1 year follow Up results of “ARTIM HF TRIAL” (angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor effect on TEI index & left ventricular mass in heart failure)

BackgroundSacubitril/Valsartan (ARNI) has now class 1 recommendation for treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). It has been shown to reduce cardiovascular morbidity & mortality in Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and significant improvement in all echocardiographic parameters besides TEI index. Tei index is a marker of inflammation, myocardial cell metabolism and its contractile function has not been evaluated as a distinctive entity so we took up this study to evaluate the effects of ARNI on the LV functions using two dimensional (2D)ECHO parameters in Indian population and to assess TEI index for myocardial function.Methods256 patients with class II, III or IV HF and EF<40% were enrolled. 171(66.8%) were males and 85(33.2%) were females. Patients were evaluated at baseline, 6 and 12 months for LVEF, LV mass &,LVMPI. Drug was discontinued in 2 patients due to angioedema, in 5 patients due to acute kidney injury and in 2 patients due to hypotension. LV mass measurement done by linear echocardiographic method and Flow Doppler method used for TEI index calculation.ResultsBaseline parameters in 247 patients were mean EF = 26.33 ± 6.28%, mean LV mass = 270.84 ± 68.94 gm, mean Tei Index = 0.852 ± 0.22. ARNI use was associated with an average gradual increase in EF, from a mean baseline of 26.33 ± 6.28% to 33.88 ± 7.73%(p = 0.000001) after 1 year of treatment. There was a significant progressive reduction of 57.97 g/m2 in mean LV mass index after 1 year of treatment (p = 0.000001).TEI index showed significant reduction from baseline mean 0.85 ± 0.22 to 0.70 ± 0.12(p = 0.000001)after 1 year of treatment.ConclusionUse of ARNI as additive adjunct to standard care of treatment resulted in significant progressive decline in LV mass and increase in TEI index.     

Neurological monitoring and sedation protocols in the Liver Intensive Care Unit

Metabolic Brain Disease - Patients with liver disease often have alteration of neurological status which requires admission to an intensive care unit. Patients with acute liver failure (ALF),...     

Glycemic parameters with multiple daily injections using insulin glargine versus insulin pump

This study compared external insulin pump treatment using insulin lispro or insulin aspart with multiple daily injections (MDI; four or more injections per day) using insulin glargine and insulin lispro or insulin aspart. An electronic database was used to retrieve various parameters of glycemic control for 515 adult patients with type 1 diabetes. An insulin pump was used by 216 patients, and 299 patients were taking insulin glargine for at least 6 months. The mean age (approximately 33 years), duration of diabetes (approximately 16 years), and duration of treatment (approximately 12 months) were similar for both the pump and insulin glargine groups. The mean (+/-SEM) A1C values were significantly reduced in both groups from the baseline to the end of the study (7.7 +/- 0.1% to 7.5 +/- 0.1% for the pump group and 8.0 +/- 0.1% to 7.7 +/- 0.1% for the insulin glargine group, P< 0.001) with similar weight gain (P> 0.05) in both groups. The insulin glargine group significantly reduced basal insulin intake at follow-up. The premeal boluses were similar throughout the study for both groups. The subjects reporting severe hypoglycemic episodes were similar in the two groups; however, there were 12 cases of diabetic ketoacidosis reported in the pump group and none in the insulin glargine group. Patients with type 1 diabetes can achieve similar glycemic control using insulin glargine with premeal insulin lispro or by using an external infusion pump with insulin lispro or insulin aspart. However, costs and episodes of diabetic ketoacidosis are significantly higher for insulin pump users.     

Serial measurement of pulmonary mechanics assists in weaning from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in neonates with respiratory failure

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a highly invasive therapy for intractable neonatal respiratory failure, and serious complications may occur with increasing duration of bypass. Weaning from bypass is empirical at present. Thus, there is a need to accurately predict when infants can be successfully decannulated. We hypothesized that pulmonary mechanics would reflect lung recovery and, therefore, predict successful weaning from ECMO. We measured pulmonary mechanics daily in 22 neonates, at gestational age of 37.8 +/- 0.6 weeks (SE) requiring ECMO for severe respiratory failure (oxygen index 66 +/- 6). Pulmonary resistance (Rpul), dynamic compliance (Cdyn), and tidal volume (VT) were measured. Rpul did not predict lung recovery. Cdyn within 24 hours of starting ECMO was 0.3 +/- 0.04 ml/cm H2O. Cdyn within 24 hours of weaning from ECMO was 1.2 +/- 0.09 ml/cm H2O (p less than 0.001). All 22 infants had Cdyn greater than 0.6 ml/cm H2O at the time of decannulation, but four infants (20 percent) with Cdyn less than 0.6 ml/cm H2O could not be weaned from ECMO within 20 hours (p less than 0.01). Thus, a minimum Cdyn of 0.6 ml/cm H2O is associated with successful weaning from ECMO. Cdyn of 0.8 ml/cm H2O provided better overall discrimination between those who could be successfully weaned from ECMO. We conclude that serial measurement of dynamic pulmonary compliance predicts successful weaning from ECMO.     

Paclitaxel-coated balloon treatment for functionally nonsignificant residual coronary lesions after balloon angioplasty

There is limited data on the efficacy of paclitaxel-coated balloon (PCB) compared to stents for de novo coronary lesions. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of PCB treatment with stent implantation for de novo coronary lesions after successful plain old balloon angioplasty (POBA) guided by fractional flow reserve (FFR). In 200 patients scheduled for elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for de novo lesions, FFR was measured after POBA (POBA–FFR). If POBA–FFR was ≥?0.75, patients were treated with PCB (PCB group, n?=?78) or stent (Stent group, n?=?73). If POBA–FFR was <?0.75, stent was implanted as planned (Reference group, n?=?42). The primary endpoint was late lumen loss at 9 months and the secondary endpoint was adverse cardiac events (cardiac death, myocardial infarction, target lesion thrombosis, or repeat revascularization) at 12 months follow-up. There was no between-group differences in the POBA–FFR (0.87?±?0.05 in PCB, 0.89?±?0.06 in stent, p?=?0.101). At 9 months, late lumen loss was significantly lower in the PCB group compared to the Stent group (0.05?±?0.33 vs. 0.59?±?0.76 mm, p?<?0.001). Adverse cardiac events were not different between the PCB, Stent and Reference groups (2.6, 5.5, and 9.5% respectively; p?=?0.430 for PCB vs. Stent group; p?=?0.229 for the reference vs. both other groups). PCB treatment guided by POBA–FFR showed excellent 9 months angiographic and functional results, as well as comparable 12 months clinical outcomes, compared with stent implantation for de novo coronary lesions.     

Seasonal and Geographic Patterns in Seeking Cardiovascular Health Information: An Analysis of the Online Search Trends

Objective

To ascertain whether temporal and geographic interest in seeking cardiovascular disease (CVD) information online follows seasonal and geographic patterns similar to those observed in real-world data.

Influence of Bleeding Risk on Outcomes of Radial and Femoral Access for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: An Analysis From the GLOBAL LEADERS Trial

BackgroundRadial artery access has been shown to reduce mortality and bleeding events, especially in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Despite this, interventional cardiologists experienced in femoral artery access still prefer that route for percutaneous coronary intervention. Little is known regarding the merits of each vascular access in patients stratified by their risk of bleeding.MethodsPatients from the Global Leaders trial were dichotomized into low or high risk of bleeding by the median of the PRECISE-DAPT score. Clinical outcomes were compared at 30 days.ResultsIn the overall population, there were no statistical differences between radial and femoral access in the rate of the primary end point, a composite of all-cause mortality, or new Q-wave myocardial infarction (MI) (hazard ratio [HR] 0.70, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42-1.15). Radial access was associated with a significantly lower rate of the secondary safety end point, Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) 3 or 5 bleeding (HR 0.55, 95% CI 0.36-0.84). Compared by bleeding risk strata, in the high bleeding score population, the primary (HR 0.47, 95% CI 0.26-0.85; P = 0.012; P_interaction = 0.019) and secondary safety (HR 0.57, 95% CI 0.35-0.95; P = 0.030; P_interaction = 0.631) end points favoured radial access. In the low bleeding score population, however, the differences in the primary and secondary safety end points between radial and femoral artery access were no longer statistically significant.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the outcomes of mortality or new Q-wave MI and BARC 3 or 5 bleeding favour radial access in patients with a high, but not those with a low, risk of bleeding. Because this was not a primary analysis, it should be considered hypothesis generating.