29 ± 10.35, P = 0.082).Conclusions: Our study showed no difference in early and late procedural outcome between the primary and rescue PCI techniques in STEMI patients, but LVEF had better improvement in the rescue PCI group

One- and Six-month Outcomes of Patients with Non-ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Introduction: Use of risk scoring systems in patients with acute coronary syndrome helps with summarizing important prognostic data of the disease and facilitates calculating confidence limits and comparing survival rates between different treatments. In the present study, the researchers first aimed at assessing mid-term outcome of patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and then determining main predictors of this outcome to improve definitive criteria for designing a risk scoring system in the population.Methods: In a prospective cohort study, 124 patients with NSTEMI, diagnosed according to ACC/AHA guidelines and hospitalized in an academic hospital in 2013, were consecutively assessed. Baseline characteristics were collected via interviewing, physical examination, and reviewing the recorded files. All the patients were followed for one and six months to assess mid-term outcomes regarding mortality and major adverse cardiac events (MACE). MACE is defined as the occurrence of at least one of the events of death, myocardial infarction, repeated revascularization, or re-hospitalization.Results: One-month death occurred in 3.2%, re-hospitalization in 4.0%, and myocardial infarction in none of the patients. In addition, regarding the six-month outcomes status, mortality rate was determined in 6.4%, re-hospitalization in 22.6%, and myocardial infarction in 4.8% of patients. Hence, one- and six-month MACE rates were 7.3% and 27.4%, respectively. Furthermore, three- and six-month survival rates were estimated to be 96.8% and 93.6%, respectively. According to the Cox-proportion hazard modeling, only reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (HR = 0.909, P = 0.017), history of chronic kidney injury (HR = 8.884, P = 0.005), and Inotrope use (HR = 35.759, P = 0.012) could predict the six-month MACE. None of the other indexes including general coronary risk factors, echocardiography parameters, and level of cardiac enzymes could predict mortality rate.Conclusions: Patients with NSTEMI may face high six-month MACE which can be predicted by low LVEF, history of renal injury and use of inotrope. Therefore, to define risk stratification system, these indicators should be considered as well

Prolonged fever in a case of end stage renal disease with remained guidewire

Central venous catheters,introduced for short-term dialysis,but occationally used as permanent vascular access in patient without alternative option. Hemodialysis(HD) patients presenting with fever have high rates of bacteremia,specially in patients with dialysis catheters and those with a history of bacteremia. [1]Herein,we report a case of  end stage renal disease with catheter infection complicated with endocarditi

Circadian Blood Pressure Variability in Normo and Hypertensive Diabetic Patients

Background: Diabetic patients have a higher prevalence of non-dipping pattern in blood pressure (BP) than general population. Non-dipping arterial pressure pattern is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between the clinical and paraclinical characteristics of the diabetic patients with circadian BP variability.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 114 diabetic patients (more than 18 years old) recruited by consecutive sampling. The patients were divided into two groups according to the results of systolic blood pressure dipping from day to night.Results: Mean age was 58.3±9.6 years; and 63% of the study population was male. Also, 80.7%, 78.1%, and 78.9% of the patients had non-dipper patterns in systolic, diastolic, and mean BP respectively. The dipping pattern did not have any significant association with baseline or clinical characteristics of the patients (p>0.05).Conclusion: The characteristics of the patients do not assist finding diabetic persons who are more likely to have non-dipping arterial pressure pattern. As such, ABPM is an essential tool for proper risk stratification in diabetic patients

Cardiogenic Shock Following Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Retrospective Observational Study

Introduction: Cardiogenic shock is a sudden complication that occurs in 5 to 10% of patients with acute myocardial infarction. According to statistics, mortality and morbidity from this event, despite all hospital care, are approximately 70-80%.Methods: This study was conducted over three years (2012 to 2014) in 28 cases of acute myocardial infarction, which was complicated by cardiovascular shock, before or after admission. We compared the outcomes of patients according to the treatment strategy, thrombolytic therapy, primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), or other medical stabilization. The 30-day follow-up was the first endpoint, and the 3- month follow up was the second endpoint of the study.Results: 28 patients with cardiogenic shock included in this study. The mean (± SD) age of the patients was 62.99 ± 13.99 years. The median time to the onset of shock was 648.75 ± 1393.58 minutes after infarction. Most of the patients who underwent coronary angiography had 3-vessel or left main involvement. Two patients missed in follow up and five (80%) patients who received thrombolytic therapy passed away. Nine (100%) patients in the medical stabilization group and six patients (50%) underwent primary PCI group passed away too. The mortality in the primary PCI group was significantly lower than the other groups (P = 0.04).Conclusion: Although cardiogenic shock is a potential risk of early death, it is important that the thrombolytic in these patients doesn't increase survival and the primary PCI is more effective than thrombolytic agents

Differences in gender and outcomes following isolated coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery

Background: Gender impacts pre-, intra-, and postoperative parameters and outcomes following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) with conflicting results. This study aimed to identify differences in preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative parameters. It also seeks to compare the postoperative complications and mortality between two genders who had CABG surgery. Methods: This prospective observational study included patients who had isolated CABG and were divided based on gender. Demographic information, underlying comorbidities, drug history, clinical and laboratory data at the time of referral, operative characteristics, postoperative variables, and mortality outcomes were tracked during hospitalization and six months after discharge. Results: Three hundred twenty patients were enrolled in the study during its duration. 71% were male. Women were older (62.40±9.03 vs. 59.99±9.81 years, p= 0.011) and had more dyslipidemia (p=0.003), hypertension (p=0.000), and diabetes (p=0.001), whereas men admitted with more myocardial infarction (MI) (p=0.011) and had lower Ejection fraction (EF) (p=0.001). They also had lower EF post-surgery and six months after discharge (p <0.001, 0.006). However, the number of vessels involved was not different between genders (p=0.589), but the number of grafts was higher in men (p=0.008).There was no statistically significant difference in overall mortality rates between the two groups (4.42% and 6.38% in men and women, respectively, p= 0.464).Conclusions: The women had more underlying comorbidities than men. Furthermore, there were some differences in the intra-operative parameters and postoperative complications between the two genders, but there was no difference in postoperative mortality in our setting

Effects of Dexmedetomidine on Clinical Outcomes and Renal Function after CABG

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Correction: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation against conventional aortic valve replacement surgery in high-risk patients with aortic stenosis; a cost-effectiveness analysis

Background: Aortic stenosis is a prevalent heart valvular disorder in Iran. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) and Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement (SAVR) are two common procedures for treating the disease in the current clinical pathway. However, TAVI is an expensive procedure, and for Iran with severe limitations in financial resources, it is crucial to investigate the cost-effectiveness of the technology against other competing alternatives with the same purpose. This study aims to analyse the cost-effectiveness of TAVI vs SAVR in elderly patients who are at a higher risk of surgery. Methods: This study is a decision economic evaluation modeling, with a lifetime horizon and a healthcare payer (health insurer) perspective. The utility values are from a previous study, transitional probabilities come from an established clinical trial called PARTNER-1, and the unit costs are from Iran’s national fee schedule for medical services. The probabilistic and one-way sensitivity analyses have been performed to mitigate the uncertainty. Results: The incremental cost, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness ratio for the base case were: 368,180,101 Iranian Rial, (US$1,473), 0.37 QALY-per-patient, and, 995,081,354 Iranian Rial (US$ 3,980), respectively. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis yielded 981,765,302 I.R.I Rials (US$ 3,927) per patient for the ICER. The probability of being cost-effective at one and three times the country’s Gross Domestic Production (GDP) is 0.31 and 0.83, respectively. Conclusions: TAVI does not seem a cost-effective procedure in comparison with SAVR at the current willingness to pay thresholds of the country. However, by increasing the WTP threshold to 3 times the GDP per capita the probability of being cost-effective will raise to 83%