Assessment of cardiac and pulmonary function in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common rheumatologic disorder of childhood. It is a group of diseases characterized by chronic synovitis and associated with many extra-articular manifestations including cardiac and pulmonary involvement. Cardiac involvement as pericarditis, myocarditis and valvular disease is common in JIA. There are, however, few descriptions concerning systolic and diastolic functions of the left ventricle (LV) and the development of lung disease in children with JIA. The study was carried out to detect the cardiac and pulmonary involvement and to study the systolic and diastolic function of the left ventricle in a group of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Forty-five children with JIA without any cardiac or pulmonary symptoms and 30 age- and sex-matched controls were included in the study. M-mode, two-dimensional and pulsed Doppler echocardiography (ECHO) was performed on 36 patients. Tissue Doppler ECHO examination was performed on 24 patients to assess systolic and diastolic functions of left ventricle. Pulmonary function tests: Forced vital capacity (FVC%), the predicted forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV(1)%) and FEV(1)/FVC ratio and peak expiratory flow (PEF), total lung capacity (TLC) and residual volume (RV), carbon monoxide diffusing capacity of the lung (DLCO) and DLCO/alveolar volume (VA) were evaluated in 32 patients. Informed consent was obtained from all children's parents. The study protocol was approved by ethical committee of Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University. In this study, children with JIA had higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures, resting heart rate, left ventricle systolic size and volume (4.35 ± 0.68 vs. 3.92 ± 0.28, P value = 0.02). On Doppler and tissue Doppler analysis, the JIA group had lower peak early filling velocity (E, m/s), higher peak atrial filling velocity (A, m/s) and prolonged diastolic E and A waves deceleration times and isovolumic relaxation time (IRT) compared to control. Regarding pulmonary function tests, children with JIA showed significant decrease in FVC, PEF, Pimax, Pemax and DLCO compared to normal controls. This decrease was not related to age, height or weight of these patients. There was significant inverse correlation between lung function parameters and the rheumatoid factor titer, erythrosedimentation rate, disease duration and the duration of methotrexate use (P < 0.01). Despite of an asymptomatic cardiopulmonary status, significant systolic and diastolic functional abnormalities exist in children with JIA. Also, both restrictive and obstructive lung impairments were found.

Aortic Elasticity Indices as Predictors of Coronary Artery Disease Severity Assessed by SYNTAX Score.

Background: Aortic elastic properties have been related to coronary artery disease (CAD) morbidity and mortality. We aimed to assess the relation of aortic elasticity indices to the severity and complexity of CAD assessed using the SYNTAX Score (SS), evaluating which of these indices have better predictivity for CAD severity. Materials and Methods: We prospectively enrolled 150 individuals who underwent elective coronary angiography for suspected CAD, out of them 29 (19.3%) had normal or nonsignificant angiographic findings (Group I), whereas 121 (80.7%) had significant CAD (Group II) for whom the SS was calculated. Echo-derived aortic elasticity indices were performed for all patients. Results: Logistic regression analyses showed that each of aortic distensibility, stiffness index, elastic modulus, aortic strain, and aortic peak early diastolic velocity were predictors for significant CAD and further for more complex CAD as indicated by intermediate-high SS. Receiver operator characteristic curves-derived cutoff points were performed for each of the aortic elasticity indices. Along with diabetes, decreased aortic strain ≤10.2% was the only independent predictor of intermediate-high SS (odds ratio = 4.31, 95% confidence interval = 1.38-13.50, P = 0.01). Conclusion: Simple M-mode derived aortic elasticity indices, particularly aortic strain ≤10.2%, might predict patients with more severe and complex CAD.

Role of 2-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography in diagnosis of right ventricular involvement in patients with inferior wall myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Diagnosis of right ventricular (RV) infarction in the setting of acute inferior wall myocardial infarction (IWMI) has important prognostic implications. We sought to assess the role of 2-D speckle tracking echocardiography (2-D STE) for the assessment of RV involvement in acute IWMI. We included 100 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of recent IWMI, of which 73 had an RCA culprit lesion, undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). Patients (n = 73) were classified into 2 groups based on angiographic evidence of RV involvement (lesions proximal to or involving RV branch versus distal lesions). Echocardiographic features of RV dysfunction were assessed using conventional 2-D echocardiographic, and Tissue Doppler parameters as well as 2-D speckle tracking echocardiography. Out of the 73 patients, 42 had RCA lesion proximal to or involving RV branch, while 31 patients had RCA culprit distal to RV branch. Among different parameters assessing RV function, only RV-FWLS was significantly lower among the former group (- 14.2 ± 4.6 vs. - 17.7 ± 4.2, p = 0.026). Receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that RV-FWLS had the strongest discriminatory capability to identify RV infarction (AUC = 0.7, p = 0.02, 95% CI 0.53-0.78). A cut-off value of RV-FWLS ≤ - 20.5% had 88% sensitivity and 33% specificity for diagnosis of RV infarction. STE-derived RV-FWLS with cutoff ≤ - 20.5% could be a reliable and promising tool for prediction of RV involvement in the setting of acute IWMI, which could guide proper risk stratification and tailored acute management strategy.

Metabolic Scar Assessment with18F-FDG PET: Correlation to Ischemic Ventricular Tachycardia Substrate and Successful Ablation Sites.

The functional and molecular imaging characteristics of ischemic ventricular tachycardia (VT) substrate are incompletely understood. Our objective was to compare regional 18F-FDG PET tracer uptake with detailed electroanatomic maps (EAMs) in a more extensive series of postinfarction VT patients to define the metabolic properties of VT substrate and successful ablation sites. Methods: Three-dimensional (3D) metabolic left ventricular reconstructions were created from perfusion-normalized 18F-FDG PET images in consecutive patients undergoing VT ablation. PET defects were classified as severe (defined as <50% uptake) or moderate (defined as 50%-70% uptake), as referenced to the maximal 17-segment uptake. Color-coded PET scar reconstructions were coregistered with corresponding high-resolution 3D EAMs, which were classified as indicating dense scarring (defined as voltage < 0.5 mV), normal myocardium (defined as voltage > 1.5 mV), or border zones (defined as voltage of 0.5-1.5 mV). Results: All 56 patients had ischemic cardiomyopathy (ejection fraction, 29% ± 12%). Severe PET defects were larger than dense scarring, at 63.0 ± 48.4 cm2 versus 13.8 ± 33.1 cm2 (P < 0.001). Similarly, moderate/severe PET defects (≤70%) were larger than areas with abnormal voltage (≤1.5 mV) measuring 105.1 ± 67.2 cm2 versus 56.2 ± 62.6 cm2 (P < 0.001). Analysis of bipolar voltage (23,389 mapping points) showed decreased voltage among severe PET defects (n = 10,364; 0.5 ± 0.3 mV) and moderate PET defects (n = 5,243; 1.5 ± 0.9 mV, P < 0.01), with normal voltage among normal PET areas (>70% uptake) (n = 7,782, 3.2 ± 1.3 mV, P < 0.001). Eighty-eight percent of VT channel or exit sites (n = 44) were metabolically abnormal (severe PET defect, 78%; moderate PET defect, 10%), whereas 12% (n = 6) were in PET-normal areas. Metabolic channels (n = 26) existed in 45% (n = 25) of patients, with an average length and width of 17.6 ± 12.5 mm and 10.3 ± 4.2 mm, respectively. Metabolic channels were oriented predominantly in the apex or base (86%), harboring VT channel or exit sites in 31%. Metabolic rapid-transition areas (>50% change in 18F-FDG tracer uptake/15 mm) were detected in 59% of cases (n = 33), colocalizing to VT channels or exit sites (15%) or near these sites (85%, 12.8 ± 8.5 mm). Metabolism-voltage mismatches in which there was a severe PET defect but voltage indicating normal myocardium were seen in 21% of patients (n = 12), 41% of whom were harboring VT channel or exit sites. Conclusion: Abnormal 18F-FDG uptake categories could be detected using incremental 3D step-up reconstructions. They predicted decreasing bipolar voltages and VT channel or exit sites in about 90% of cases. Additionally, functional imaging allowed detection of novel molecular tissue characteristics within the ischemic VT substrate such as metabolic channels, rapid-transition areas, and metabolism-voltage mismatches demonstrating intrasubstrate heterogeneity and providing possible targets for imaging-guided ablation.

The role of optical coherence tomography guidance in scaffold versus stent optimization.

BACKGROUND: Optical coherence tomography showed a great ability to identify adverse features during percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents and resulted in better clinical outcomes. The study aimed to assess the impact of optical coherence tomography on intraoperative decision-making during implantation of Absorb bioresorbable scaffolds versus everolimus drug-eluting stents. RESULTS: We performed an observational study that included 223 consecutive patients post optical coherence tomography-guided implantation of either Absorb bioresorbable scaffolds (162 patients) or everolimus drug-eluting stents (61 patients). We studied the influence of optical coherence tomography on intraoperative decision-making during implantation of bioresorbable scaffolds versus drug-eluting stents by analyzing the total rate of optical coherence tomography-dependent modifications in each device. After satisfactory angiographic results, the total rate of required intervention for optical coherence tomography detected complications was significantly higher in the bioresorbable scaffolds arm compared to drug-eluting stents arm (47.8% versus 32.9%, respectively; p = 0.019). The additional modifications encompassed further optimization in the case of device underexpansion or struts malapposition, and even stenting in the case of strut fractures, or significant edge dissection. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to drug-eluting stents, Absord scaffold was associated with a significantly higher rate of optical coherence tomography-identified intraprocedural complications necessitating further modifications. The study provides some hints on the reasons of scaffolds failure in current PCI practice; it offers a new insight for the enhancement of BRS safety and presents and adds to the growing literature for successful BRS utilization.

Intrathecal Morphine Improves Hemodynamic Parameters and Analgesia in Patients Undergoing Aortic Valve Replacement Surgery: A Prospective, Double-Blind, Randomized Trial.

BACKGROUND: Intrathecal morphine (ITM) has been used in hopes of providing good postoperative analgesia in cardiac surgery. Little is known about its use in isolated aortic valve replacement surgery. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects of 7 µ/kg ITM administration in aortic valve replacement in regards to hemodynamics, pain score, and postoperative complications when compared to general anesthesia alone. STUDY DESIGN: A randomized, double-blind trial. SETTING: Academic medical center. METHODS: Forty-four patients, who underwent aortic valve replacement, were randomly assigned to receive ITM, before the induction of general anesthesia (ITM group, n = 22) or no intrathecal injection i.e., general anesthesia alone (control group, n = 22). Induction of anesthesia was done with fentanyl, propofol, and isoflurane. Pain scores, determined by visual analog scale (VAS), were recorded immediately after extubation, at the first, sixth, twelfth, eighteenth, and twenty-fourth hour after extubation. Hemodynamics, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, central venous pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, and cardiac index were recorded intra-operatively and up to 24 hours post-operatively. RESULTS: VAS scores were lower in the ITM group at each measured time than control group (P < 0.01). The cumulative fentanyl consumption during the first 24 hours after extubation was significantly reduced by 35% in the ITM group (951 µg /first 24 hours) as compared to the control group (1463.6 µg /first 24 hours), (P < 0.001). The mean time to first request for rescue analgesia was significantly prolonged in the ITM group (20.11 ± 4.24 hours, P < 0.001) compared with the control group (0.60 ± 0.44 hours). The mean tramadol consumption dose was significantly reduced in the ITM group (279.33 ± 61.35 mg), compared with the control group (895 ± 106.42 mg), (P < 0.001). Hemodynamic parameters exhibited a significant decrease in HR and MAP in the ITM group, but no significant difference was found in regards to CVP, PCWP, and CI. Glyceryl trinitrate consumption in the first 24 hours was significantly reduced by 43% in the ITM group (28.3 mg /first 24 hours) when compared to the control group (145.5 mg /first 24 hours), (P < 0.001). Extubation time (4.5 ± 7.5 vs. 5.3 ± 1.0 hours, P < 0.05) and intensive care unit length of stay (3.7 ± 1.0 vs. 5.6 ± 1.6 days, P < 0.01) were shorter in the ITM group. LIMITATIONS: Small sample size. CONCLUSIONS: In valvular heart disease patients undergoing aortic replacement surgery, ITM is a good adjunct to general anesthesia as a safe and effective analgesic alternative. It provides better hemodynamic control, earlier tracheal extubation, and shorter ICU stay. KEY WORDS: Intrathecal, morphine, fentanyl, analgesia, aortic, cardiac, surgery.

Correlation of corrected QT dispersion with the severity of coronary artery disease detected by SYNTAX score in non-diabetic patients with STEMI.

INTRODUCTION: Determination of the QT interval dispersion by means of a standard ECG at rest has been widely used for cardiovascular risk assessment during the last 15 years as one of the recent explanations for the development of life threatening ventricular arrhythmias. However, little is known about the relation between QT dispersion and the severity of coronary artery atherosclerosis as defined by SYNTAX score. AIM OF WORK: The present study was done to assess the correlation between QTc dispersion and the severity of coronary artery disease in acute ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) detected by SYNTAX score. PATIENTS AND METHODS: It included 50 patients who were non-diabetic, non-hypertensive and diagnosed as acute STEMI within 6 months undergoing coronary angiography in the cath. lab. of Assiut University Hospital. QT dispersion was calculated as the difference between the longest (QT max) and the shortest QT (QTmin) interval recorded by standard 12 lead ECG. The QT interval was corrected by using Bazett's formula (QTc = QT/square root of R-R interval in seconds). Corrected QT dispersion (QTcd) was defined as the difference between the maximum and minimum QTc for a given heart rate. The SYNTAX score is calculated by syntax calculator, a new tool to grade the complexity of coronary artery disease. RESULTS: Out of 50 participating patients, there were 43 (86%) males with mean age 53.9 ± 12.1 years. The mean QTc dispersion was 83.1 ± 20.3 ms, while mean SYNTAX score was 11.6 ± 6.1. There is a strong positive correlation between QTc dispersion and SYNTAX score. This was not related to age, gender, risk factors or family history of ischemic heart disease. Of note, there was a relationship between QTc dispersion and serum creatinine. CONCLUSIONS: Our study concluded that there is a significant positive correlation between corrected QT dispersion and severity of coronary artery disease as assessed by SYNTAX score.