Pneumoperitoneum in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

O Pneumoperitoneu no doente em diálise peritoneal é uma complicação rara, no entanto deve ser tida em atenção de forma a evitar uma laparotomia desnecessária que possa comprometer esta opção dialítica. Os autores qpresentam o cado de uma doente de 70 anos de idade com insuficiência renal crónica, em diálise peritoneal há 21 meses, sem qualquer complicação ou sinal de peritonite. Admitida no serviço de urgência com dor epigástrica súbita. À observação, um abdómen timpanizado, sem alterações na porção externa do cateter de Tenckhoff. Analiticamente sem leucocitose. O Rx Abdominal demonstrou a existência de pneumoperitoneu. A TC abdominal confirmou uma pneumoperitoneu generalizado mas predominante no andar supramesocólico, sem extravasamento de contraste oral e com o cateter de diálise bem posicionado no quadrante inferior esquerdo. Procedeu-se à aspiração do pneumoperitoneu através de um técnica asséptica em posição de Trendlenburg, com confirmação radiológica da resolução do mesmo. Constatou-se recorrência do penumoperitoneu no dia seguinte, apesar da doente permanecer assintomática, pelo que se procedeu à remoção do cateter, sem recorrência do pneumoperitoneu.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Prognostic impact of moderate renal dysfunction in acute coronary syndromes

INTRODUCTION: End-stage renal disease is associated with high cardiovascular mortality. The prognostic importance of milder degrees of renal impairment in patients who have had an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is less well defined. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of baseline renal dysfunction assessed by estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) on mortality in patients admitted with an ACS. METHODS: We studied all patients with an ACS consecutively admitted to an Intensive Cardiac Care Unit over 18 months. The GFR was estimated by means of the four-component Modification of Diet in Renal Disease study equation. Patients were grouped according to their estimated GFR (less than 45.0; 45.0 to 59.9; 60.0 to 74.9; and at least 75.0 ml/min/1.73 m2). Primary outcome was death from any cause. RESULTS: The mean age of the 589 study patients was 64.1 years, 73.7% were male, and 49.2% had an ACS with ST-segment elevation. Arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, prior myocardial infarction, and Killip class > I were incrementally more common across increasing renal dysfunction strata (p < 0.01). The use of reperfusion therapy, beta-blockers, and coronary angioplasty was lower in groups with reduced estimated GFR (p < 0.001). Overall six-month mortality was 13.6%. Using the group with an estimated GFR of at least 75.0 ml/min/1.73 m2 as the reference group yielded odds ratios for six-month mortality that increased with the degree of renal impairment. After adjusting for baseline characteristics, impaired renal funtion remained associated with increased mortality. The multivariable-adjusted odds ratio for six-month mortality in patients with mild renal impairment (GFR 60.0 to 74.9 ml/min/1.73 m2) was 2.71 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09 to 6.69), compared with 7.53 (95% CI, 3.21 to 17.71) and 8.10 (95% CI, 3.18 to 20.60) in patients with moderate and more severe renal dysfunction, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Baseline renal dysfunction, as assessed by estimated GFR, is a potent and easily identifiable determinant of outcome after an ACS. Even mild levels of renal impairment are independently associated with increased mortality after an ACS

Coronary arcade: a rare anomaly of the coronary circulation.

Intercoronary communication or 'coronary arcade' is a rare congenital coronary anomaly. We present the case of a 65-year-old man with atypical chest pain for four months. The 12-lead ECG and echocardiogram were normal. Treadmill exercise testing was interrupted at peak exercise due to consecutive salvos of ventricular premature beats, without significant ST-T changes. Coronary angiography showed no significant coronary stenosis, but a connection between the right coronary and circumflex arteries was observed, consistent with coronary arcade. The functional importance of this variant is not clear, but it may cause myocardial ischemia by coronary steal or function as a natural bypass, in which case it may play a protective role in the myocardium if significant atherosclerosis develops

Insuficiência cardíaca após síndrome coronária aguda: identificar para melhor tratar!

INTRODUCTION: The development of heart failure (HF) following acute coronary syndromes (ACS) significantly worsens short- and long-term prognosis. The present study aimed to identify clinical characteristics, detectable at admission for ACS, that could predict HF development during hospitalization, and to evaluate its impact on in-hospital mortality. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study that included 601 patients consecutively admitted with ACS. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data at admission were collected and HF was defined as maximum Killip class II or III. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of HF and, additionally, in-hospital death. RESULTS: 29.3% of the population developed HF, mostly older patients (69.52+/-11.9 years vs. 61.81+/-12.4 years, p<0.0001), women, hypertensive, diabetic and non-smokers. On admission, this subgroup of patients presented with higher heart rate and glycemia, and lower glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and hemoglobin. The percentage of patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) was significantly higher in the group of patients with HF (74.4% versus 48.7%, p<0.0001); however, no significant differences were found in the type of ACS or its location. In the present study, we found that patients with HF were stratified less invasively (less likely to undergo cardiac catheterization or percutaneous coronary intervention). The development of HF was associated with longer hospitalization and higher in-hospital mortality (7.4% versus 2.1%, p=0.004) on univariate analysis, but not on multivariate analysis. On multivariate analysis, only age (OR=1.04; 95% CI 1.02-1.06), diabetes mellitus (OR=1.77; 95% CI 1.05-2.96), glycemia (OR=1.05; 95% CI 1.01-1.08), eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73m2 (OR=2.90, 95% CI 1.73- 4.84), heart rate (OR=1.03, 95% CI 1.02-1.04) and LVSD (OR=2.48, 95% CI 1.59-3.85) were independent predictors of HF. CONCLUSIONS: HF is a frequent complication in ACS and is associated with higher in-hospital mortality. Identifying risk of HF development on admission, through easily acquired clinical characteristics (older age, diabetes and/or elevated glycemia, renal failure and higher heart rate), will certainly influence immediate therapeutic choices and permit an individualized approach to each patient

Prognostic impact of hemoglobin drop during hospital stay in patients with acute coronary syndromes

INTRODUCTION: Bleeding is currently the most common non-cardiac complication of therapy in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), and may itself be associated with adverse outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of hemoglobin drop during hospital stay on outcome among patients with ACS. METHODS: Using Cox proportional-hazards modeling, we examined the association between hemoglobin drop and death or myocardial infarction (MI) at 6 months in 1172 patients admitted with ACS to an intensive cardiac care unit. Patients were stratified according to quartiles of hemoglobin drop: Q1, or = 2.4 g/dL. We also identified independent predictors of increased hemoglobin drop (> or =2.4 g/dL) using multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Median nadir hemoglobin concentration was 1.5 g/dL lower (IQR 0.8-2.3) compared with baseline hemoglobin (p < 0.0001). Independent predictors of increased hemoglobin drop included older Sage, renal dysfunction, lower weight, and use of thrombolytic therapy, glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors, nitrates, and percutaneous coronary intervention. Higher levels of hemoglobin drop were associated with increased rates of 6-month mortality (8.0% vs. 9.4% vs. 9.6% vs. 15.7%; p for trend = 0.014) and 6-month death/ MI (12.4% vs. 17.0% vs. 17.2% vs. 22.1%; p for trend = 0.021). Using Q1 as reference group, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for 6-month mortality and 6-month death/MI among patients in the highest quartile of hemoglobin drop was 1.83 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08-3.11; p = 0.026) and 1.60 (95% CI 1.04-2.44; p = 0.031) respectively. Considered as a continuous variable, the adjusted HR for 6-month mortality was 1.16 (95% CI 1.01-1.32; p = 0.030) per 1 g/dL increase in hemoglobin drop. CONCLUSIONS: A decrease in hemoglobin frequently occurs during hospitalization for ACS and is independently associated with adverse outcomes

Contrast-induced nephropathy after an acute coronary syndrome.

Purpose: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a form of hospital-acquired acute renal failure that sometimes develops after giving iodinated radiocontrast agents. The growing number of patients who undergo coronary angiography and percutaneous revascularization after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) brought more relevance to this entity. It’s actually one of the most frequent forms of hospital-acquired acute renal failure. The purpose of this study was to define the predictors and prognostic value of CIN in a population of patients admitted with ACS. Methods: A total of 558 patients consecutively admitted with ACS and submitted to cardiac catheterization procedure, from January 2004 to April 2006, were reviewed. CIN was defined as impairment of renal function occurring within 48 hours after administration of contrast media and manifested by an absolute increase in the serum creatinine level of at least 0.5 mg/dL or by a relative increase of at least 25% over the baseline value (in the absence of another cause). The patients were classified in 2 groups according to the occurrence of CIN. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. Results: Of the 558 patients reviewed, 5% (n=28) developed CIN. Patients with CIN were older (69.6 ± 10.5 vs 61.5 ± 11.7; p <0.001) and more often had diabetes mellitus (42.9% vs 24%; p=0.02) and renal insufficiency (48% vs 14.7%; p <0.001). There were no differences regarding ACS presentation (with or without elevation in the ST segment) and in-hospital medical treatment. Patients with CIN had higher in-hospital mortality (10.7% vs 0.6%; p <0.001). After adjustment for confounding variables by multivariate analysis (age, renal insufficiency, heart rate on admission, systolic blood pressure on admission and Killip class on admission), CIN remained an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality. Conclusions: CIN occurred in 5% of our patients admitted with ACS. Risk factors associated with CIN were advanced age, diabetes and pre-existing renal insufficiency. CIN was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality

Impact of atrial fibrillation in acute coronary syndrome

INTRODUCTION: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a relatively common arrhythmia in the context of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). However, the impact of AF on these patients' survival is not well established. The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of AF in ACS patients and to evaluate its impact on in-hospital and six-month post-event mortality, from any cause. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study that included 1183 patients admitted consecutively to a Coronary Care Unit with ACS. Demographic and clinical data and information from various complementary exams were collected and occurrence of AF during the first 48 hours of hospitalization was analyzed. Six-month follow-up was achieved in 95.9% of the patients. Logistic regression statistical analysis was used to identify independent predictors of in-hospital and six-month post-event mortality. RESULTS: AF was diagnosed in 140 patients (11.8%); these patients were older (73.89 +/- 8.69 vs. 63.20 +/- 12.73 years; p75 years, severe left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure. The performance of coronary angiography correlated with improved prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: AF in the context of ACS is an independent predictor of increased in-hospital and six-month mortality. These findings should be taken into consideration in the management and treatment of such patients