Predictors of target lesion failure after treatment of left main, bifurcation, or chronic total occlusion lesions with ultrathin-strut drug-eluting coronary stents in the ULTRA registry.

BACKGROUND: Data about the long-term performance of new-generation ultrathin-strut drug-eluting stents (DES) in challenging coronary lesions, such as left main (LM), bifurcation, and chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesions are scant. METHODS: The international multicenter retrospective observational ULTRA study included consecutive patients treated from September 2016 to August 2021 with ultrathin-strut (<70 µm) DES in challenging de novo lesions. Primary endpoint was target lesion failure (TLF): composite of cardiac death, target-lesion revascularization (TLR), target-vessel myocardial infarction (TVMI), or definite stent thrombosis (ST). Secondary endpoints included all-cause death, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), target vessel revascularization, and TLF components. TLF predictors were assessed with Cox multivariable analysis. RESULTS: Of 1801 patients (age: 66.6 ± 11.2 years; male: 1410 [78.3%]), 170 (9.4%) experienced TLF during follow-up of 3.1 ± 1.4 years. In patients with LM, CTO, and bifurcation lesions, TLF rates were 13.5%, 9.9%, and 8.9%, respectively. Overall, 160 (8.9%) patients died (74 [4.1%] from cardiac causes). AMI and TVMI rates were 6.0% and 3.2%, respectively. ST occurred in 11 (1.1%) patients while 77 (4.3%) underwent TLR. Multivariable analysis identified the following predictors of TLF: age, STEMI with cardiogenic shock, impaired left ventricular ejection fraction, diabetes, and renal dysfunction. Among the procedural variables, total stent length increased TLF risk (HR: 1.01, 95% CI: 1-1.02 per mm increase), while intracoronary imaging reduced the risk substantially (HR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.12-0.82). CONCLUSIONS: Ultrathin-strut DES showed high efficacy and satisfactory safety, even in patients with challenging coronary lesions. Yet, despite using contemporary gold-standard DES, the association persisted between established patient- and procedure-related features of risk and impaired 3-year clinical outcome.

COVID-19 anosmia and gustatory symptoms as a prognosis factor: a subanalysis of the HOPE COVID-19 (Health Outcome Predictive Evaluation for COVID-19) registry.

Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions (OGD) are a frequent symptom of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It has been proposed that the neuroinvasive potential of the novel SARS-CoV-2 could be due to olfactory bulb invasion, conversely studies suggest it could be a good prognostic factor. The aim of the current study was to investigate the prognosis value of OGD in COVID-19. These symptoms were recorded on admission from a cohort study of 5868 patients with confirmed or highly suspected COVID-19 infection included in the multicenter international HOPE Registry (NCT04334291). There was statistical relation in multivariate analysis for OGD in gender, more frequent in female 12.41% vs 8.67% in male, related to age, more frequent under 65 years, presence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, smoke, renal insufficiency, lung, heart, cancer and neurological disease. We did not find statistical differences in pregnant (p = 0.505), patient suffering cognitive (p = 0.484), liver (p = 0.1) or immune disease (p = 0.32). There was inverse relation (protective) between OGD and prone positioning (0.005) and death (< 0.0001), but no with ICU (0.165) or mechanical ventilation (0.292). On univariable logistic regression, OGD was found to be inversely related to death in COVID-19 patients. The odds ratio was 0.26 (0.15-0.44) (p < 0.001) and Z was - 5.05. The presence of anosmia is fundamental in the diagnosis of SARS.CoV-2 infection, but also could be important in classifying patients and in therapeutic decisions. Even more knowing that it is an early symptom of the disease. Knowing that other situations as being Afro-American or Latino-American, hypertension, renal insufficiency, or increase of C-reactive protein (CRP) imply a worse prognosis we can make a clinical score to estimate the vital prognosis of the patient. The exact pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 that causes olfactory and gustative disorders remains unknown but seems related to the prognosis. This point is fundamental, insomuch as could be a plausible way to find a treatment.

Treatment of in-stent restenosis with ultrathin-strut versus thin-strut drug-eluting stents or drug-eluting balloons: a multicentre registry.

BACKGROUND: Limited data exist on ultrathin-strut drug-eluting stent (ultrathin DES) performance in DES in-stent restenosis (ISR). AIMS: We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of ultrathin DES compared to thin-strut DES and drug-eluting balloons (DEB) for DES-ISR. METHODS: Patients from the DEB Dragon (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04415216) and ULTRA registries (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05205148) were divided into ultrathin DES, thin-strut DES, or DEB groups for DES-ISR treatment. Both propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability weighting (IPW) were considered to adjust the distribution of patients in each class. Cox regression was applied to the following main endpoints: device-oriented composite endpoints (DOCE; including cardiac death, target lesion revascularisation [TLR] and target vessel myocardial infarction), TLR and target vessel revascularisation (TVR). RESULTS: A total of 269, 541, and 557 patients received an ultrathin DES, thin-strut DES, and DEB, respectively. After 3 years of follow-up, in the IPW-adjusted overall cohort, ultrathin DES were associated with a significantly reduced risk of DOCE compared to DEBs (hazard ratio [HR] 0.353, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.194-0.642; p<0.001), as well as thin-strut DES (HR 0.645, 95% CI: 0.457-0.911; p=0.013). Compared to DEBs, ultrathin DES also reduced the risks of both TLR (HR 0.184, 95% CI: 0.081-0.417; p<0.001) and TVR (HR 0.188, 95% CI: 0.093-0.379; p<0.001), while thin-strut DES did not (TLR: HR 0.686, 95% CI: 0.407-1.157; p=0.157; TVR: HR 0.706, 95% CI: 0.453-1.101; p=0.124). For diffuse ISR patients, ultrathin DES reduced the risk of DOCE (HR 0.364, 95% CI: 0.188-0.705; p=0.003), as did thin-strut DES (HR 0.602, 95% CI: 0.367-0.987; p=0.044), while a reduction of TLR (HR 0.220, 95% CI: 0.091-0.531; p<0.001) and TVR (HR 0.241, 95% CI: 0.113-0.513; p<0.001) was achieved only by ultrathin DES. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrathin DES were associated with reduced DOCE, TLR and TVR risks in diffuse ISR compared to DEBs.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials evaluating pharmacologic therapies for acute and recurrent pericarditis.

Acute idiopathic pericarditis (AIP) is a benign inflammatory condition associated with high recurrence rates. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDs) and colchicine are the recommended therapies. Our objective was to systematically assess effects of pharmacological therapies on recurrences or treatment failure in patients with first and subsequent AIP episodes. PubMed, BioMedCentral, Cochrane, Clinicaltrials.gov, Google Scholar and EMBASE (Ovid) were searched up to April 2020 for randomized controlled trials (RCT) evaluating NSAIDs, indomethacin, colchicine, steroids, intravenous immunoglobulins, immunomodulators, or interleukin receptor antagonists in adult patients with acute episode of idiopathic pericarditis. Mantel-Haenzel random effects models were used for meta-analyses, and effects were reported as odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Six RCTs of colchicine plus NSAIDs (n=914 patients) and one RCT of anakinra (n=21) were found. No RCTs testing NSAIDs or corticosteroids were identified. Colchicine plus NSAIDs and anakinra significantly reduced recurrence (OR 0.37; 95%CI 0.27-0.51; and OR 0.02; 95%CI, 0.00-0.32, respectively). Colchicine plus NSAIDs also reduced treatment failure (OR 0.29; 95%CI 0.21-0.41). No differences in adverse events between colchicine and placebo were found (OR 1.16; 95%CI 0.72 to 1.86). In conclusion, Colchicine plus NSAIDS and anakinra are efficacious for preventing AIP recurrences. Colchicine reduces treatment failure as well. Although its use is supported by clinical experience, no solid evidence is currently available for the role of NSAIDs or steroids in the treatment of AIP.

Forecasting the Risk of Heart Failure Hospitalization After Acute Coronary Syndromes: the CORALYS HF Score.

The present study aimed to identify patients at a higher risk of hospitalization for heart failure (HF) in a population of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) treated with percutaneous coronary revascularization without a history of HF or reduced left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction before the index admission. We performed a Cox regression multivariable analysis with competitive risk and machine learning models on the incideNce and predictOrs of heaRt fAiLure After Acute coronarY Syndrome (CORALYS) registry (NCT04895176), an international and multicenter study including consecutive patients admitted for ACS in 16 European Centers from 2015 to 2020. Of 14,699 patients, 593 (4.0%) were admitted for the development of HF up to 1 year after the index ACS presentation. A total of 2 different data sets were randomly created, 1 for the derivative cohort including 11,626 patients (80%) and 1 for the validation cohort including 3,073 patients (20%). On the Cox regression multivariable analysis, several variables were associated with the risk of HF hospitalization, with reduced renal function, complete revascularization, and LV ejection fraction as the most relevant ones. The area under the curve at 1 year was 0.75 (0.72 to 0.78) in the derivative cohort, whereas on validation, it was 0.72 (0.67 to 0.77). The machine learning analysis showed a slightly inferior performance. In conclusion, in a large cohort of patients with ACS without a history of HF or LV dysfunction before the index event, the CORALYS HF score identified patients at a higher risk of hospitalization for HF using variables easily accessible at discharge. Further approaches to tackle HF development in this high-risk subset of patients are needed.

Gender Differences in the Presentation and Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19.

Gender-related differences in COVID-19 clinical presentation, disease progression, and mortality have not been adequately explored. We analyzed the clinical profile, presentation, treatments, and outcomes of patients according to gender in the HOPE-COVID-19 International Registry. Among 2,798 enrolled patients, 1,111 were women (39.7%). Male patients had a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and more comorbidities at baseline. After propensity score matching, 876 men and 876 women were selected. Male patients more often reported fever, whereas female patients more often reported vomiting, diarrhea, and hyposmia/anosmia. Laboratory tests in men presented alterations consistent with a more severe COVID-19 infection (eg, significantly higher C-reactive protein, troponin, transaminases, lymphocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, and ferritin). Systemic inflammatory response syndrome, bilateral pneumonia, respiratory insufficiency, and renal failure were significantly more frequent in men. Men more often required pronation, corticosteroids, and tocilizumab administration. A significantly higher 30-day mortality was observed in men vs women (23.4% vs 19.2%; P = .039). Trial Numbers: NCT04334291/EUPAS34399.

Prognostic Impact of Hyponatremia and Hypernatremia in COVID-19 Pneumonia. A HOPE-COVID-19 (Health Outcome Predictive Evaluation for COVID-19) Registry Analysis.

Dysnatremia is associated with increased mortality in patients with community-acquired pneumonia. SARS-COV2 (Severe-acute-respiratory syndrome caused by Coronavirus-type 2) pneumonia can be fatal. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether admittance dysnatremia is associated with mortality, sepsis, or intensive therapy (IT) in patients hospitalized with SARS-COV2 pneumonia. This is a retrospective study of the HOPE-COVID-19 registry, with data collected from January 1th through April 31th, 2020. We selected all hospitalized adult patients with RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-COV2 pneumonia and a registered admission serum sodium level (SNa). Patients were classified as hyponatremic (SNa <135 mmol/L), eunatremic (SNa 135-145 mmol/L), or hypernatremic (SNa >145 mmol/L). Multivariable analyses were performed to elucidate independent relationships of admission hyponatremia and hypernatremia, with mortality, sepsis, or IT during hospitalization. Four thousand six hundred sixty-four patients were analyzed, median age 66 (52-77), 58% males. Death occurred in 988 (21.2%) patients, sepsis was diagnosed in 551 (12%) and IT in 838 (18.4%). Hyponatremia was present in 957/4,664 (20.5%) patients, and hypernatremia in 174/4,664 (3.7%). Both hyponatremia and hypernatremia were associated with mortality and sepsis. Only hyponatremia was associated with IT. In conclusion, hyponatremia and hypernatremia at admission are factors independently associated with mortality and sepsis in patients hospitalized with SARS-COV2 pneumonia. Clinical Trial Registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04334291, NCT04334291.

Risk of atrial fibrillation, stroke, and death after radiofrequency catheter ablation of typical atrial flutter.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence, predictors, and prognostic clinical impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) over time after cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI) ablation of typical atrial flutter (AFL). METHODS: This was a follow-up observational study using 408 patients who underwent CTI AFL ablation between 1998 and 2010. The relationships between the different predictors and the outcomes (AF, stroke, and death) were modeled by means of multistate Cox model analyses. RESULTS: The incident rate of AF per 100 person-years during follow-up was 10.2 (95 % CI 8.7-11.8). Prior AF and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were the only independent variables to predict AF occurrence in the population. Their hazard ratios (HRs) were 2.55 (95 % CI 1.84-3.52) and 1.56 (95 % CI 1.08-2.27), respectively. Patients who transitioned to AF had an increased risk of death by an HR of 2.82 (95 % CI 1.88-4.70) and an increased risk of stroke by an HR of 2.93 (95 % CI 1.12-8.90). Age, COPD, and heart failure (HF) were predictive factors of death by HRs of 1.05 (95 % CI 1.00-1.08), 2.85 (95 % CI 1.39-5.83), and 2.72 (95 % CI 1.15-6.40), respectively. Age, smoking, COPD, and HF were predictive factors of death in the group of patients with AF during follow-up. HRs were 1.07 (95 % CI 1.02-1.12), 2.55 (95 % CI 1.55-4.21), 7.60 (95 % CI 3.01-19.16), and 3.07 (95 % CI 1.18-7.95), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The transition to AF after CTI AFL ablation was high during a long-term follow-up period and maintained over time. Prior AF and COPD were the primary predictors of transition to AF after CTI AFL ablation. Patients who transitioned to AF had an increased risk of stroke and a more than twofold mortality rate. These clinical implications make it necessary to investigate AF after CTI ablation.