The diagnostic value of serum copeptin levels in an acute pulmonary embolism

Background: Acute pulmonary embolism (APE) is a common disease which is associated with high mortality and morbidity. Circulating level of copeptin, which was demonstrated to be elevated in heart failure, acute myocardial infarction and pulmonary arterial hypertension, were reported to be independent predictors of poor outcome in recent studies. The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical utility of copeptin in the diagnosis of APE. Methods: A total of 90 consecutive patients, admitted to emergency service due to acute chest pain and/or dyspnea and who underwent pulmonary computerized tomography angiography (CTA) due to suspicion of APE, were included in this prospective study. The patients diagnosed with APE were defined as APE (+) group and the remaining individuals with normal pulmonary CTA result were defined as APE (–) group. Results: Copeptin levels (7.76 ± 4.4 vs. 3.81 ± 1.34 ng/dL; p < 0.001) were higher in the APE (+) group as compared to the APE (–) group. Copeptin was significantly positively correlated with B-type natriuretic peptide (r = 0.434, p < 0.001), D-dimer (r = 0.315, p = 0.003) and troponin I (r = 0.300, p = 0.004) and inversely correlated with arterial oxygen saturations (r = –0.533, p < 0001). When the correlation of copeptin with right ventricular dysfunction parameters was investigated, it was significantly inversely correlated with the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (r = –0.521, p < 0.001) and positively correlated with right to left ventricle ratio (r = 0.329, p = 0.024). Copeptin (OR 1.836, 95% CI 1.171–2.878, p = 0.008) was found as a significant independent predictor of APE in a multivariate analysis, after adjusting for other risk parameters.  Conclusions: Copeptin is a promising new biomarker, which may be used to support the need for further investigations and to improve the diagnosis of patients with APE.

Association Between Bifurcation Angle and Coronary No-reflow Following Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients

Objective:Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has become the treatment method for patients presenting with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). One of the well-known complications of PCI is no-reflow. Studies demonstrated a relationship between endothelial dysfunction and disturbed vascular flow due to angulation of vascular tree. Although the relationship between hemodynamic alterations and coronary angulation is evident, there is a lack of detailed analysis in terms of hemodynamic changes between vascular geometry and coronary no-reflow. We aimed to elucidate the relationship between vascular geometry and coronary no-reflow.Method:We reviewed PCI database of our hospital and enrolled a total of 120 patients with STEMI, who developed no-reflow following PCI, and sex and age matched 80 patients with normal flow. For each group, demographic and clinical characteristics, laboratory values and two dimensional quantitative coronary angiography measurements were evaluated.Results:Patients with no-reflow had a higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus. In addition, serum C-reactive protein levels were higher in patients with no-reflow compared to patients with normal flow (p<0.001). On the other hand, serum hemoglobin levels were significantly lower in patients with no-reflow compared to patients with normal flow (p<0.001). With respect to 3 dimensional coronary measurements, calculated bifurcation angle of left anterior descending artery (LAD) and circumflex artery (CX) was significantly wider in the no-reflow group than in the control group [110.9° (21.8°) vs. 85.9° (15.8°), p<0.001].Conclusion:Our data showed that a strong association existed between bifurcation angle of LAD-CX and no-reflow phenomenon in STEMI patients who underwent PCI

Predictors of mortality in patients with prosthetic valve infective endocarditis: A nation-wide multicenter study

Background: Our aim was to investigate the clinical and prognostic features of the patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) in a multicenter nation-wide study.Methods: The present nation-wide study consisted of 75 consecutive patients with PVE treatedat 13 major hospitals in Turkey from 2005 to 2012.Results: The patients who died during follow-up were significantly older than the survivors and had higher C-reactive protein (CRP), creatinine, poor NYHA functional class and large vegetations. High creatinine level (odds ratio [OR] 2.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14–6.13), poor functional status (OR 24.5; 95% CI 3.1–196.5) and high CRP (OR 1.02; 95% CI1.00–1.03) measured on admission were independent risk associates for in-hospital mortality.Conclusions: High creatinine level, poor functional status and high CRP measured on admission were independent risk associates for in-hospital mortality, whereas a NYHA class ofIII/IV and high CRP reflected independent risk for stroke/mortality end point

Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio can predict postoperative mortality in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension

Objective: The aim of our study was to investigate clinical importance of neutrophil/ lymphocyte ratio in patients with Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Methods: 125 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension were operated pulmonary thromboendarterectomy in our center between February 2011 and August 2013. 106 patients included into the study due to limitations. The patients were classified into two groups as patients discharged alive (Group 1) and those dying in the hospital (Group 2). Baseline neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio level was measured by dividing neutrophil count to lymphocyte count. Results: 84 patients (79%) were in Group 1, 22 patients (21%) were in Group 2. Patients with higher neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in admission have a significantly higher mortality rate and postoperative pulmonary vascular resistance was found statistically significant variable to predict the mortality. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that using a cut-off point of 2.54, admission neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio predicts mortality. Also, correlation analysis showed a significant correlation between preopera-tive pulmonary vascular resistance and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio. Conclusion: The neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio level may be a useful and noninvasive biomarker for operative risk stratification for mortality after pulmonary thromboendarterectomy

Prognostic nutritional index predicts mortality in infective endocarditis

Objective: The prognostic nutritional index (PNI), based on serum albumin and lymphocyte concentration, is an inflammation-based nutritional score that has been shown to be a prognostic determinant in several populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of PNI on mortality in patients with infective endocarditis (IE)

In-Hospital and long term results of primary angioplasty and medical therapy in nonagenarian patients with acute myocardial infarction

Introduction: Although percutaneous coronary intervention is an accepted "first-line" therapy in acute ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in general population, few data are available on the short- and long-term outcomes of very old patients (age >90 years). Our aim is to evaluate and compare the short and long-term outcomes after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) or medical therapy in nonagenarian patients with STEMI. Methods: We retrospectively identified patients older than 90 years old in our clinic, with acute STEMI who presented within 12 hours after symptoms onset, either underwent PPCI or medically treated. In hospital events and long-term results analyzed subsequently. Results: From January 2005 to December 2014, 73 patients with STEMI either underwent PPCI (PPCI group n = 42) or had only medical treatment (Non-PPCI group n = 31). Mean age was 92.4 ±  3.1 (90-106). Patients were followed 26.5 ± 20.1 months. Recurrent myocardial infarction during hospitalization was not observed in both groups. In-hospital mortality, cerebrovascular events and acute renal failure rate were similar between two groups (respectively P = 0.797 and P = 1.000, P = 0.288), whereas arrhythmia was significantly higher in the PPCI group ( 0; 21.4%, P = 0.009). Results show re-infarction was similar in both groups (respectively 3.2%; 11.9%, P = 0.382) but mortality in long-term was significantly lower in the PPCI group (respectively 40.9%; 12.9%, P = 0.02). Conclusion: In nonagenarian patients, with STEMI mortality is very high. Although; in-hospital events were similar, the long-term mortality rate was significantly lower in patients treated with PPCI

A multicenter study on experience of 13 tertiary hospitals in Turkey in patients with infective endocarditis

akil, mehmet ata/0000-0001-6004-1822WOS: 000326896200011PubMed: 23835297Objective: The aim of this retrospective multicenter study was to investigate the clinical manifestations, microbiological profile, echocardiographic findings and management strategies of infective endocarditis (IE) in Turkey. Methods: The study population consisted of 248 Turkish patients with IE treated at 13 major hospitals in Turkey from 2005 to 2012 retrospectively. All hospitals are tertiary referral centers, which receive patients from surrounding hospitals. Data were collected from the medical files of all patients hospitalized with IE diagnosed according to modified Duke Criteria. Results: One hundred thirty seven of the patients were males. Native valves were involved in 158 patients while in 75 participants there was prosthetic valve endocarditis. Vegetations were detected in 223 patients (89%) and 52 patients had multiple vegetations. Mitral valve was the most common site of vegetation (43%). The most common valvular pathology was mitral regurgitation. The most common predisposing factor was rheumatic valvular disease (28%). Positive culture rate was 65%. Staphylococci were the most frequent causative microorganisms isolated (29%) followed by enterococci (11%). In-hospital mortality rate was 33%. Conclusions: Compared to IE in developed countries younger age, higher prevalence of rheumatic heart disease, more frequent enterococci infection and higher rates of culture negativity were other important aspects of IE epidemiology in Turkey