An antibiotic recipe for an arrhythmic disaster

We describe the case of a patient who developed torsade de pointes during temporary pacemaker insertion after administration of intravenous erythromycin. The case highlights the dangers of administering drugs that prolong the QT interval in patients with complete atrioventricular block, and we discuss the underlying pathophysiological recipe that can lead to a potential arrhythmic disaster.     

Can cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors convert inoperable breast cancer relapse to operability? A case report

BACKGROUND Pathological complete response(pCR) is rare in hormone receptor-positive(HR+)HER2-negative breast cancer(BC) treated with either endocrine therapy(ET) or chemotherapy. Radical resection of locoregional relapse, although potentially curative in some cases, is challenging when the tumor invades critical structures.The oral cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor palbociclib in combination with ET has obtained a significant increase in objective response rates and progression-free survival in patients with advanced BC and is now being evaluated in the neoadjuvant setting. We present a clinical case of a patient with an inoperable locoregional relapse of HR+ HER2-negative BC who experienced p CR after treatment with palbociclib.CASE SUMMARY We report the clinical case of a 60-year-old patient who presented with an inoperable locoregional relapse of HR+, HER2-negative BC 10 years after the diagnosis of the primary tumor. During a routine follow-up visit, breast magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography/computed tomography revealed a 4-cm lesion in the right subclavicular region, infiltrating the chest wall and extending to the subclavian vessels, but without bone or visceral involvement. Treatment was begun with palbociclib plus letrozole, converting the disease to operability over a period of 6 mo. Surgery was performed and a p CR achieved. Of note, during treatment the patient experienced a very uncommon toxicity characterized by burning tongue and glossodynia associated with dysgeusia, paresthesia, dysesthesia, and xerostomia. A reduction in the dose of palbociclib did not provide relief and treatment with the inhibitor was thus discontinued, resolving the tongue symptoms. Laboratory exams were unremarkable. Given that this was a late relapse, the tumor was classified asendocrine-sensitive, a condition associated with high sensitivity to palbociclib.CONCLUSION This case highlights the potential of the cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor plus ET combination to achieve pCR in locoregional relapse of BC, enabling surgical resection of a lesion initially considered inoperable.     

Complete remission of leiomyosarcoma with lung and brain metastasis by chemoradiotherapy after surgery

Nowadays, leiomyosarcoma is stil dif icult to early diagnosis, has no standard treatment to fol ow, and the thera-peutic value of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy haven’t been evaluated ef ective...     

TMJ Vibrations in Asymptomatic Patients Using Old and New Complete Dentures

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the presence of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) noises in subjects with severe bone resorption, who have worn the same complete dentures for over 10 years, and 5 months after treatment with increments of acrylic resin on the occlusal surface after having new dentures in place. Methods: After applying the research diagnostic criteria (RDC)/temporomandibular disorder (TMD) questionnaire, 20 asymptomatic subjects were assessed before and 5 months after the new dentures were put in place. Joint vibrations were assessed by the Sono Pak program by selecting the vibrations that occurred during the opening and closing cycle. Results: The means of the results revealed a nonnormal distribution and were submitted to Kruskal‐Wallis statistical analysis (p < 0.05). The vibration means were of low intensity (≤9.96 Hz). After rehabilitation, there was a reduction in the vibrations (≤5.2 Hz) statistically significant only at the end of mouth opening with the old dentures when compared with the other cycles. Conclusion: The intensity and number of occurrences of joint vibrations were reduced after 5 months of wearing new dentures.     

Long-Term Outcomes of Complete Revascularization With Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Acute Coronary Syndromes

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term outcomes of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) with multivessel disease undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).BackgroundControversy exists regarding the benefit of multivessel PCI across the spectrum of ACS.MethodsA total of 9,094 patients with ACS and multivessel disease (≥70% stenosis in 2 or more major epicardial vessels) undergoing PCI from the Alberta COAPT (Contemporary Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients Invasive Treatment Strategies) registry (April 1, 2007, to March 31, 2013) were reviewed. Comparisons were made between patients who underwent complete revascularization and those with incomplete revascularization. Complete revascularization was defined as multivessel PCI with a residual angiographic jeopardy score ≤10%. Associations between revascularization status and all-cause death or new myocardial infarction (primary composite endpoint) and all-cause death, new myocardial infarction, or repeat revascularization (secondary composite endpoint) were evaluated.ResultsOf the study cohort, 66.0% underwent complete revascularization. Compared with incomplete revascularization, the primary composite endpoint occurred less frequently with complete revascularization (event rate within 5 years 15.4% vs. 22.2%; inverse probability-weighted hazard ratio [IPW-HR]: 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.73 to 0.84; p < 0.0001). The secondary composite endpoint was less likely to occur with complete revascularization (event rate within 5 years 23.3% vs. 37.5%; IPW-HR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.58 to 0.65; p < 0.0001). Complete revascularization was associated with a reduction in all-cause death (IPW-HR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.73 to 0.86; p = 0.0004), new myocardial infarction (IPW-HR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.69 to 0.84; p < 0.0001), and repeat revascularization (IPW-HR: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.49 to 0.57; p < 0.0001).ConclusionsResults from this large contemporary registry of patients with ACS and PCI for multivessel disease suggest that complete revascularization occurs commonly and is associated with improved clinical outcomes (including survival) within 5 years.     

Trends in Long-Term Mortality After Congenital Heart Surgery

Background

Congenital heart surgery has improved the survival of patients with even the most complex defects, but the long-term survival after these procedures has not been fully described.

Effects of patient characteristics on the efficacy of complete revascularization for treatment of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction with multivessel disease: A meta-analysis

Background:Several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have evaluated the efficacy of complete vs culprit-only revascularization for treatment of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with multivessel disease. However, the efficacy of complete revascularization vs culprit-only revascularization in some STEMI patient subgroups remains unclear.Methods:We searched PubMed and Embase for related RCTs from the start date of databases to January 3, 2020. The endpoint assessed in this meta-analysis was major adverse cardiac events (MACE). Random-effects meta-analysis was conducted stratified by each of the 5 factors of interest (i.e., sex, age, history of diabetes, ECG infarct location, and the number of arteries with stenosis) to estimate pooled hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval. Random-effects meta-regression was conducted to assess subgroup differences. We examined publication bias by drawing funnel plots and performing Egger test. This meta-analysis is reported according to the PRISMA statement.Results:Six RCTs were included for pooled analysis. Compared with culprit-only revascularization, complete revascularization significantly reduced the risk of MACE (hazard ratio 0.48, 95% confidence interval 0.42–0.55; I² = 0%; P for relative effect < .001). This significant reduction in the risk of MACE exhibited by complete revascularization was observed in most of the subgroups of interest. All of the subgroup effects based on the 5 factors of interest were not statistically significant (P_subgroup ranged from 0.198 to 0.556). Publication bias was not suggested by funnel plots and Egger test.Conclusions:Compared with culprit-only revascularization, complete revascularization significantly reduces the MACE risk in patients with STEMI and multivessel disease, which is independent of sex, age, history of diabetes, ECG infarct location, and the number of arteries with stenosis.