Effects of withdrawing vs continuing renin-angiotensin blockers on incidence of acute kidney injury in patients with renal insufficiency undergoing cardiac catheterization: Results from the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitor/Angiotensin Receptor Blocker and Contrast Induced Nephropathy in Patients Receiving Cardiac Catheterization (CAPTAIN) trial.

BACKGROUND: It is unclear if holding angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) prior to coronary angiography reduces contrast-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). We undertook a randomized trial to investigate the effect of holding ACEI/ARB therapy prior to coronary angiography on the incidence of AKI. METHODS: We randomly assigned 208 patients with moderate renal insufficiency (creatinine ≥ 1.7mg/dL within 3 months and/or documented creatinine ≥ 1.5mg/dL within 1 week before cardiac catheterization) to hold ACEI/ARB ≥24 hours preprocedure or continue ACEI/ARB. The primary outcome was the incidence of AKI defined as an absolute rise in serum creatinine of ≥0.5mg/dL from baseline and/or a relative rise in serum creatinine of ≥25% compared with baseline measured at 48 to 96 hours postcardiac catheterization. RESULTS: All patients were taking an ACEI (72.1%) or ARB (27.9%) prior to randomization. At 48 to 96 hours, the primary outcome occurred in 18.4% of patients who continued ACEI/ARB compared with 10.9% of the patients who held ACEI/ARB (hazard ratio 0.59, 95% CI 0.30-1.19, P = .16). In a prespecified secondary outcome, there was a lower rise in mean serum creatinine after the procedure in patients who held ACEI/ARB (0.3 ± 0.5 vs 0.1 ± 0.3mg/dL, P = .03). The clinical composite of death, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, congestive heart failure, rehospitalization for cardiovascular cause, or need for dialysis preprocedure occurred in 3.9% who continued ACEI/ARB compared with 0% who held the ACEI/ARB (hazard ratio 0.11, 95% CI 0.01-2.96, P = .06). CONCLUSION: In this pilot study of patients with moderate renal insufficiency undergoing cardiac catheterization, with-holding ACEI/ARB resulted in a non-significant reduction in contrast-induced AKI and a significant reduction in post-procedural rise of creatinine. This low cost intervention could be considered when referring a patient for cardiac catheterization.

Does the clinical examination predict lower extremity peripheral arterial disease?

CONTEXT: Lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is common and associated with significant increases in morbidity and mortality. Physicians typically depend on the clinical examination to identify patients who need further diagnostic testing. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the accuracy and precision of the clinical examination for PAD. DATA SOURCES, STUDY SELECTION, AND DATA EXTRACTION: MEDLINE (January 1966 to March 2005) and Cochrane databases were searched for articles on the diagnosis of PAD based on physical examination published in the English language. Included studies compared an element of the history or physical examination with a reference standard of ankle-brachial index, duplex sonography, or angiogram. Seventeen of the 51 potential articles identified met inclusion criteria. Two of the authors independently extracted data, performed quality review, and used consensus to resolve any discrepancies. DATA SYNTHESIS: For asymptomatic patients, the most useful clinical findings to diagnose PAD are the presence of claudication (likelihood ratio [LR], 3.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.30-4.80), femoral bruit (LR, 4.80; 95% CI, 2.40-9.50), or any pulse abnormality (LR, 3.10; 95% CI, 1.40-6.60). While none of the clinical examination features help to lower the likelihood of any degree of PAD, the absence of claudication or the presence of normal pulses decreases the likelihood of moderate to severe disease. When considering patients who are symptomatic with leg complaints, the most useful clinical findings are the presence of cool skin (LR, 5.90; 95% CI, 4.10-8.60), the presence of at least 1 bruit (LR, 5.60; 95% CI, 4.70-6.70), or any palpable pulse abnormality (LR, 4.70; 95% CI, 2.20-9.90). The absence of any bruits (iliac, femoral, or popliteal) (LR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.34-0.45) or pulse abnormality (LR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.23-0.64) reduces the likelihood of PAD. Combinations of physical examination findings do not increase the likelihood of PAD beyond that of individual clinical findings. However, when combinations of clinical findings are all normal, the likelihood of disease is lower than when individual symptoms or signs are normal. A PAD scoring system, which includes auscultation of arterial components by handheld Doppler, provides greater diagnostic accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical examination findings must be used in the context of the pretest probability because they are not independently sufficient to include or exclude a diagnosis of PAD with certainty. The PAD screening score using the hand-held Doppler has the greatest diagnostic accuracy.

Hydrochlorothiazide-induced noncardiogenic pulmonary edema: an underrecognized yet serious adverse drug reaction.

Noncardiogenic pulmonary edema is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication of hydrochlorothiazide therapy. We describe three patients who developed this serious adverse reaction. A 64-year-old woman developed dypsnea and hypotension within 60 minutes of taking a single dose of hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg. She was admitted to the critical care unit with acute respiratory failure and subsequent multiple-organ dysfunction. The second patient was a 56-year-old woman who experienced sudden onset of shortness of breath that developed 10 minutes after taking a single dose of hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg. The third was a 59-year-old woman who developed sudden onset of shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea after her first dose of hydrochlorothiazide-triamterene. All three women had a history of a similar, albeit minor, reaction to a thiazide diuretic. Review of the literature identified 36 additional cases of noncardiogenic pulmonary edema after thiazide use. The patients developed symptoms 10-150 minutes after ingestion of hydrochlorothiazide or another thiazide. Symptoms can occur on first exposure to the drug or in patients taking the drug intermittently. Of interest, 90% of documented cases occurred in women. With the increasing use of thiazide diuretics in the treatment of hypertension, clinicians need to be aware of the possible association of these drugs with the development of noncardiogenic pulmonary edema.

Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in medical inpatients: a retrospective chart review.

BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolic disease (VTE) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. Most hospitalized patients with a fatal pulmonary embolism are medical patients who do not have a history of recent surgery [BMJ 302 (1991) 709; J. R. Soc. Med. 82 (1989) 198]. There is evidence suggesting that VTE prophylaxis is indicated in many high risk medical patients [Chest 119 (2001) 132S; NEJM 341 (1999) 793]. However, previous studies have shown that only about one third of high risk medical patients receive VTE prophylaxis [Ann. Intern. Med. 115 (1991) 591; Chest 106 (1994) 13; Chest 107 (1995) 296]. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of use of VTE prophylaxis in medical inpatients at two teaching hospitals in Hamilton, Ontario. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of consecutive patients admitted to medical wards at two acute care sites of McMaster University affiliated teaching hospitals between October 10, 2001 and December 11, 2001 was performed. For each patient, demographic data, risk factors for VTE, method of VTE prophylaxis and contraindications to VTE prophylaxis were recorded. RESULTS: 756 patient charts were reviewed and 310 (41%) were excluded because the primary diagnosis required anticoagulation, the patients were being treated with anticoagulation (warfarin or heparin) before admission or the patient was admitted to the intensive care unit. Of the remaining 446 patients, 146 (33%) received some form of VTE prophylaxis. Of the patients receiving prophylaxis, 4% had early ambulation, 9% wore anti-embolic stockings (AES), 1% used intermittent pneumatic compression, 23% used unfractionated heparin and 3% used low molecular weight heparin. Two hundred five (46%) patients had one identifiable VTE risk factor and 63 (14%) had two or more risk factors. Patients with more VTE risk factors were more likely to receive prophylaxis. INTERPRETATION: One third of medical inpatients at two teaching hospitals in Hamilton received some form of VTE prophylaxis.

Iatrogenic adverse events in the coronary care unit.

BACKGROUND: Although our understanding of medical adverse events has increased substantially over the last decade, little is known about iatrogenic adverse events (IAEs) in the coronary care unit (CCU). We sought to determine the frequency and potential preventability of IAEs in the CCU of a tertiary care center. METHODS AND RESULTS: We undertook a retrospective cohort study evaluating the hospital charts of consecutive patients admitted to the CCU at Hamilton General Hospital (Ontario, Canada) from November 1, 2005, to January 1, 2006. We used a priori developed definitions to determine whether patients suffered an IAE and whether it was potentially preventable. We included 194 patients, and 99 (51%; 95% CI, 44% to 58%) patients had at least 1 IAE, of which 45 (45%; 95% CI, 36% to 55%) were judged potentially preventable. Bleeding (14/51, 27%; 95% CI, 17% to 41%) was the most common potentially preventable IAE and was more common than recurrent ischemic events (4/51, 8%; 95% CI, 3% to 19%). Of the patients who died in the hospital, 9 of 17 (53%; 95% CI, 31% to 74%) had an IAE that was causally related to their death, of which 6 (67%; 95% CI, 35% to 88%) were judged potentially preventable. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that IAEs, especially bleeding, are common in the CCU setting and more frequent than recurrent ischemic events. These results suggest the need for large multicenter studies to evaluate in CCUs the rates of IAEs, their causes, and potential preventability.