1:1 atrial flutter induced by flecainide, whilst the patient was at rest.

Class Ic antiarrhythmic agents flecainide and propafenone are amongst the drugs most frequently prescribed to control atrial arrhythmias, in particular atrial fibrillation (AF). Despite being cited in some guidelines as a warning when using 1c antiarrhythmic agents, atrial flutter (AFl) with 1:1 atrioventricular conduction is rare in adults, with only small series reported in the literature, mainly including patients having 1:1 AFl during physical activity, and often associated with a predisposing factor, namely a dual AV nodal conduction pathway. We describe here a rare case of 1:1 AFl induced by flecainide, developing whilst the patients was resting in bed, in a 56 year old man who presented to the local Emergency Department (ED) complaining for palpitations due to acute-onset AF. After ED discharge, the patient was then evaluated in the Arrhythmologic Clinic of the Cardiology Department, and channellopaties were excluded. This case report should raise alertness in emergency physicians about this serious and potentially fatal side effect of flecainide, when using this drug for pharmacological cardioversion of AF.

Dietary habits in women with recurrent idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis.

BACKGROUND: Nutrition has been widely recognized to influence the risk of kidney stone formation. Therefore the aim of our study was to assess: a) whether usual diet of women with idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis (ICN) living in Parma (Northern-Italy) is different compared to healthy controls, b) how their diet differs from Italian National guidelines and c) whether it is related to nephrolithiasis clinical course. METHODS: 143 women with recurrent ICN (mean age 43 ± 13 ys) and 170 healthy women (mean age 42 ± 11 ys) were enrolled. All women completed a food frequency questionnaire for the last 60-days and a 3-day dietary diary analysed with a dedicated software. RESULTS: Stone formers showed a higher consumption of sausages, ham, meat and sweets than healthy controls (43.1% vs 11.1%, 29.4% vs 13.9%, 21.6% vs 4.2%, 66.7% vs 18.1%, p < 0.001). The 3-day diary analysis showed an intake of calories, carbohydrates, lipids and non-discretionary sodium about 10% higher than healthy controls (p < 0.001). Finally, after dividing the population into 3 age groups (≤30, 31-40, > 40 years), the differences described above were amplified in the class ≤30 years, where nephrolithiasis presented a more serious course (shorter recurrence interval, greater stone-rate). In this age group the intake of fruit and vegetables was notably lower than guideline recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the usual diet of women with recurrent ICN is different from controls and characterized by low intake of fruits and vegetables and higher consumption of simple sugars and foods with high protein and salt content. This dietary imbalance could play a role in the ICN pathogenesis, especially in younger women.

Spinal cord infarction. A case report and narrative review.

Spinal cord infarction is a rare but severe disorder, consistently less frequent than ischemic brain injury. It constitutes only 1-2% of all neurological vascular emergencies. Here we describe a case of spinal cord infarction in a 68-year-old Caucasian man without any neurological problem in his clinical history. The patient presented to the Emergency Department complaining for sudden onset of lower limbs weakness, as well as pain and mild loss of sensitivity in both legs. These symptoms suddenly arose after a 10 minutes bicycle race. He underwent a CT angiography, which confirmed the presence of a fusiform aneurysm of infra-renal abdominal aorta with thrombotic apposition on right lateral side and some ulcerated thrombi. As such, the patient underwent a spinal cord Magnetic Resonance Imaging, that showed images compatible with an acute ischemic injury (infarction) from D11 to medullary cone. He was then treated with low molecular weight heparin, aspirin, and methylprednisolone, and was then admitted to the Stroke Unit. He gradually regained lower limbs sensitivity totally, but the strength was only partially restored. Although a rare entity, Emergency Physicians should always keep in mind this possibility when evaluating patients with sudden loss of sensitivity and/or strength in their lower limbs.

Is anticoagulant therapy always indicated in "medium-risk" patients with first diagnosed atrial fibrillation? Insights from a real world, 10-year observational study.

BACKGROUND: The choice of antithrombotic prophylaxis in the so-called "medium-risk" patients (i.e., CHA2DS2-VASc score = 1 in males or 2 in females) is one of the major enigmatic issues in clinical management of atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 30-day and 1-year thromboembolic events in all consecutive medium-risk patients visited for first diagnosed AF in the local Emergency Department during a 10-year period. The main aim was to establish whether anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy was effective to lower the thromboembolic risk in patients receiving these drugs. Bleeding events, related to anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy, was defined as secondary end point. RESULTS: The final study population consisted of 6389 (3640 males and 2749 females) patients for whom a complete dataset regarding targeted follow-up was available. Patients were then subdivided into two subgroups, according to performance of cardioversion and spontaneous sinus rhythm restoring. In both genders, no significant difference in thromboembolic or bleeding events was noted between patients who underwent cardioversion and were discharged with oral anticoagulant therapy or antiplatelet treatment versus those who were not treated with antithrombotic drugs. Moreover, no difference was also observed in thromboembolic or hemorrhagic event rate between low risk and "medium-risk" patients. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy would not produce clinical benefits in "medium-risk" AF patients.

Body fat content and distribution and urinary risk factors for nephrolithiasis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Obesity is associated with a higher risk of nephrolithiasis. However, it is not known whether higher body fat mass or abnormal fat distribution influences stone risk independent of dietary factors. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: In this cross-sectional study, non-stone-forming men with no known kidney disease and with a wide range of body weight collected a 24-hour urine specimen while consuming a fixed metabolic diet. They underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry to assess body composition and fat distribution. Urinary risk factors for nephrolithiasis and urine saturation with respect to calcium oxalate and uric acid (assessed as supersaturation index [SI]) were correlated with various measures of adiposity. RESULTS: Study participants included 21 men with a mean age of 52.1 years, mean weight of 91.1 kg, and mean total fat mass of 24.3 kg. Twenty-four-hour urine pH and SI uric acid were more closely correlated with fat mass than with lean mass or total body weight. Both 24-hour urine pH and SI uric acid were also significantly correlated with truncal fat mass but not with leg fat mass. Moreover, there was a significant negative correlation between truncal/leg fat mass and NH4(+)/net acid excretion ratio (R=-0.62; P=0.009). However, there was no significant association between SI calcium oxalate and body weight, lean mass, fat mass, trunk fat mass, or leg fat mass. CONCLUSIONS: The association between 24-hour urine pH and SI uric acid and various measures of adiposity suggest that total body fat and trunk fat are more strongly associated with risk factors for uric acid stone formation than are total body weight and lean body mass. Under a controlled metabolic diet, adiposity is not associated with risk factors for calcium oxalate stones. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings in larger populations that include women and patients who form stones.

Exacerbations of severe asthma: a focus on steroid therapy.

Bronchial asthma remains one of the most common chronic diseases in the world; approximately 10% of patients shows exacerbations severe enough to be judged life-threatening, whereas around 2-20% of patients are admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Acute severe asthma is a dangerous condition where the deterioration of the asthmatic exacerbation usually progresses over days or weeks, although in a few patients over hours or even minutes. Morbidity and mortality are mainly related to the underestimation of the severity of the exacerbation, delay in referring to hospital and inadequate emergency treatment. The cornerstone measures of therapy for acute severe asthma are oxygen supplementation, as to achieve arterial saturation >90%, and repetitive or continuous administration of bronchodilators (short-acting inhaled ß2-agonists and ipratropium bromide) and corticosteroids. Despite extensive clinical experience in treatment of chronic asthma with steroids, there is considerable uncertainty about the accurate use of these agents for treatment of acute severe asthma in emergency settings.

Transient global amnesia.

Transient Global Amnesia (TGA) is a clinical syndrome characterized by temporary inability to form new memories described as anterograde amnesia. It is associated with retrograde amnesia and repetitive questioning. During the attack patients remain conscious and communicative and personal identity is preserved. Focal neurological symptoms and epileptic features are absent and general conditions appear intact. The ability to store new memories gradually recovers and subjects return to normal conditions except for a substantial amnestic gap for the duration of the attack. TGA has an incidence of 3-8 per 100 000 people per year. It usually affects patients between the ages of 50 and 70 years, at an average age of 61 years; occurrence in patients younger than 40 years of age is rare. The rate of recurrence is between 6% and 10% per years. No gender prevalence has been recorded. The patients with definite TGA have a very good prognosis; their rate of subsequent major vascular events is less than 1% per year.

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL): a promising biomarker for the early diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI).

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication that occurs in a broad spectrum of clinical settings. Cardiac surgery-associated AKI continues to be a well-recognized complication of cardiac surgery with high morbidity and mortality. The lack of early biomarkers has for long prevented timely interventions to mitigate the effects of AKI. Serum creatinine is not a timely marker of AKI, so that it cannot be used to set potentially effective therapies to treat AKI in patients during phases when the injury is still potentially reversible. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) has been identified as a promising biomarker for early detection of AKI. Several studies have shown that NGAL levels significantly increase in AKI patients 24 to 48 hours before a detectable increase of serum creatinine. Recent studies also suggest that measurements of urinary NGAL levels in patients at risk for cardiac surgery-associated AKI may facilitate its early diagnosis and allow clinicians to implement therapeutic adjustments that have the potential to reverse renal cellular damage and minimize further kidney injury.