[Three cases of severe chronic diarrhea with a rare cause and a simple therapy]. / Drei Fälle von schwerer chronischer Diarrhö mit seltener Ursache und einfacher Therapie.

We report three cases of severe olmesartan-associated chronic diarrhea with weight loss and malassimilation syndrome. Histologically, a sprue-like enteropathy was diagnosed in each case, while serological tests for celiac disease were negative. After stopping the medication, symptoms improved within a few days. Histologically, remission was documented after 3 months. Olmesartan-associated enteropathy is an underestimated entity and an important differential diagnosis in patients with chronic diarrhea.

Prognostic significance and relationship of worst lead residual ST segment elevation with myocardial damage assessed by cardiovascular MRI in myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation of residual worst lead ST segment elevation (WL-STE) after ST segment myocardial infarction (STEMI) with infarct size and microvascular injury assessed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. BACKGROUND: WL-STE in patients with acute reperfused STEMI has been shown to identify high risk patients for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). However, the relation of WL-STE with myocardial damage is unknown. METHODS: In this multicentre study we analysed ECG data 90 min after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in 763 STEMI patients. WL-STE was defined as the absolute magnitude of STE in the most affected lead on the post-PCI ECG. Patients were categorised into three groups (<1 mm, 1-2 mm, and ≥2 mm). CMR was performed within 1 week after infarction for comprehensive assessment of myocardial damage using a standardised protocol. The primary clinical endpoint was MACE defined as death, reinfarction, and new congestive heart failure within 12 months after infarction. RESULTS: WL-STE <1 mm, 1-2 mm, and ≥2 mm was present in 155 (20%), 328 (43%), and 280 (37%) patients, respectively. Myocardial damage determined by CMR demonstrated a graded relationship of infarct size (median (IQR) 13.3 (6.2-20.3)%LV vs 13.7 (7.6-21.3)%LV vs 22.5 (15.6-31.2)%LV, p<0.001), the myocardial salvage index (60.8 (37.0-84.5) vs 55.0 (36.6-73.9) vs 42.7 (26.2-58.2), p<0.001), and microvascular obstruction (0.0 (0.0-0.9)%LV vs 0.0 (0-1.0)%LV vs 1.2 (0.0-3.6)%LV, p<0.001) across the three groups. WL-STE ≥2 mm was strongly associated with MACE 12 month after infarction (HR 1.93, 95% CI 1.11 to 3.37; p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: This largest CMR study to date correlating post-PCI WL-STE with markers of myocardial damage demonstrates that WL-STE is significantly associated with infarct size, myocardial salvage, microvascular obstruction, and MACE in a high risk STEMI population. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT00712101.