Cardiac resynchronization therapy guided by late gadolinium-enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance

Background

Myocardial scarring at the LV pacing site leads to incomplete resynchronization and a suboptimal symptomatic response to CRT. We sought to determine whether the use of late gadolinium cardiovascular magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR) to guide left ventricular (LV) lead deployment influences the long-term outcome of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

Methods

559 patients with heart failure (age 70.4 ± 10.7 yrs [mean ± SD]) due to ischemic or non-ischemic cardiomyopathy underwent CRT. Implantations were either guided (+CMR) or not guided (-CMR) by LGE-CMR prior to implantation. Fluoroscopy and LGE-CMR were used to localize the LV lead tip and and myocardial scarring retrospectively. Clinical events were assessed in three groups: +CMR and pacing scar (+CMR+S); CMR and not pacing scar (+CMR-S), and; LV pacing not guided by CMR (-CMR).

Results

Over a maximum follow-up of 9.1 yrs, +CMR+S had the highest risk of cardiovascular death (HR: 6.34), cardiovascular death or hospitalizations for heart failure (HR: 5.57) and death from any cause or hospitalizations for major adverse cardiovascular events (HR: 4.74) (all P < 0.0001), compared with +CMR-S. An intermediate risk of meeting these endpoints was observed for -CMR, with HRs of 1.51 (P = 0.0726), 1.61 (P = 0.0169) and 1.87 (p = 0.0005), respectively. The +CMR+S group had the highest risk of death from pump failure (HR: 5.40, p < 0.0001) and sudden cardiac death (HR: 4.40, p = 0.0218), in relation to the +CMR-S group.

Conclusions

Compared with a conventional implantation approach, the use of LGE-CMR to guide LV lead deployment away from scarred myocardium results in a better clinical outcome after CRT. Pacing scarred myocardium was associated with the worst outcome, in terms of both pump failure and sudden cardiac death.     

Initial Development of the Mental Health Assessment and Dynamic Referral for Oncology (MHADRO)

The Mental Health Assessment and Dynamic Referral for Oncology (MHADRO) is a program that conducts a computerized assessment of physical, psychological, and social functioning related to oncology treatment, prints personalized summary reports for both the patient and the provider, and for those who provide consent, faxes a referral and assessment summary report to a matched mental health treatment provider (i.e., dynamic referral). The functionality, feasibility, and end user satisfaction of the MHADRO were tested in a comprehensive care center. Of the 101 participants enrolled, 61 (60%) exhibited elevated distress on at least one of the mental health indices, and, of these, 12 (20%) chose a dynamic referral for mental health services. Patients and health care providers exhibited high levels of satisfaction with the program. The MHADRO has potential for assisting in meeting the psychosocial needs faced by individuals with cancer and should be tested further for its facilitation of mental health treatment initiation.     

Hemofiltration compared to hemodialysis for acute kidney injury: systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the effect of renal replacement therapy (RRT), delivered as hemofiltration vs. hemodialysis, on clinical outcomes in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases and conference abstracts were searched to June 2012 for parallel-group or crossover randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating hemofiltration vs. hemodialysis in patients with AKI. Two authors independently selected studies and abstracted data on study quality and outcomes. Additional information was obtained from trial authors. We pooled data using random-effects models. RESULTS: Of 6657 citations, 19 RCTs (10 parallel-group and 9 crossover) met inclusion criteria. Sixteen trials used continuous RRT. Study quality was variable. The primary analysis included 3 parallel-group trials comparing similar doses of hemofiltration and hemodialysis; sensitivity analyses included trials comparing combined hemofiltration-hemodialysis or dissimilar doses. We found no effect of hemofiltration on mortality (risk ratio [RR] 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.73-1.25, p=0.76; 3 trials, n=121 [primary analysis]; RR 1.10, 95%CI 0.88-1.38, p=0.38; 8 trials, n=540 [sensitivity analysis]) or other clinical outcomes (RRT dependence in survivors, vasopressor use, organ dysfunction) compared to hemodialysis. Hemofiltration appeared to shorten time to filter failure (mean difference [MD] -7 hours, 95%CI[-19,+5], p=0.24; 2 trials, n=50 [primary analysis]; MD -5 hours, 95%CI[-10, -1], p=0.01; 3 trials, n=113 [including combined hemofiltration-hemodialysis trials comparing similar doses]; MD -6 hours, 95% CI[-10, -1], p=0.02; 5 trials, n=383 [sensitivity analysis]). Data primarily from crossover RCTs suggested that hemofiltration increased clearance of medium to larger molecules, including inflammatory cytokines, compared to hemodialysis, although almost no studies measured changes in serum concentrations. Meta-analyses were based on very limited data. CONCLUSIONS: Data from small RCTs do not suggest beneficial clinical outcomes from hemofiltration, but confidence intervals were wide. Hemofiltration may increase clearance of medium to larger molecules. Larger trials are required to evaluate effects on clinical outcomes.     

Optimal Mode of clearance in critically ill patients with Acute Kidney Injury (OMAKI) - a pilot randomized controlled trial of hemofiltration versus hemodialysis: a Canadian Critical Care Trials Group project

Introduction

Among critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) needing continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), the effect of convective (via continuous venovenous hemofiltration [CVVH]) versus diffusive (via continuous venovenous hemodialysis [CVVHD]) solute clearance on clinical outcomes is unclear. Our objective was to evaluate the feasibility of comparing these two modes in a randomized trial.

Methods

This was a multicenter open-label parallel-group pilot randomized trial of CVVH versus CVVHD. Using concealed allocation, we randomized critically ill adults with AKI and hemodynamic instability to CVVH or CVVHD, with a prescribed small solute clearance of 35 mL/kg/hour in both arms. The primary outcome was trial feasibility, defined by randomization of >25% of eligible patients, delivery of >75% of the prescribed CRRT dose, and follow-up of >95% of patients to 60 days. A secondary analysis using a mixed-effects model examined the impact of therapy on illness severity, defined by sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, over the first week.

Results

We randomized 78 patients (mean age 61.5 years; 39% women; 23% with chronic kidney disease; 82% with sepsis). Baseline SOFA scores (mean 15.9, SD 3.2) were similar between groups. We recruited 55% of eligible patients, delivered >80% of the prescribed dose in each arm, and achieved 100% follow-up. SOFA tended to decline more over the first week in CVVH recipients (-0.8, 95% CI -2.1, +0.5) driven by a reduction in vasopressor requirements. Mortality (54% CVVH; 55% CVVHD) and dialysis dependence in survivors (24% CVVH; 19% CVVHD) at 60 days were similar.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that a large trial comparing CVVH to CVVHD would be feasible. There is a trend toward improved vasopressor requirements among CVVH-treated patients over the first week of treatment.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov: {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT00675818","term_id":"NCT00675818"}}NCT00675818     

An efficient record linkage scheme using graphical analysis for identifier error detection

Background  

Integration of information on individuals (record linkage) is a key problem in healthcare delivery, epidemiology, and "business intelligence" applications. It is now common to be required to link very large numbers of records, often containing various combinations of theoretically unique identifiers, such as NHS numbers, which are both incomplete and error-prone.