Smoking and infarct size among STEMI patients undergoing primary angioplasty

Background

Prior studies have found that smokers with STEMI have lower mortality rates and a more favorable response to fibrinolytic therapy than nonsmokers, phenomenon defined as “the smoker's paradox”. Still poorly explored is the impact of cigarette smoking in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Aim of the current study was to evaluate the impact of cigarette smoking on scintigraphic infarct size in STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI.

Methods

Our population is represented by 830 STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI. Infarct size was evaluated at 30 days by technetium-99m-sestamibi.

Results

Smoking was associated with younger age (p < 0.001), a lower prevalence of female gender (p < 0.001), hypertension (p < 0.001), diabetes (p = 0.003), shorter ischemia time (p = 0.037), but higher rates of previous PCI (p = 0.016). No differences were observed in other clinical or angiographic characteristics. In particular, smoking did not affect the rate of postprocedural TIMI 3 flow. As shown in Fig. 1, smoking did not affect infarct size (12.5% [3.3%–23.7%] vs 12.7% [4.9%–25.9%], p = 0.12). Similar results were observed in subanalyses according to infarct location (anterior STEMI, p int = 0.33), gender (p int = 0.95) age, (p Int = 0.96), diabetes (p int = 0.85). The absence of any impact of smoking on infarct size was confirmed after correction for baseline characteristics, such as age, gender, hypertension, diabetes, previous PCI, ischemia time (OR [95% CI] = 0.80 [0.59–1.09], p = 0.15).

Conclusions

This study shows that among STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI smoking status does not affect infarct size.     

Aortic valve sclerosis as a marker of coronary artery atherosclerosis; a multicenter study of a large population with a low prevalence of coronary artery disease

There are no studies analyzing the association between aortic valve sclerosis (AVS) and coronary artery disease (CAD) in a large and multicenter patient population with an overall low prevalence of CAD. We hypothesized that AVS could predict the presence and degree of CAD in patients with severe organic mitral regurgitation.     

Abnormal Regulation of Renin Angiotensin Aldosterone System Is Associated With Right Ventricular Dysfunction in Hypertension

Background

Right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) is a major predictor of cardiovascular mortality. Inadequate suppression of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) after postural manoeuvres favours alterations of left ventricular (LV) function. The effects of RAAS dysregulation on RV performance remain elusive. The present study investigated RV function in hypertensive patients with or without altered RAAS activation.

Methods

Plasma renin activity (PRA) and plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) were measured in 104 newly diagnosed hypertensive patients after both supine and upright positioning to assess dynamic changes of RAAS induced by antigravitational stress. Twenty-four–hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and echocardiographic evaluation of the right ventricle including tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) were performed. Patients were divided as follows: (1) normal PRA and PAC (N group [n = 58]), (2) suppressible RAAS after supine positioning (SR group [n = 24]), and (3), nonsuppressible RAAS (NSR group [n = 22]). RVD was identified by the TDI-derived myocardial performance index (MPI) calculated with a multisegmental approach.

Results

Patients in the NSR group had reduced indices of RV function compared with patients in the N and SR groups. MPI of the right ventricle as well as prevalence of RVD were also significantly higher in the NSR group. Regression models showed that inadequate RAAS suppression was independently associated with RVD, regardless of blood pressure values and LV dysfunction (LVD).

Conclusions

Patients without supine normalization of RAAS display a significant impairment of RV function. Our findings suggest that a dynamic RAAS evaluation may help to identify hypertensive patients at higher risk of RVD.     

Non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B

The goal of this review is to provide a comprehensive picture of the role, clinical applications and future perspectives of the most widely used non-invasive techniques for the evaluation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. During the past decade many non-invasive methods have been developed to reduce the need for liver biopsy in staging fibrosis and to overcome whenever possible its limitations, mainly: invasiveness, costs, low reproducibility, poor acceptance by patients. Elastographic techniques conceived to assess liver stiffness, in particular transient elastography, and the most commonly used biological markers will be assessed against their respective role and limitations in staging hepatic fibrosis. Recent evidence highlights that both liver stiffness and some bio-chemical markers correlate with survival and major clinical end-points such as liver decompensation, development of hepatocellular carcinoma and portal hypertension. Thus the non-invasive techniques here discussed can play a major role in the management of patients with chronic HBV-related hepatitis. Given their prognostic value, transient elastography and some bio-chemical markers can be used to better categorize patients with advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis and assign them to different classes of risk for clinically relevant outcomes. Very recent data indicates that the combined measurements of liver and spleen stiffness enable the reliable prediction of portal hypertension and esophageal varices development.     

Recovery of long-term natural protection against reactivation of CMV retinitis in AIDS patients responding to highly active antiretroviral therapy

OBJECTIVES: To see whether in severely immunosuppressed AIDS patients (with prior Cytomegalovirus retinal disease) who have significant increases in CD4+ lymphocytes following the initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) anti-Cytomegalovirus (CMV) maintenance therapy can be withdrawn with no subsequent progression of CMV retinitis. METHODS: Eight patients with AIDS and one or more previous episodes of CMV retinitis interrupted anti-CMV maintenance therapy following the successful beginning of HAART. CD4 cell counts and HIV-RNA were monitored monthly while measurement of CMV antigenemia and ophthalmoscopy were carried every 2 weeks thereafter. RESULTS: The HAART recipients in whom anti-CMV maintenance therapy had been interrupted had measureable increases of CD4+ T lymphocytes, substantial control of both HIV-RNA and CMV viraemia and did not show recurrence of retinitis during a mean follow-up of 98.4 weeks (range 78-120, SD 15.2). CONCLUSIONS: Anti-CMV maintenance therapy can be interrupted with no subsequent progression of retinal damage over a long time in patients with AIDS who successfully respond to HAART with a significant increase in CD4 cell count.     

PNPLA3 I148M polymorphism and progressive liver disease

The 148 Isoleucine to Methionine protein variant(I148M)of patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing 3(PNPLA3),a protein is expressed in the liver and is involved in lipid metabolism,has recently been identified as a major determinant of liver fat content.Several studies confirmed that the I148M variant predisposes towards the full spectrum of liver damage associated with fatty liver:from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis and progressive fibrosis.Furthermore,the I148M variant represents a major determinant of progression of alcohol related steatohepatitis to cirrhosis,and to influence fibrogenesis and related clinical outcomes in chronic hepatitis C virus hepatitis,and possibly chronic hepatitis B virus hepatitis,hereditary hemochromatosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis.All in all,studies suggest that the I148M polymorphism may represent a general modifier of fibrogenesis in liver diseases.Remarkably,the effect of the I148M variant on fibrosis was independent of that on hepatic steatosis and inflammation,suggesting that it may affect both the quantity and quality of hepatic lipids and the biology of non-parenchymal liver cells besides hepatocytes,directly promoting fibrogenesis.Therefore,PNPLA3 is a key player in liver disease progression.Assessment of the I148M polymorphism will possibly inform clinical practice in the future,whereas the determination of the effect of the 148M variant will reveal mechanisms involved in hepatic fibrogenesis.     

Multidetector CT in the evaluation of retroperitoneal fat tissue infiltration in ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head: correlation with histopathological findings

Background

Neoplastic infiltration of the retroportal fat tissue is a critical parameter in tumor staging and in surgical planning because it frequently represents a site of persistence and recurrence of disease.

Method

We evaluated 64 patients affected by ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head/uncinate process, submitted to curative surgery. Suspicion of infiltration (micro or macroinfiltration) of the retroportal margin arose at MDCT in cases of obliteration, irregularity, or abnormal density of the fatty layer localized between the medial surface of the pancreatic head/uncinate process and the mesenteric artery.

Results

CT suggested the infiltration of the retroportal tissue in 27 cases (10 microinfiltration, 17 macroinfiltration). At histopathology, the presence of infiltration was confirmed in 21/27 (78%) cases. In all CT cases of microinfiltration, the retroperitoneal resection margin was not infiltrated, while all cases (6) with infiltration of the retroperitoneal margin were macroinfiltrated at CT. The sensitivity of CT was 80%, specificity of 84% with an overall diagnostic accuracy of 82%.

Conclusion

MDCT is accurate in the assessment of the neoplastic infiltration of the retroportal fat tissue.     

A new clinical score for cranial CT in ED non-trauma patients: Definition and first validation

IntroductionWell recognized guidelines are available for the use of cranial computed tomography (CCT) in traumatic patients, while no definitely accepted standards exists to for CCT in patients without history of head injury. The aim of this study is to propose an easy clinical score to stratify the need of CCT in emergency department (ED) patients with suspect non-traumatic intracranial pathology.MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated patients presenting to the ED for neurological deficit, postural instability, acute headache, altered mental status, seizures, confusion, dizziness, vertigo, syncope, and pre-syncope. We build a score for positive CCT prediction by using a logistic regression model on clinical factors significant at univariate analysis. The score was validated on a population of prospectively observed patients.ResultsWe reviewed clinical data of 1156 patients; positivity of CCT was 15.2%. Persistent neurological deficit, new onset acute headache, seizures and/or altered state of consciousness, and transient neurological disorders were independent predictors of positive CCT. We observed 508 patients in a validation prospective cohort; CCT was positive in 11.3%. Our score performed well in validation population with a ROC AUC of 0.787 (CI 95% 0.748–0.822). Avoiding CT in score 0 patients would have saved 82 (16.2%) exams. No patients with score 0 had a positive CCT findings; score sensitivity was 100.0 (CI 95% 93.7–100.0).ConclusionsA score for risk stratification of patients with suspect of intra-cranial pathology could reduce CT request in ED, avoiding a significant number of CCT while minimizing the risk of missing positive results.     

Pharmacokinetics,Safety, and Tolerability of the Direct-acting Hepatitis C Antiviral Sofosbuvir in HealthyChineseSubjects

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic profile of sofosbuvir and its metabolites after a single dose of sofosbuvir 400mg and once daily dosing of sofosbuvir 400mg for 7days in healthy Chinese subjects.

Additive value of blood neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin to clinical judgement in acute kidney injury diagnosis and mortality prediction in patients hospitalized from the emergency department

Introduction

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication among hospitalized patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of blood neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) assessment as an aid in the early risk evaluation for AKI development in admitted patients.

Methods

This is a multicenter Italian prospective emergency department (ED) cohort study in which we enrolled 665 patients admitted to hospital from the ED.

Results

Blood NGAL and serum creatinine (sCr) were determined at ED presentation (T0), and at: 6 (T6), 12 (T12), 24 (T24) and 72 (T72) hours after hospitalization. A preliminary assessment of AKI by the treating ED physician occurred in 218 out of 665 patients (33%), while RIFLE AKI by expert nephrologists was confirmed in 49 out of 665 patients (7%). The ED physician''s initial judgement lacked sensitivity and specificity, overpredicting the diagnosis of AKI in 27% of the cohort, while missing 20% of those with AKI as a final diagnosis.The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), obtained at T0, for blood NGAL alone in the AKI group was 0.80. When NGAL at T0 was added to the ED physician''s initial clinical judgment the AUC was increased to 0.90, significantly greater when compared to the AUC of the T0 estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) obtained either by modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD) equation (0.78) or Cockroft-Gault formula (0.78) (P = 0.022 and P = 0.020 respectively). The model obtained by combining NGAL with the ED physician''s initial clinical judgement compared to the model combining sCr with the ED physician''s initial clinical judgement, resulted in a net reclassification index of 32.4 percentage points. Serial assessment of T0 and T6 hours NGAL provided a high negative predictive value (NPV) (98%) in ruling out the diagnosis of AKI within 6 hours of patients'' ED arrival. NGAL (T0) showed the strongest predictive value for in-hospital patient''s mortality at a cutoff of 400 ng/ml.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrated that assessment of a patient''s initial blood NGAL when admitted to hospital from the ED improved the initial clinical diagnosis of AKI and predicted in-hospital mortality. Blood NGAL assessment coupled with the ED physician''s clinical judgment may prove useful in deciding the appropriate strategies for patients at risk for the development of AKI.See related commentary by Legrand et al., http://ccforum.com/content/17/2/132