A cross-sectional study on coronary artery disease diagnosis in patients with peripheral artery disease

PurposeCompared with healthy individuals, patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) generally have a very high risk of subclinical Coronary artery disease (CAD) and cardiovascular events. To determine the correlation between CAD in PAD patients, thereby promoting the lifetime of PAD patients and reducing the serious impacts of CAD.MethodsThis clinical-based cross-sectional study comprised 100 consecutive patients in India from 2014 to 2016. In this research, PAD patients were screened for CAD by treadmill stress test and cardiac colour Doppler examination. In addition, this study performed coronary angiography followed by peripheral angiography for patients who could not perform the treadmill test.ResultsWith the statistical results, the study observed a high prevalence of CAD in PAD patients that can be detected only with angiography. Further, 30.93% of asymptomatic CAD prevalence was observed in PAD patients. The study strengthens the need for coronary angiography in all symptomatic lower limb PAD cases to detect early CAD, particularly in patients with diabetes and dyslipidemia.ConclusionThere exists a strong correlation between PAD and CAD. Hence, precise diagnosis followed by supervision of PAD patients is significant for avoiding local progression of cardiovascular risk.     

Demarcation of arteriopulmonary segments: a novel and effective method for the identification of pulmonary segments

ObjectiveEach pulmonary segment is an anatomical and functional unit. However, it is fundamentally difficult to precisely distinguish every pulmonary segment using the conventional pulmonary intersegmental planes from computed tomography images. Building arteriopulmonary segments is likely to be an effective way to identify pulmonary segments.MethodsThe thoracic computed tomography images of 40 patients were collected. The anatomic structures of interest were extracted in the transverse, sagittal, and coronal planes using the semi-automated segmentation tools provided by Amira software. The intrapulmonary vessels were subsequently segmented and reconstructed. The distributions of the pulmonary arteries, veins, and bronchi were observed. In patients with pulmonary masses, the mass was also reconstructed.ResultsThe three-dimensional reconstructed images showed the branches of the pulmonary artery ramified up to their eighth order covering the entire lung as well as evident intersegmental gaps without pulmonary arteries. The segmental artery was closely accompanied by the segmental bronchi in 486 pulmonary segments (90% of total number of segments). The size and spatial location of the pulmonary mass within a pulmonary segment were also clearly visible.ConclusionsDemarcation of arteriopulmonary segments can be used to precisely distinguish every pulmonary segment and provide its detailed anatomical structure before pulmonary segmentectomy.     

A propensity score–matched analysis indicates screening for asymptomatic coronary artery disease does not predict cardiac events in kidney transplant recipients

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Synthetic MRI is not yet ready for morphologic and functional assessment of patellar cartilage at 1.5 Tesla

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to compare morphologic assessment and relaxometry of patellar hyaline cartilage between conventional sequences (fast spin-echo [FSE] T2-weighted fat-saturated and T2-mapping) and synthetic T2 short-TI inversion recovery (STIR) and T2 maps at 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).MethodThe MRI examinations of the knee obtained at 1.5 T in 49 consecutive patients were retrospectively studied. There were 21 men and 28 women with a mean age of 45 ± 17.7 (SD) years (range: 18–88 years). Conventional and synthetic acquisitions were performed, including T2-weighted fat-saturated and T2-mapping sequences. Two radiologists independently compared patellar cartilage T2-relaxation time on conventional T2-mapping and synthetic T2-mapping images. A third radiologist evaluated the patellar cartilage morphology on conventional and synthetic T2-weighted images. The presence of artifacts was also assessed. Interobserver agreement for quantitative variables was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).ResultsIn vitro, conventional and synthetic T2 maps yielded similar mean T2 values 58.5 ± 2.3 (SD) ms and 58.8 ± 2.6 (SD) ms, respectively (P = 0.414) and 6% lower than the expected experimental values (P = 0.038). Synthetic images allowed for a 15% reduction in examination time compared to conventional images. On conventional sequences, patellar chondropathy was identified in 35 patients (35/49; 71%) with a mean chondropathy grade of 4.8 ± 4.8 (SD). On synthetic images, 28 patients (28/49; 57%) were diagnosed with patellar chondropathy, with a significant 14% difference (P = 0.009) and lower chondropathy scores (3.7 ± 4.9 [SD]) compared to conventional images. Motion artifacts were more frequently observed on synthetic images (18%) than on conventional ones (6%). The interobserver agreement was excellent for both conventional and synthetic T2 maps (ICC > 0.83). Mean cartilage T2 values were significantly greater on synthetic images (36.2 ± 3.8 [SD] ms; range: 29-46 ms) relative to conventional T2 maps (31.8 ± 4.1 [SD] ms; range: 26-49 ms) (P < 0.0001).ConclusionDespite a decrease in examination duration, synthetic images convey lower diagnostic performance for chondropathy, greater prevalence of motion artifacts, and an overestimation of T2 values compared to conventional MRI sequences.     

Safety and feasibility of robotic assisted percutaneous coronary intervention compared to standard percutaneous coronary intervention- a systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectiveRobotically assisted PCI offers a great alternative to S–PCI. This has gained even more relevance during the COVID-19 pandemic era however safety of R–PCI compared to S–PCI has not been studied well. This study explores the safety and efficacy of robotically assisted PCI (R–PCI) compared to standard PCI (S–PCI) for the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD).MethodsPubMed, Scopus, Ovid, and Google scholar databases were searched for studies comparing R–PCI to S–PCI. Outcomes included clinical success, procedure time, fluoroscopy time, contrast use and radiation exposure.ResultsTheauthors included 5 studies comprising 1555 patients in this meta-analysis. Clinical success was comparable in both arms (p = 0.91). Procedure time was significantly longer in R–PCI group (risk ratio: 5.52, 95% confidence interval: 1.85 to 9.91, p = 0.003). Compared to S–PCI, patients in R–PCI group had lower contrast use (meandifference: −19.88, 95% confidence interval: −21.43 to −18.33, p < 0.001), fluoroscopy time (mean difference:-1.82, 95% confidence interval: −3.64 to −0.00, p = 0.05) and radiation exposure (mean difference:-457.8, 95% confidence interval: −707.14 to −208.14, p < 0.001).ConclusionR–PCI can achieve similar success as S–PCI at the expense of longer procedural times. However, radiation exposure and contrast exposure were lower in the R–PCI arm.     

Thyroid Embolization for Nonsurgical Treatment of Nodular Goiter: A Single-Center Experience in 56 Consecutive Patients

PurposeTo investigate the safety and efficacy of thyroid artery embolization (TAE) in the treatment of nodular goiter (NG).MethodsDuring a 5.5-year period, 56 consecutive patients with a NG underwent TAE. In Group A, there were 20 patients with a solitary/dominant 5–11-cm nodule, and in Group B, there were 36 patients with numerous nodules. Of the 56 patients, 47 (84%) had a retrosternal goiter and 25 had hyperthyroidism. In all patients, clinical and radiological evaluations were made at baseline and 6 months after TAE, and these parameters were statistically compared.ResultsIn 56 patients, 145 of the 146 thyroid arteries were successfully embolized. The 30-day mortality rate was 1.8%. Minor and major complications occurred in 25 and 2 patients, respectively. Six months after the TAE, the mean nodule volume was reduced from 80.2 mL to 25.0 mL, the mean thyroid volume was reduced from 147.0 mL to 62.6 mL, and the mean intrathoracic extension was reduced from 31.7 mm to 15.9 mm (P < .001). Of the 22 patients with non–Graves hyperthyroidism, 19 (86%) became euthyroid. The mean thyroid-related patient-reported outcome scores improved from 155.4 to 70.4 (P < .001). Of the 51 patients, 50 (98%) declared that they would recommend TAE to other patients with NG.ConclusionsTAE is safe and effective for the treatment of NG, with a significant volume reduction of the nodule(s) and thyroid gland.     

紫杉醇药物涂层球囊成形术治疗症状性椎动脉开口处狭窄的疗效

目的 探讨紫杉醇药物涂层球囊（P-DCB）成形术治疗症状性椎动脉开口狭窄的安全性和有效性。方法 回顾性分析2017 年12月至2019年6月经P-DCB成形术治疗的43例症状性椎动脉开口处狭窄的临床资料。结果 所有病人均完成介入治疗，成功率为100%。术后即刻狭窄率[（12.03±2.15）%]较术前[（86.32±10.26）%]明显降低（P<0.05）。围手术期发生动脉夹层1例，无其他并发症。随访12~16个月，平均13.5个月；症状改善43例，无变化例，症状改善率为95.3%（41/43）；全部病人接受DSA或CTA随访，随访狭窄率[（16.1±3.12）%]与术后即刻无统计学差异（P>0.05）；5例发生再狭窄，再狭窄率为11.6%。结论 P-DCB成形术治疗椎动脉开口狭窄具有较好的临床疗效。