Novel Tissue Factor Inhibition for Thromboprophylaxis in COVID-19: Primary Results of the ASPEN-COVID-19 Trial.

BACKGROUND: Thrombo-inflammation is central to COVID-19-associated coagulopathy. TF (tissue factor), a driver of disordered coagulation and inflammation in viral infections, may be a therapeutic target in COVID-19. The safety and efficacy of the novel TF inhibitor rNAPc2 (recombinant nematode anticoagulation protein c2) in COVID-19 are unknown. METHODS: ASPEN-COVID-19 was an international, randomized, open-label, active comparator clinical trial with blinded end point adjudication. Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and elevated D-dimer levels were randomized 1:1:2 to lower or higher dose rNAPc2 on days 1, 3, and 5 followed by heparin on day 8 or to heparin per local standard of care. In comparisons of the pooled rNAPc2 versus heparin groups, the primary safety end point was major or nonmajor clinically relevant International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis bleeding through day 8. The primary efficacy end point was proportional change in D-dimer concentration from baseline to day 8, or discharge if before day 8. Patients were followed for 30 days. RESULTS: Among 160 randomized patients, median age was 54 years, 43.1% were female, and 38.8% had severe baseline COVID-19. There were no significant differences between rNAPc2 and heparin in bleeding or other safety events. Overall, median change in D-dimer was -16.8% (interquartile range, -45.7 to 36.8; P=0.41) with rNAPc2 treatment and -11.2% (-36.0 to 34.4; P=0.91) with heparin (Pintergroup=0.47). In prespecified analyses, in severely ill patients, D-dimer levels tended to increase more within the heparin (median, 29.0% [-14.9 to 145.2]; P=0.02) than the rNAPc2 group (median, 25.9% [-49.1 to 136.4]; P=0.14; Pintergroup=0.96); in mildly ill patients, D-dimer levels were reduced within each group with a numerically greater reduction with rNAPc2 versus heparin (rNAPc2 median, -32.7% [-44.7 to 4.3]; P=0.007 and heparin median, -16.8% [-36.0 to 0.5]; P=0.008, Pintergroup=0.34). CONCLUSIONS: rNAPc2 treatment in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 was well tolerated without excess bleeding or serious adverse events but did not significantly reduce D-dimer more than heparin at day 8. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov; Unique identifier: NCT04655586.

Caregiver Faculty: Working through a Pandemic.

Myriad research examines benefits and drawbacks of working from home, both pre- and post-pandemic. Our research looks at how work from home mandates due to the COVID-19 pandemic were implemented, primarily by those who also had caregiver roles to fulfill. We used a convenience sample, drawing from full-time college faculty at a mid-sized state college in Florida, gathering information from caregivers and non-caregivers for comparative purposes. As we analyzed our data, we considered two additional concepts: Elmore's backward mapping, which asks us to consider how employer mandates are implemented and will assist us in making policy recommendations, and Smith's Standpoint, which allowed us to consider our own different gendered experiences as we analyzed survey responses. Our findings reveal that there are some employees well suited to working from home, while others are less enthusiastic about this initiative, and that a significant factor is household caregiving responsibilities, often considered to be the domain of women. Our insights shed light on differences in caregiver-employee statuses; we hope to help guide effective institutional policy should there be a need for workplaces to shut down again and to encourage administrators to consider faculty who may be a good work from home fit should it be considered for everyday work. Understanding where the strengths and weaknesses were/are for workers who work from home will benefit employers.

Dose-limiting, adverse event-associated bradycardia with ß-blocker treatment of atrial fibrillation in the GENETIC-AF trial.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) often have conduction system disorders, which may be worsened by ß-blocker therapy. OBJECTIVE: In a post hoc analysis we examined the prevalence of bradycardia and its association with adverse events (AEs) and failure to achieve target dose in the GENETIC-AF trial. METHODS: Patients randomized to metoprolol (n = 125) or bucindolol (n = 131) entering 24-week efficacy follow-up and receiving study medication were evaluated. Bradycardia was defined as an electrocardiogram (ECG) heart rate (HR) <60 beats per minute (bpm) and severe bradycardia <50 bpm. RESULTS: Mean HR in sinus rhythm (SR) was 62.6 ± 12.5 bpm for metoprolol and 68.3 ± 11.1 bpm for bucindolol (P < .0001), but in AF HRs were not different (87.5 bpm vs 89.7 bpm, respectively). Episodes per patient for bucindolol vs metoprolol were 0.82 vs 2.08 (P < .001) for bradycardia and 0.24 vs 0.57 for severe bradycardia (P < .001), with 98.9% of the episodes occurring in SR. Patients experiencing bradycardia had a 4.15-fold higher prevalence of study medication dose reduction (P <.0001) compared to patients without bradycardia. Fewer patients receiving metoprolol were at target dose (61.7% vs 74.9% for bucindolol, P < .0001) at ECG recordings, and bradycardia AEs were more prevalent in the metoprolol group (13 vs 1 for bucindolol, P = .001). On multivariate analysis of 21 candidate bradycardia predictors including presence of a device with pacing capability, bucindolol treatment was associated with the greatest degree of prevention (Zodds ratio -4.24, P < .0001). CONCLUSION: In AF-prone HF patients bradycardia may limit the effectiveness of ß blockers, and this property is agent-dependent.

Rationale and design of a study to assess the safety and efficacy of rNAPc2 in COVID-19: the Phase 2b ASPEN-COVID-19 trial.

BACKGROUND: The interaction between thrombosis and inflammation appears central to COVID-19-associated coagulopathy and likely contributes to poor outcomes. Tissue factor is a driver of disordered coagulation and inflammatory signaling in viral infections and is important for viral replication; therefore, tissue factor may be an important therapeutic target in COVID-19. STUDY DESIGN: ASPEN-COVID-19 (NCT04655586) is a randomized, prospective open-label blinded endpoint (PROBE), active comparator Phase 2b trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of recombinant Nematode Anticoagulant Protein c2 (rNAPc2), a potent tissue factor inhibitor, in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 with elevated D-dimer levels. This report describes the design of the Phase 2b dose ranging and proof of concept study. Participants are randomly assigned, in a 1:1:2 ratio, to lower or higher dose rNAPc2 by subcutaneous injection on days 1, 3, and 5 or to heparin according to local standard of care; randomization is stratified by baseline D-dimer level (at 2X upper limit of normal). The primary efficacy endpoint for Phase 2b is proportional change in D-dimer concentration from baseline to Day 8 or day of discharge, whichever is earlier. The primary safety endpoint is major or non-major clinically relevant bleeding through Day 8. Phase 2b enrollment began in December 2020 and is projected to complete ∼160 participants by Q4 2021. CONCLUSIONS: ASPEN-COVID-19 will provide important data on a novel therapeutic approach that may improve outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients beyond available anticoagulants by targeting tissue factor, with potential effects on not only thrombosis but also inflammation and viral propagation.

Bucindolol Decreases Atrial Fibrillation Burden in Patients With Heart Failure and the ADRB1 Arg389Arg Genotype.

[Figure: see text].

Clinical Validation of a Novel Quality Management System for Blood Gas, Electrolytes, Metabolites, and CO-Oximetry.

BACKGROUND: Quality management of point-of-care (POC) blood gas testing focuses on verifying instrument accuracy and precision, in addition to performing daily quality control (QC) checks every 8 h and with each patient test (unless internal calibration is verified every 30 min). At the POC, a risk-based approach is suitable to address both systemic and transient sample-specific errors that may negatively impact patient care. METHODS: We evaluated the performance of the GEM® Premier™ 5000 with next generation Intelligent Quality Management 2 (iQM®2) (Instrumentation Laboratory, Bedford, MA), from the analysis of approximately 84,000 patient samples across 4 sites. Continuous iQM2 was compared to intermittent liquid QC, either manual or automated, at 2 sites. Analysis of error flags for patient samples and statistical characteristics of QC processes, including method sigma and average detection time (ADT) for an error, were examined. RESULTS: ADT was approximately 2 min with iQM2 and varied from hours to days with intermittent QC. iQM2 Process Control Solutions (PCS) precision was similar or better (>6 sigma for all analytes) than manual (sigma 3.0 for pO2) or automated internal QC (sigma 1.3 for tHb and sigma 3.3 for pO2). In addition, iQM2 detected errors in ∼1.4% of samples, providing an additional safeguard against reporting erroneous results. CONCLUSIONS: The findings in this study demonstrate excellent performance of the GEM Premier 5000 with iQM2 including >6 sigma precision for all analytes and faster error detection times. These benefits address risk in different phases of testing that are not easily detected by intermittent performance of liquid QC (manual or automated).

Bucindolol for the Maintenance of Sinus Rhythm in a Genotype-Defined HF Population: The GENETIC-AF Trial.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of bucindolol with that of metoprolol succinate for the maintenance of sinus rhythm in a genetically defined heart failure (HF) population with atrial fibrillation (AF). BACKGROUND: Bucindolol is a beta-blocker whose unique pharmacologic properties provide greater benefit in HF patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) who have the beta1-adrenergic receptor (ADRB1) Arg389Arg genotype. METHODS: A total of 267 HFrEF patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <0.50, symptomatic AF, and the ADRB1 Arg389Arg genotype were randomized 1:1 to receive bucindolol or metoprolol therapy and were up-titrated to target doses. The primary endpoint of AF or atrial flutter (AFL) or all-cause mortality (ACM) was evaluated by electrocardiogram (ECG) during a 24-week period. RESULTS: The hazard ratio (HR) for the primary endpoint was 1.01 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.71 to 1.42), but trends for bucindolol benefit were observed in several subgroups. Precision therapeutic phenotyping revealed that a differential response to bucindolol was associated with the interval of time from the initial diagnoses of AF and HF to randomization and with the onset of AF relative to that of the initial HF diagnosis. In a cohort whose first AF and HF diagnoses were <12 years prior to randomization, in which AF onset did not precede HF by more than 2 years (n = 196), the HR was 0.54 (95% CI: 0.33 to 0.87; p = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacogenetically guided bucindolol therapy did not reduce the recurrence of AF/AFL or ACM compared to that of metoprolol therapy in HFrEF patients, but populations were identified who merited further investigation in future phase 3 trials.

A genotype-directed comparative effectiveness trial of Bucindolol and metoprolol succinate for prevention of symptomatic atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter in patients with heart failure: Rationale and design of the GENETIC-AF trial.

BACKGROUND: Few therapies are available for the safe and effective treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with heart failure. Bucindolol is a non-selective beta-blocker with mild vasodilator activity previously found to have accentuated antiarrhythmic effects and increased efficacy for preventing heart failure events in patients homozygous for the major allele of the ADRB1 Arg389Gly polymorphism (ADRB1 Arg389Arg genotype). The safety and efficacy of bucindolol for the prevention of AF or atrial flutter (AFL) in these patients has not been proven in randomized trials. METHODS/DESIGN: The Genotype-Directed Comparative Effectiveness Trial of Bucindolol and Metoprolol Succinate for Prevention of Symptomatic Atrial Fibrillation/Atrial Flutter in Patients with Heart Failure (GENETIC-AF) trial is a multicenter, randomized, double-blinded "seamless" phase 2B/3 trial of bucindolol hydrochloride versus metoprolol succinate, for the prevention of symptomatic AF/AFL in patients with reduced ejection fraction heart failure (HFrEF). Patients with pre-existing HFrEF and recent history of symptomatic AF are eligible for enrollment and genotype screening, and if they are ADRB1 Arg389Arg, eligible for randomization. A total of approximately 200 patients will comprise the phase 2B component and if pre-trial assumptions are met, 620 patients will be randomized at approximately 135 sites to form the Phase 3 population. The primary endpoint is the time to recurrence of symptomatic AF/AFL or mortality over a 24-week follow-up period, and the trial will continue until 330 primary endpoints have occurred. CONCLUSIONS: GENETIC-AF is the first randomized trial of pharmacogenetic guided rhythm control, and will test the safety and efficacy of bucindolol compared with metoprolol succinate for the prevention of recurrent symptomatic AF/AFL in patients with HFrEF and an ADRB1 Arg389Arg genotype. (ClinicalTrials.govNCT01970501).

The effect of a one-year lifestyle intervention program on carotid intima media thickness.

This study assesses the impact of a year long lifestyle intervention program on carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) in 60 subjects, at-risk for or with coronary artery disease. We calculated mean CIMT at baseline (0.731 +/- 0.151 mm) and 1 year (0.720 +/- 0.129 mm), overall CIMT change and the relationship of CIMT change to the number (0-5) of achieved Heart Health Index (HHI) measures (body mass index < 25 kg/m2, exercise > or = 150 min/wk, blood pressure < 140/90 mm Hg, LDL-Cholesterol < 100 mg/dL, fiber intake > 25 g/d). CIMT was unchanged (-0.011 +/- 0.118 mm; p = 0.48); however, there was a trend toward CIMT decrease (-0.025 +/- 0.120 mm vs. +0.033 +/- 0.102 mm; p = 0.10) between subjects with HHI Score > or = 3 (n = 45) compared to those with an HHI Score < 3 (n = 15) at 1 year. These findings suggest atherosclerosis progression can be blunted with a lifestyle intervention that fully leverages nonpharmacologic approaches to cardiovascular risk reduction.

Study design and rationale of a comparison of prasugrel and clopidogrel in medically managed patients with unstable angina/non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: the TaRgeted platelet Inhibition to cLarify the Optimal strateGy to medicallY manage Acute Coronary Syndromes (TRILOGY ACS) trial.

Practice guidelines recommend dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel for patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE ACS) regardless of in-hospital management strategy. Prasugrel-a thienopyridine adenosine diphosphate receptor antagonist that provides higher and less variable levels of platelet inhibition than clopidogrel-has demonstrated benefit when used to treat ACS patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. However, the optimal approach to antiplatelet therapy for high-risk, medically managed NSTE ACS patients remains uncertain, as these patients have not been the focus of previous clinical trials of these therapies. TRILOGY ACS is a phase 3, randomized, double-blind trial enrolling approximately 10,300 NSTE ACS patients within 10 days of presentation with either unstable angina or NSTE myocardial infarction who are not intended to undergo revascularization procedures for their index event. Patients will be randomly allocated to prasugrel + aspirin versus clopidogrel + aspirin for a median duration of 18 months. A reduction in the maintenance dose of prasugrel for elderly patients (age >or=75 years) and those with body weight <60 kg is planned. The primary composite efficacy end point will be time to first occurrence of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke in patients aged <75 years. If the superiority of prasugrel is established in patients aged <75 years, the treatment arms will then be compared for all subjects (including those aged >or=75 years). TRILOGY ACS is the largest randomized clinical trial to date focusing exclusively on medically managed NSTE ACS patients and will provide important information regarding the optimal approach to oral antiplatelet therapy for this high-risk, understudied population.

Prasugrel compared with high-dose clopidogrel in acute coronary syndrome. The randomised, double-blind ACAPULCO study.

Compared with the approved dose regimen of clopidogrel (300-mg loading dose [LD], 75-mg maintenance dose [MD]), prasugrel has been demonstrated to reduce ischaemic events in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In ACS, antiplatelet effects of a prasugrel MD regimen have not been previously compared with either a higher clopidogrel MD or after switching from a higher clopidogrel LD. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antiplatelet effect of a prasugrel 10-mg MD versus a clopidogrel 150-mg MD in patients with ACS who had received a clopidogrel 900-mg LD. Patients with non-ST elevation ACS, treated with aspirin and a clopidogrel 900-mg LD, were randomised within 24 hours post-LD to receive a prasugrel 10-mg or clopidogrel 150-mg MD. After 14 days of the initial MD, subjects switched to the alternative treatment for 14 days. The primary endpoint compared maximum platelet aggregation (MPA, 20 microM adenosine diphosphate [ADP]) between prasugrel and clopidogrel MDs for both periods. Responder analyses between treatments were performed using several platelet-function methods. Of 56 randomised subjects, 37 underwent PCI. MPA was 26.2% for prasugrel 10 mg and 39.1% for clopidogrel 150 mg (p<0.001). The prasugrel MD regimen reduced MPA from the post-900-mg LD level (41.2% to 29.1%, p=0.003). Poor response ranged from 0% to 6% for prasugrel 10 mg and 4% to 34% for clopidogrel 150 mg. Thus, in ACS patients a prasugrel 10-mg MD regimen resulted in significantly greater platelet inhibition than clopidogrel at twice its approved MD or a 900-mg LD.

Achievement of heart health characteristics through participation in an intensive lifestyle change program (Coronary Artery Disease Reversal Study).

PURPOSE: Lifestyle habits and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors are closely linked. Unfortunately, few individuals meet the goals for cardiovascular health that are recommended in public health initiatives. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an intensive lifestyle intervention program on the achievement of a group of recognized heart health characteristics as well as on the reduction of individual CVD risk factors. METHODS: Of 200 military healthcare beneficiaries with coronary artery disease or CVD risk factors (mean age = 61 years) who entered a 1-year, prospective, cohort, multicomponent lifestyle intervention study (lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, exercise, stress management, group support), 186 subjects enrolled and 144 participated for 1 year. RESULTS: At 3 months and 1 year compared with baseline, the proportion of subjects meeting 5 recognized heart health characteristics improved (P < .001): fiber intake >25 g/d (94% and 72% vs 35%); exercise > or =150 min/wk (79% and 58% vs 31%); low-density lipoprotein cholesterol <100 mg/dL (75% and 63% vs 46%); body mass index <25 kg/m (34% and 38% vs 23%); and blood pressure <140/90 mm Hg (84% and 83% vs 69%). At 1 year, more subjects (72% vs 32% at baseline), especially those with intervention adherence above (94%) versus below (58%) the study population median (P < .0005), achieved 3 or more of these characteristics. CONCLUSION: An intensive lifestyle intervention promotes achievement of important heart health characteristics that, if maintained, may substantially reduce CVD events.

Role of environmental surveillance in determining the risk of hospital-acquired legionellosis: a national surveillance study with clinical correlations.

OBJECTIVE: Hospital-acquired Legionella pneumonia has a fatality rate of 28%, and the source is the water distribution system. Two prevention strategies have been advocated. One approach to prevention is clinical surveillance for disease without routine environmental monitoring. Another approach recommends environmental monitoring even in the absence of known cases of Legionella pneumonia. We determined the Legionella colonization status of water systems in hospitals to establish whether the results of environmental surveillance correlated with discovery of disease. None of these hospitals had previously experienced endemic hospital-acquired Legionella pneumonia. DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: Twenty US hospitals in 13 states. INTERVENTIONS: Hospitals performed clinical and environmental surveillance for Legionella from 2000 through 2002. All specimens were shipped to the Special Pathogens Laboratory at the Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Medical Center. RESULTS: Legionella pneumophila and Legionella anisa were isolated from 14 (70%) of 20 hospital water systems. Of 676 environmental samples, 198 (29%) were positive for Legionella species. High-level colonization of the water system (30% or more of the distal outlets were positive for L. pneumophila) was demonstrated for 6 (43%) of the 14 hospitals with positive findings. L. pneumophila serogroup 1 was detected in 5 of these 6 hospitals, whereas 1 hospital was colonized with L. pneumophila serogroup 5. A total of 633 patients were evaluated for Legionella pneumonia from 12 (60%) of the 20 hospitals: 377 by urinary antigen testing and 577 by sputum culture. Hospital-acquired Legionella pneumonia was identified in 4 hospitals, all of which were hospitals with L. pneumophila serogroup 1 found in 30% or more of the distal outlets. No cases of disease due to other serogroups or species (L. anisa) were identified. CONCLUSION: Environmental monitoring followed by clinical surveillance was successful in uncovering previously unrecognized cases of hospital-acquired Legionella pneumonia.

The role of exercise in modulating the impact of an ultralow-fat diet on serum lipids and apolipoproteins in patients with or at risk for coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Ultralow-fat diets are known to reduce high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. In the setting of a multicomponent lifestyle intervention program, relationships between exercise variables and HDL-C levels were examined to determine whether exercise moderates this dietary effect on serum lipids and apolipoproteins. METHODS: We performed a 3-month, prospective, nonrandomized lifestyle intervention study (< or = 10% dietary fat; aerobic exercise [180 min/wk], group support, and yoga [60 min/day]) in 120 subjects with or at risk for coronary artery disease. RESULTS: After 3 months, dietary fat intake was reduced to 8.7% +/- 2.6% of total intake and the median weekly exercise time was 194 minutes. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels decreased by 8.3 +/- 11.3 mg/dL (P < .001), and triglyceride levels increased by 17.6 +/- 102.7 mg/dL (P = .026). A small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) phenotype emerged indicated by a 13.8% LDL-C reduction accompanied by only a 2.3% reduction in apolipoprotein B levels (P = .064). Among subjects with exercise amounts less than those of the group median, HDL-C reductions were greater in those with more than (-13.5 +/- 16.0 mg/dL) versus less than (-2.5 +/- 7.5 mg/dL) the median reductions in fat intake (P = .026). Even among subjects who exercised > 194 min/wk, HDL-C was reduced compared with baseline (-7.4 +/- 7.9 mg/dL, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: An ultralow-fat diet as a component of a comprehensive lifestyle intervention induces reductions in HDL-C and the emergence of a dyslipidemic lipid profile. Aerobic exercise only partially mitigates this effect.

Intensive lifestyle modification: impact on cardiovascular disease risk factors in subjects with and without clinical cardiovascular disease.

Intensive lifestyle modification programs are intended to stabilize or promote regression of coronary artery disease; however, clinical response is often nonuniform, complicating appropriate utilization of resources and prediction of outcome. This study assessed physiological and psychological benefits to 72 persons participating in a prospective, nonrandomized, four-component lifestyle change program and compared response between patients with clinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) and patients with elevated risk factors for CVD but without clinical manifestations of disease. Subjects entering the program due to elevated risk factor levels alone demonstrated equal or greater benefit, in terms of improvement in primary CVD risk factors and reduction in measures of coronary disease risk developed in the Framingham Heart Study, than those with clinical CVD. These findings suggest that intensive lifestyle change programs may be important for primary prevention in individuals at increased risk of CVD.

Optimal healing environments for chronic cardiovascular disease.

A substantial increase in chronic cardiovascular disease is projected for the next several decades. This is attributable to an aging population and accelerated rates of obesity and diabetes. Despite technological advances that have improved survival for acute events, there is suboptimal translation of research knowledge for prevention and treatment of chronic cardiovascular illness. Beginning with a brief review of the demographics and pathogenesis of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, this paper discusses the obstacles and approaches to optimal care of patients with chronic cardiovascular disease. The novel concept of an optimal healing environment (OHE) is defined and explored as a model for integrative cardiac health care. Aspects generally underexamined in cardiac care such as intrapersonal/interpersonal characteristics of the health care provider and patient, mind/body/spirit wholeness and healing versus curing are discussed, as is the impact psychosocial factors may have on atherosclerosis and cardiovascular health. Information from research on the impact of an OHE might renew the healing mission in medicine, reveal new approaches for healing the heart and establish the importance of a heart-mind-body connection.