Patient perceptions of cardiovascular risk, lipid management and statins in type 1 diabetes.

Lipid-lowering reduces cardiovascular risk in type 1 diabetes (T1D), but dyslipidaemia remains under-recognised and under-treated. Through patient surveys, barriers to lipid management in T1D were identified, including lack of awareness of cardiovascular risk and cholesterol levels, preference for managing glycaemia over lipids, preference for lifestyle modification over pharmacotherapy, and statin side-effect concerns.

Immunosuppression therapy for idiopathic membranous nephropathy: systematic review with network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic membranous nephropathy is a common cause of nephrotic syndrome in adults. The Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes guidelines recommend rituximab or cyclophosphamide and steroids, or calcineurin inhibitor-based therapy. However, there have been few or no head-to-head comparisons of the relative efficacy and safety of different immunosuppression regimens. We conducted a network meta-analysis to evaluate the comparative efficacy and safety of available immunosuppression strategies compared to cyclophosphamide in adults with idiopathic membranous nephropathy. METHODS: We performed a systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase and CENTRAL for randomized controlled trials in the treatment of adults with idiopathic membranous nephropathy. The primary outcome was complete remission. Secondary outcomes were kidney failure, partial remission, estimated glomerular filtration rate, doubling of serum creatinine, proteinuria, serious adverse events, discontinuation of treatment, serious infection and bone marrow suppression. RESULTS: Cyclophosphamide had uncertain effects on inducing complete remission when compared to rituximab (OR 0.35, CI 0.10-1.24, low certainty evidence), mycophenolate mofetil (OR 1.81, CI 0.69-4.71, low certainty), calcineurin inhibitor (OR 1.26, CI 0.61-2.63, low certainty) or steroid monotherapy (OR 2.31, CI 0.62-8.52, low certainty). Cyclophosphamide had a higher probability of inducing complete remission when compared to calcineurin inhibitor plus rituximab (OR 4.45, CI 1.04-19.10, low certainty). Compared to other immunosuppression strategies, there was limited evidence that cyclophosphamide had different effects on other pre-specified outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The comparative effectiveness and safety of immunosuppression strategies compared to cyclophosphamide is uncertain in adults with idiopathic membranous nephropathy.

Octogenarians and aortic valve surgery: surgical outcomes in the geriatric population.

BACKGROUND: The era of percutaneous aortic valve intervention has challenged the continuing indication for surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). AIM: The aim of this study is to evaluate clinical outcomes of the elderly patients who underwent surgical aortic valve replacement via median sternotomy, in order to assess the impact of surgery on patient outcomes and discharge destination. METHODS: The study involves a retrospective observational analysis in a single centre, including all octogenarian patients who underwent aortic valve surgery between January of 2011 and July of 2016. The study assessed pre-operative co-morbidities and post-operative outcomes, including long-term mortality and discharge destination following on from surgery. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 82.7 years (± 2.9), 67% of whom were male. The mean EuroSCORE II was 8.1 (± 7.6). The most common pre-operative co-morbidities were dyslipidaemia (82%), hypertension (80%), and ischaemic heart disease (78.8%). The median length of stay was 10 days (± 6.9 days). Discharge home occurred in 71.8% of patients, with 21.2% of patients requiring transfer to a rehabilitation facility, and 1.2% of patients required placement into an aged care facility. There were five peri-operative deaths, equating to 5.9% of the cohort. CONCLUSION: Despite high EuroSCORE II values for the majority of our patients, our data adds to overall suggestions that the octogenarian population can be considered eligible for SAVR and should not be excluded due to age alone. The use of the EuroSCORE II index more accurately predicts adequacy for treatment however does not entirely predict overall course of events, and proceduralist discretion should still be used.