Intravenous immunoglobulin in the therapy of adult acute fulminant myocarditis: A retrospective study.

Acute fulminant myocarditis (AFM) is a serious heart disease with limited treatment. This observational retrospective study aimed to investigate whether intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) was able to improve left ventricular function and reduce the episodes of arrhythmia in adult patients with AFM. The medical records of all patients with AFM who were admitted to the Critical Care Unit of Guangdong General Hospital (Guangzhou, China) between January 2001 and December 2010 were reviewed. A cohort of 58 patients was included in the study. Of these 58, 32 patients were treated with IVIG (400 mg/kg per day) for five days, while the remaining patients did not receive IVIG therapy. The patients who received IVIG therapy had a higher left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and a reduced left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVDD) compared with the non-IVIG therapy patients four weeks subsequent to the treatment (PLVEF=0.011 and PLVDD=0.048). The post-treatment incidence of ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF) and atrioventricular block (AVB) was reduced in the patients who received IVIG therapy compared with the baseline values (PVT/VF=0.025, PAVB=0.003); however, no significant differences were observed in the non-IVIG therapy patients (PVT/VF=0.564, PAVB=0.083) following treatment. There were two mortalities in the IVIG therapy group and seven in the non-IVIG therapy group (P=0.072). This retrospective study suggested that the use of IVIG for the treatment of AFM may be associated with improved left ventricular function and reduced episodes of fulminant arrhythmias.

Combined use of hydration and alprostadil for preventing contrast-induced nephropathy following percutaneous coronary intervention in elderly patients.

Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a complex syndrome of acute kidney injury that follows exposure to intravascular contrast media. Although a series of preventive measures have been developed, CIN remains a major challenge encountered in elderly patients by interventional cardiologists. No data are currently available concerning the potential effects of the combined use of hydration and alprostadil in the prevention of CIN following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in elderly patients. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the ability of a combination of hydration and alprostadil to prevent CIN following PCI in elderly patients. From June 1, 2010 to January 31, 2012, 85 elderly patients undergoing PCI were included in the present study. The included patients were randomly allocated into three groups: the control (22 cases), hydration (28 cases) and hydration + alprostadil (35 cases) group. Serum creatinine (SCr) levels were measured prior to PCI and then daily for 3 days following PCI. Creatinine clearance (Ccr) was also calculated. Following investigation of the incidence of CIN, a significant decline in Ccr was observed in the control group but not in the hydration + alprostadil group after PCI. The reduction in the level of Ccr from baseline in the hydration + alprostadil group was the smallest among the three groups. Moreover, the highest incidence of CIN was in the control group (6 cases, 27.27%), followed by the hydration group (3 cases, 10.71%) and the hydration + alprostadil group (1 case, 2.86%). Therefore, the combined use of hydration and alprostadil significantly reduces the incidence of CIN in elderly patients undergoing PCI. Hydration and alprostadil are suggested to act synergistically to protect renal function. In conclusion, the combined use of hydration and alprostadil is more effective in the prevention of CIN in elderly patients undergoing PCI compared with hydration alone.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in a 90-year-old Chinese man.

A 90-year-old Chinese man was transferred to the Emergency Department of the Affiliated Shantou Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University for treatment of an acute myocardial infarction. He suffered chest pain with three days of cough, dyspnea and fever. A diagnosis of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy was made in normal coronary arteries from urgent coronary angiography and characteristic apical dyskinesis and basal hyper contractility in left ventriculography. The patient died from severe multi-organ failure on the second day of hospitalization.

[Correlation between pressure-derived coronary collateral flow and Rentrop grade after primary percutaneous intervention of acute myocardial infarction].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the correlation between pressure-derived collateral coronary flow (PDCF) and Rentrop grade of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS: PDCF, determined by the ratio of P(w)/P(a), was measured in 29 patients with AMI of the first onset who received primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) within 12 h after the onset. Sufficient collateral flow (group A, n=19) was defined as PDCF>0.24 and insufficient collateral flow (group B, n=10) as PDCF< or =0.24. Rentrop grade of the collateral flow was evaluated by coronary angiography. Echocardiography was performed on the 3rd and 30th day after PCI. The left ventricular ejection fraction, end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes, and the related indexes were obtained. RESULT: Rentrop grade was significantly related to PDCF (r=0.75, P<0.01), but a wide range of PDCF was observed in patients with Rentrop grade< or =1. CONCLUSION: PDCF measurement allows quantitative evaluation of the collateral flow in patients with AMI.