Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is one of the most common causes of early death after orthotopic heart transplantation. Mechanical circulatory support devices are required for severe forms of PGD. ...Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) and temporary ventricular assist device (VAD) support have both been reported to be useful for severe PGD.
Between January 2007 and December 2015, 597 patients received a heart transplant at our center. Of those, severe PGD developed in 44 patients (7.4%), and they received a continuous-flow external VAD (n = 17) or VA-ECMO (n = 27) support within 24 hours after transplant. We compared early and late outcomes between groups.
Baseline characteristics were similar between groups. Implantation of the temporary VAD required longer cardiopulmonary bypass time compared with VA-ECMO (323 ± 86 minutes vs 216 ± 65 minutes, p < 0.0001). Patients who received a VAD were more likely to have longer support time (14 ± 17 days vs 5.2 ± 3.9 days, p = 0.011), a higher incidence of major bleeding requiring chest reexploration (77% vs 30%, p = 0.0047), and a higher incidence of renal failure requiring renal replacement therapy (53% vs 11%, p = 0.0045) after surgery. Overall hospital mortality was 27%. In-hospital mortality for VAD and VA-ECMO patients were 41% and 19%, respectively (p = 0.16). Ten patients (59%) were weaned from VAD support, and 24 (89%) were weaned from VA-ECMO support after adequate graft function recovery (p = 0.03). The 3-year post-transplant survival was 41% in the VAD group and 66% in the VA-ECMO group (p = 0.13).
For severe PGD, support with VA-ECMO appears to result in better clinical outcomes compared with VAD.
Background Allergic diseases affect a large population. Pollen, an ubiquitous allergen, is the trigger of seasonal rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and asthma, as well as an exacerbating factor of atopic ...dermatitis. However, the underlying mechanism by which pollen induces thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP)–triggered allergic inflammation through epithelial innate immunity is largely unknown. Objective We sought to explore whether short ragweed (SRW) pollen induces TSLP/OX40 ligand (OX40L)/OX40 signaling through Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4–dependent pathways in patients with allergic disease. Methods Three models were used for this study, a well-characterized murine model of allergic conjunctivitis induced by SRW pollen, a topical challenge model on the murine ocular surface, and a culture model of primary human corneal epithelium exposed to aqueous extract of defatted SRW pollen (SRWe). Results The topical challenges with SRW pollen generated typical allergic conjunctivitis in BALB/c mice. Clinical signs, stimulated TSLP/OX40L/OX40 signaling, and TH 2 cytokine levels in the ocular mucosa and draining cervical lymph nodes were significantly reduced or eliminated in TLR4-deficient ( Tlr4-d ) or myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88) knockout ( MyD88−/− ) mice compared with those seen in their wild-type littermates. SRWe stimulated TSLP production by ocular epithelia in wild-type but not Tlr4-d or MyD88−/− mice. SRWe-stimulated TSLP was blocked by TLR4 antibody and nuclear factor κB inhibitor in murine and human corneal epithelia. Conclusion For the first time, we have shown that SRW pollen, acting as a functional TLR4 agonist, initiates TLR4-dependent TSLP/OX40L/OX40 signaling, which triggers TH 2-dominant allergic inflammation. These findings shed light on the understanding of mucosal epithelial innate immunity and create new therapeutic targets to cure allergic diseases.
Summary Background Data for the risk of any solid cancer in patients with polycystic kidney disease are scarce. Therefore, we did a nationwide cohort study in Taiwan to establish the risk of cancer ...in patients with polycystic kidney disease without either chronic kidney disease or end-stage renal disease. Methods From inpatient claims of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we included patients aged 20 years and older and diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease between January, 1998 and December, 2010, in the polycystic kidney disease cohort. Patients with a history of cancer, a history of chronic kidney disease or of end-stage renal disease (recorded from the Registry of Catastrophic Illness Patient Database) were excluded. For each patient with polycystic kidney disease, one patient aged older than 20 years with no history of polycystic kidney disease or cancer was randomly selected from the National Health Insurance Research Database, matched 1:1 on the basis of the propensity score calculated by logistic regression, and was included in the control non-polycystic kidney disease cohort. The follow-up period for each patient was estimated from the index date to the date of diagnosis of cancer, or the patient was censored due to withdrawal from the insurance programme (eg, death, immigration, or imprisonment) or on Dec 31, 2011. The primary outcome of interest was a diagnosis of cancer during a 14-year follow-up period. The risk of cancer was represented as a hazard ratio (HR) calculated in Cox proportional hazard regression models. Findings 4346 patients with polycystic kidney disease and 4346 without were enrolled in the study. The median follow-up period in the polycystic kidney disease cohort was 3·72 years (IQR 1·25–7·31) and in the non-polycystic kidney disease cohort was 4·96 years (2·29–8·38). The overall incidence of cancer was higher in the polycystic kidney disease cohort than in the control cohort (20·1 95% CI 18·3–21·9 per 1000 person-years vs 10·9 10·1–11·8 per 1000 person-years; crude hazard ratio (HR) 1·77 95% CI 1·52–2·07; HR adjusted for age, sex, frequency of medical visits, and comorbidities was 1·83 1·57–2·15). The specific risks (adjusted subhazard ratios) were significantly higher in the polycystic kidney disease cohort than that in the non-polycystic kidney disease cohort for liver cancer (1·49 95% CI 1·04–2·13; p=0·030), colon cancer (1·63 1·15–2·30; p=0·006), and kidney cancer (2·45 1·29–4·65; p=0·006). Interpretation To our knowledge, this is the first report of the association of polycystic kidney disease without end-stage renal disease with the risk of liver, colon, and kidney cancer. Health-care professionals should be aware of this risk, when treating patients with polycystic kidney disease. Funding Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare Clinical Trial and Research Center of Excellence, Academia Sinica Taiwan Biobank, Stroke Biosignature Project, NRPB Stroke Clinical Trial Consortium, Tseng-Lien Lin Foundation, Taiwan Brain Disease Foundation, Katsuzo and Kiyo Aoshima Memorial Funds, China Medical University Hospital, and Taiwan Ministry of Education.
Background
The association between the type of anesthesia used and the recurrence of cancer remains controversial. This study aimed to compare the effects of local vs general anesthesia on ...recurrence-free survival and cost after breast-conserving surgery.
Materials and Methods
We reviewed the data of 2778 patients who underwent breast-conserving surgery followed by radiation at our center between 1999 and 2014. We analyzed the data of 994 patients with hormone receptor-positive and Her2-negative tumors who underwent breast-conserving surgery without axillary lymph node dissection under local or general anesthesia. Patients were grouped according to whether local or general anesthesia was used for the surgery.
Results
Of the 994 patients enrolled in this study, 367 received local anesthesia and 627 patients received general anesthesia. The median follow-up duration for all patients was 93 months. The Kaplan–Meier survival curves did not reveal significant differences between the recurrence-free survival of the two groups, with 5-year recurrence-free survival rates of 96.3% (95% CI, 94.3–98.3%) in the local anesthesia group and 97.3% (95% CI, 95.9–98.7%) in the general anesthesia group. The total cost of hospitalization in the local anesthesia group was significantly lower than that in the general anesthesia group (P <.001). The difference in the cost between the two groups remained significant, irrespective of the type of hospitalization, after excluding 165 patients receiving chemotherapy during their hospitalization.
Conclusions
Our analysis indicated no association between the type of anesthesia used during breast-conserving surgery and the long-term prognosis of breast cancer. However, breast-conserving surgery under local anesthesia may be a less expensive option than that under general anesthesia.
Exposure to particulate matter (PM) has been a major public health threat, but the potentially differential effects on asthma of PM remain largely unknown in high altitude settings. We evaluated the ...effects of ambient PM on asthma in high altitude settings.
The study recruited a representative sample from high altitude settings using a multistage stratified sampling procedure. Asthma was defined by a self-reported history of diagnosis by a physician or by wheezing symptoms in the preceding 12 months. The annual mean PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations were calculated for each grid cell at 1-km spatial resolution based on the geographical coordinates.
We analyzed data for participants (mean age 39.1 years, 51.4% female) and 183 (3.7%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.2–4.2) of the participants had asthma. Prevalence was higher in women (4.3%, 95% CI 3.5–5.1) than in men (3.1%, 2.4–3.8) and increasing with higher concentration of PM exposures. For an interquartile range (IQR) difference (8.77 μg/m3) in PM2.5 exposure, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) was 1.64 (95% CI 1.46–1.83, P < 0.001) for risk of asthma. For PM10, there was evidence for an association with risk of asthma (OR 2.34, 95% CI: 1.75–3.15, P < 0.001 per IQR of 43.26 μg/m3). Further analyses showed that household mold or damp exposure may aggravate PM exposure associated risks of asthma.
This study identified that PM exposure could be a dominate environmental risk factor for asthma but largely unconsidered in the high-altitude areas. The association between PM exposure and asthma should be of interest for planners of national policies and encourage programs for prevention of asthma in residents living at high altitudes.
To investigate if understated cognitive impairment existed in individuals with physical frail or earlier prefrail state but without cognitive complaints and the susceptible cognitive domains to the ...physical frailty.
A cross-sectional population-based community study.
I-Lan County of Taiwan.
A total of 1839 community residents aged 50 years or older in the I-Lan Longitudinal Aging Study.
None.
Frail status assessments by the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) criteria and a series of neuropsychiatric assessments, including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the delay free recall in the Chinese Version Verbal Learning Test (CVVLT), the Boston Naming Test (BNT), the category (animal) Verbal Fluency Test (VFT), the Taylor Complex Figure Test (CFT), the digital backward (DB), and the Clock Drawing Test.
After excluding those with significant global cognitive impairment, subjective cognitive complaints, or functional impairment, 1686 persons aged 50 to 89 years (mean 63.4 ± 8.9) were enrolled. The prevalence of prefrail and frail individuals was 40.2% and 4.9%, respectively. The prefrail and frail persons had significantly poorer performance in the MMSE and all neuropsychological tests. Slowness and weakness were the most significant frailty components associated with cognitive impairment. The prefrail and frail individuals showed a more dose-dependent risk for 1 or more cognitive domain impairments than the robust individuals (odds ratio OR 1.28 in prefrail individuals versus OR 1.79 in frail individuals). The susceptible cognitive domains in the prefrail state were mainly focused on the nonmemory domains. However, the frail individuals were more likely to have risks for impairment in both memory and nonmemory domains.
Even without subjective cognitive complaints, higher risk of cognitive impairment is presented in the prefrail and frail individuals. The incremental impact of frailty on cognition and the susceptibility of nonmemory domain may provide a new view in evaluating the pathogenesis of the relationship between frailty and cognitive impairment.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is more common in those with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) than in unaffected subjects and recurs more frequently in the presence of severe OSA after electrical cardioversion ...and AF ablation. However, it is unknown whether the severity of OSA influences the efficacy of antiarrhythmic drug (AAD) therapy in patients with OSA and AF. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of OSA severity on the treatment of patients with symptomatic AF using AADs. Sixty-one patients (mean age 62 ± 15 years, 21 women) treated with AADs for symptomatic AF who underwent overnight polysomnography were studied. Rhythm control was prospectively defined as successful if a patient remained on the same AAD therapy for ≥6 months with ≥75% reduction in symptomatic AF burden. Twenty-four patients (40%) had severe OSA. Thirty patients (49%) were rhythm controlled with AADs. Nonresponders to AADs were more likely to have severe OSA than milder disease (52% vs 23%, p <0.05); those with severe OSA were less likely to respond to AADs than participants with nonsevere OSA (39% vs 70%, p = 0.02). Nonresponders had higher apnea-hypopnea indexes than responders (34 ± 25 vs 22 ± 18 events/hour, p = 0.05), but there were no differences between these groups in minimum oxygen saturation or percentage of time spent in rapid eye movement sleep. In conclusion, patients with severe OSA are less likely to respond to AAD therapy for AF than those with milder forms of OSA.
Highlights • Accurately reproduced the in vivo spatial kinematics of the tarsal joints. • Among the tarsal joints, talonavicular joint had the greatest rotational mobility. • Synchronous and ...homodromous rotational motions were happened in tarsal joints
We present the first results from a reverberation-mapping campaign undertaken during the first half of 2012, with additional data on one active galactic nucleus (AGN) (NGC 3227) from a 2014 campaign. ...Our main goals are (1) to determine the black hole masses from continuum-Hβ reverberation signatures, and (2) to look for velocity-dependent time delays that might be indicators of the gross kinematics of the broad-line region. We successfully measure Hβ time delays and black hole masses for five AGNs, four of which have previous reverberation mass measurements. The values measured here are in agreement with earlier estimates, though there is some intrinsic scatter beyond the formal measurement errors. We observe velocity-dependent Hβ lags in each case, and find that the patterns have changed in the intervening five years for three AGNs that were also observed in 2007.
The prevalence of diabetes is increasing in young adults in Asia, but little is known about metabolic control or the burden of associated complications in this population. We assessed the prevalence ...of young-onset versus late-onset type 2 diabetes, and associated risk factors and complication burdens, in the Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation (JADE) cohort.
JADE is an ongoing prospective cohort study. We enrolled adults with type 2 diabetes from 245 outpatient clinics in nine Asian countries or regions. We classified patients as having young-onset diabetes if they were diagnosed before the age of 40 years, and as having late-onset diabetes if they were diagnosed at 40 years or older. Data for participants' first JADE assessment was extracted for cross-sectional analysis. We compared clinical characteristics, metabolic risk factors, and the prevalence of complications between participants with young-onset diabetes and late-onset diabetes.
Between Nov 1, 2007, and Dec 21, 2012, we enrolled 41,029 patients (15,341 from Hong Kong, 9107 from India, 7712 from Philippines, 5646 from China, 1751 from South Korea, 705 from Vietnam, 385 from Singapore, 275 from Thailand, 107 from Taiwan). 7481 patients (18%) had young-onset diabetes, with age at diagnosis of mean 32·9 years SD 5·7 versus 53·9 years 9·0 with late-onset diabetes (n=33,548). Those with young-onset diabetes had longer disease duration (median 10 years IQR 3-18) than those with late-onset diabetes (5 years 2-11). Fewer patients with young-onset diabetes achieved HbA1c concentrations lower than 7% compared to those with late-onset diabetes (27% vs 42%; p<0·0001) Patients with young-onset diabetes had higher mean concentrations of HbA1c (mean 8·32% SD 2·03 vs 7·69% 1·82; p<0·0001), LDL cholesterol (2·78 mmol/L 0·96 vs 2·74 0·93; p=0·009), and a higher prevalence of retinopathy (1363 20% vs 5714 (18%); p=0·011) than those with late-onset diabetes, but were less likely to receive statins (2347 31% vs 12,441 37%; p<0·0001) and renin-angiotensin-system inhibitors (1868 25% vs 9665 29%; p=0·006).
In clinic-based settings across Asia, one in five adult patients had young-onset diabetes. Compared with patients with late-onset diabetes, metabolic control in those with young-onset diabetes was poor, and fewer received organ-protective drugs. Given the risk conferred by long-term suboptimum metabolic control, our findings suggest an impending epidemic of young-onset diabetic complications.
The Asia Diabetes Foundation (ADF) and Merck.
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