Pulmonary artery catheter usage in diagnosis of Shoshin beriberi presented with unexplained lactic acidosis.

Wet beriberi is a rare but fatal disease in modern society. The nonspecific clinical manifestations, including symptoms of heart failure and recalcitrant lactic acidosis, can prevent timely diagnosis. The use of a pulmonary artery catheter can promptly confirm a high cardiac output state and plays a crucial role in rapidly deteriorating cases. Appropriate treatment with intravenous administration of thiamine leads to dramatic recovery within hours. We present two cases of Shoshin beriberi, a fulminant variant of wet beriberi, diagnosed in 2016 and 2022 at our institute. The patients experienced haemodynamic collapse and refractory lactic acidosis, which were successfully diagnosed with the use of a pulmonary artery catheter and reversed by thiamine supplementation. We also reviewed 19 cases of wet beriberi reported between 2010 and 2022.

Dabigatran, Rivaroxaban, and Warfarin in the Oldest Adults with Atrial Fibrillation in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the effectiveness and safety of reduced-dose dabigatran, reduced-dose rivaroxaban, and warfarin in individuals aged 85 and older with atrial fibrillation (AF). DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Taiwan National Health Insurance claims database, 2011∼2015. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals with AF aged 85 and older (mean 88.6) with incident use of oral anticoagulants between June 1, 2012 and May 31, 2015 (N=4,722; dabigatran 110 mg, n=1,489; rivaroxaban 15 mg/10 mg, n=1,736; warfarin, n=1,497). MEASUREMENTS: Clinical outcomes included all-cause death, cardiovascular death, ischemic stroke, acute myocardial infarction, arterial embolism or thrombosis, intracranial hemorrhage, and gastrointestinal hemorrhage needing transfusion. Propensity score-matched analysis was performed, and the marginal proportional hazards model was used to estimate the relative risk of various clinical outcomes in a matched dabigatran-warfarin cohort (n=1,180 in each group) and a rivaroxaban-warfarin cohort (n=1,207 in each group) RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 6.6 months for the overall population. Dabigatran group participants had lower risks of all-cause death (hazard ratio (HR)=0.59, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.45-0.77) and cardiovascular death (HR=0.45, 95% CI=0.30-0.68) than warfarin group participants. Rivaroxaban users also had lower risks of all-cause death (HR=0.61, 95% CI=0.47-0.79) and cardiovascular death (HR=0.52, 95% CI=0.35-0.75) than warfarin users. Dabigatran users also had a lower risk of intracranial hemorrhage than warfarin users (HR=0.31, 95% CI=0.10-0.97). CONCLUSION: Individuals with AF aged 85 and older who used reduced-dose dabigatran or reduced-dose rivaroxaban had statistically significantly lower all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality than those who used warfarin. Reduced-dose dabigatran was also associated with lower risk of intracranial hemorrhage than warfarin.

Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Dabigatran and Rivaroxaban in Atrial Fibrillation Patients.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to examine the comparative effectiveness and safety between dabigatran and rivaroxaban in atrial fibrillation patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a population-based, retrospective, new-user cohort study based on the National Health Insurance claims database in Taiwan. Adult atrial fibrillation patients who initiated dabigatran (N=10 625) or rivaroxaban (N=4609) between June 1, 2012 and May 31, 2014 were identified as the overall population. A propensity score was derived using logistic regression to model the probability of receipt of rivaroxaban as a function of potential confounders. Altogether, 4600 dabigatran users were matched with 4600 rivaroxaban users to create a propensity score-matched population. The marginal proportional hazards model was applied among the propensity score-matched population as the primary analysis, and the proportional hazards model with adjustment of the quintiles of the propensity score among the overall population was used as the secondary analysis. Rivaroxaban users had a higher risk of all-cause death than dabigatran users (hazard ratio 1.44, 95%CI 1.17-1.78 in the primary analysis and hazard ratio 1.47, 95%CI 1.23-1.75 in the secondary analysis). Rivaroxaban users also possessed a higher risk of gastrointestinal hemorrhage needing transfusion than dabigatran users in the primary analysis (hazard ratio 1.41, 95%CI 1.02-1.95), but the difference diminished in the secondary analysis (hazard ratio 1.20, 95%CI 0.92-1.56). The risks of ischemic stroke, acute myocardial infarction, arterial embolism/thrombosis, and intracranial hemorrhage were similar between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: Rivaroxaban therapy was associated with a statistically significant increase in all-cause death compared with dabigatran therapy in atrial fibrillation patients.