[Lower extremity arteriopathy disease in the elderly: A systematic review]. / Artériopathie distale du sujet âgé : revue de la littérature.

Lower Extremity Arteriopathy Disease in the elderly is frequent with an ongoing increase of it prevalence and incidence mainly due to diabetes, hypertension and aging of the population. Despite improvement of revascularization therapy, outcome in this population is poor affected by frailty of elderly patient. Aging is associated with a higher prevalence of below the knee disease and wound, often with diagnostic delay leading to a major rate of amputation, mortality and alteration of quality of life. Moreover, it leads to an important health cost for society. This review aims to describe main features of LEAD in the elderly, providing keys for early recognition and managing of such disease in this population.

Aortic valve anatomy and outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve implantation in bicuspid aortic valves.

PURPOSE: Aortic stenosis (AS) in bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) remains a challenge for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). BAV is a condition encountered in young adults as well as elderly patients. Frequently we face in clinical practice elderly patients with BAV and severe AS, but there is little evidence concerning TAVI in this population. The aim of our study was to compare anatomic features and outcomes of bicuspid and tricuspid patients with AS undergoing TAVI. METHODS: 83 consecutive BAV patients undergoing TAVI were matched, in a 1:2 ratio, to 166 tricuspid patients. Multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) and transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) were assessed at baseline. Primary endpoint was all-cause mortality and early safety at 30 days according to Valve Academic Research Consortium criteria 2 (VARC-2). Secondary endpoint included device success. RESULTS: BAV patients presented more aortic root calcifications, smaller diameter of left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) and dilated aorta. We did not observe any statistically significant difference concerning all-cause mortality and early safety at 30 days. However higher intra-procedural TAV-in-TAV bailout procedure was observed in the BAV cohort, with consequent reduction of device success rate. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with BAV present more complex anatomy at baseline as compared to tricuspid AS patients. These anatomical features lead to more frequent TAV-in-TAV bailout procedure and lower device success rate, but are not associated with higher mortality rate at 30 days. Our findings support the feasibility of TAVI in BAV, but larger studies with longer follow-up and a focus on sizing are required.

Self-inflicted repetitive optic nerve injury: a case report.

PURPOSE: To describe an obsessive-compulsive patient who developed blindness after self-inflicted repetitive optic nerve injury. METHODS: Case report. RESULTS: A myopic 46-year-old male became blind as a result of intermittent rubbing of his eyes, causing stretching of the optic nerves. Extensive ocular, neurologic and systemic work-ups were negative. Cerebral and orbital MR studies showed severe bilateral optic nerve atrophy. Psychiatric evaluation confirmed obsessive-compulsive personality. CONCLUSIONS: Self-inflicted optic nerve injury should be included in the differential diagnosis of progressive optic neuropathy in a young adult.