The potential role of assisted oocyte activation in the management of a POSEIDON group 3 patient with fertilization failure: A case report and literature review

ObjectiveAssisted oocyte activation combined with ICSI (ICSI-AOA) has been reported to improve fertilization outcomes of couples with oocyte activation deficiency (OAD). Although there's no sufficient evidence to support ICSI-AOA as routine use, it might be beneficial for POSEIDON group 3 patients with suspected oocyte-related OAD.Case reportA 29-year-old female presented with a history of primary infertility for two years. She was classified as a POSEIDON group 3 patient and had a total fertilization failure history. With the help of ICSI-AOA, six oocytes were successfully fertilized. Pregnancy was later confirmed after embryo transfer. A living infant was born after 34 weeks of pregnancy.ConclusionOAD should be taken into consideration for POSEIDON group 3 patients since low Antimüllerian hormone is associated decreased quality. Further research needs to be done to understand the mechanism underlying oocyte-related OAD and the potential role of ICSI-AOA in young patients with suboptimal ovarian response.     

Admission hyperglycemia predicts poorer short‐ and long‐term outcomes after primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST‐elevation myocardial infarction

Aims/Introduction

Admission hyperglycemia is associated with poor outcome in patients with myocardial infarction. The present study evaluated the relationship between admission glucose level and other clinical variables in patients with ST‐elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Materials and Methods

The 959 consecutive STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI were divided into five groups based on admission glucose levels of <100, 100–139, 140–189, 190–249 and ≥250 mg/dL. Their short‐ and long‐term outcomes were compared.

Results

Higher admission glucose levels were associated with significantly higher in‐hospital morbidity and mortality, the overall mortality rate at follow up, and the incidence of reinfarction or heart failure requiring admission or leading to mortality at follow up. The odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for in‐hospital morbidity, in‐hospital mortality, mortality at follow up and re‐infarction or heart failure or mortality at follow up of patients with admission glucose levels ≥190 mg/dL, compared with those with admission glucose levels <190 mg/dL, were 2.12 (1.3–3.4, P = 0.001), 2.74 (1.4–5.5, P = 0.004), 2.52 (1.2–5.1, P = 0.01) and 1.70 (1.03–2.8, P = 0.04), respectively. Previously non‐diabetic patients with admission glucose levels ≥250 mg/dL had significantly higher in‐hospital morbidity or mortality (44 vs 70%, P = 0.03). Known diabetic patients had higher rates of reinfarction, heart failure or mortality at follow up in the 100–139 mg/dL (8 vs 27%, P = 0.04) and 140–189 mg/dL (11 vs 26%, P = 0.02) groups.

Conclusions

Admission hyperglycemia, especially at glucose levels ≥190 mg/dL, is a predictor of poor prognosis in STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI.     

Alcohol and hepatitis C mortality among males and females in the United States: a life table analysis

OBJECTIVE: Evidence from previous studies suggests that heavy alcohol use (HAU) exacerbates the rate of fibrosis progression in the liver and results in increased probability for premature death among patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The current study uses population-based mortality data to investigate whether heavy drinking affects the age of death among individuals with HCV and, if so, whether this effect differs between men and women. METHODS: A total of 7,263,163 death records in the United States between 2000 and 2002 were drawn from the Multiple Cause of Death (MCD) public-use data files compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes were used to identify the presence of HCV (B17.1 and B18.2) and HAU (as indicated by alcohol-induced medical conditions, F10 and K70) either as the underlying cause or as one of the contributing causes of death. The deaths were divided into 4 distinctive cause-of-death categories: HCV without HAU, HAU without HCV, HCV plus HAU, and all others. The mean ages of death and the cumulative probabilities of death derived from multiple-cause life table were compared across these categories. RESULTS: Hepatitis C virus deaths showed an excessive prevalence of HAU when compared with non-HCV deaths. Compared with deaths of HCV without HAU, the mean age of death was shortened for deaths of HCV plus HAU (from 55.1 to 50.0 years among males, and from 61.0 to 49.1 years among females). The cumulative probability of death before age 65 was much higher for the latter than the former group (0.91 vs 0.68 among males, and 0.88 vs 0.47 among females). While HCV alone showed a disproportionate effect on premature death in males, HAU presented a stronger effect in females, resulting in a "catching-up" effect that diminished the gender difference in age of HCV death. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides mortality-based evidence to further establish heavy alcohol consumption as one of the key risk factors contributing to premature deaths from HCV in the United States. More importantly, this study, for the first time, presents empirical evidence that alcohol consumption affects men and women differently in HCV mortality.