TBC: A simple algorithm to rule out abnormalities in electrocardiograms of patients with pacemakers

Background: The aim of the study was to create a straightforward method to rule out abnormalities in electrocardiograms (ECGs) performed in patients with pacemakers. Methods: The TBC method screens the ECG for any of the following findings: Tachycardia with pacing spikes, Bradycardia without spikes and Chaos with spikes unrelated to QRS-T complexes. T was considered to advise for patient assessment and B and C to require referral for urgent pacemaker evalu­ation. The diagnostic accuracy of the algorithm was validated using a cohort of 151 ECGs with normal and dysfunctional pacemakers. The effect of the algorithm was then evaluated for diagnostic skills and management of patients with pacemakers by non-cardiologists, comparing their diagnostic accuracy before and after teaching the algorithm. Results: The TBC algorithm had a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 94% in diagnosing a mal­functioning pacemaker. The diagnostic skills and patient referral were significantly improved (74.8% vs. 89.5%, p < 0.001; and 57.4% vs. 83%, p < 0.001). Conclusions: TBC is an easy to remember and apply method to rule out severe abnormalities in ECGs of patients with pacemakers. TBC algorithm has a very good diagnostic capability and is easily applied by non-expert physicians with good results

Estrategia para el aprendizaje activo: Biblioteca audiovisual de casos clínicos reales de la patología cardiovascular más frecuente. Implicaciones para la preparación del examen M.I.R

Ofrecer al alumno una formación práctica y real a partir de situaciones de la práctica clínica diaria. Realizar un repositorio de vídeos y preguntas que crezca cada curso académico. Se pretende que esta colección sirva como modelo para la creación posterior de una aplicación informática que permita la interpretación de cualquier electrocardiograma tras escaneo del mismo en dispositivos tales como móviles o tabletas

Hemorragia intramiocárdica tras infarto agudo de miocardio

Microvascular obstruction and intramyocardial hemorrhage are manifestations of reperfusion injury often found in patients with acute coronary occlusion undergoing revascularization therapy. Both are related to ventricular remodeling and long-term function and prognosis. We present a representative case of these lesions and their characterization by different cardiac imaging techniques.La obstrucción microvascular y la hemorragia intramiocárdica son manifestaciones del daño por reperfusión que se encuentran con frecuencia en pacientes con oclusión aguda coronaria tratados con terapia de revascularización. Ambas se relacionan con el remodelado y función ventricular a largo plazo, así como el pronóstico. Se presenta un caso representativo de estas lesiones y su caracterización mediante diferentes técnicas de imagen cardíaca

Spatiotemporal Characteristics of the Largest HIV-1 CRF02_AG Outbreak in Spain: Evidence for Onward Transmissions

Background and Aim: The circulating recombinant form 02_AG (CRF02_AG) is the predominant clade among the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) non-Bs with a prevalence of 5.97% (95% Confidence Interval-CI: 5.41–6.57%) across Spain. Our aim was to estimate the levels of regional clustering for CRF02_AG and the spatiotemporal characteristics of the largest CRF02_AG subepidemic in Spain.Methods: We studied 396 CRF02_AG sequences obtained from HIV-1 diagnosed patients during 2000–2014 from 10 autonomous communities of Spain. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on the 391 CRF02_AG sequences along with all globally sampled CRF02_AG sequences (N = 3,302) as references. Phylodynamic and phylogeographic analysis was performed to the largest CRF02_AG monophyletic cluster by a Bayesian method in BEAST v1.8.0 and by reconstructing ancestral states using the criterion of parsimony in Mesquite v3.4, respectively.Results: The HIV-1 CRF02_AG prevalence differed across Spanish autonomous communities we sampled from (p < 0.001). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 52.7% of the CRF02_AG sequences formed 56 monophyletic clusters, with a range of 2–79 sequences. The CRF02_AG regional dispersal differed across Spain (p = 0.003), as suggested by monophyletic clustering. For the largest monophyletic cluster (subepidemic) (N = 79), 49.4% of the clustered sequences originated from Madrid, while most sequences (51.9%) had been obtained from men having sex with men (MSM). Molecular clock analysis suggested that the origin (tMRCA) of the CRF02_AG subepidemic was in 2002 (median estimate; 95% Highest Posterior Density-HPD interval: 1999–2004). Additionally, we found significant clustering within the CRF02_AG subepidemic according to the ethnic origin.Conclusion: CRF02_AG has been introduced as a result of multiple introductions in Spain, following regional dispersal in several cases. We showed that CRF02_AG transmissions were mostly due to regional dispersal in Spain. The hot-spot for the largest CRF02_AG regional subepidemic in Spain was in Madrid associated with MSM transmission risk group. The existence of subepidemics suggest that several spillovers occurred from Madrid to other areas. CRF02_AG sequences from Hispanics were clustered in a separate subclade suggesting no linkage between the local and Hispanic subepidemics