Characteristics, management, and outcomes of active cancer patients with cardiogenic shock.

AIMS: Characteristics, management, and outcomes of patients with active cancer admitted for cardiogenic shock remain largely unknown. This study aimed to address this issue and identify the determinants of 30-day and 1-year mortality in a large cardiogenic shock cohort of all aetiologies. METHODS AND RESULTS: FRENSHOCK is a prospective multicenter observational registry conducted in French critical care units between April and October 2016. 'Active cancer' was defined as a malignancy diagnosed within the previous weeks with planned or ongoing anticancer therapy. Among the 772 enrolled patients (mean age 65.7 ± 14.9 years; 71.5% male), 51 (6.6%) had active cancer. Among them, the main cancer types were solid cancers (60.8%), and hematological malignancies (27.5%). Solid cancers were mainly urogenital (21.6%), gastrointestinal (15.7%), and lung cancer (9.8%). Medical history, clinical presentation, and baseline echocardiography were almost the same between groups. In-hospital management significantly differed: patients with cancers received more catecholamines or inotropes (norepinephrine 72% vs. 52%, P = 0.005 and norepinephrine-dobutamine combination 64.7% vs. 44.5%, P = 0.005), but had less mechanical circulatory support (5.9% vs. 19.5%, P = 0.016). They presented a similar 30-day mortality rate (29% vs. 26%) but a significantly higher mortality at 1-year (70.6% vs. 45.2%, P < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, active cancer was not associated with 30-day mortality but was significantly associated with 1-year mortality in 30-day survivors [HR 3.61 (1.29-10.11), P = 0.015]. CONCLUSION: Active cancer patients accounted for almost 7% of all cases of cardiogenic shock. Early mortality was the same regardless of active cancer or not, whereas long-term mortality was significantly increased in patients with active cancer.

Arrhythmogenic effect of flecainide toxicity.

Flecainide is a class 1C antiarrhythmic drug especially used for the management of supraventricular arrhythmia. In overdose cases, flecainide can induce life treating ventricular arrhythmias and cardiogenic shock. We report the case of a 72-year-old woman admitted to our intensive care unit for a regular monomorphic wide complex tachycardia (QRS duration 240 ms, right bundle branch block and superior axis morphology) without apparent P waves. Clinical examination showed slight left congestive heart failure signs without cardiogenic shock. An intravenous bolus of 10 mg adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) was ineffective to stop the tachycardia. The diagnosis of ventricular tachycardia induced by flecainide overdose was considered. 500 mL of intravenous 84‰ sodium bicarbonate was administrated. The patient's QRS narrowed immediately and 12-lead ECG showed sinus rhythm. Blood samples confirmed the flecainide overdose and the clinical status progressively improved.

Churg-Strauss syndrome presenting with acute myocarditis and cardiogenic shock.

Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) is a multisystem disorder characterised by asthma, prominent peripheral blood eosinophilia, and vasculitis signs. We report the case of a 22 year-old man admitted to the intensive care unit for acute myocarditis complicated with cardiogenic shock. Eosinophilia, history of asthma, lung infiltrates, paranasal sinusitis, glomerulonephritis, and abdominal pain suggested the diagnosis of CSS. Cardiac MRI confirmed cardiac involvement with a diffuse subendocardial delayed enhancement of the left ventricular wall, and a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 30%. Acute myocarditis was confirmed with myocardial biopsy. The patient was successfully treated with systemic corticosteroids, intravenous cyclophosphamide, vasopressor inotropes, intra-aortic balloon pump and mechanical ventilation, and was discharged 21 days later. One year after diagnosis, the patient was asymptomatic. The eosinophilic cell count was normal. Follow-up MRI at one year showed LVEF of 40% with persistent delayed enhancement. Cardiac involvement by CSS requires immediate therapy with corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide, which may allow recovery of the cardiac function.

Impact of stroke on therapeutic decision making in infective endocarditis.

The diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) must be made as soon as possible to initiate antimicrobial therapy and identify patients at high risk for complications who may be best managed by early surgery. Cerebral complications make the timing of cardiac surgery difficult. The safety of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) surgery in stroke patients remains controversial. Stroke complicates the outcome of left-sided IE in 20-40% of cases and is associated with poor outcome. The risk of stroke in IE falls rapidly after the initiation of effective antimicrobial therapy. The risk of embolization is highest during the first week of therapy, and in patients with mobile vegetations or vegetations >10 mm in diameter occurring on the anterior mitral leaflet. Indications for valvular surgery are significant congestive heart failure or valvular regurgitation, myocardial abscess, persistent bacteremia and large-size vegetations with high risk of embolism. Decisions regarding surgical intervention in patients with IE should be individualized. In the absence of large prospective studies, optimal timing of surgery is still discussed when stroke complicates IE. A multidisciplinary assessment of the situation, involving cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, infectiologists and neurologists, is recommended. Estimating the risk of recurrence after a first embolic event and careful evaluation of the indication for valve replacement are essential steps in making the therapeutic decision. Surgery should be delayed if possible in the event of large cerebral infarction or ICH in order to prevent neurological deterioration. It has been suggested that valve replacement should be considered within the first 72 h if the patients with brain infarction have severe heart failure, otherwise after 4 weeks. Early surgery appears safe in patients presenting transient ischemic attacks or "silent" cerebral embolism.

Noninvasive assessment of the prevalence and characteristics of coronary atherosclerotic plaques by multidetector computed tomography in asymptomatic type 2 diabetic patients at high risk of significant coronary artery disease: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: There is a need to identify diabetic patients at risk of cardiovascular events before symptom onset. AIMS: To evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of coronary atherosclerotic plaques in asymptomatic type 2 diabetic patients with coronary risk factors but without known coronary artery disease, using multidetector computed tomography. METHODS: High-resolution 40-slice coronary computed tomography was performed prospectively in 42 consecutive type 2 diabetic patients (mean age 62 years; range 50-77 years; 28 men) with over one or more carotid atherosclerotic plaque and no coronary artery disease symptoms. Computed tomography data were evaluated for calcium score and the presence of coronary plaques. Plaque type, distribution, extensive character and obstructive nature were determined per patient for each segment. RESULTS: No plaques were detected in 11 (26.2%) patients. Atherosclerotic plaques were detected in 31 (73.8%) patients. A total of 147 coronary segments with plaque were identified, of which 11 (7.5%) contained hypodense plaques, 28 (19%) mixed plaques and 108 (73.5%) calcified plaques. Hypodense plaques were noted in 4/15 (26.7%) patients without coronary calcifications. Most calcified and hypodense plaques resulted in lumen narrowing of less than 50%; most mixed plaques resulted in lumen narrowing greater than 50%. Obstructive disease was detected in 9/11 patients with a high calcium score (>400). CONCLUSION: This preliminary study demonstrates that a high proportion of asymptomatic type 2 diabetic patients present without coronary plaques detectable by multidetector computed tomography, despite concomitant carotid atherosclerotic lesions. Computed tomography seems to detect a high proportion of plaques compared with conventional angiography in these specific patients.

The right axillary artery approach for the Impella Recover LP 5.0 microaxial pump.

As a ventricular unloading catheter, the Impella Recover LP 5.0 (Abiomed, Danvers, MA) is appropriate for temporary circulatory assistance in severe left ventricular dysfunction. We describe a new implantation approach to the right axillary artery with the aims of avoiding vascular problems due to atherosclerosis of the peripheral arteries and improving patient mobility and rehabilitation during mechanical support.

Postconditioning the human heart.

BACKGROUND: In animal models, brief periods of ischemia performed just at the time of reperfusion can reduce infarct size, a phenomenon called postconditioning. In this prospective, randomized, controlled, multicenter study, we investigated whether postconditioning may protect the human heart during coronary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty patients, submitted to coronary angioplasty for ongoing acute myocardial infarction, contributed to the study. Patients were randomly assigned to either a control or a postconditioning group. After reperfusion by direct stenting, control subjects underwent no further intervention, whereas postconditioning was performed within 1 minute of reflow by 4 episodes of 1-minute inflation and 1-minute deflation of the angioplasty balloon. Infarct size was assessed by measuring total creatine kinase release over 72 hours. Area at risk and collateral blood flow were estimated on left ventricular and coronary angiograms. No adverse events occurred in the postconditioning group. Determinants of infarct size, including ischemia time, size of the area at risk, and collateral flow, were comparable between the 2 groups. Area under the curve of creatine kinase release was significantly reduced in the postconditioning compared with the control group, averaging 208 984+/-26 576 compared with 326,095+/-48,779 (arbitrary units) in control subjects, ie, a 36% reduction in infarct size. Blush grade, a marker of myocardial reperfusion, was significantly increased in postconditioned compared with control subjects: 2.44+/-0.17 versus 1.95+/-0.27, respectively (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that postconditioning by coronary angioplasty protects the human heart during acute myocardial infarction.

150 microgram intracoronary adenosine bolus for accurate fractional flow reserve assessment of angiographically intermediate coronary stenosis.

AIMS: Fractional flow reserve measurement is based upon achieving maximum hyperemia. A 40 microg intracoronary (IC) adenosine bolus sometimes seems insufficient, and we therefore sought to assess the possible role of 100-150 microg boli in routine. METHODS AND RESULTS: 108 intermediate (49+/-16%) stenoses were consecutively studied with 6F catheters. A history of myocardial infarction in the territory of the explored artery or myocardial hypertrophy were the exclusion criteria. Mean FFR was 0.82+/-0.12 with a 40 microg adenosine bolus and decreased to 0.80+/-0.12 and 0.80+/-13 respectively with 100microg and 150 microg boli (P<0.001 vs 40microg in both cases; 100 vs 150 microg, NS). The 40 microg bolus failed to diagnose 8 out of 30 (27%) significant stenoses (i.e., final FFR <0.75). The large boli led to 12 (11%) transient asymptomatic and spontaneously resolving AV blocks without other side-effects. CONCLUSION: FFR underestimated a quarter of intermediate stenoses with the currently used 40microg IC adenosine bolus. A large bolus up to 150 microg appears to be accurate and safe for routine FFR measurement.

Abdominal CT angiography before surgery as a predictor of postoperative death in acute aortic dissection.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of our study was to search for a relationship between postoperative death in acute aortic dissection and abdominal helical CT findings before surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively included 48 patients admitted to our institution for emergent surgery of acute aortic dissection diagnosed with helical CT angiography. We recorded postoperative deaths and analyzed abdominal helical CT vessels and parenchymal abnormalities, including the presence of dissected abdominal aortic branches, a compressed aortic lumen, and low enhancement of the parenchyma in abdominal organs. RESULTS: Among the 48 patients, 11 died after surgery. Postoperative death occurred in one of five patients with low enhancement of the parenchyma in one abdominal organ and in seven of eight patients with low enhancement of the parenchyma in at least two abdominal organs. The postoperative death rates strongly correlated with the number of low-enhanced abdominal organs per patient (p < 0.00005) but did not correlate with the number of dissected abdominal aortic branches. CONCLUSION: The rate of abdominal organs with low enhancement of the parenchyma seen on CT before surgery is a strong factor in outcome in patients with acute aortic dissection. Additional analysis of low enhancement of the parenchyma in abdominal organs on CT might be a useful tool to detect, before surgery, patients at risk of postoperative death.