[Hemodialysis to remove anticoagulant dabigatran during emergencies]. / Hemodiálisis para remover el anticoagulante dabigatrán en situaciones de urgencia.

Dabigatran is an oral anticoagulant from the class of the direct thrombin inhibitors, indicated for prevention of thromboembolic events in patients with non valvular atrial fibrillation. Unlike warfarin, dabigatran has no known antidote. Hemodialysis has been suggested as a method for removing dabigatran and thereby reducing its anticoagulant effect. We report the case of a patient with a known history of atrial fibrillation, treated with dabigatran, who was admitted for emergency abdominal surgery. At six hours after the last dose received, coagulation studies were altered. In absence of an antidote to reverse its effects, it was decided to perform hemodialysis. After three hours of dialysis coagulation parameters were improved and the patient underwent surgery without showing abnormal bleeding during surgery or in the postoperative period.

Characteristics and Outcomes of Heart Failure Patients from a Middle-Income Country: The RECOLFACA Registry.

Background: There is a lack of epidemiological data around heart failure (HF) in Latin America; the potential impact description of this disease in middle-income countries is relevant. Objective: This study aimed to describe the characteristics and healthcare resource utilization patterns of HF patients at baseline and six-month follow-up. Methods: This retrospective observational study used data from the RECOLFACA (Registro Colombiano de Falla Cardíaca) registry, which includes data obtained from the examination of clinical records from 2,528 patients in 60 Colombian healthcare institutions. Baseline and six-month follow-up data were evaluated from patients with previous hospital admissions due to HF during the 12 months prior to enrollment. Results: This study analyzed 2,045 patients (42.8% female) with a mean age of 67.71 ± 13.64 years. The most common etiologies were ischemic (44.4%) and hypertensive heart disease (38.5%). At baseline, 53.4% of patients were classified with NYHA class II, and 73.6% had a reduced left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF). A year prior to entering the registry, patients were hospitalized an average of 1.4 ± 1.1 times due to HF. Prescription of evidence-based treatment at baseline included sacubitril/valsartan (10%), ACEI (33%), ARB (41%), beta-blocker (79%), diuretics (68%), and MRA (56%). The average quality of life score measured using the EQ-5D-3L questionnaire was 78.7 ± 20.8 at baseline and 82.3 ± 20.1 at the six-month follow-up. The mortality rate was 6.7%. Conclusions: The use of information from the RECOLFACA registry allowed characterization as well as analyses of healthcare resource utilization of patients with heart failure in Colombia. The results of this study show that multiple evidence-based treatments for HF are being widely used in Colombia, but there seems to be room for improvement regarding some interventions for the treatment of patients with HF.

Hemodiálisis para remover el anticoagulante dabigatrán en situaciones de urgencia / Hemodialysis to remove anticoagulant dabigatran during emergencies

El dabigatrán es un nuevo inhibidor directo de la trombina, de administración oral, empleado para la prevención de eventos tromboembólicos en pacientes con fibrilación auricular no valvular. A diferencia de la warfarina, no se dispone de un antídoto conocido. La hemodiálisis ha sido sugerida como un método para remover el dabigatrán y reducir el efecto anticoagulante. Se presenta el caso de un paciente con antecedente de fibrilación auricular y medicado con dabigatrán, que fue admitido en el hospital para una cirugía abdominal de urgencia. A las seis horas de la última dosis recibida, los estudios de coagulación mostraban alteración. Ante la falta de antídoto para revertir los efectos, se decidió realizar hemodiálisis. Luego de tres horas de diálisis los parámetros de coagulación tendieron a normalizarse y el paciente fue operado sin presentar hemorragias anormales durante la cirugía o en el postoperatorio.

Dabigatran is an oral anticoagulant from the class of the direct thrombin inhibitors, indicated for prevention of thromboembolic events in patients with non valvular atrial fibrillation. Unlike warfarin, dabigatran has no known antidote. Hemodialysis has been suggested as a method for removing dabigatran and thereby reducing its anticoagulant effect. We report the case of a patient with a known history of atrial fibrillation, treated with dabigatran, who was admitted for emergency abdominal surgery. At six hours after the last dose received, coagulation studies were altered. In absence of an antidote to reverse its effects, it was decided to perform hemodialysis. After three hours of dialysis coagulation parameters were improved and the patient underwent surgery without showing abnormal bleeding during surgery or in the postoperative period.

Ruptura esplénica espontánea y ascitis quilosa / Spontaneous splenic rupture and chylous ascites

Se presenta el caso de un paciente en el cual ocurrieron dos manifestaciones clínicas consideradas inusuales y poco reportadas en la literatura, la ruptura esplénica espontánea y la ascitis quilosa. La enfermedad de base para estas presentaciones fue un linfoma esplénico de la zona marginal. Hacemos algunas consideraciones generales sobre estas dos presentaciones que deben tenerse en cuenta. (Acta Med Colomb 2013; 38: 32-35).

We report the case of a patient in which there were two clinical manifestations considered unusual and with few reported cases in the literature: spontaneous splenic rupture and chylous ascites. The underlying disease for these presentations was a splenic marginal zone lymphoma. We make some general observations on these two presentations that must be considered. (Acta Med Colomb 2013; 38: 32-35).

Síndrome de la bolsa de orina púrpura / Purple urine bag syndrome

Se presenta el caso de un paciente masculino de 62 años remitido por oncología para estudio por presentar orina de color morado. Desde hace tres meses tiene sonda vesical permanente por retención urinaria posterior a una resección quirúrgica de una metástasis cerebral por tumor primario a nivel pulmonar, tiene pendiente radioterapia holoencefálica y posterior quimioterapia sistémica. La única medicación que tomaba de manera intermitente era omeprazol, refería además anorexia y náuseas. La bolsa urinaria contenía orina de color morado y a la extracción aparecía turbia. El análisis de la orina fue compatible con infección urinaria. El color de la orina en la bolsa fue motivo de una interesante discusión científica. Se discuten los mecanismos a través de los cuales la orina toma dicho color (Acta Med Colomb 2011; 36: 38-40).

The case is presented of a 62-year-old male patient who was referred by the Oncology Department for evaluation of purple-colored urine. Over the past three months the patient has had an indwelling catheter because of urinary retention after surgical resection of a brain metastasis of a lung tumor. The patient is to be treated with holoencephalic radiotherapy and afterwards with systemic chemotherapy. The only current medication was omeprazole, which he took intermittently. He also complained of anorexia and nausea. The urinary bag contained purple-colored urine, which appeared turbid upon extraction. Urinalysis was consistent with urinary tract infection. The color of the urine gave rise to an interesting scientific discussion. The mechanisms are discussed through which urine takes a purple color (Med Colomb 2011; 36: 38-40).