Impact of baseline renal function on mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention with sirolimus-eluting stents or bare metal stents

Renal impairment is an important predictor of mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention and may increase the restenosis rate. However, the relation between restenosis and the risk of death in patients who have renal impairment remains unclear. We evaluated the incidences of repeat revascularization and mortality in patients who had renal impairment and those who did not and who received sirolimus-eluting stents or bare stents. A total of 1,080 consecutive patients treated for 1 year had available data to calculate baseline creatinine clearance. Patients received bare stents (first 6 months, n = 543) or sirolimus-eluting stents (last 6 months, n = 537) and were grouped according to the presence or absence of renal impairment (creatinine clearance <60 ml/min). Patients who had renal impairment had a higher mortality rate at 1 year (7.6% vs 2.5%, hazard ratio 3.14, 95% confidence interval 1.68 to 5.88, p <0.01), with no differences in mortality between patients who received bare stents and those who received sirolimus-eluting stents (hazard ratio 0.91, 95% confidence interval 0.49 to 1.68, p = 0.8). The incidence of target vessel revascularization decreased significantly in patients who were treated with sirolimus-eluting stents and did not have renal impairment (hazard ratio 0.59, 95% confidence interval 0.39 to 0.90, p = 0.01) and in those who had decreased renal function (hazard ratio 0.37, 95% confidence interval 0.15 to 0.90, p = 0.03). Thus, sirolimus-eluting stents compared with conventional stents decreased clinical restenosis in patients who had renal impairment. However, this benefit was not paralleled by a decrease in the risk of death in this population. It seems unlikely that restenosis could be a contributing factor that influenced the increased mortality of patients who had impaired renal function.     

Gastrocolic fistula secondary to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs abuse in a cirrhotic patient

Gastrocolic fistula is rarely described in the literature. It has been associated with a variety of diseases and recently with benign gastric ulcers related to the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs'). The present case represents the first report of gastrocolic fistula due to NSAIDs in a cirrhotic patient. This is in keeping with the established knowledge that cirrhotic patients constitute a high-risk group of patients when treated with NSAIDs'. Review of the literature shows that this condition warrants a complete diagnostic work-up to exclude more ominous underlined diseases.     

Corneal Confocal Microscopy Identifies Small-Fiber Neuropathy in Subjects With Impaired Glucose Tolerance Who Develop Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVEImpaired glucose tolerance (IGT) through to type 2 diabetes is thought to confer a continuum of risk for neuropathy. Identification of subjects at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes and, hence, worsening neuropathy would allow identification and risk stratification for more aggressive management.RESULTSTen subjects who developed type 2 diabetes had a significantly lower CNFD (P = 0.003), CNBD (P = 0.04), and CNFL (P = 0.04) compared with control subjects at baseline and a further reduction in CNFL (P = 0.006), intraepidermal nerve fiber density (IENFD) (P = 0.02), and mean dendritic length (MDL) (P = 0.02) over 3 years. Fifteen subjects who remained IGT and 5 subjects who returned to normal glucose tolerance had no significant baseline abnormality on CCM or IENFD but had a lower MDL (P < 0.0001) compared with control subjects. The IGT subjects showed a significant decrease in IENFD (P = 0.02) but no change in MDL or CCM over 3 years. Those who returned to NGT showed an increase in CNFD (P = 0.05), CNBD (P = 0.04), and CNFL (P = 0.05), but a decrease in IENFD (P = 0.02), over 3 years.CONCLUSIONSCCM and skin biopsy detect a small-fiber neuropathy in subjects with IGT who develop type 2 diabetes and also show a dynamic worsening or improvement in corneal and intraepidermal nerve morphology in relation to change in glucose tolerance status.     

Nontraumatic rhabdomyolysis with short‐term alcohol intoxication – a case report

Alcohol‐induced rhabdomyolysis is a potentially life‐threatening condition due to the probability of progression to acute renal injury. Patients admitted to emergency department with acute alcohol intoxication should always undergo blood and urine tests for early recognition and treatment of rhabdomyolysis.     

The prognostic role of serum uric acid levels in preeclampsia: A meta‐analysis

This meta‐analysis aims to compare serum uric acid levels among preeclamptic and healthy pregnant women across the various trimesters and provide a summary of the effect size of this biomarker in predicting adverse pregnancy outcomes. MEDLINE, Scopus, CENTRAL, Clinicaltrials.gov, and Google Scholar databases were systematically searched from inception. Observational studies were held eligible if they reported serum uric acid among preeclamptic and healthy pregnant women. Meta‐analysis was conducted regarding uric acid concentration, diagnostic accuracy, and association with perinatal outcomes. The credibility of evidence was appraised using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. The analysis included 196 studies, comprising 39 540 women. Preeclampsia was associated with significantly elevated uric acid levels during the 1st (mean difference [MD]: 0.21 mg/dL, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.06‐0.35) trimester, 2nd (MD: 1.41 mg/dL, 95% CI: 0.78‐2.05) trimester, and 3rd (MD: 2.26 mg/dL, 95% CI: 2.12‐2.40) trimester. Higher uric acid was estimated for severe preeclampsia, eclampsia, and hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet syndrome. The sensitivity for adverse perinatal outcome prediction ranged from 67.3% to 82.7% and the specificity from 47.7% to 70.7%. In conclusion, it is suggested that serum uric acid levels are increased in preeclampsia and can be used to predict disease severity and pregnancy complications. Future prospective studies should verify these outcomes, assess the optimal cutoffs, and incorporate uric acid to combined predicting models.