Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Myocardial wall motion abnormalities (WMAs) are independent risk factors for a poor outcome in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH).
OBJECTIVE:
To study the ...time course of WMAs during the initial phase after aSAH and to investigate which clinical, electrocardiographic, or myocardial serum markers are predictors of early or late development of WMAs.
METHODS:
In a prospective, multicenter cohort study in patients with aSAH, we performed serial electrocardiography and echocardiography and measured troponin T and N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide. WMAs present on admission were considered early WMAs; those that developed during the clinical course were considered late WMAs. Using multivariable regression analysis, we calculated odds ratios with corresponding 95% confidence intervals for clinical parameters, electrocardiography, and myocardial serum makers with early or late occurrence of WMAs.
RESULTS:
We included 301 patients (mean age ± SD, 57 ± 13) years. Multivariable odds ratios for early WMAs were poor clinical condition, 2.7 (95% confidence interval: 1.1-6.8); sinus tachycardia, 5.0 (1.3-19.9); ST-segment depression, 3.7 (1.02-13.1); ST-segment elevation, 16.6 (1.5-178.9); and increased troponin T, 2.8 (1.1-7.3). Multivariable odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for late development of WMAs were 6.8 (1.6-30) for a myocardial infarct pattern on admission electrocardiography and 3.4 (1.4-8.5) for increased troponin T on admission.
CONCLUSION:
WMAs may be present on admission or develop during the course of aSAH. Poor neurological condition on admission, sinus tachycardia, ST-segment depression, and ST-segment elevation on admission electrocardiography and increased troponin T are independent predictors of early WMAs; a myocardial infarct pattern on admission ECG and increased troponin T independently predict late WMAs.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:
NCT00123695.
Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is especially suitable for examination of prosthetic valves because of the proximity of the esophagus to the heart and absence of interference with lungs and ...ribs. This article reviews normal and abnormal morphologic characteristics of prosthetic valves such as spontaneous echocontrast, microbubbles, strands, sutures, vegetations or thrombus. Doppler echocardiographic characteristics of normal and pathologic prosthetic valve function and the management of prosthetic valve pathology is discussed. Physicians taking care of patients with prosthetic valves should be familiar with the characteristics of normal and abnormally functioning prosthetic valves.
The clinical course of left-sided native valve infective endocarditis varies from uncomplicated disease to fulminant infection. Although several factors are known to affect clinical outcome, it is ...difficult to predict morbidity and mortality in individual patients. The objective of this study was to determine the value of serial C-reactive protein (CRP) measurements as a predictor of clinical outcome.
One hundred twenty-three consecutive patients who fulfilled the Duke criteria for definite left-sided native valve infective endocarditis were prospectively enrolled. Poor outcome was defined as serious infectious complications or death. Patients were followed up for 12 weeks after the end of antimicrobial therapy. Multivariate analysis was used to examine the relative importance of the CRP level as a predictor of poor outcome after adjusting for age, abscess, multivalvular involvement, and Staphylococcus aureus infection.
After 1 week of therapy, the adjusted odds ratio for poor outcome was 10.3 (95% confidence interval, 2.2-49.4) for patients with CRP levels in the highest tertile (>122 mg/L to convert to nanomoles per liter, multiply by 9.524) vs the lowest tertile (1-69 mg/L). A low percentage decline during the first week of treatment was statistically significantly associated with a higher risk of poor outcome (logistic regression coefficient, 1.1; P = .009). At no point in time did CRP level predict the need for cardiac surgery.
High CRP level after 1 week of treatment and a slow percentage decline in CRP level during the first week of treatment are indicators of poor clinical outcome.
The International Stem Cell Initiative characterized 59 human embryonic stem cell lines from 17 laboratories worldwide. Despite diverse genotypes and different techniques used for derivation and ...maintenance, all lines exhibited similar expression patterns for several markers of human embryonic stem cells. They expressed the glycolipid antigens SSEA3 and SSEA4, the keratan sulfate antigens TRA-1-60, TRA-1-81, GCTM2 and GCT343, and the protein antigens CD9, Thy1 (also known as CD90), tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase and class 1 HLA, as well as the strongly developmentally regulated genes NANOG, POU5F1 (formerly known as OCT4), TDGF1, DNMT3B, GABRB3 and GDF3. Nevertheless, the lines were not identical: differences in expression of several lineage markers were evident, and several imprinted genes showed generally similar allele-specific expression patterns, but some gene-dependent variation was observed. Also, some female lines expressed readily detectable levels of XIST whereas others did not. No significant contamination of the lines with mycoplasma, bacteria or cytopathic viruses was detected.
Prosthetic heart valve (PHV) dysfunction is a rare, but potentially life-threatening, complication. In clinical practice, PHV dysfunction poses a diagnostic dilemma. Echocardiography and fluoroscopy ...are the imaging techniques of choice and are routinely used in daily practice. However, these techniques sometimes fail to determine the specific cause of PHV dysfunction, which is crucial to the selection of the appropriate treatment strategy. Multidetector-row CT (MDCT) can be of additional value in diagnosing the specific cause of PHV dysfunction and provides valuable complimentary information for surgical planning in case of reoperation. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has limited value in the evaluation of biological PHV dysfunction. In this Review, we discuss the use of established imaging modalities for the detection of left-sided mechanical and biological PHV dysfunction and discuss the complementary role of MDCT in this context.
Aims
Aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of the conventional electrocardiogram (ECG) algorithm ST-segment elevation (STE) in lead III exceeding that in lead II combined with ...ST-segment depression in lead I or aVL for identification of the infarct-related artery (IRA) in a large cohort of patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for inferior wall STE myocardial infarction (STEMI).
Methods and results
We included 1131 patients with inferior STEMI, who underwent primary PCI between 2000 and 2007 and of whom a pre-procedural 12-lead ECG was available, recorded immediately prior to PCI. The IRA was determined during emergency angiography. Coronary angiography confirmed the right coronary artery (RCA) as the IRA in 895 patients (79%) with inferior wall STEMI. Application of the ECG algorithm resulted in 624 true positive cases of acute RCA obstruction (sensitivity: 70%, 95% CI: 67 -73%) and 170 cases with true negative result (specificity: 72%, 95% CI: 66-77%). Sensitivity of >90% was established in patients with cumulative ST-segment deviation above median (>18.5 mm).
Conclusion
The conventional ECG algorithm showed a low sensitivity for the non-invasive diagnosis of RCA occlusion in an all-comer, inferior STEMI cohort undergoing primary PCI. Sensitivity was only sufficient in patients with extensive ST-segment deviation.
The clinical outcome and long-term follow-up of 130 consecutive patients (141 episodes) with active infective endocarditis who were treated between 1966 and 1991 were analyzed. There was a shift ...toward a higher proportion of referred patients (39 to 78%), patients aged > 60 years (11 to 41%) and urgent surgical treatment (11 to 44%). Medical treatment was administered in 98 patients (70%); 30-day mortality was 27%. Surgery was performed in 43 patients (30%), with an operative mortality of 26%; 9 of 14 patients (64%) who underwent operation within the first week of admission died. Patients with severe heart failure are at the highest risk for early mortality (relative risk = 21.1; 95% confidence interval 7.4-60.3). Referred patients were much more often treated surgically than were nonreferred patients (48 versus 14%) and had a lower operative mortality (24 vs 30%). Nonreferred patients were more often treated medically (86 vs 52%) and with lower mortality (19 vs 39%). The total follow-up time was 730 patient-years; only 1 patient was considered lost to follow-up. The overall cumulative 5-year and 10-year survival after hospital discharge for patients after urgent surgery were 84 +/- 7% and 53 +/- 7%, respectively, and for those after medical treatment 84 +/- 5% and 77 +/- 6%, respectively. The probability of remaining free of late events (recurrent endocarditis, late valve replacement or death) during 5 and 10 years for patients after urgent surgery was 84 +/- 7% and 53 +/- 15%, respectively, and for those after medical treatment 59 +/- 6% and 40 +/- 7%, respectively.
PDF
