Can plasma fibrinogen levels predict bleeding after coronary artery bypass grafting?

Background: Fibrinogen is the main biomarker for bleeding. To prevent excessive postoperative bleeding, it would be useful to identify high-risk patients before coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Objectives: In order to predicating bleeding after CABG, we sought to determine whether preoperative fibrinogen concentration was associated with the amount of bleeding following CABG. Patients and Methods: A total of 144 patients (mean age = 61.50 ± 9.42 years; 65.7% men), undergoing elective and isolated CABG, were included in this case-series study. The same anesthesia technique and medicines were selected for all the patients. In the ICU, the patients were assessed in terms of bleeding at 12 and 24 hours post-operation, amount of contingent blood products received, and relevant tests. Statistical tests were subsequently conducted to analyze the correlation between preoperative fibrinogen concentration and the amount of post-CABG bleeding. Results: The mean and standard deviation of bleeding at 12 and 24 hours post-operation was 285.37 ± 280.27 and 499.31 ± 355.57 mL, respectively. The results showed that postoperative bleeding was associated with different factors whereas pre-anesthesia fibrinogen was not correlated with bleeding at 12 (P = 0.856) and 24 hours (P = 0.936) post-operation. There were correlations between the extra-corporal circulation time and bleeding at 12 hours post-operation (ρ = 0.231, P = 0.007) and bleeding at 24 hours post-operation (ρ = 0.218, P = 0.013). Conclusions: Preoperative assessment of plasma fibrinogen levels failed to predict post-CABG bleeding

Lutembacher's syndrome associated with meningioma

49-year-old man with Lutembacher's syndrome associated with frontal meningioma referred to our hospital. He also suffered from exertional dyspnea. Transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated mitral valve area of 1.48 cm2, moderate mitral stenosis, and left atrial dimension (LAD) of 5.6 cm with no clot. TEE revealed severe mitral stenosis, mitral valve area of 1.05 cm2 with wilkins 8-10 score, ejection fraction of 50%, and enlarged left atrium (LAD = 5.8 cm) with no clot. Induction of anesthesia was commenced taking into account the patient's specific circumstances, which meant the risk of surgery was high. During surgery, the mitral valve was replaced and the atrial septal defect was repaired without a patch. This case underscores the significance of the adoption of an appropriate therapeutic strategy in the treatment of Lutembacher's syndrome with meningioma before meningioma surgery

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%

Association of Emotional Response Indicators with the Risk of Recurrence and Hospitalization in Coronavirus Patients

Anxiety, stress, and fear can adversely affect the mental and physical health of people. The present study aimed to examine the association of these emotional response indicators with outcomes (recurrence, hospitalization, and mortality) in coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) patients. A prospective cohort study was conducted between February 2020 and July 2021 in three hospitals in Tehran, Iran. The included patients (n=350) completed three questionnaires on COVID-19-related anxiety, stress, and fear. Patients with at least one emotional response indicator were assigned to the exposed group (n=157) and those without to the unexposed group (n=193). After one month of follow-up, the medical condition of all participants was determined through phone calls. Data were analyzed with logistic and multivariate regression models using STATA 9 software. The number of patients with COVID-19 recurrence in the exposed and unexposed groups was 71 (45%) and 16 (8%), respectively, and for hospitalization 79 (50%) and 16 (8%), respectively. The relative risk of recurrence and hospitalization due to COVID-19 in the exposed group was 5.62 and 6.25 higher than in the unexposed group, respectively (P<0.001 for both). The results of regression analysis showed that underlying diseases were not significantly associated with recurrence and hospitalization. The total number of deaths was six, all of which were in the exposed group. Given the greater risk of recurrence and hospitalization in COVID-19 patients with anxiety, stress, or fear, there is a need to devise and implement appropriate strategies to prevent and manage mental disorders