Three‐Dimensional Contrast Echocardiography in Assessing Left Ventricular Diverticulum

Congenital left ventricular (LV) diverticulum is a rare malformation that can be alone or in association with other congenital abnormalities. Since the several complications have been reported in association with LV diverticulum, as cardiac rupture, heart failure, and endocarditis, patients with LV diverticulum who are managed with conservative treatment would require regular checkups to ascertain the absence of such complications. We report a case of LV diverticulum in a 47‐year‐old man. He took the serial three‐dimensional contrast echocardiography, which was reliable and readily available tool for defining LV diverticulum and monitoring the presence of complications.     

One‐Year Clinical Outcome of a Randomized Trial of Polymer‐Free Paclitaxel‐Eluting Stents Versus Biodegradable Polymer‐Based Rapamycin‐Eluting Stents in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease

Background: More widespread use of drug‐eluting stents (DES) to treat coronary heart disease (CHD) has recently generated more attention to thrombosis, which was relative to the polymer. Polymer‐free and biodegradable polymer‐based stents are more frequently studied, but their efficacy on preventing detrimental clinical events is unclear. Methods and Results: To assess whether polymer‐free paclitaxel‐eluting stent (YINYI stent) was noninferior or equivalent to biodegradable polymer‐based rapamycin‐eluting stents (EXCEL stent) in preventing detrimental clinical cardiovascular events, a total of 167 consecutive CHD patients requiring DES implantation were randomly divided into the YINYI group (n = 82) and the EXCEL group (n = 85). The primary end‐point was major adverse cardiac events (MACE). The secondary end‐points included stent thrombosis events, all‐cause mortality, and rehospitalization. The study was designed to test the noninferiority or equivalence of the YINYI stent compared with the EXCEL stent with respect to one‐year MACE according to a noninferiority or equivalence margin of 0.1. One‐year MACE was 6.10% in the YINYI group versus 5.88% in the EXCEL group. The lower limit of the one‐sided 95% confidence interval was ?0.0582 (P = 0.002 from the test for noninferiority). The 95% confidence interval for the equivalence test was [?0.0698, 0.0742] (P₁=0.004 and P₂=0.007 from 2 times the 1‐sided test for equivalence). There was no statistically significant difference in thrombosis events, all‐cause death, and rehospitalization (all P > 0.05). Conclusions: In this small randomized trial, polymer‐free paclitaxel‐eluting stents appear to be noninferior or equivalent to biodegradable polymer‐based rapamycin‐eluting stents. (J Interven Cardiol 2012;25:604–610)     

Joint health and functional ability in children with haemophilia who receive intensive replacement therapy

Summary. Joint physical examination is an important outcome in haemophilia; however its relationship with functional ability is not well established in children with intensive replacement therapy. Boys aged 4–16 years were recruited from two European and three North American treatment centres. Joint physical structure and function was measured with the Haemophilia Joint Health Score (HJHS) while functional ability was measured with the revised Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ₃₈). Two haemophilia‐specific domains were created by selecting items of the CHAQ₃₈ that cover haemophilia‐specific problems. Associations between CHAQ, HJHS, cumulative number of haemarthroses and age were assessed. A total of 226 subjects – mean 10.8 years old (SD 3.8) – participated; the majority (68%) had severe haemophilia. Most severe patients (91%) were on prophylactic treatment. Lifetime number of haemarthroses [median = 5; interquartile range (IQR) = 1–12] and total HJHS (median = 5; IQR = 1–12) correlated strongly (ρ = 0.51). Total HJHS did not correlate with age and only weakly (ρ = ?0.19) with functional ability scores (median = 0; IQR = ?0.06–0). Overall, haemarthroses were reported most frequently in the ankles. Detailed analysis of ankle joint health scores revealed moderate associations (ρ = 0.3–0.5) of strength, gait and atrophy with lower extremity tasks (e.g. stair climbing). In this population, HJHS summating six joints did not perform as well as individual joint scores, however, certain elements of ankle impairment, specifically muscle strength, atrophy and gait associated significantly with functional loss in lower extremity activities. Mild abnormalities in ankle assessment by HJHS may lead to functional loss. Therefore, ankle joints may warrant special attention in the follow up of these children.     

The SMART‐COP score performs well for pneumonia risk stratification in Australia’s Tropical Northern Territory: a prospective cohort study

Objective To prospectively compare a modified pneumonia severity scoring system, SMARTACOP, with other severity scores in patients presenting with pneumonia to the emergency department (ED) of a tertiary referral hospital in tropical Australia. Methods We conducted a prospective observational study of adult patients presenting with radiologically confirmed pneumonia over a 12‐month period. The sensitivity of risk stratification scores were assessed against the need for intensive respiratory or vasopressor support (IRVS). Results There were 367 ED attendances for pneumonia of whom 77.1% were admitted to hospital, 10% required intensive respiratory or vasopressor support and 2.8% died. Mean age was 50.0 years, 52% were men and 59% were Indigenous. The sensitivity of a SMART‐COP score ≥3, a SMARTACOP score ≥3 and a pneumonia severity index (PSI) class ≥3 for predicting IRVS was 97%, 97% and 78% respectively. Conclusions We found no significant advantage of the SMARTACOP over the SMART‐COP score for the prediction of intensive respiratory or vasopressor support, but both scores significantly outperformed PSI. The SMART‐COP score should replace the PSI in tropical Australia and should be assessed in other tropical areas for pneumonia risk stratification in emergency departments.