Assessment of abdominal aortic calcification by computed tomography for prediction of latent left ventricular stiffness and future cardiovascular risk in pre-dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease: A single center cross-sectional study.

Introduction: There is general interest in finding clinical markers for left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD), a major cause of cardiorenal syndrome leading to heart failure in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. The aim was to assess the utility of computed tomography (CT)-based abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) for the prediction of LVDD and prognosis of asymptomatic pre-dialysis CKD patients. Materials and methods: We prospectively evaluated 218 pre-dialysis CKD patients [median estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR); 40.9 mL/min/1.73m²]. Non-contrast CT scan and echocardiography were performed to determine the aortic calcification index (ACI) as a semi-quantitative measure of AAC. Results: The median ACI was 11.4. AAC and LVDD were diagnosed in 193 patients (89%) and 75 patients (34%), respectively. Using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for the estimation of LVDD, ACI of 20 showed optimal sensitivity (52.0%) and specificity (62.8 %) (AUC = 0.664, p < .001). High ACI group included more patients with LVDD-related factors, such as old age, hypertension, diabetes, and more severe CKD. LVDD was significantly more common in patients with high ACI group [39 (50%) and 36 (26%), respectively, p<0.001]. Multivariate analysis showed that ACI correlated significantly with E/A (ß=-0.993, p=0.003), E/e' (ß=0.077, p<0.001), and cardio-ankle vascular index (ß=0.209, p=0.001). Correspondingly, E/e' correlated with logBNP and log(ACI+1), and increased proportionately and significantly with the quartiles of ACI values. Cox proportional hazard models showed that ACI was an independent predictor of CV outcome (hazard ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval 1.00-1.06, p=0.029). Conclusion: The results would suggest the usefulness of AAC assessment by CT to predict latent LVDD and future CV risk in asymptomatic pre-dialysis CKD patients.

Impact of nutritional assessment and body mass index on cardiovascular outcomes in patients with stable coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: An inverse association between obesity, as defined by body mass index (BMI) and prognosis has been reported in patients with cardiovascular disease ("obesity paradox"). The aim of this study was to investigate whether adding nutritional information to BMI provides better risk assessment in patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHOD: This study comprised 1004 patients undergoing elective PCI. We calculated each patient's controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score for nutritional screening at baseline. Patients were divided into 4 groups based on CONUT score (low, 0-1 [<75th percentile]; or high, ≥2 [≥75th percentile]) and BMI (normal, 18.5-24.9kg/m2; or high, ≥25kg/m2). The endpoint was major adverse cardiac events (MACE) defined as cardiac death and/or myocardial infarction. RESULTS: Low CONUT score+normal BMI, low CONUT score+high BMI, high CONUT score+normal BMI, and high CONUT score+high BMI were determined in 374, 242, 275, and 113 patients, respectively. During a median follow-up of 1779 days, 73 events occurred. High CONUT score+normal BMI showed a 2.72-fold increase in the incidence of MACE (95% CI 1.46-5.08, p=0.002) compared with low CONUT score+normal BMI after adjusting for confounding factors. On the other hand, no significant difference in the incidence of MACE was observed in the other three groups. CONCLUSION: The combination of CONUT score and BMI was a useful predictor of MACE in this population. Using BMI to assess the cardiovascular risk may be misleading unless the nutritional information is considered.

Coronary artery calcification scores improve contrast-induced nephropathy risk assessment in chronic kidney disease patients.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is an independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the predictive value of CAC scores for the incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) after cardiac catheterization in non-dialyzed CKD patients. METHODS: The present study evaluated a total of 140 CKD patients who underwent cardiac catheterization. Patients were stratified into two groups based on the optimal cut-off value of the CAC score, which was graded by a non-triggered, routine diagnostic chest computed tomography scan: CAC score ≥8 (high CAC group); and CAC score <8 (low CAC group). CIN was defined as an increase of >10 % in the baseline serum cystatin C level at 24 h after contrast administration. RESULTS: The mean estimated glomerular filtration rate levels were 41.1 mL/min/1.73 m2, and the mean contrast dose administered was 37.5 mL. Patients with high CAC scores exhibited a higher incidence of CIN than patients with low CAC scores (25.5 vs. 3.2 %, p < 0.001). After multivariate adjustment for confounders, the CAC score predicted CIN (odds ratio 1.68, 95 % confidence interval 1.28-2.21, p < 0.001). Moreover, the C-index for CIN prediction significantly increased when the CAC scores were added to the Mehran risk score (0.855 vs. 0.760, p = 0.023). CONCLUSION: CAC scores, as evaluated using semi-quantitative methods, are a simple and powerful predictor of CIN. Incorporating the CAC score in the Mehran risk score significantly improved the predictive ability to predict CIN incidence.

The combination assessment of lipid pool and thrombus by optical coherence tomography can predict the filter no-reflow in primary PCI for ST elevated myocardial infarction.

The usefulness of distal protection devices is still controversial. Moreover, there is no report on thrombus evaluation by using optical coherence tomography (OCT) for determining whether to use a distal protection device. The aim of the present study was to investigate the predictor of filter no-reflow (FNR) by using OCT in primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ST-elevated acute myocardial infarction (STEMI).We performed preinterventional OCT in 25 patients with STEMI who were undergoing primary PCI with Filtrap. FNR was defined as coronary flow decreasing to TIMI flow grade 0 after mechanical dilatation.FNR was observed in 13 cases (52%). In the comparisons between cases with or without the FNR, the stent length, lipid pool length, lipid pool + thrombus length, and lipid pool + thrombus index showed significant differences. In multivariate analysis, lipid pool + thrombus length was the only independent predictor of FNR (OR 1.438, 95% CI 1.001 - 2.064, P < .05). The optimal cut-off value of lipid pool + thrombus length for predicting FNR was 13.1 mm (AUC = 0.840, sensitivity 76.9%, specificity 75.0%). Moreover, when adding the evaluation of thrombus length to that of lipid pool length, the prediction accuracy of FNR further increased (IDI 0.14: 0.019-0.25, P = .023).The longitudinal length of the lipid pool plus thrombus was an independent predictor of FNR and the prediction accuracy improved by adding the thrombus to the lipid pool. These results might be useful for making intraoperative judgment about whether filter devices should be applied in primary PCI for STEMI.

Impact of adipose tissue composition on cardiovascular risk assessment in patients with stable coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Visceral adipose tissue (VAT), unlike subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), is highly correlated with cardiovascular risk factors. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of adipose tissue composition, as measured by computed tomography, for cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary artery disease. METHODS: 357 consecutive patients who underwent 64-slice computed tomography and elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were recruited. The ratio of visceral to subcutaneous adipose tissue (VAT/SAT) was calculated. Patients were divided into three groups in accordance with VAT/SAT (low VAT/SAT, <0.55 [<25th percentile]; moderate VAT/SAT, 0.55-1.03 [25th-75th percentile]; high VAT/SAT, ≥1.03 [≥75th percentile]). The investigated risk factors were hypertension, hyperglycaemia, and dyslipidaemia. We analysed the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), defined as the composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and any revascularization. RESULTS: The rate of patients with two or more concomitant risk factors was significantly higher in the high VAT/SAT group (p = 0.006). During 1480 person-years, 109 events were documented. There was a significant association between the incidence of MACE and VAT/SAT, with the worst event-free survival rate in the high VAT/SAT group (log-rank, p = 0.01). In Cox analysis, the hazard ratio of high VAT/SAT for MACE was 2.72 (95% confidence interval 1.04-7.09, p = 0.04) compared with the low VAT/SAT after adjustment for confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS: Increased VAT/SAT is independently associated with the incidence of MACE, indicating that adipose tissue composition is a useful predictor of cardiovascular outcome, after elective PCI.

Assessment of In-Stent Restenosis Using High-Definition Computed Tomography With a New Gemstone Detector.

BACKGROUND: Until now, there have been few reports on the accuracy of in-stent restenosis (ISR) detection using high-definition computed tomography (HDCT). The purpose of this study was to assess ISR using HDCT with a new gemstone detector and to examine the diagnostic accuracy compared with invasive coronary angiography. METHODS AND RESULTS: We evaluated 162 consecutive patients with 316 stents and the image quality (IQ) scores used to assess ISR, and analyzed whether stent strut thickness and diameter affected IQ score and assessability. In the 316 stents, 278 were diagnosed as assessable with HDCT (88.0%). IQ score for stent diameter ≥3 mm was significantly higher than that for stent diameter <3 mm, for stents with both thick struts ≥140 µm in thickness (mean IQ: 2.04±0.97 vs. 2.83±1.06, P<0.001) and thin struts <140 µm (mean IQ: 1.92±0.87 vs. 2.64±0.96, P=0.01). Assessability for stent diameter ≥3 mm was significantly higher than that for stent diameter <3 mm only for stents with thick struts (92.8% vs. 76.1%, P<0.001). Stent strut thickness, however, was not statistically significantly associated with either IQ score or assessability. CONCLUSIONS: In-stent lumens have high HDCT assessability, and HDCT is useful to evaluate thick-strut stents with diameter <3 mm.

Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index in the context of detecting depression in diabetic patients.

The present study had two aims. The first was to evaluate the reliability and the validity of the Japanese version of the World Health Organization (WHO)-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5-J) as a brief well-being scale. The second was to examine the discriminatory validity of this test as a screening tool for current depressive episodes in diabetic patients. A sample of 129 diabetic patients completed the WHO-5-J. Of these, 65 were also interviewed by psychiatrists to assess whether they had any current depressive episodes according to DSM-IV. The internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha, the Loevinger coefficient of homogeneity, and factor analysis. The external concurrent validity was evaluated by correlations with the external scales potentially related to subjective well-being. Discriminatory validity was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Cronbach's alpha and the Loevinger coefficient were estimated to be 0.89 and 0.65, respectively. A factor analysis identified only one factor. The WHO-5-J was significantly correlated with a number of major diabetic complications, depression, anxiety, and subjective quality of life. ROC analysis showed that the WHO-5-J can be used to detect a current depressive episode (area under curve: 0.92; 95% confidence interval: 0.85-0.98). A cut-off of <13 yielded the best sensitivity/specificity trade-off: sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 78%. The WHO-5-J was thus found to have a sufficient reliability and validity, indicating that it is a useful instrument for detecting current depressive episodes in diabetic patients.