Right ventricular infarction: epidemiological, clinical, and angiographic characteristics and the outcomes through the experience of a Moroccan cardiology department.

Background: Acute myocardial infarction (MI) is a major cause of cardiovascular mortality, which is the leading cause of death in the world. Our objective in this study was to evaluate the epidemiological, clinical, and angiographic features of right ventricular infarction (RVI), as well as its complications and its therapeutic approaches. Patients and methods: It is a single-centered retrospective descriptive study conducted over a period of 2 years from November 2018 to October 2020. The authors included 82 patients with RVI hospitalized in the cardiovascular ICU during the initial phase of acute coronary syndrome with persistent ST segment elevation. Patients who were diagnosed with RVI at electrocardiogram and echocardiography were recruited. Results: The authors included 500 patients hospitalized for STEMI, 82 had MI extended to the RV, reflecting a rate of 16.4%. The mean age in our study was 64±12.3 years. Dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension were the most common cardiovascular risk factors among these patients. RVI co-existed with inferior MI in 62.2 of cases and in 37.8% of anterior MI, while isolated RVI was seen in only one patient. Transthoracic echocardiography showed right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction in 24.39% of cases, while RV dilatation was seen in only 10.9% of patients. Therapeutic approach was based essentially on revascularization with thrombolysis and coronary angiography +/- PCI. The percentage of mortality was 2.4%. Conclusion: RVI is relatively rare and is mostly related to an extension of an inferior MI. Early diagnosis, prompt treatment, and appropriate are the keys to improve prognosis, and reduce complications.

The Benefit of an Extensive Cancer Screening Strategy After the First Episode of Unprovoked Pulmonary Embolism.

INTRODUCTION: The etiological assessment after an acute unprovoked pulmonary embolism (PE) represents an essential step in the overall management of the patient, with the aim of adapting the duration and type of anticoagulant to be used, avoiding recurrence and thus improving overall morbidity and mortality, but this is not such a simple question to answer. PURPOSE: The main objective of this work is to know the benefit of a limited etiology strategy versus an extensive strategy after a first episode of acute non-provoked PE, first on all-cause mortality, and then the superiority of one strategy over another on the diagnosis of cancer at 1 year in patients admitted to a cardiac intensive care unit. METHODS: This is a single-center, retrospective study from 2014 to 2021, which includes all patients, admitted to a cardiac intensive care unit for a first episode, at high or high intermediate risk of mortality at day 30. The included patients were divided into 2 groups: those who received a limited cancer screening strategy, and those who received, in addition to the latter, an injected cerebral and cervical-thoracic-abdominal scan, and the determination of tumor markers. All data were extracted from the medical hospital files. RESULTS: In total, we included 130 patients. The mean age of our patients was 87.19 (SD = 6.1), with a female predominance with a percentage of 55.4%. Eighty-seven patients benefited from an extensive cancer screening strategy, versus 43 patients who benefited from a limited strategy. First, for mortality at 1 year, 27 deaths were found between the 2 groups but without significant difference (hazard ratio; 0.53; P = 0.16), and for the mean duration from embolic episode to death, there was a mean of 20 weeks for the limited strategy group and 24 weeks for the extensive strategy group, with a nonsignificant difference ( P = 0.106). For the diagnosis of cancer at 1 year, 28 patients were diagnosed with cancer: 13 patients in the limited strategy group versus 15 in the extensive strategy group, with no significant difference (hazard ratio, 1.983; P = 0.082). The mean time to diagnosis was 22 weeks in the limited strategy group and 20 weeks in the extensive strategy, with no significant difference ( P = 0.729). CONCLUSION: To date, no scientific evidence has been established for the extensive versus the limited strategy, therefore, a minimal etiological workup is also effective in the detection of cancer after unprovoked PE.

Acute coronary syndrome complicating infective endocarditis: A case report with an etiological review.

Introduction: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is an uncommon complication associated with high mortality in patients with endocarditis. It requires prompt and appropriate management to cure the patient. Cases presentation: We report the case of a 52-year-old patient, initially admitted for an acute non-ST-segment elevation coronary syndrome at very high ischemic risk, in whom coronary exploration was negative, and whose echocardiography showed a mobile image on the aortic valve, suggesting infective endocarditis. The patient benefited from an aortic valve replacement because of the size and the embolic complications he presented, with a favorable evolution. Discussion: Acute coronary syndrome during infective endocarditis is a rare complication with a high mortality rate. Several mechanisms are possible: the embolic mechanism, coronary extraluminal compression due to coronary mycotic aneurysm and obstruction of the coronary ostium by a large vegetation. The management remains multidisciplinary and personalized according to the phenotype of the patient, with the need to have the endocarditis team to be able to take the best therapeutic choice. Conclusion: Infective endocarditis must be evoked in any patient without usual cardiovascular risk factors who presents with an ACS that is accompanied by fever and elevated inflammatory markers, and a thorough clinical examination as well as the performance of additional tests.

Pulmonary embolism with junctional tachycardia: A serious complication after COVID-19 vaccination.

Introduction: the association between the development of a thromboembolic event following COVID-19 vaccination is very rare, it represents less than 0.1% of vaccinated cases. Until now this association remains to be discussed. Case presentation: A 49-year-old man presented to the Emergency Department a 7-day after receiving her second dose of BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 (Pfizer-BioNTech), and he was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism (PE) with junctional tachycardia on ECG. The biological workup showed an increase in CRP with elevated D-dimer, but no abnormalities in cardiac markers, including troponin and BNP, the COVID-19 testing was negative and absence of thrombocytopenia. The patient was put under curative anticoagulation by rivaroxabon. Discussion: Studies have reported the association of venous thrombosis after administration of the COVID-19 vaccine with negative FP4 antibodies and normal platelet count which is similar with our patient. Moreover, spike proteins generated by mRNA vaccines can produce a pro-inflammatory state, a cascade of events guiding to endothelial dysfunction and afterwards to the development of venous thrombosis. Conclusion: All the same that some studies association COVID-19 immunizations to the development of VTE, we nevertheless recommend COVID-19 vaccination, due to the rarity of these events, compared to the hypercoagulable effects and other serious complications of COVID-19 infection.

Factors influencing the length of stay in the moroccan intensive care unit in patients surviving critical COVID-19 infection.

Introduction: our objective is to determine the factors that influence the length of hospitalization of patients admitted to an intensive care unit. Methods: We have conducted a mono-centric retrospective cohort of 417 patients admitted in intensive care unit for a critical infection by COVID-19, for this purpose we have realized an analytical study using the linear regression model. Results: In our study, the average length of hospitalization for a critical infection with COVID-19 is 6 days (SD = 7Days), regarding the factors that influence the length of hospitalization, the length of time between the consultation and the onset of symptoms higher thann 8 days affects the length of hospitalization (coefficient = 1.2 days; CI = 0.769; 2.102 and pValue = 0.009), the presence of obesity which also affects the length of hospitalization (Coefficient = 1.6 days CI ((0.009; 3.265), and pValue = 0.049). During hospitalization, the use of mechanical ventilation, the use of tocilizumab, having a billateral nosocomial pneumonia are all factors that impact the length of hospitalization. Conclusion: It is recommended to emphasize the importance of early consultation after the onset of respiratory symptoms in the patients who are admitted to the intensive care unit in order to improve the length of their stay.

Cannabis-induced myocardial infarction in a 27-year-old man: Case report.

Cannabis smoking has been reported as one of the risk factors for coronary heart disease, which can trigger in rare cases, an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). In this report, we present a case of a 27-year-old man presented with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) following cannabis consumption. The patient developed ST-segment elevation on the anterior and inferior leads. Coronary angiogram demonstrated a significant stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). A Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) of the LAD, was realized with the implantation of a new generation-stent with good clinical evolution status. Healthcare professionals should consider cannabis consumption as a possible etiology of acute myocardial infarction, particularly in young patients with a susceptible social profile (drug-using patients with coronary heredity as a cardiovascular risk factor), and should educate patients regarding this emerging public health issue.

A very rare case of chylomicronemia revealed by cerebral thrombophlebitis in a 4-month-old infant.

INTRODUCTION: Hyperchylomicronemia is a disorder of lipid's metabolism that can present fatal complications such us such venous or arterial thrombosis, pancreatitis, and cardiovascular incidents. CASE PRESENTATION: In this report case we report a 4months old patient who was admitted in the emergency room for hypotonia and during the blood sampling we were surprised by the macroscopic latescent aspect of the blood. During the investigations we found that the patient had a fatty cerebral venous thrombosis that revealed hyperchylomicronemia. Furthermore, the patient presented tuberculosis cerebral abscess and stage A pancreatitis and was successfully treated. DISCUSSION: Primary hypertriglyceridemia results from the accumulation of genes polymorphisms encoding for proteins involved in the triglycerides metabolism but before thinking about primary origin a secondary one should be pushed aside. Biological investigations should test lipoprotein lipase activity that can be absent or reduced to confirm a lipid disorder, then lipoprotein electrophoresis and genetic study can deliver the diagnosis. The management of this disease is based on low fat diet that should not be over than 25-30g per day, also statin, fibrate, omega 3 acid, heparin and insulin can be used. CONCLSUION: Adequate treatment and exploration permits to obtain the optimum care to avoid any complications.

Capillary hyperpermeability syndrome: A fatal complication of acute leukaemia: Case report and review.

INTRODUCTION: The capillary hyperpermeability syndrome is a rare disease that should be suspected in the presence of recurrent generalized edema without obvious cause, which may be idiopathic or secondary. CASE PRESENTATION: In this case, we report a Clarkson syndrome secondary to an acute leukemia affecting a 4-year-old child admitted to the emergency room in respiratory and hemodynamic distress with a generalized oedematous syndrome and a bone marrow failure syndrome. Laboratory tests concluded that the patient was suffering from an acute lymphoblastic leukemia, hypoalbuminemia, pericardial effusion, and the absence of any other cause that is in favor of a capillary leak syndrome.In spite of the filling and the introduction of drugs, the cardio respiratory arrest could not be recovered and the child died 24h after his admission. DISCUSSION: It is a rare pathology described for the first time in 1960, generally secondary to a pathological state and more rarely idiopathic, to be evoked in front of clinical and biological parameters which are hypoalbuminemia, hemiconcentration and hypoperfusion, after having eliminated a sepsis in the first place.The treatment is based on the management of the acute phase by filling with crystalloids, drugs or even steroids, and as a preventive treatment of relapses immunoglobulins or theophylline are used. CONCLUSION: The evolution can be quickly fatal, that's why it is necessary to know how to evoke this syndrome in front of a similar clinical presentation.

Special case of a patient in the blast phase of chronic myeloid leukemia successfully treated with tocilizumab during critical SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The medical care of patients with hematological malignancies who develop coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a major challenge during the current pandemic. We herein describe a patient in the blast phase of chronic myeloid leukemia who was hospitalized for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The patient was successfully treated with tocilizumab, and intubation was avoided. The severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection is mostly related to a severe acute respiratory distress syndrome that develops secondary to cytokine release syndrome, and interleukin 6 is the main cytokine involved in cytokine release syndrome. Very few reports have described the use of tocilizumab in patients with hematologic malignancies who develop SARS-CoV-2 infection, although a few cases of patients with multiple myeloma have been reported. To our knowledge, however, this is the first report of a SARS-CoV-2-infected patient in the blast phase of chronic myeloid leukemia who had a favorable response to treatment with tocilizumab. The management of patients with hematological malignancies who become infected with SARS-CoV-2 is a major challenge for practitioners, necessitating more specific research in this direction.

Post Myocardial Infarction Ventricular Septal Rupture Revealed By Acute Liver Failure Symptoms: A Case Report.

INTRODUCTION: The mechanical complications of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) still kill despite the evolution of medicine. Early diagnosis and adequate management are necessary to improve the prognosis, and this requires first, a good clinical examination that should raise the suspicion of a mechanical complication, then the echocardiography is performed to confirm the diagnosis. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a 64-year-old patient admitted to the emergency room for jaundice with delayed ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Physical examination revealed signs of right heart failure, which led us to associate jaundice with signs of acute liver failure secondary to right heart failure. Echocardiography confirmed the diagnosis of a ventricular septal rupture (VSR) with left-right shunt, and a significant dilation of the right ventricle. The patient underwent surgical closure of the VSR with fatal evolution. DISCUSSION: VSR is a rare life-threatening mechanical complication of AMI. The clinical signs depend on the left-right shunt and the onset of heart failure, which are 2 major determinants of the therapeutic strategy and the timing of the surgery. Despite surgical closure of the VSR, the mortality remains high, but the prognosis is better in patients treated with surgery than in patients who are treated medically only. CONCLUSION: The clinical presentation of VSR may differ from a patient to another. Good clinical sense and echocardiography are essential to set early diagnosis, and thus decide on the adequate management at the right time.

Purpura as a late complication of covid-19 infection that should not be ignored: Case report and brief review.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: The SARS COV2 infection is a challenging pandemic that has affected millions of people with a very high mortality rate. In addition to the typical respiratory symptoms, it can also cause variable skin lesions, such as vascular purpura in some exceptional cases. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 60-year-old woman who was admitted for a SARS COV2 infection, the evolution was marked by the appearance of a vascular purpura at D20 after the beginning of the symptoms. DISCUSSION: The cutaneous manifestations associated with the SARS COV2 infection are polymorphic. Vascular purpura is one of them. Its diagnosis is retained in the light of a combination of arguments, which makes it a real challenge for the physician to diagnose it. The management of the disease is based on a symptomatic treatment. The clinical evolution is, in general, favorable. CONCLUSION: Although rare and still not fully explained, skin involvement during SARS COV2 infection has been described. It should not be neglected and it should be diagnosed early and treated appropriately, especially in asymptomatic patients.

Consider systemic capillary leak syndrome in monoclonal gammopathy with shock.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: The cappilary leacking syndrome is a very rare disease that can be idiopathic (clarkson syndrome) or secondary to other pathologys. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of 37-year-old women who was admitted in the emergency room for a hemodynamic shock of neither cardiac nor septic cause, and the patient wasn't presenting any bleeding. The investigations showed that the diagnosis was a Clarkson syndrome crisis and the patient was having supportive treatment containing fluid therapy, vasoactive drugs, and ECMO. And died after 48h of hospitalization. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: the cappilary leacking syndrome is a very fatal affection, its physiopathologis remains unknown. It evoluate by crisis made by hypotension and anasarca, in severe cases it is presented as fatal hypovolemic schock. Biological investigations show hemoconcentration associated with hypoalbunemia which is pathognomonic of the disease. The treatment is essentially based on crisis treatment support by fluid therapy, vasoactives drugs, some practicien report the use of theophilyn for prevention but without any proven efficiency. CONCLUSION: For all this reasons we are in the obligation of investing in fundamental studies to better understand this fatal disease.

Severe hepatic impairment after sevoflurane anesthesia in a 10-month-old child: Case report.

INTRODUCTION: Like other halogenated agents, sevoflurane can potentially cause a toxic reaction including severe hepatic failure which can lead to the death of the patient. However, Halogen immuno-allergic hepatitis is a very rare complication of anesthesia. We reported a 10 months' child who presented a severe hepatic injury after sevoflurane exposure. CASE MANAGEMENT: A 10-month-old child was scheduled for acute intussusception anesthesia, induction was done with sevoflurane and propofol while maintenance of anesthesia was provided by sevoflurane alone. Three days after the operation, he was developed jaundice and altered general condition. A dramatic increase in liver enzymes was observed. The evolution was marked by an alteration of his consciousness and his hemodynamic state, he was intubated. Without improvement, the patient died on the 4th postoperative day. The autopsy was refused by the family. CONCLUSION: These results underscore the need findings for a global and comprehensive understanding of the potential hepatotoxicity of exposure to volatile anesthetics including sevoflurane in infants and its long-term side effects which can be fatal.

Multiple cranial nerve palsies revealing blast crisis in patient with chronic myeloid leukemia in the accelerated phase under nilotinib during severe infection with SARS-COV-19 virus: Case report and review of literature.

Since the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors as primary therapy for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), the prognosis of these patients has improved significantly, and the number of patients who progress to the blast phase has decreased considerably. We report the case of a 35 year-old CML patient in accelerated phase treated with nilotinib, who presents a severe COVID-19 infection requiring non-invasive ventilation, and who subsequently presents a multiple cranial nerve palsy revealing a blast crisis of his CML. Multiple cranial nerve palsy is a sign of neurological involvement of CML in its blast phase. The blast crisis represents a real challenge for the clinician, especially during COVID-19 infection. The treatment remains the association of a tyrosine kinase inhibitors with a chemotherapy protocol, as well as the administration of methotrexate and cytarabine by intrathecal and intravenous infusion in high doses. Despite the importance of the association of CML with COVID-19 infection, there is not yet enough data to know the true impact of this infection on the evolution of this hemopathy.

Acute pericarditis revealing COVID-19 infection: Case report.

The COVID-19 is a global pandemic that is now responsible for more than 2 million deaths around the world. Its clinical manifestations are well known such as fever, fatigue and other respiratory signs like severe cough, dyspnea. Cardiac involvement, however, is less recognized and often underestimated and could be the only manifestation of COVID-19. Case presentation: We report a case of pericarditis as the primary presentation of COVID-19 among a young, healthy individual with no medical background, in the absence of the conventional respiratory signs. The diagnosis was based on a set of clinical, biological, radiological and electrocardiographic findings. In this case, the treatment was based on the use of Colchicine in addition to COVID-19 treatment. The outcome was favorable; noticing regression of symptoms and disappearance of pericardial effusion within two weeks. Clinical discussion: Acute pericarditis has been widely described in literature as probable complication of COVID-19, yet only few articles have reported it as a primary manifestation of COVID-19. Conclusion: Chest pain could be the only presenting symptom of COVID-19 among young, healthy individuals.To that end, clinicians should recognize cardiac involvement of COVID-19 and act accordingly to isolate patients and further limit the spread of the disease.