Prognostic value of cystatin C on admission in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

BACKGROUND: Cystatin C has emerged as a new biomarker of renal function that has been found to predict adverse cardiovascular outcomes, especially heart failure (HF). Evidence of the usefulness of cystatin C in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) remains sparse. It is hypothesized that serum cystatin C levels in HFPEF has prognostic value. METHODS AND RESULTS: Cystatin C, urea nitrogen, creatinine, and N-terminal proBNP-type natriuretic peptide levels were measured on admission in 218 consecutive patients with HF and left ventricular ejection fraction >45%, as measured by Doppler echocardiography. The primary end point was all-cause mortality and/or readmission at 1 year. We determined the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) by Cox regression model. During the 1-year follow-up period, 70 patients (32.2%) died, and 126 patients (57.8%) died and/or required rehospitalization. Serum cystatin C levels by quartiles were associated with increased risk for adverse events. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed significantly increased primary end point with each quartile of cystatin C (log rank <0.001). Patients in the highest quartile of cystatin C level were at increased adjusted risk for the primary end point (HR 3.40; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.86-6.21; P < .0001) and all-cause mortality (HR 8.14; 95% CI 1.21-23.26; P < .01). Furthermore, high serum cystatin C levels were also associated with poor prognosis despite normal or mildly reduced renal function. CONCLUSIONS: Serum cystatin C level on admission in patients with HFPEF is a strong and independent predictor of an unfavorable outcome. This relationship remains in patients without advanced renal dysfunction.

[Lipid kinetics during dual antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C]. / Cinética lipídica en el tratamiento antiviral dual en pacientes con hepatitis crónica C.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: We analyzed baseline and kinetic characteristics of lipid metabolism during the first month of bitherapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 (CHC-1). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A longitudinal, prospective study including 99 naïve CHC-1 patients with liver biopsy who were treated with bitherapy. Our patients were assigned to one of 5 different "degrees of lipid requirement" that we established depending on the degree of liver fibrosis, baseline viral load and infectivity ratio (ratio between the median level of triglycerides and high densitity lipoproteins-cholesterol during the first month). The goal was to achieve "a favorable lipid metabolism" (FLM) by establishing a necessary minimum level of low density lipoproteins (LDL)-cholesterol during this period for each one of them. We also analyzed the relationship with the rate of sustained virological response. RESULTS: Patients with liver fibrosis F3-F4 who had higher baseline levels of LDL-cholesterol achieved higher rates of sustained virological response. Those patients who had a lower value of infectivity ratio and median levels of LDL-cholesterol during the first month of bitherapy also achieved higher rates of sustained virological response: SVR group 100 (23) mg/dl against non-SVR group: 89 (28) mg/dl; odds ratio 1.1; 95% confidence interval (1.0-1.2); P<.05, these differences being more significant for genotype IL-28B-CC (P=.013). Patients with sustained virological response had higher rates of FLM. CONCLUSIONS: Not every patient with CHC-1 has the same lipid kinetics during the first month of bitherapy, and it is necessary to achieve a sustained virological response and/or a FLM to keep higher plasma levels of LDL-cholesterol during this period. Those subjects without FLM could benefit from statins.

Bronchial hyperreactivity in patients who inhale heroin mixed with cocaine vaporized on aluminum foil.

BACKGROUND: In our area, inhaling heroin mixed with cocaine vaporized on aluminum foil, known as rebujo, is becoming more and more common. AIM: To define the prevalence and the characteristics of bronchial disease (wheezing, bronchial hyperreactivity [BHR], and asthma) present in subjects inhaling heroin mixed with cocaine vaporized on aluminum foil. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety-one subjects who inhaled the drug mixture were included in the study: 62 subjects were from a drug rehabilitation center (INH-I group), and 29 subjects were among patients admitted to our hospital for a variety of reasons (INH-II group). A questionnaire was completed in both groups, as well as IgE determination and lung function tests (spirometry and methacholine challenge). The control group consisted of 122 individuals who did not inhale the drug mixture, and were chosen randomly from the general population (NO-INH group). All subjects were tobacco smokers. RESULTS: In the INH-I group, there was a 41.9% prevalence of wheezing over the past 12 months, a 44.4% prevalence of BHR, and a 22.02% prevalence of asthma, defined as wheezing plus BHR. In the NO-INH group, these values were 32.78% (p = 0.22), 15.57% (p < 0.0001), and 8.19% (p < 0.01), respectively. Of the subjects who inhaled the drug mixture and denied having symptoms prior to the use of the drug mixture, 31.4% had wheezing develop after commencing use of the drug, following a mean latency of 4.09 months. Wheezing remitted in only 7.6% after discontinuation of the drug. CONCLUSIONS: (1) There is a real increase in BHR in subjects who inhale heroin mixed with cocaine vaporized on aluminum foil; and (2) this BHR is associated with wheezing that develops after a variable period of latency, once drug inhalation begins, and persists despite discontinuation of the drug.

Heart failure mortality according to acute variations in N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide and cystatin C levels.

AIM: Changes in N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels and cystatin C (CysC) are predictors of adverse outcomes in acute heart failure. This study assess whether NT-proBNP variations might provide independent information in addition to that obtained from CysC levels. METHODS: NT-proBNP levels were assessed in patients admitted due to acute heart failure using an observational study. Patients were classified as follows: group 1, those with a decrease in NT-proBNP levels of at least 30% from admission to 4 weeks after discharge; group 2, those with no significant changes in levels; and group 3, those who showed an increase in NT-proBNP of 30%. A multivariable Cox regression model and c-statistics were used. The primary end-point was all-cause mortality at 1-year follow-up. RESULTS: A total of 195 patients completed the follow-up. The mortality rate reached 20.5% (40 patients); 14 out of the 32 in group 3. The cumulative incidence of death, according to the change in NT-proBNP and Kaplan-Meier analysis, showed a significant increase in group 3 (log-rank P = 0.004). In the multivariable analysis, NT-proBNP variation for group 3 (hazard ratio 4.27; P <0.001) and for group 2 (hazard ratio 2.19; P = 0.043) in comparison with group 1 were independently associated with all-cause mortality, as well as anemia, hyponatremia, and admission CysC levels. Patients in group 3, and those with levels of serum CysC above the median, were also associated with slight increase in mortality. CONCLUSION: An increase of at least 30% in NT-proBNP levels after hospitalization is related to all-cause mortality in patients with acute heart failure and provides supplementary prognostic information in patients with high levels of CysC. A decrease in NT-proBNP of at least 30% is a desirable target to achieve.