Tofacitinib in Patients Hospitalized with Covid-19 Pneumonia.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy and safety of tofacitinib, a Janus kinase inhibitor, in patients who are hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pneumonia are unclear. METHODS: We randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, hospitalized adults with Covid-19 pneumonia to receive either tofacitinib at a dose of 10 mg or placebo twice daily for up to 14 days or until hospital discharge. The primary outcome was the occurrence of death or respiratory failure through day 28 as assessed with the use of an eight-level ordinal scale (with scores ranging from 1 to 8 and higher scores indicating a worse condition). All-cause mortality and safety were also assessed. RESULTS: A total of 289 patients underwent randomization at 15 sites in Brazil. Overall, 89.3% of the patients received glucocorticoids during hospitalization. The cumulative incidence of death or respiratory failure through day 28 was 18.1% in the tofacitinib group and 29.0% in the placebo group (risk ratio, 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41 to 0.97; P = 0.04). Death from any cause through day 28 occurred in 2.8% of the patients in the tofacitinib group and in 5.5% of those in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.15 to 1.63). The proportional odds of having a worse score on the eight-level ordinal scale with tofacitinib, as compared with placebo, was 0.60 (95% CI, 0.36 to 1.00) at day 14 and 0.54 (95% CI, 0.27 to 1.06) at day 28. Serious adverse events occurred in 20 patients (14.1%) in the tofacitinib group and in 17 (12.0%) in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients hospitalized with Covid-19 pneumonia, tofacitinib led to a lower risk of death or respiratory failure through day 28 than placebo. (Funded by Pfizer; STOP-COVID ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04469114.).

Prediction of Death After Noncardiac Surgery: Potential Advantage of Using High-Sensitivity Troponin T as a Continuous Variable.

Background Increased high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) above the upper reference limit (URL) after noncardiac surgery identifies patients at risk for mortality. Prior studies have not analyzed hs-cTnT as a continuous variable or probed age- and sex-specific URLs. This study compared the prediction of 30-day mortality using continuous postoperative hs-cTnT levels to the use of the overall URL and age- and sex-specific URLs. Methods and Results Patients (876) >40 years of age who underwent noncardiac surgery were included. Hs-cTnT was measured on postoperative day 1. Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare associations between 30-day mortality and using hs-cTnT as a continuous variable, or above the overall or age- and sex-specific URLs. Comparisons were performed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Mortality was 4.2%. For each 1 ng/L increase in postoperative hs-cTnT, there was a 0.3% increase in mortality (P<0.001). Patients with postoperative hs-cTnT >14 ng/L were 37% of the cohort, while those above age- and sex-specific URLs were 25.3%. Both manifested higher mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 3.19; 95% CI, 1.20-8.49; P=0.020) and (HR, 2.76; P=0.009) than those with normal levels. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.89 using hs-cTnT as a continuous variable, 0.87 for age- and sex-specific URLs, and 0.86 for the overall URL. Conclusions Hs-cTnT as a continuous variable was independently associated with 30-day mortality and had the highest accuracy. Hs-cTnT elevations using overall and/or age- and sex-specific URLs were also associated with higher mortality.

Baseline glucose and left ventricular remodeling after acute myocardial infarction.

In patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), the mechanisms behind the increased mortality related to glucose levels (GL) are poorly understood. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between baseline glucose and left ventricular enlargement (LVE). We analyzed 52 patients with a first ST-elevation AMI <24 h of evolution. Glucose levels were obtained upon admission (median time, 3 h after the beginning of chest pain). The median GL was 123.5 mg/dl, and patients above this limit were considered hyperglycemic (n=26). Left ventricular enlargement was analyzed comparing two radionuclide ventriculographies, the first obtained within 4 days post-AMI (median, 55 h) and the second 6 months later (median, 188.5 days), taking into account the difference in the obtained end-systolic volumes. Myocardial reperfusion was evaluated comparing ST resolution between a first ECG done immediately upon hospital arrival with a second ECG performed 2 h after treatment. By univariate analysis, LVE correlated significantly with baseline hyperglycemia (P<.001), failed reperfusion by ECG criteria (P<.001), and no use of ACE inhibitors or AT1 blockers (P=.046) and aspirin (P=.046). A history of previous diabetes did not correlate significantly with LVE at 6 months. In the adjusted model, basal hyperglycemia (P<.001) and failed reperfusion (P=.001) were the only variables independently correlated with LVE. In conclusion, baseline glucose is a powerful and independent predictor of LVE after AMI, which reinforces the importance of a tight glucose control during the initial phase of the disease.

Prognostic value of acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery according to kidney disease: improving global outcomes definition and staging (KDIGO) criteria.

OBJECTIVES: The definition of acute renal failure has been recently reviewed, and the term acute kidney injury (AKI) was proposed to cover the entire spectrum of the syndrome, ranging from small changes in renal function markers to dialysis needs. This study was aimed to evaluate the incidence, morbidity and mortality associated with AKI (based on KDIGO criteria) in patients after cardiac surgery (coronary artery bypass grafting or cardiac valve surgery) and to determine the value of this feature as a predictor of hospital mortality (30 days). METHODS: From January 2003 to June 2013, a total of 2,804 patients underwent cardiac surgery in our service. Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine the association between the development of AKI and 30-day mortality. RESULTS: A total of 1,175 (42%) patients met the diagnostic criteria for AKI based on KDIGO classification during the first 7 postoperative days: 978 (35%) patients met the diagnostic criteria for stage 1 while 100 (4%) patients met the diagnostic criteria for stage 2 and 97 (3%) patients met the diagnostic criteria for stage 3. A total of 63 (2%) patients required dialysis treatment. Overall, the 30-day mortality was 7.1% (2.2%) for patients without AKI and 8.2%, 31% and 55% for patients with AKI at stages 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The KDIGO stage 3 patients who did not require dialysis had a mortality rate of 41%, while the mortality of dialysis patients was 62%. The adjusted Cox regression analysis revealed that AKI based on KDIGO criteria (stages 1-3) was an independent predictor of 30-day mortality (P<0.001 for all. Hazard ratio = 3.35, 11.94 and 24.85). CONCLUSION: In the population evaluated in the present study, even slight changes in the renal function based on KDIGO criteria were considered as independent predictors of 30-day mortality after cardiac surgery.

Acute Myocardial Infarction due to Coronary Artery Embolism in a Patient with Mechanical Aortic Valve Prosthesis.

Previous cases of coronary embolism as a cause of myocardial infarction (MI) in association with prosthetic mechanical valves have been reported, but the fact that the patient was not aware of the importance of maintaining anticoagulation therapy is relevant in this case. A 16-year-old female was referred for primary coronary intervention due to subacute anterolateral ST elevation MI, after she decided to discontinue warfarin therapy three weeks before. Coronary angiography showed distal occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery with an image suggesting embolic material. Conventional echocardiography demonstrated akinesia of anteroseptal, inferior, and posterior segments of the left ventricle, with severe systolic dysfunction, beyond the intraventricular thrombus. The presence of mechanic aortic prosthesis and no anticoagulation therapy are highly suggestive of coronary embolism as the cause of MI. This case report confirms that patient education is vital in our struggle to prevent this complication in high-risk patients.

Syphilitic coronary artery ostial stenosis resulting in acute myocardial infarction treated by percutaneous coronary intervention.

Cardiovascular abnormalities are well-known manifestations of tertiary syphilis infections which although not frequent, are still causes of morbidity and mortality. A less common manifestation of syphilitic aortitis is coronary artery ostial narrowing related to aortic wall thickening. We report a case of a 46-year-old male admitted due to acute anterior ST elevation myocardial infarction submitted to primary percutaneous coronary intervention successfully. Coronary angiography showed a suboccluded ostial lesion of left main coronary artery. VDRL was titrated to 1/512. The patient was discharged with treatment including benzathine penicillin. Previous case reports of acute myocardial infarction in association with syphilitic coronary artery ostial stenosis have been reported, but the fact that the patient was treated by percutaneous coronary intervention is unique in this case.

Spontaneous Bacterial Pericarditis and Coronary Sinus Endocarditis Caused by Oxacillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus.

This paper describes a case of a 44-year-old male patient previously healthy admitted with an unusual spontaneous acute bacterial pericarditis associated with coronary sinus mass. Two-dimensional echocardiography showed large loculated pericardial effusion with signs of diastolic restriction and an image suggesting vegetation in topography of the right atrium coronary sinus. Pericardial drainage, coronary sinus vegetation resection, and antibiotic therapy with Oxacillin were performed due to Oxacillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus identified on the pericardial effusion and blood culture. This is a rare condition and a unique combination of a spontaneous acute bacterial pericarditis with coronary sinus endocarditis without cardiac valve compromise.

Acute kidney injury after on-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

BACKGROUND: The acute kidney injury (AKI) is a complex disease for which there is no accepted standard definition nowadays. The Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) represents an attempt to standardize the criteria for diagnosis and staging of acute renal dysfunction based on recently published RIFLE criteria, that means, (Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss, and End-stage kidney disease). OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the incidence and associated mortality of AKI in patients submitted to on-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery (on-pump CABG). METHODS: A total of 817 patients were divided into two groups: negative AKI (-), with 421 patients (51.5%), and positive AKI (+), with 396 patients (48.5%). Increase of 0.3 mg/dL in creatinine or of 50% in creatinine's basal value was considered as AKI. RESULTS: The rate of patient's mortality with or without AKI within 30 days after cardiac surgery was 12.6% and 1.4%, respectively (p<0.0001). In a multivariate logistic regression model, AKI after on-pump CABG was an independent predictor of death within 30 days (OR=6.7; p=0.0002). This group of patients presented a longer period of permanency in intensive care unit (ICU) [median 2 days (2 to 3) versus 3 days (2 to 5); p=0.0001] and a bigger proportion of patients with prolonged permanence in intensive care (>14 days) (14 versus 2%; p=0.0001). CONCLUSION: In the studied population, even a discrete alteration in renal function, based on AKIN criteria, was an independent predictor of death in 30 days after on-pump CABG.

Elevated troponin levels after prolonged supraventricular tachycardia in patient with normal coronary angiography.

The European Society of Cardiology and the American College of Cardiology redefined the concept of myocardial infarction in the presence of highly positive markers of myocardial injury associated with at least one of the following: ischemic symptoms; development of pathologic Q waves on the ECG or ECG changes indicative of ischemia (positive or negative deviation of the ST segment), making troponins one of the most important aspects in the evaluation and stratification of patients with chest pain in the emergency room. However, although troponin gives excellent accuracy in the identification of myocardial necrosis, it is known that it can also be elevated in a series of nonatherosclerotic heart diseases. We present the case of a 49-year-old female patient admitted to the Chest Pain Unit with a history of supraventricular tachycardia associated with chest discomfort, nausea and diaphoresis. During risk stratification, the patient presented with a high serum troponin T level (0.143 ng/ml) but with a normal coronary angiography.