Transcatheter aortic valve replacement in Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease: An Insight

As per the current scenario, role of Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVI) is controversial in bicuspid aortic valve stenosis. All the randomized clinical trials comparing outcomes of TAVI with surgery till date, have excluded patients with bicuspid aortic valve. Some of the observational studies have reported outcomes of TAVI in bicuspid aortic valve stenosis patients who are not surgical candidate. The recent advances in TAVI and its expansion into intermediate groups, which includes younger age groups sparks a debate on the efficacy and safety of TAVI in Bicsuspid aortic valve (BAV). The purpose of the present article is to review the available literature regarding the feasibility, safety and outcomes of TAVI in bicuspid aortic valve stenosis

Seasonal Variations and Trends in Hospitalization for Peptic Ulcer Disease in the United States: A 12-Year Analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample

BACKGROUND: Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a major public health burden significantly impacting the cost of hospitalization in the United States (US). We examined the trends, characteristics, complications, cost, and seasonality of PUD-related hospitalizations from 2000 to 2011. METHODS: With the use of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2000 through 2011, we identified PUD-related hospitalizations using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9), 9th Revision, and the Clinical Modification code 531.00 to 534.91 as the principal discharge diagnosis. The total number of hospitalizations for each calendar month of the year were added over a 12-year period, and this number was divided by the number of days in that particular month to obtain the mean hospitalizations per day for each month. RESULTS: The study found that 351,921 hospitalizations with the primary discharge diagnosis of peptic ulcer disease (PUD) occurred in the US between 2000 and 2011. This number dropped significantly from 49,524 to 17,499 between 2000 and 2011, and the rate of PUD-related mortality decreased from 4.3% to 3.1%. The mean age of the study population was 66.2 +/- 17.4 years; 52.3% were males, and 56.8% were white. The number of hospitalizations in the US peaked in the spring season (916/day), and reached a nadir in the fall season (861/day). The mean cost of PUD hospitalization increased significantly from $11,755 in 2001 to$13,803 in 2011 (relative increase of 17%; p \u3c 0.001). CONCLUSION: The incidence of PUD and its mortality has decreased significantly in the last decade, but its economic burden on the healthcare system remains high. A seasonal pattern of PUD hospitalization showed a peak in PUD-related admissions in the spring season and a trough in the fall season

Primary intimal sarcoma of the left atrium: an incidental finding on routine echocardiography

Cardiac sarcomas are extremely rare primary malignant tumors of the heart. In this article, we present the case of a 70-year-old female, who was found to have a left atrial mass during a routine outpatient transthoracic echocardiography. Further investigation with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the presence of a bilobulated mass with heterogeneous enhancement. Left atrial myxoma was the first diagnostic consideration, followed by other primary cardiac tumors, and thrombus. The patient subsequently underwent resection of the mass, utilizing cardiopulmonary bypass. Upon pathological examination, the mass was found to be an intimal sarcoma. The objective of this report is to describe a case of this rare disease entity, and to discuss its presentation, pathological findings and management

Temporal Trends in Utilization of Right-Sided Heart Catheterization Among Percutaneous Ventricular Assist Device Recipients in Acute Myocardial Infarction Complicated by Cardiogenic Shock

Percutaneous ventricular assist devices (PVAD) have been used at an increasing rate in patients with acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock (AMI-CS). Recent evidence has demonstrated that use of invasive hemodynamic monitoring with right-sided heart catheterization (RHC) was associated with improved survival in recipients of PVAD in AMI-CS. We sought to examine the utilization of RHC in patients receiving PVAD in AMI-CS. We queried the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database from 2008 to 2014 and identified patients using ICD-9-CM codes for AMI-CS (410, 785.51), PVAD (37.68), and RHC (37.21, 37.23). Temporal trends were analyzed using Cochrane Armitage test. In 5,925 patients who were treated with PVAD for AMI-CS, 1,691 (28.5%) underwent RHC. The mean (SD) age was 63.9 (12.3) years; majority were males (72.8%) and white (63.3%). Patients receiving RHC had higher baseline burden of co-morbidities, Charlson Co-morbidity Index ≥2 (56.1%). From 2008 to 2014, there was decrease in the utilization of RHC in patients receiving PVAD from 40.4% to 29.8% (

Reverse Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy Following Exploratory Laparotomy

Reverse takotsubo cardiomyopathy is an uncommon cardiomyopathy characterized by reversible regional wall motion abnormalities in the basilar segment of the left ventricle. This happens in the absence of any coronary artery pathology. Although it shares some pathogenic mechanisms with its more common variant, takotsubo cardiomyopathy, differences exist in terms of echocardiographic features, demographics, clinical manifestations, laboratory features, and prognosis. Cases of postoperative reverse takotsubo cardiomyopathy are less described in the literature. Herein, we report a case of reverse takotsubo cardiomyopathy in a 44-year-old woman occurring after exploratory laparotomy

Comparison of nationwide trends in 30-day readmission rates after carotid artery stenting and carotid endarterectomy

OBJECTIVE: Carotid revascularization procedures, carotid artery stenting (CAS) and carotid endarterectomy (CEA), are among the most common vascular interventions performed in the United States, with significant resource utilization. Whereas multiple studies have reported outcomes after these procedures, data regarding 30-day readmission rates after these interventions remain scant. METHODS: The U.S. Nationwide Readmission Database (2010-2014) was queried to identify all patients ≥18 years who were readmitted within 30 days after a hospital discharge for CEA or CAS. RESULTS: Among 476,260 patients included, 13.5% underwent CAS and 86.5% underwent CEA. The combined 30-day readmission rate for all carotid revascularization procedures was 9.2% (10.6% after CAS and 9.0% after CEA). After 1:3 propensity matching, CAS was associated with higher risk of readmission compared with CEA (10.4% vs 9.4%). Neurologic complications and cardiac conditions were the two most common causes of readmission after both CAS (29.7% and 23.7%, respectively) and CEA (28.2% and 21.7%, respectively). The 30-day readmission rates were higher in CAS patients across all age groups as well as in those with a low or high baseline burden of comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS: In this large nationwide study, CAS was associated with higher 30-day readmission rates compared with CEA irrespective of age or baseline burden of comorbidities. Neurologic or cardiac adverse events were responsible for \u3e50% of readmissions after CAS and CEA

Drug-Eluting Stents Versus Bare-Metal Stents in Saphenous Vein Graft Intervention

Background Percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents (DES) has been increasingly used for revascularization of saphenous vein graft stenosis without strong clinical evidence favoring their use. Randomized controlled trials comparing DES versus bare-metal stents (BMS) in saphenous vein graft-percutaneous coronary intervention have been inconclusive. Methods and Results We performed a comprehensive literature search through May 15, 2018, for all eligible studies comparing DES versus BMS in patients with saphenous vein graft stenosis in PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Google Scholar, and ClinicalTrials.gov. Clinical outcomes included all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, and target vessel revascularization. Six randomized controlled trials were eligible and included 1582 patients, of whom 797 received DES and 785 received BMS. The follow-up period ranged from 18 months to 60 months. There was no statistically significant difference between DES and BMS for all-cause mortality (risk ratio [RR],1.11; 95% CI, 0.0.77-1.62; P=0.57), cardiovascular mortality (RR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.64-1.57; P=0.99), major adverse cardiovascular events (RR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.63-1.10; P=20), target vessel revascularization (RR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.48-1.11; P=0.14), myocardial infarction (RR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.48-1.16; P=0.19), or stent thrombosis (RR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.42-2.65; P=0.90). Conclusions In patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention for saphenous vein graft lesions, our results showed that there was no significant difference between DES and BMS for mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events, target vessel revascularization, myocardial infarction, or stent thrombosis