The use of B-type natriuretic peptide in the management of patients with diabetes and acute dyspnoea

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of measurement of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels on the management of patients with diabetes presenting with acute dyspnoea. Methods: This study evaluated the subgroup of 103 patients with diabetes included in the B-type Natriuretic Peptide for Acute Shortness of Breath Evaluation (BASEL) study (n=452). Patients were randomly assigned to a diagnostic strategy with (n=47, BNP group) or without (n=56, control group) the use of BNP levels assessed by a rapid bedside assay. Time to discharge and total cost of treatment were recorded as the primary endpoints. Results: Although similar with regard to age and sex, patients with diabetes more often had pre-existing cardiovascular and renal disease and heart failure as the cause of acute dyspnoea compared with patients without diabetes. In addition, medical and economic outcomes were worse in patients with diabetes. The use of BNP levels significantly reduced time to discharge (median 9days [interquartile range (IQR) 2-16] in the BNP group vs 13days [IQR 8-22] in the control group; p=0.016). At 30days, the diabetic patients in the BNP group had spent significantly fewer days in hospital compared with the diabetic patients in the control group (9days [IQR 2-19] vs 16days [IQR 8-24], respectively; p=0.008). Total treatment costs at 30days were US$5,705 (IQR 2,285-9,137) in the BNP group and US$7,420 (IQR 4,194-11,966) in the control group (p=0.036). Conclusions/interpretation: The results of this study indicate that measurement of BNP levels improves the management of patients with diabetes presenting with acute dyspnoe

Myocardial CT perfusion imaging for the detection of obstructive coronary artery disease: multisegment reconstruction does not improve diagnostic performance

Background: Multisegment reconstruction (MSR) was introduced to shorten the temporal reconstruction window of computed tomography (CT) and thereby reduce motion artefacts. We investigated whether MSR of myocardial CT perfusion (CTP) can improve diagnostic performance in detecting obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) compared with halfscan reconstruction (HSR). Methods: A total of 134 patients (median age 65.7 years) with clinical indication for invasive coronary angiography and without cardiac surgery prospectively underwent static CTP. In 93 patients with multisegment acquisition, we retrospectively performed both MSR and HSR and searched both reconstructions for perfusion defects. Subgroups with known (n = 68) or suspected CAD (n = 25) and high heart rate (n = 30) were analysed. The area under the curve (AUC) was compared applying DeLong approach using >= 50% stenosis on invasive coronary angiography as reference standard. Results: Per-patient analysis revealed the overall AUC of MSR (0.65 [95% confidence interval 0.53, 0.78]) to be inferior to that of HSR (0.79 [0.69, 0.88]; p = 0.011). AUCs of MSR and HSR were similar in all subgroups analysed (known CAD 0.62 [0.45, 0.79] versus 0.72 [0.57, 0.86]; p = 0.157; suspected CAD 0.80 [0.63, 0.97] versus 0.89 [0.77, 1.00]; p = 0.243; high heart rate 0.46 [0.19, 0.73] versus 0.55 [0.33, 0.77]; p = 0.389). Median stress radiation dose was higher for MSR than for HSR (6.67 mSv versus 3.64 mSv, p < 0.001). Conclusions: MSR did not improve diagnostic performance of myocardial CTP imaging while increasing radiation dose compared with HSR

Valve in valve implantation of the CoreValve Evolut R in degenerated surgical aortic valves

Background: The new CoreValve Evolut R has an improved design to minimize paravalvular leak­age and allows repositioning of the valve. For patients with degenerated bioprosthetic aortic valves, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) represents a less invasive option. Herein reported are valve-in-valve (ViV) implantations of this new valve. Methods: A total of 26 patients (mean age 79.4 ± 6.1 years, 17 males and 9 females) were treated for severe prosthesis stenosis (n = 9), severe regurgitation (n = 8) or severe combination of stenosis and regurgitation (n = 9). All patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography before and after ViV implantation. Results: Valve-in-valve implantation of a CoreValve Evolut R was performed successfully in all pa­tients. The mean transaortic gradient for stenotic valves determined by transthoracic echocardiography was reduced significantly from 37.5 ± 15.3 mmHg in patients with prosthesis stenosis to 16.3 ± 8.2 mmHg (p &lt; 0.001). In all cases with severe prosthesis regurgitation, regurgitation was reduced to none or mild. All-cause mortality after 30 days was 0%. Conclusions: It was concluded that CoreValve Evolut R is well suited for ViV implantation

Low permanent pacemaker rates following Lotus device implantation for transcatheter aortic valve replacement due to modified implantation protocol

Background: Conduction disturbances requiring permanent pacemaker implantation following transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) are a common problem. Pacemaker implantation rates after TAVR appear to be higher compared to conventional aortic valve replacement. The aim of this study was to analyze whether a high annulus implantation conveys the benefit of a decreased rate of permanent pacemaker implantation while being safe and successful according to Valve Academic Research Consortium 2 (VARC2)-criteria. Methods: A total of 23 patients with symptomatic severe aortic valve stenosis, an aortic annulus of 19–27 mm and at high risk for surgery were treated with the Lotus valve. In all patients the valve was implanted in a high annulus position via femoral access. The primary device performance endpoint was VARC2-defined device success after 30 days and the primary safety endpoint was the need for permanent pacemaker implantation. Results: The mean age was 73.23 ± 7.65 years, 46% were female, 38% were New York Heart Association class III/IV at baseline. Thirty-day follow-up data were available for all patients. The VARC2-defined device success rate after 30 days was 22/23 (96%). 2/21 (10%) patients required a newly implanted pacemaker due to 3rd degree atrioventricular block. 25% of the patients developed a new left bundle branch block after valvuloplasty or device implantation. 21 of the 23 patients (96%) had no other signs of conduction disturbances after 30 days. Conclusions: The approach of the modified implantation technique of Lotus TAVR device was safe and effective. The incidence of need for a permanent pacemaker following TAVR could be significantly reduced due to adopted implantation protocol