Project description:ImportanceThe association of parenteral anticoagulation therapy with improved outcomes in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome was previously established. This benefit has not been evaluated in the era of dual antiplatelet therapy and percutaneous coronary intervention.ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between parenteral anticoagulation therapy and clinical outcomes in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.Design, setting, and participantsThis cohort study included 8197 adults who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention for non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2014, at 5 medical centers in China. Patients receiving parenteral anticoagulation therapy only after percutaneous coronary intervention were excluded.ExposuresParenteral anticoagulation therapy.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was in-hospital all-cause death and in-hospital major bleeding as defined by the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium definition (grades 3-5).ResultsOf 6804 patients who met the final criteria, 5104 (75.0%) were male, with a mean (SD) age of 64.2 (10.4) years. The incidence of in-hospital death was not significantly different between the patients who received and did not receive parenteral anticoagulation therapy (0.3% vs 0.1%; P = .13) (adjusted odds ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 0.38-4.27; P = .70). A similar result was found for myocardial infarction (0.3% vs 0.3%; P = .82) (adjusted odds ratio, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.29-2.07; P = .61). In-hospital major bleeding was more frequent in the parenteral anticoagulation group (2.5% vs 1.0%; P < .001) (adjusted odds ratio, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.24-3.03; P = .004). At a median (interquartile range) follow-up of 2.96 years (1.93-4.46 years), all-cause death was not significantly different between the 2 groups (adjusted hazards ratio, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.71-1.07; P = .19), but the incidence of major bleeding was higher in the parenteral anticoagulation group (adjusted hazards ratio, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.01-2.02; P = .04). The propensity score analysis confirmed these primary analyses.Conclusions and relevanceIn the patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention for non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome, parenteral anticoagulation therapy was not associated with a lower risk of all-cause death or myocardial infarction but was significantly associated with a higher risk of major bleeding. These findings raise important safety questions about the current practice of routine parenteral anticoagulation therapy while we await randomized trials of this practice.
Project description:Introductionand importance: Ascaris lumbricoides is a nematode parasite that causes ascariasis. Cardiac involvement in ascariasis is uncommon and rarely reported in the literature.Case presentationWe present the case of 45 years-old man, with previous medical history of ascaris infection one week before his admission to the emergency department for acute chest pain. The electrocardiogram revealed ST-segment and T wave abnormalities in septo-apico-lateral and inferior leads, along with high levels of troponin T and eosinophil blood cells count, while transthoracic echocardiography showed lateral and inferior walls motion abnormalities. The diagnosis of myocardial infarction was made and an urgent coronary angiography was carried out revealing normal coronary arteries which redressed the diagnosis and supported ascaris induced eosinophilic myocarditis (EM). The patient was put under anthelmintic drugs with favorable clinical, biological and imaging evolution.Clinical discussionEosinophilic myocarditis may present with variable and misleading scenarios ranging from asymptomatic patients to cardiogenic choc and sudden death and in some cases with clinical presentation of acute coronary syndrome.ConclusionThe aim of this work was to increase recognition of EM in the light of this clinical case report of ascaris lumbricoides associated myocarditis simulating an acute coronary syndrome without ST segment elevation.
Project description:ObjectiveTo investigate comorbid conditions with prognostic influence in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTEACS).Patients and methodsThe study group consisted of a derivation cohort of 1017 patients (admitted from October 1, 2002, through October 1, 2008) and an external validation cohort of 652 patients (admitted from February 1, 2006, through September 30, 2009). Comorbid conditions, including risk factors and components of the Charlson comorbidity index (ChCI) and coronary artery disease-specific index, were recorded. The main outcome was one-year mortality.ResultsDuring follow-up, 103 patients died. After adjusting for variables associated with NSTEACS characteristics (base model), 5 comorbid conditions predicted mortality: severe or mild renal failure (hazard ratio [HR], 2.9 and HR, 1.6, respectively), dementia (HR, 3.1), peripheral artery disease (HR, 2.0), previous heart failure (HR, 2.6), and previous myocardial infarction (HR, 1.4). A simple comorbidity index (SCI) was developed using these variables, (per point: HR, 1.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-1.8; P = .0001). Adding the SCI, Charlson comorbidity index, or coronary artery disease-specific index to the base model resulted in a gain of 6.58%, 5.00%, and 4.04%, respectively, in discriminative ability (P = .001), without significant differences among the 3 indices. In patients with comorbid conditions, the highest risk period was in the first weeks after NSTEACS. The strength of the association between SCI and mortality rate was similar in the external validation cohort (HR, 1.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-1.6; P = .001).ConclusionRenal dysfunction, dementia, peripheral artery disease, previous heart failure, and previous myocardial infarction are the comorbid conditions that predict mortality in NSTEACS. A simple index using these variables proved to be as accurate as the more complex comorbidity indices for risk stratification. In-hospital management of patients with comorbid conditions merits further investigation.
Project description:BackgroundIntracardiac masses are relatively rare but the diagnosis can be challenging for the cardiologist and the clinical presentation can be misleading. While most of the cardiac masses are benign, malignant masses are mostly metastatic tumours.Case summaryAn 81-year-old man was admitted to the cardiology department for congestive heart failure with the complaint of recent dyspnoea. The initial electrocardiogram was suggestive of a late presentation of an anterior myocardial infarction. Blood test showed mild and stable elevation of troponin and brain natriuretic peptide. Doppler-echocardiography revealed an interventricular septal thickening. Contrast echocardiography revealed a mass with a possibly necrotic centre and peripheral hypervascularization. Cardiac computed tomography (CT) confirmed the existence of a cardiac tumour with a hypodense centre and also revealed the presence of a large tumour of the lung's left lower lobe with multiple enlarged lymph nodes associated with possible left adrenal gland metastasis. Computed tomography-guided percutaneous biopsy of the pulmonary mass demonstrated a squamous cell lung cancer which was likely the primary cancer. The patient was discharged home waiting for chemotherapy to start but died a few days later at home of an unknown cause.DiscussionDiagnosis of intracardiac mass is difficult, often requiring multiple imaging modalities. Contrast-enhanced echocardiography may help early diagnosis and can be easily implemented with other imaging modalities such as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging or CT.
Project description:BackgroundPerioperative antiplatelet agents potentially increase bleeding after non-ST-segment elevation (NSTE) acute coronary syndromes (ACS). The protease-activated receptor 1 antagonist vorapaxar reduced cardiovascular events and was associated with increased bleeding versus placebo in NSTE ACS, but its efficacy and safety in noncardiac surgery (NCS) remain unknown. We aimed to evaluate ischemic, bleeding, and long-term outcomes of vorapaxar in NCS after NSTE ACS.Methods and resultsIn the TRACER trial, 2202 (17.0%) patients underwent major or minor NCS after NSTE ACS over 1.5 years (median); continuing study treatment perioperatively was recommended. The primary ischemic end point for this analysis was cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, or urgent revascularization within 30 days of NCS. Safety outcomes included 30-day NCS bleeding and GUSTO moderate/severe bleeding. Overall, 1171 vorapaxar and 1031 placebo patients underwent NCS. Preoperative aspirin and thienopyridine use was 96.8% versus 97.7% (P=0.235) and 89.1% versus 86.1% (P=0.036) for vorapaxar versus placebo, respectively. Within 30 days of NCS, no differences were observed in the primary ischemic end point between vorapaxar and placebo groups (3.4% versus 3.9%; adjusted odds ratio 0.81, 95% CI 0.50 to 1.33, P=0.41). Similarly, no differences in NCS bleeding (3.9% versus 3.4%; adjusted odds ratio 1.41, 95% CI 0.87 to 2.31, P=0.17) or GUSTO moderate/severe bleeding (4.2% versus 3.7%; adjusted odds ratio 1.15, 95% CI, 0.72 to 1.83, P=0.55) were observed. In a 30-day landmarked analysis, NCS patients had a higher long-term risk of the ischemic end point (adjusted hazard ratio 1.62, 95% CI 1.33 to 1.97, P<0.001) and GUSTO moderate/severe bleeding (adjusted hazard ratio 5.63, 95% CI 3.98 to 7.97, P<0.001) versus patients who did not undergo NCS, independent of study treatment.ConclusionNCS after NSTE ACS is common and associated with more ischemic outcomes and bleeding. Vorapaxar after NSTE ACS was not associated with increased perioperative ischemic or bleeding events in patients undergoing NCS.
Project description:BackgroundFor patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS), prasugrel was recommended over ticagrelor in a recent randomized controlled trial, although more data are needed on the rationale. Here, the effects of P2Y12 inhibitors on ischemic and bleeding events in patients with NSTE-ACS were investigated.MethodsClinical trials that enrolled patients with NSTE-ACS were included, relevant data were extracted, and a network meta-analysis was performed.ResultsThis study included 37,268 patients with NSTE-ACS from 11 studies. There was no significant difference between prasugrel and ticagrelor for any end point, although prasugrel had a higher likelihood of event reduction than ticagrelor for all end points except cardiovascular death. Compared with clopidogrel, prasugrel was associated with decreased risks of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (hazard ratio [HR], 0.84; 95% CI, 0.71-0.99) and myocardial infarction (HR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.68-0.99) but not an increased risk of major bleeding (HR, 1.30; 95% CI, 0.97-1.74). Similarly, compared with clopidogrel, ticagrelor was associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular death (HR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.66-0.94) and an increased risk of major bleeding (HR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.00-1.77; P = .049). For the primary efficacy end point (MACE), prasugrel showed the highest likelihood of event reduction (P = .97) and was superior to ticagrelor (P = .29) and clopidogrel (P = .24).ConclusionPrasugrel and ticagrelor had comparable risks for every end point, although prasugrel had the highest probability of being the best treatment for reducing the primary efficacy end point. This study highlights the need for further studies to investigate optimal P2Y12 inhibitor selection in patients with NSTE-ACS.
Project description:BackgroundIt has been demonstrated that glycated albumin (GA) is significantly associated with diabetes complications and mortality. However, among patients diagnosed with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) administered percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), the predictive value of GA for poor prognosis is unclear.MethodsThis study eventually included 2247 NSTE-ACS patients in Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University in January-December 2015 who received PCI. All patients were followed up until death or for 48 months post-discharge. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardio-cerebral events (MACCEs), including all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, ischemia-induced revascularization and non-fatal ischemic stroke.ResultsIn total, 547 (24.3%) MACCEs were recorded during the follow-up period. Upon adjusting for potential confounders, GA remained an important risk predictor of MACCEs (As nominal variate: hazard ratio [HR] 1.527, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.236-1.886, P < 0.001; As continuous variate: HR 1.053, 95% CI 1.027-1.079, P < 0.001). GA addition significantly enhanced the predictive ability of the traditional risk model (Harrell's C-index, GA vs. Baseline model, 0.694 vs. 0.684, comparison P = 0.002; continuous net reclassification improvement (continuous-NRI) 0.085, P = 0.053; integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) 0.007, P = 0.020).ConclusionGA is highly correlated with poor prognosis in NSTE-ACS patients undergoing PCI, suggesting that it may be a major predictive factor of adverse events among these individuals.
Project description:BackgroundMicrovascular dysfunction in the setting of ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) plays an important role in long-term poor clinical outcome. Coronary flow reserve (CFR) is a well-established physiological parameter to interrogate the coronary microcirculation. Together with hyperaemic average peak flow velocity, CFR constitutes the coronary flow capacity (CFC), a validated risk stratification tool in ischaemic heart disease with significant prognostic value. This mechanistic study aims to elucidate the time course of the microcirculation as reflected by alterations in microcirculatory physiological parameters in the acute phase and during follow-up in STEMI patients.MethodsWe assessed CFR and CFC in the culprit and non-culprit vessel in consecutive STEMI patients at baseline (n = 98) and after one-week (n = 64) and six-month follow-up (n = 65).ResultsA significant trend for culprit CFC in infarct size as determined by peak troponin T (p = 0.004), time to reperfusion (p = 0.038), the incidence of final Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction 3 flow (p = 0.019) and systolic retrograde flow (p = 0.043) was observed. Non-culprit CFC linear contrast analysis revealed a significant trend in C-reactive protein (p = 0.027), peak troponin T (p < 0.001) and heart rate (p = 0.049). CFC improved both in the culprit and the non-culprit vessel at one-week (both p < 0.001) and six-month follow-up (p = 0.0013 and p < 0.001) compared with baseline.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the importance of microcirculatory disturbances in the setting of STEMI, which is relevant for the interpretation of intracoronary diagnostic techniques which are influenced by both culprit and non-culprit vascular territories. Assessment of non-culprit vessel CFC in the setting of STEMI might improve risk stratification of these patients following coronary reperfusion of the culprit vessel.
Project description:The treatment of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has advanced dramatically over the past 30 years since the introduction of reperfusion therapies, such that mechanical reperfusion with primary percutaneous coronary intervention is now the standard of care. With STEMI, as with other forms of acute coronary syndrome, stent deployment in culprit lesions is the dominant form of reperfusion in the developed world and is supported by contemporary guidelines. However, the precise timing of stenting and the extent to which both culprit and non-culprit lesions should be treated continue to be active areas of study. In this review, we revisit key data that support the use of mechanical reperfusion therapy in STEMI patients and explore the optimal timing for and extent of stent implantation in this complex patient group. We also review data surrounding the deleterious effects of untreated residual myocardial ischemia, the importance of complete revascularization, and the recent data exploring culprit-only versus multivessel stenting in the STEMI setting.