Hemolytic Anemia After Surgical Mitral Valve Repair Treated With Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Device

An 80-year-old woman with mitral valve repair failure was admitted with hemolytic anemia secondary to the impact of a regurgitant jet on the annuloplasty ring. Transcatheter repair to treat both mitral regurgitation and hemolysis was favored because of surgical risk. Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair represents an alternative for treating hemolysis associated with mitral regurgitation. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

José Giardoni, platero y broncista romano al servicio de Carlos IV

El romano José Giordani (1744-1804) trabajó en Madrid desde antes de 1768 y fue platero y broncista real desde 1791. Se recogen noticias biográficas, tasaciones realizadas y los encargos recibidos al servicio de Carlos IV atendiendo al procedimiento empleado. Principalmente se estudian los tipos de piezas - la mayoría de uso doméstico - y los precios de la hechura

Los Morenos, una familia de plateros madrileños en el Antiguo Régimen

Se estudia la trayectoria de los Morenos, una familia de plateros madrileños desde mediados del siglo XVIII hasta la segunda mitad del siglo XIX

Pharmacological Cardioversion after Pre-Treatment with Antiarrythmic Drugs Prior to Electrical Cardioversion in Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: Impact on Maintenance of Sinus Rhythm

Background: Antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) are frequently initiated in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) prior to electrical cardioversion (ECV), achieving pharmacological cardioversion (PCV) in some cases. Little is known about the mode of cardioversion and the effect of the type of AAD used in the maintenance of sinus rhythm (SR). Methods: From three national surveys of patients with persistent AF referred for ECV, we selected those who were pre-treated with AADs (amiodarone or group Ic AADs). We analyzed the effect of the type of cardioversion (pharmacological vs. electrical) and the AAD used in the maintenance of SR at three months. Results: Among the 665 patients selected, 151 had a successful PCV prior to the planned ECV. In the remaining 514 patients, 460 had a successful ECV. A successful PCV was related to a higher rate of SR maintenance than a successful ECV (77.9% vs. 57.5%; p < 0.0001). After a successful PCV, the maintenance of SR was identical in those patients treated with amiodarone and those treated with group Ic AADs (77.4% vs. 77.5%; p = 0.99), whereas after a successful ECV, amiodarone was clearly superior to group Ic AADs (61.3% vs. 43.0%; p = 0.001). Considering patients with successful PCV and ECV together, PCV was an independent factor related to the maintenance of SR. Conclusions: In patients with persistent AF, successful PCV selects a subgroup with a high probability of maintenance of SR. With regard to drugs, amiodarone was superior to group Ic AADs in patients with ECV, whereas in PCV, no differences were observed

Patient Portals to Support Palliative and End-of-Life Care: Scoping Review

BackgroundAlthough patient portals are widely used for health promotion, little is known about the use of palliative care and end-of-life (PCEOL) portal tools available for patients and caregivers. ObjectiveThis study aims to identify and assess the user perspectives of PCEOL portal tools available to patients and caregivers described and evaluated in the literature. MethodsWe performed a scoping review of the academic literature directed by the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) extension for Scoping Review and searched three databases. Sources were included if they reported the development or testing of a feature, resource, tool, or intervention; focused on at least one PCEOL domain defined by the National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care; targeted adults with serious illness or caregivers; and were offered via a patient portal tethered to an electronic medical record. We independently screened the titles and abstracts (n=796) for eligibility. Full-text (84/796, 10.6%) sources were reviewed. We abstracted descriptions of the portal tool name, content, targeted population, and reported user acceptability for each tool from included sources (n=19). ResultsIn total, 19 articles describing 12 tools were included, addressing the following PCEOL domains: ethical or legal (n=5), physical (n=5), and psychological or psychiatric (n=2). No tools for bereavement or hospice care were identified. Studies have reported high acceptability of tools among users; however, few sources commented on usability among older adults. ConclusionsPCEOL patient portal tools are understudied. As medical care increasingly moves toward virtual platforms, future research should investigate the usability and acceptability of PCEOL patient portal resources and evaluate their impact on health outcomes