Prevalence and clinical significance of hypercalcemia at diagnosis in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

The reported prevalence of hypercalcemia at diagnosis in non-Hodgkin-lymphoma ranges between 1.3% and 7.4%. These studies included all patients, regardless of lymphoma subtype. We performed a retrospective case-control study to determine the prevalence of hypercalcemia at time of diagnosis in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Among 250 newly diagnosed patients, 46 (18%) had hypercalcemia. When compared with age-sex matched patients and normal calcium levels, those with hypercalcemia had higher levels of LDH, lower levels of albumin and more advanced stage. These differences were translated to shorter progression-free-survival and overall survival, but only in patients with hypercalcemia and low levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH). These findings suggest that in newly diagnosed patients with DLBCL, hypercalcemia is more frequent than previously appreciated. Furthermore, lymphoma-related but not primary hyperparathyroidism-related hypercalcemia is associated with adverse prognostic factors and adverse clinical outcomes in DLBCL. Hence, PTH should be obtained in patients with DLBCL and hypercalcemia at diagnosis.

Ventricular flutter induced during electrophysiologic studies in patients with old myocardial infarction: clinical and electrophysiologic predictors, and prognostic significance.

INTRODUCTION: Induction of ventricular flutter during electrophysiologic (EP) studies (similar to that of ventricular fibrillation [VF]) often is viewed as a nonspecific response with limited prognostic significance. However, data supporting this dogma originate from patients without previously documented ventricular tachyarrhythmias. We examined the significance of ventricular flutter in patients with and without spontaneous ventricular arrhythmias. METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a cohort study of all patients with myocardial infarction (MI) undergoing EP studies at our institution. Of 344 consecutive patients, 181 had previously documented spontaneous sustained ventricular arrhythmias, 61 had suspected ventricular arrhythmias, and 102 had neither. Ventricular flutter was induced in 65 (19%) of the patients. Left ventricular ejection fraction was highest among patients with inducible VF (35 +/- 13), lowest for patients with inducible sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (SMVT; 27 +/- 9), and intermediate for patients with inducible ventricular flutter (30 +/- 10). Similarly, the coupling intervals needed to induce the arrhythmia were shortest for VF (200 +/- 28 msec), intermediate for ventricular flutter (209 +/- 27 msec), and longest for SMVT (230 +/- 35 msec). During 5 +/- 8 years of follow-up, the risk for ventricular tachycardia/VF was high for patients with SMVT and ventricular flutter and low for patients with inducible VF and noninducible patients (46%, 34%, 17%, and 14%, P < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Patients with inducible ventricular flutter appear to be "intermediate" between patients with inducible VF and patients with SMVT in terms of clinical and electrophysiologic correlates. However, the prognostic value of inducible ventricular flutter is comparable to that of SMVT.