Comparison of Contemporary Treatment Strategies in Patients With Cardiogenic Shock Due to Severe Aortic Stenosis.

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to understand the incidence and outcomes of patients with cardiogenic shock (CS) due to severe aortic stenosis (AS), and the impact of conventional treatment strategies in this population. METHODS AND RESULTS: All patients admitted to the Cleveland Clinic cardiac intensive care unit between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2021 with CS were retrospectively identified and categorized into those with CS in the setting of severe AS versus CS without AS. The impact of various treatment strategies on mortality was further assessed. We identified 2754 patients with CS during the study period, of whom 216 patients (8%) had CS in the setting of severe AS. Medical management was associated with the highest 30-day mortality when compared with either balloon aortic valve replacement or aortic valve replacement (surgical or transcatheter aortic valve replacement) (hazard ratio, 3.69 [95% CI, 2.04-6.66]; P<0.0001). Among patients who received transcatheter therapy, 30-day mortality was significantly higher in patients who received balloon aortic valvuloplasty versus transcatheter aortic valve replacement (26% versus 4%, P=0.02). Both surgical and transcatheter aortic valve replacement had considerably lower mortality than medical management and balloon aortic valvuloplasty at 30 days and 1 year (P<0.05 for both comparisons). CONCLUSIONS: CS due to severe AS is associated with high in-hospital and 30-day mortality, worse compared with those with CS without AS. In suitable patients, urgent surgical aortic valvuloplasty or transcatheter aortic valve replacement is associated with favorable short- and long-term outcomes. Although balloon aortic valvuloplasty may be used to temporize patients with CS in the setting of severe AS, mortality is ≈50% if not followed by definitive aortic valve replacement within 90 days.

Lymphocytic Perimyocarditis Masquerading as Steroid-Dependent Recurrent Pericarditis.

Lymphocytic myocarditis is a pattern of myocardial inflammation typically associated with viral, autoimmune, or idiopathic causes. We present a case of lymphocytic perimyocarditis masquerading as steroid-dependent recurrent pericarditis. This case shows the advantages of using multimodal cardiac imaging and endomyocardial biopsy in clarifying diagnosis in treatment-resistant cases. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.).

A Rare Case of Constrictive Pericarditis: Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor.

A previously healthy 15-year-old adolescent female presented with dependent edema, ascites, and dyspnea on exertion. The result of her initial evaluation was consistent with constrictive pericarditis in the setting of local low-grade spindle cell sarcoma. She was unresponsive to traditional medical management and required concurrent mass resection and radical pericardiectomy for definitive treatment. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.).

Interventions to Decrease Overuse of Cardiac Monitoring (Telemetry) When Transitioning from the Intensive Care Unit to the Regular Nursing Floor.

Background Cardiac monitoring (telemetry) is a common over-utilized hospital resource in the United States. Previous studies have shown that telemetry does not improve outcomes for low-risk patients. Inappropriate utilization occurs because of lack of awareness of guideline-based indications or non-adherence to known indications. Objective A quality improvement study was conducted to reduce telemetry overutilization during the transition of care from the intensive care unit (ICU) by 15% through increasing awareness of indications for telemetry. Methods The study cohort included patients originally admitted to the ICU for sepsis who had improved and were stable for transfer to a non-ICU setting. Subjects were identified and included during pre-intervention (six weeks) and intervention (six weeks) periods. Resident physicians and nurse practitioners were targeted using multiple modalities of education: didactic lectures during week one, poster demonstrations during week three, and video presentations during week five. Results A total of 246 study subjects during the pre-intervention and 94 study subjects in the intervention period were studied; 187 of the 246 subjects in the pre-intervention arm (76%) and 58 of the 94 subjects in the intervention arm (61.7%) were transferred with telemetry. Telemetry utilization dropped by 23.1% at the end of the intervention period. Conclusion Educating the caregivers about the indications for telemetry led to a decrease in over-utilization of telemetry on the transition of care from the ICU to the regular nursing floor. Repetitive and multi-modality educational interventions were effective tools and associated with increased adherence to established guidelines for telemetry usage.