Abstract Objectives The Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network recently reported no difference in the primary end point of left ventricular end-systolic volume index at 1 year postsurgery in patients ...randomized to repair (n = 126) or replacement (n = 125) for severe ischemic mitral regurgitation. However, patients undergoing repair experienced significantly more recurrent mitral regurgitation than patients undergoing replacement (32.6% vs 2.3%). We examined whether baseline echocardiographic and clinical characteristics could identify those who will develop moderate/severe recurrent mitral regurgitation or die. Methods Our analysis includes 116 patients who were randomized to and received mitral valve repair. Logistic regression was used to estimate a model-based probability of recurrence or death from baseline factors. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed from these estimated probabilities to determine classification cut-points maximizing accuracy of prediction based on sensitivity and specificity. Results Of the 116 patients, 6 received a replacement before leaving the operating room; all other patients had mild or less mitral regurgitation on intraoperative echocardiogram after repair. During the 2-year follow-up period, 76 patients developed moderate/severe mitral regurgitation or died (53 mitral regurgitation recurrences, 13 mitral regurgitation recurrences and death, and 10 deaths). The mechanism for recurrent mitral regurgitation was largely mitral valve leaflet tethering. Our model (including age, body mass index, sex, race, effective regurgitant orifice area, basal aneurysm/dyskinesis, New York Heart Association class, history of coronary artery bypass grafting, percutaneous coronary intervention, or ventricular arrhythmias) yielded an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.82. Conclusions The model demonstrated good discrimination in identifying patients who will survive 2 years without recurrent mitral regurgitation after mitral valve repair. Although our results require validation, they offer a clinically relevant risk score for selection of surgical candidates for this procedure.
Among patients with severe ischemic mitral regurgitation who were assigned to mitral-valve repair or replacement, there were no significant between-group differences in left ventricular remodeling or ...mortality at 2 years. Mitral regurgitation recurred more frequently in the repair group.
Ischemic mitral regurgitation is a serious consequence of coronary artery disease that carries a substantial risk of death from cardiovascular causes in proportion to its severity.
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Ischemic mitral regurgitation is anatomically characterized by remodeling or distortion of left ventricular geometry that ultimately results in papillary-muscle displacement, leaflet tethering, and impaired coaptation. For the subgroup of patients with severe ischemic mitral regurgitation, the prognosis is grave, with rates of death ranging from 15 to 40% at 1 year.
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For patients with severe ischemic mitral regurgitation, the benefit of surgical revascularization is undisputed, provided that the patient has suitable coronary . . .
Background Ketamine is reported to have rapid antidepressant effects; however, there is limited understanding of the time-course of ketamine effects beyond a single infusion. A previous report ...including 10 participants with treatment-resistant major depression (TRD) found that six ketamine infusions resulted in a sustained antidepressant effect. In the current report, we examined the pattern and durability of antidepressant effects of repeated ketamine infusions in a larger sample, inclusive of the original. Methods Participants with TRD ( n = 24) underwent a washout of antidepressant medication followed by a series of up to six IV infusions of ketamine (.5 mg/kg) administered open-label three times weekly over a 12-day period. Participants meeting response criteria were monitored for relapse for up to 83 days from the last infusion. Results The overall response rate at study end was 70.8%. There was a large mean decrease in Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale score at 2 hours after the first ketamine infusion (18.9 ± 6.6, p < .001), and this decrease was largely sustained for the duration of the infusion period. Response at study end was strongly predicted by response at 4 hours (94% sensitive, 71% specific). Among responders, median time to relapse after the last ketamine infusion was 18 days. Conclusions Ketamine was associated with a rapid antidepressant effect in TRD that was predictive of a sustained effect. Future controlled studies will be required to identify strategies to maintain an antidepressant response among patients who benefit from a course of ketamine.
Background The N -methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor antagonist ketamine, delivered via an intravenous route, has shown rapid antidepressant effects in patients with treatment-resistant ...depression. The current study was designed to test the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of intranasal ketamine in patients with depression who had failed at least one prior antidepressant trial. Methods In a randomized, double-blind, crossover study, 20 patients with major depression were randomly assigned, and 18 completed 2 treatment days with intranasal ketamine hydrochloride (50 mg) or saline solution. The primary efficacy outcome measure was change in depression severity 24 hours after ketamine or placebo, measured using the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale. Secondary outcomes included persistence of benefit, changes in self-reports of depression, changes in anxiety, and proportion of responders. Potential psychotomimetic, dissociative, hemodynamic, and general adverse effects associated with ketamine were also measured. Results Patients showed significant improvement in depressive symptoms at 24 hours after ketamine compared to placebo ( t = 4.39, p < .001; estimated mean Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale score difference of 7.6 ± 3.7; 95% confidence interval, 3.9–11.3). Response criteria were met by 8 of 18 patients (44%) 24 hours after ketamine administration compared with 1 of 18 (6%) after placebo ( p = .033). Intranasal ketamine was well tolerated with minimal psychotomimetic or dissociative effects and was not associated with clinically significant changes in hemodynamic parameters. Conclusions This study provides the first controlled evidence for the rapid antidepressant effects of intranasal ketamine. Treatment was associated with minimal adverse effects. If replicated, these findings may lead to novel approaches to the pharmacologic treatment of patients with major depression.
In a randomized trial involving patients undergoing mitral-valve surgery for degenerative mitral regurgitation, the addition of tricuspid repair resulted in a lower risk of the primary outcome, a ...composite of reoperation for tricuspid regurgitation, progression of tricuspid regurgitation, or death. Tricuspid repair resulted in more frequent permanent pacemaker implantation.
The prevalence of avian H5N1 influenza A infections in humans has not been definitively determined. Cases of H5N1 infection in humans confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) are fewer than ...600 in number, with an overall case fatality rate of >50%. We hypothesize that the stringent criteria for confirmation of a human case of H5N1 by WHO do not account for a majority of infections but rather the select few hospitalized cases that are more likely to be severe and result in poor clinical outcome. Meta-analysis shows that 1 to 2% of more than 12,500 study participants from 20 studies had seroevidence for prior H5N1 infection.
After 2 years of follow-up in a randomized trial involving 301 patients with moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation undergoing CABG, the addition of mitral-valve repair did not improve left ...ventricular function or remodeling.
Ischemic mitral regurgitation of moderate severity develops in approximately 10% of patients after myocardial infarction.
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Mitral regurgitation is caused by the displacement of papillary muscle, leaflet tethering, reduced closing forces, and annular dilatation. Over time, the condition has an adverse effect on the rate of survival free of heart failure.
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Because most patients with ischemic mitral regurgitation have multivessel coronary artery disease requiring revascularization, surgeons have to consider whether to add mitral-valve repair to coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG).
The appropriate surgical management of moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation at the time of CABG remains controversial. Some experts advocate revascularization alone . . .
IMPORTANCE Few pharmacotherapies have demonstrated sufficient efficacy in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a chronic and disabling condition. OBJECTIVE To test the efficacy and ...safety of a single intravenous subanesthetic dose of ketamine for the treatment of PTSD and associated depressive symptoms in patients with chronic PTSD. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Proof-of-concept, randomized, double-blind, crossover trial comparing ketamine with an active placebo control, midazolam, conducted at a single site (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York). Forty-one patients with chronic PTSD related to a range of trauma exposures were recruited via advertisements. INTERVENTIONS Intravenous infusion of ketamine hydrochloride (0.5 mg/kg) and midazolam (0.045 mg/kg). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome measure was change in PTSD symptom severity, measured using the Impact of Event Scale–Revised. Secondary outcome measures included the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, the Clinical Global Impression–Severity and –Improvement scales, and adverse effect measures, including the Clinician-Administered Dissociative States Scale, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and the Young Mania Rating Scale. RESULTS Ketamine infusion was associated with significant and rapid reduction in PTSD symptom severity, compared with midazolam, when assessed 24 hours after infusion (mean difference in Impact of Event Scale–Revised score, 12.7 95% CI, 2.5-22.8; P = .02). Greater reduction of PTSD symptoms following treatment with ketamine was evident in both crossover and first-period analyses, and remained significant after adjusting for baseline and 24-hour depressive symptom severity. Ketamine was also associated with reduction in comorbid depressive symptoms and with improvement in overall clinical presentation. Ketamine was generally well tolerated without clinically significant persistent dissociative symptoms. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study provides the first evidence for rapid reduction in symptom severity following ketamine infusion in patients with chronic PTSD. If replicated, these findings may lead to novel approaches to the pharmacologic treatment of patients with this disabling condition. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00749203
Little is known about the effect of the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on stroke care and the impact of the epidemic on acute stroke hospitalizations has not been described.
We analyze the stroke ...admission rate in three hospitals in New York City from January 1, 2020 through April 17, 2020, identifying all cases of acute ischemic stroke, intraparenchymal hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage.
We confirmed 518 cases of out-of-hospital stroke. During the baseline period up to February 25, 2020, the daily stroke admission rate was stable, with the slope of the regression describing the number of admissions over time equal to -0.33 (se = 1.21), not significantly different from 0 (p = 0.79), with daily admissions averaging 41. During the pandemic period, the slope was -4.4 (se = 1.00); i.e., the number of stroke admissions decreased an average of 4.4 per week, (p = 0.005), with weekly admissions averaging 23, a reduction of 44% versus baseline. This general result was not different by patient age, sex, or race/ethnicity.
The weekly stroke admission rate started declining two weeks prior to the local surge of coronavirus admissions. The consequences of lack of diagnosis and treatment of a large proportion of acute stroke patients are likely severe and lasting.
In this study involving patients with new-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation who received either rate control or rhythm control, there was no significant difference in rates of hospitalization, ...complications, or persistent atrial fibrillation 60 days after onset.
In recent years, much research has focused on the prevention of atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery, but highly effective interventions are lacking. Thus, postoperative atrial fibrillation remains the most common complication after cardiac surgery, with an incidence of 20 to 50%.
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This complication has major adverse consequences for patients and the health care system, including increased rates of death, complications, and hospitalizations and inflated costs.
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Therefore, efforts to determine the most effective preventive strategies and management practices are important. There are two general approaches to managing postoperative atrial fibrillation: heart-rate control (hereafter “rate control”) and rhythm control with . . .
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