Impact and role of pulmonary embolism response teams in venous thromboembolism associated with COVID-19.

Venous thromboembolism associated with COVID-19, particularly acute pulmonary embolism, may represent a challenging and complex clinical scenario. The benefits of having a multidisciplinary pulmonary embolism response team (PERT) can be important during such a pandemic. The aim of PERT in the care of such patients is to provide fast, appropriate, multidisciplinary, team-based approach, with the common goal to tailor the best therapeutic decision making, prioritizing always optimal patient care, especially given lack of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in the setting of COVID-19, which potentially confers a significant prothrombotic state. Herein, we would like to briefly emphasize the importance and potential critical role of PERT in the care of patients in which these two devastating illnesses are present together.

[Complicaciones trombóticas en COVID-19 grave: enfoque en tromboembolia venosa, tromboprofilaxis y anticoagulación].

La enfermedad grave por coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) está causada por el Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) y predispone a complicaciones trombóticas. En esta revisión se aborda de manera práctica la estrecha relación entre la tromboembolia venosa y la COVID-19, enfatizando aspectos epidemiológicos, factores de riesgo y tromboprofilaxis, así como potenciales opciones de anticoagulación. Actualmente la evidencia científica es muy escasa, pero día a día seguimos aprendiendo, estando atentos a cambios novedosos y dinámicos en esta enfermedad infecciosa e inmunotrombótica emergente.

Participation of pulmonary embolism response teams during the perioperative period.

La tromboembolia pulmonar aguda representa una causa frecuente de morbimortalidad cardiovascular, sólo rebasada por los síndromes coronarios agudos y la enfermedad cerebrovascular. El inicio y la intervención de un equipo multidisciplinario de respuesta rápida en la tromboembolia pulmonar son imperantes para mejorar el pronóstico y reducir al mínimo las posibles secuelas en el subgrupo de pacientes más graves. En este artículo de revisión se describe y revisa de manera general el papel actual y potencial que tienen dichos equipos de respuesta rápida, con un enfoque particular en el perioperatorio.Acute pulmonary embolism represents a frequent cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, only exceeded by acute coronary syndromes and cerebrovascular disease. The start-up and implementation of a designated pulmonary embolism response team is necessary to improve prognosis and minimize long-term sequelae in the subgroup of patients with significant pulmonary embolism. Herein, we describe and discuss an overview of the current and potential role of pulmonary embolism response teams, with a focus on the perioperative period.

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension as an uncommon presentation of primary antiphospholipid syndrome.

Antiphospholipid syndrome is an autoimmune disease characterized pathophysiologically by the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies and > or =1 clinical manifestation, the most common being venous or arterial thrombosis. We describe the case of a 40-year-old male with unexplained severe pulmonary arterial hypertension with a seven-day history of progressive shortness of breath, hemoptysis, chest discomfort and bilateral pedal edema. Electrocardiographic, echocardiographic and imaging studies showed changes consistent with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Further work-up showed positive anticardiolipin antibodies and lupus anticoagulant with negative features for lupus with negative primary thrombophilic studies as well. The patient was managed adequately with oral anticoagulation with improvement of his clinical status and referred to a tertiary care center to be screened for pulmonary thromboendarterectomy. For patients meeting surgical selection criteria, pulmonary thromboendarterectomy has demonstrated positive outcomes with respect to survival, functionality and quality of life. We discuss the pathophysiology and treatment as well as novel therapies in nonsurgical candidates with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension in the setting of primary antiphospholipid syndrome.

Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage as an initial presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage is a rare but fatal complication in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. It has rarely been reported to occur as the initial presentation in lupus patients. We report a 55-year-old female Jehovah's witness who presented with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage as the initial manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus. She responded favorably to early intravenous pulse methylprednisolone and cyclophosphamide along with hemotherapy she accepted once over the course of her hospital stay. Initially, there was clinical improvement, but relapsing of her alveolar hemorrhage 15 days later. It is important to keep in mind that lupus patients can present initially with this lethal pulmonary complication. Early identification and initiation of therapy are crucial in order to affect survival of these patients.

The dilemma of refractory hypoxemia after inferior wall myocardial infarction.

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) occurs in 25% of people. The decision on whether to close the PFO found after myocardial infarction and specifically right ventricular infarction is debated, with no solid guidelines addressing this subject. Here we present the case of a 59-year-old man who presented with a myocardial infarction and was found to have PFO. He was treated with revascularization of the culprit artery, followed by supportive care.

[Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension]. / Hipertensión arterial pulmonar tromboémbolica crónica.

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension occurs in very few patients who have had history of a previous acute thromboembolic episode. However, its incidence has increased in recent years, actually not being so rare at all. Advances have been made in the pathophysiology, diagnostic approach and therapeutic alternatives as well what can be offered to those patients who are not suitable candidates for pulmonary thromboendarterectomy, which is definitive, curative and the treatment of choice in this subtype of pulmonary arterial hypertension. This review focuses on the diagnostic approach and novel pharmacological therapies in patients who are not candidates for surgery.

[Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension]. / Tromboendarterectomía pulmonar en pacientes con hipertensión arterial pulmonar tromboembólica crónica.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) secondary to chronic thromboembolic obstruction is a severe and potentially fatal condition. At the same time, PAH represents a real diagnostic challenge. This is a lethal disease in which the natural progression in the majority of cases may not be modified by medical therapy. It may be the only etiology radically cured by a complex surgical procedure being performed successfully at ten medical centers worldwide: the pulmonary thromboendarterectomy. More than three decades after the first successful thromboendarterectomy, improvements in technique in medical centers such as the University of California San Diego, in addition to the achieved advances in cerebral and myocardial protection on the past decades, guarantees at present a low morbimortality rate, offering excellent long-term results, improving quality of life and survival of patients. This review is mainly focused on the historical perspective of pulmonary thromboendarterectomy, indications, patient selection, surgical approach and improvements and outcomes obtained at the most experienced centers worldwide.

Potential role of systemic thrombolysis in acute submassive intermediate risk pulmonary embolism: review and future perspectives.

Submassive (intermediate risk) pulmonary embolism (PE) continues to be a significantly morbid disease process that remains unrecognized, inadequately risk stratified and suboptimally treated. Appropriate early clinical and imaging-based risk stratification represents the cornerstone for adequate therapeutic decision making, particularly for the selection of candidates who may benefit the most from systemic thrombolysis. The relevance of estimating clinical prognostic scores, in combination with imaging data, for accurate assessment of right ventricular function and laboratory biomarkers, indicative of myocardial injury for identification of normotensive patients at intermediate risk for an adverse short-term outcome are emphasized in this review. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated improvement in hemodynamics and mortality with the use of systemic thrombolysis among intermediate risk patients; however, it came at the cost of a significantly increased risk of major bleeding. Catheter-based therapies have garnered considerable clinical interest in recent years; of particular note is the ultrasound accelerated catheter-directed thrombolysis which has emerged as a novel and attractive alternative therapeutic modality with an increasing number of single center studies and ongoing randomized trials. Our review focuses on the major trials and studies involved in submassive PE in the recent literature including the role of thrombolytic therapy. We include major trials with reasonable sample size and extensive review of the potential side effects, such as major bleeding.

Severe Acute Pulmonary Toxicity Associated with Brentuximab in a Patient with Refractory Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Acute pulmonary toxicity associated with brentuximab appears to be a rare but serious adverse effect that can be potentially fatal. We report the case of a twenty-nine-year-old female with Hodgkin's lymphoma who was treated with brentuximab and later presented with severe acute pulmonary toxicity; she improved after the discontinuation of brentuximab and administration of antibiotics and glucocorticoid therapy. Currently there is very little data in the literature in regard to the clinical manifestations and characteristics of patients taking brentuximab and the potential development of acute severe pulmonary toxicity, as well as the appropriate therapeutic approach, making this particular case of successful treatment and resolution unique.

Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease as a cause of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD) represents a rare form of precapillary pulmonary arterial hypertension. We present a young patient hospitalized with progressive dyspnea, with initial workup suggestive of pulmonary hypertension and unexplained noncardiogenic pulmonary edema. His subsequent clinical course was consistent with the diagnosis of PVOD.

Acute nonrheumatic streptococcal myocarditis resembling ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction in a young patient.

Acute myocarditis can be induced by various concomitant disease processes including infections. Most of these cases are viral in origin; however, bacterial infections are also implicated to a lesser degree. Group A streptococcus is a frequent culprit in bacterial-induced myocarditis. Its diagnosis is suspected by the presence of signs and symptoms of rheumatic fever as established by the Jones criteria. The development and refinement of current diagnostic tools has improved our ability to identify specific pathogens. It has been found that group A streptococcus may be responsible for more cases of infection-induced acute myocarditis than previously thought, and often without the clinical features of rheumatic fever. We present the case of a 43-year-old man hospitalized with chest pain that was initially diagnosed as an acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Further evaluation confirmed that his chief complaint was due to acute nonrheumatic streptococcal myocarditis.

Participación de los equipos de respuesta rápida de tromboembolia pulmonar durante el perioperatorio / Participation of pulmonary embolism response teams during the perioperative period

Resumen La tromboembolia pulmonar aguda representa una causa frecuente de morbimortalidad cardiovascular, sólo rebasada por los síndromes coronarios agudos y la enfermedad cerebrovascular. El inicio y la intervención de un equipo multidisciplinario de respuesta rápida en la tromboembolia pulmonar son imperantes para mejorar el pronóstico y reducir al mínimo las posibles secuelas en el subgrupo de pacientes más graves. En este artículo de revisión se describe y revisa de manera general el papel actual y potencial que tienen dichos equipos de respuesta rápida, con un enfoque particular en el perioperatorio.

Abstract Acute pulmonary embolism represents a frequent cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, only exceeded by acute coronary syndromes and cerebrovascular disease. The start-up and implementation of a designated pulmonary embolism response team is necessary to improve prognosis and minimize long-term sequelae in the subgroup of patients with significant pulmonary embolism. Herein, we describe and discuss an overview of the current and potential role of pulmonary embolism response teams, with a focus on the perioperative period.

Eisenmenger syndrome: recent advances in pharmacotherapy.

Over the last decade advanced therapies for the management of pulmonary arterial hypertension have been introduced. These agents have also been effective in reducing pulmonary vascular resistance in patients with Eisenmenger syndrome. Specific guidelines focusing on modern therapies for Eisenmenger syndrome however do not exist to date. More recently, clinical trials in patients with Eisenmenger syndrome demonstrated a significant clinical improvement with favorable safety and tolerability profile. This review aims to summarize newly reported pharmacological agents used in patients with Eisenmenger syndrome.