Predictors of poor outcome of decompressive craniectomy in pediatric patients with severe traumatic brain injury: a retrospective single center study from Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the risk factors associated with poor outcome of decompressive craniectomy (DC) for severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in pediatric patients. METHODS: This retrospective study is conducted on pediatric population (age 1-15 years) presenting with TBI who underwent DC at our institute between January 2000 and 2010. Based on Glasgow outcome score (GOS) at a minimum follow-up of 5 months, patients were divided into two groups, namely poor outcome (GOS 1, 2, and 3) and good outcome (GOS 4 and 5). Records were reviewed and analyzed for preoperative and intraoperative predictors. RESULTS: We found 25 patients who were eligible as per selection criteria. Mean age at presentation was 6 ± 4 years and there was male preponderance (84%). Fall (60%) was the most common mechanism of injury followed by gunshots and road traffic accident. On univariate analysis, presenting GCS ≤5 (p value = 0.009), delay in presentation of more than 150 min (p value = 0.010), DC performed after more than 4 h of arrival in hospital (p value = 0.042), and intraoperative blood loss exceeding 300 ml (p value = 0.001) were significant predictors of poor outcome. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that DC in children is not only a life-saving procedure, but also leads to a good functional outcome after severe injury. However, patient selection still remains an important aspect, and the above-mentioned factors should be considered while deciding for DC to improve survival. Further prospective studies on larger sample size are warranted to validate our results.

The revised Atlanta classification for acute pancreatitis: updates in imaging terminology and guidelines.

Imaging of acute pancreatitis requires not only an understanding of the disease subtypes and the myriad of associated complications but also familiarity with the appropriate radiologic nomenclature as defined by the Atlanta symposium in 1992 and, more recently, by the Acute Pancreatitis Classification Working Group in 2008. The accurate description of the radiological findings plays a critical role in the evaluation and management of patients with acute pancreatitis, particularly those with severe disease. There have been increasing efforts to develop uniformity in the use of terminology used to define the radiologic findings in acute pancreatitis, in particular, the terminology for fluid collections, a common area of inconsistency and confusion. Terms such as "acute peripancreatic fluid collections," "acute post- necrotic fluid collections," "pseudocyst," and "walled-off pancreatic necrosis" are now recommended as they describe the evolution of fluid collections in patients with both interstitial and necrotizing pancreatitis and nonspecific terms such as "pancreatic abscess" and "phlegmon" are being abandoned. In this review we illustrate, with case examples, the standardized terminology used in the radiological and clinical description of acute pancreatitis, its severity, and complications with an emphasis on the role of ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Different management options of the associated complications are also discussed. The use of standardized terminology will hopefully improve the communication between radiologists, gastroenterologists, and surgeons to facilitate treatment planning and will lead to enhanced outcomes for patients with acute pancreatitis as well as create uniformity for enrollment into research studies.

Home Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Participation Among Patients With Heart Failure.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with Heart Failure (HF) have significant morbidity and mortality. Home Based Cardiac Rehabilitation (HBCR) is a form of Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) which has been proven beneficial for the patients with cardiovascular disease; However, cardiovascular outcomes in patients with HF who was referred to HBCR is not known. METHODS: A retrospective study of 188 patients with HF (HFrEF or heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and HFpEF or heart failure with preserved ejection fraction) referred to HBCR at Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) from November 2017 to March 2020. We used the outcomes of patients with HF who attended HBCR and compared with the outcomes of patients who did not attend HBCR (Non-HBCR) from 3 months after starting HBCR till 12 months. Primary outcome was composite of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular hospitalizations. Secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality, cardiovascular hospitalizations and all-cause hospitalization, separately. We used cox proportional methods to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% CI. We adjusted for imbalanced characteristics at baseline: age, smoking, PCI and CABG status. In subgroup analysis, we compared HFrEF and HFpEF patients who have completed HBCR and compared differences of their outcomes (weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, HbA1C, 6 Minutes walking test, duke score and PHQ-9) pre- and post-HBCR. RESULTS: Mean age of the patients was 72 year and 98% were male. Out of 188 patients total, 11 patients were excluded for the main analysis as their outcomes occurred within first 90 days of HBCR enrollment, 105/177 (59%) patients attended HBCR while 72/177 (41%) patients did not attend HBCR and 93/105 (89%) patients have completed HBCR. The primary outcome occurred in 14 patients (13.3%) in the HBCR group and 19 patients (26.4%) in the Non-HBCR group (adjusted HR=0.32, CI 0.15-0.68). There was no difference in cardiovascular hospitalization among two groups, however patients in HBCR group have lower all-cause hospitalizations and all-cause death, separately. After HBCR completion, all outcomes (weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, HbA1C, 6 Minutes walking test, duke score and PHQ-9) have improved in both HFrEF and HFpEF group. CONCLUSION: Patients with HF who have completed HBCR have a lower risk of all-cause mortality, all cause hospitalization separately and lower risk of combined all-cause mortality and cardiovascular hospitalization. Patients with HFrEF and HFpEF have equal degree of improvement after completing HBCR when compared with each other. HBCR is an ideal opportunity for patients with HF who cannot attend center-based CR and also for patients with HFpEF since CR is not approved for those patients.

Heart rate variability and the risk of heart failure and its subtypes in post-menopausal women: The Women's Health Initiative study.

BACKGROUND: Low heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of autonomic imbalance, is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and heart failure (HF). However, its relationship with HF subtypes; heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) has not been studied prior. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a longitudinal study in Women's Health Initiative study cohort to investigate the association of baseline quartiles of resting heart rate (rHR) and HRV measures; SDNN (SD of normal-to-normal RR interval) and RMSSD (root mean square of successive difference of RR interval) measured by twelve-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) on enrollment, with the risk of hospitalized HF and its subtypes. Total of 28,603 post-menopausal women, predominantly non-Hispanic whites (69%), with a mean (SD) age of 62.6 (7.1) years, free of baseline CHD and HF were included. In a fully adjusted cox-proportional hazards regression model which adjusted for age, race, BMI, alcohol intake, education, physical activity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, use of beta-blocker, calcium-channel blocker, hormone therapy, and time-varying incident CHD, the hazard ratios of lowest quartile of HRV (Q1) with HF risk were significant (Q1 SDNN compared to Q4 SDNN: 1.22, 95% CI 1.07, 1.39; Q1 RMSSD compared to Q4 RMSSD: 1.17, 95% CI 1.02, 1.33). On subgroup analysis of HF subtypes, low HRV was associated with elevated HFpEF risk (Q1 vs Q4 SDNN: 1.22, 95% CI 1.02, 1.47) but not with HFrEF (Q1 vs Q4 SDNN: 1.19, 95% CI 0.95, 1.50; Q1 RMSSD: 1.13, 95% CI 0.90, 1.43). CONCLUSION: Low HRV is associated with elevated overall hospitalized HF risk and HFpEF risk in post-menopausal women. Whether interventions to increase HRV through healthy lifestyle changes will decrease HF risk warrants further investigation.

Dyspnea, Elevated Jugular Venous Pulse, and Lower Extremity Edema in the Setting of Interstitial Lung Disease in a Patient Who Has Undergone Liver and Kidney Transplantation.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 64-year-old man with a past medical history of alcoholic cirrhosis with resultant hepatorenal syndrome requiring kidney and liver transplantation 10 years previously sought treatment at the ED with progressive lower-extremity edema and dyspnea. After noting worsening shortness of breath and cough as an outpatient, he had been referred to a pulmonary clinic and was undergoing a workup for interstitial lung disease (ILD). He had been started on prednisone 40 mg/d after a lung biopsy 4 months before admission. He was also receiving chronic immunosuppression with tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil. He had noted worsening of edema since starting prednisone.

Aortic valve calcification predicts all-cause mortality independent of coronary calcification and severe stenosis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Calcific aortic valve disease is highly prevalent in patients with significant smoking history and is a marker of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to define the prognostic value of aortic valve calcification (AVC) derived from low dose, lung cancer screening computed tomography (LCSCT) for all-cause mortality in this higher risk population. METHODS: This is a single site, retrospective analysis of 1529 moderate-to-high atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk U.S. veterans (65 years [IQI: 61, 68] years; 96% male), who underwent clinically indicated LCSCT. CTs were scored for aortic valve calcification (AVC) and coronary artery calcification (CAC). The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality and secondary endpoints were nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI) and nonfatal cerebrovascular accident (CVA). RESULTS: Over 4-year follow-up, 227 patients (15%) died, 112 patients (7%) had nonfatal MI, and 52 patients (3%) had nonfatal CVA. AVC was predictive of all-cause mortality (HR per 100: 1.041 [1.030-1.052], p < 0.001), and this association remained significant after multivariate adjustment for traditional atherosclerotic risk factors, including CAC (1.021 [1.007-1.036], p = 0.003). After excluding patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) or severe AVC (≥1274 AU in women and ≥2065 AU in men), in a subset of 765 patients who had echocardiograms, this association remained significant after multivariate analysis (HR per 100: 1.052 [1.010-1.095], p = 0.014). Despite controlling for CAC in the models, AVC was still associated with MI (HR per 100: 1.021 [1.004-1.039], p = 0.017) and with CVA (HR per 100: 1.027 [1.002-1.051], p = 0.032). CONCLUSIONS: Scoring AVC derived from LCSCT is predictive of mortality, nonfatal MI, and nonfatal CVA in patients at known risk for cardiovascular disease, independent of coronary calcification or severe aortic valve stenosis.

Quality of life outcomes in transcatheter aortic valve replacement patients requiring pacemaker implantation.

BACKGROUND: Permanent pacemaker implantation is the most common complication after Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and is associated with worse outcomes and mortality. However, its impact on quality-of-life (QoL) outcomes remains unknown. METHODS: We included 383 consecutive patients undergoing TAVR from January 2012 to 2016 who completed a baseline Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ-12) health survey. The clinical, laboratory, angiographic, QoL, mortality, and occurrence of poor outcomes (KCCQ-12 score < 45 or KCCQ decrease of ≥10 points) were obtained. RESULTS: The mean age was 83 ± 8 years, 51% were men, and majority were Caucasians (n = 364, 95%). Permanent pacemaker (PPM) was implanted in 11.5% of patients post-TAVR. PPM patients were more likely to have prior conduction disease including RBBB (25% vs 12%, P = .02) and PQ interval >250 ms (11% vs 5%, P = .07). One-month median KCCQ-12 scores were significantly lower among PPM patients (84.7 vs 68.8, P = .04), but did not differ significantly at 1-year (86.5 vs 90.6, P = .5) post-TAVR. Occurrence of poor outcomes did not differ significantly among those with or without PPM at 1 month (11% vs 7%, P = .39) and 1 year (13% vs 9%, P = .45), respectively. However, patients with poor QoL outcomes at 1 month post-TAVR also had significantly worse mortality during follow-up in unadjusted (31.3% vs 4.5%, P < .001) and adjusted (HR = 5.30, 95% [CI: 1.85-15.22, P = .002])analyses, respectively. CONCLUSION: Permanent pacemaker implantation is associated with short-term reduction in QoL without long-term implications post-TAVR. Patients with poor QoL post-TAVR also have significantly higher mortality.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio predicts heart failure readmissions and outcomes in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

OBJECTIVE: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has prognostic value in acute coronary syndromes. We investigated its utility for predicting heart failure (HF) admissions and major adverse cardiac outcomes in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). METHODS: Data on clinical, laboratory, procedural, HF admissions, and major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) (all-cause mortality, recurrence of myocardial infarction requiring intervention, stroke) for 298 consecutive patients who underwent TAVR between 2012 and 2016 in our tertiary center were collected. RESULTS: Analysis included 298 patients. The mean age was 83 ± 8 years, 51% were males, and 95% were Caucasians. The median Society of Thoracic Surgeons risk score was 9 (interquartile range: 6.3-11.8). Receiver-operating curve analysis identified a cutoff value of NLR of 4.0 for MACE after TAVR and sensitivity of 68% and specificity of 68% {area under the curve [AUC] = 0.65 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.51-0.79], p = 0.03}. An NLR of 4.0 for HF hospitalizations after TAVR and sensitivity of 60% and specificity of 57% [AUC = 0.61 (95% CI: 0.53-0.69), p = 0.01]. NLR ≥4.0 before TAVR significantly predicted MACE after TAVR (68.4% vs. 31.6%, p = 0.02) and HF hospitalizations (58.3% vs. 41.7%, p = 0.03). NLR with TAVR risk score increased the predictive value for MACE after TAVR from AUC = 0.61 (95% CI: 0.50-0.72, p = 0.06) to AUC = 0.69 (95% CI: 0.57-0.80, p = 0.007). CONCLUSION: NLR predicts all-cause mortality, MACE, and HF hospitalization 1 year after TAVR. NLR with TAVR risk score improved predictability for MACE. Further studies for prognostication using NLR are warranted.