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PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess whether coaching doctors to enhance ethical decision-making in teams improves (1) goal-oriented care operationalized via written do-not-intubate and do-not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNI-DNACPR) orders in adult patients potentially receiving excessive treatment (PET) during their first hospital stay and (2) the quality of the ethical climate. METHODS: We carried out a stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial in the medical intensive care unit (ICU) climate questionnaire (ethical decision-making climate questionnaire, EDMCQ) before and after the study, and anonymously identified PET via an electronic alert during the entire study period. All departments were randomly assigned to a 4-month coaching. At least one month of coaching was compared to less than one month coaching and usual care. The first primary endpoint was the incidence of written DNI-DNACPR decisions. The second primary endpoint was the EDMCQ before and after the study period. Because clinicians identified less PET than required to detect a difference in written DNI-DNACPR decisions, a post-hoc analysis on the overall population was performed. To reduce type I errors, we further restricted the analysis to one of our predefined secondary endpoints (mortality up to 1 year). RESULTS: Of the 442 and 423 clinicians working before and after the study period, respectively 270 (61%) and 261 (61.7%) filled out the EDMCQ. Fifty of the 93 (53.7%) doctors participated in the coaching for a mean (standard deviation [SD]) of 4.36 (2.55) sessions. Of the 7254 patients, 125 (1.7%) were identified as PET, with 16 missing outcome data. Twenty-six of the PET and 624 of the overall population already had a written DNI-DNACPR decision at study entry, resulting in 83 and 6614 patients who were included in the main and post hoc analysis, respectively. The estimated incidence of written DNI-DNACPR decisions in the intervention vs. control arm was, respectively, 29.7% vs. 19.6% (odds ratio 4.24, 95% confidence interval 4.21-4.27; P < 0.001) in PET and 3.4% vs. 1.9% (1.65, 1.12-2.43; P = 0.011) in the overall study population. The estimated mortality at one year was respectively 85% vs. 83.7% (hazard ratio 2.76, 1.26-6.04; P = 0.011) and 14.5% vs. 15.1% (0.89, 0.72-1.09; P = 0.251). The mean difference in EDMCQ before and after the study period was 0.02 points (- 0.18 to 0.23; P = 0.815). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that coaching doctors regarding ethical decision-making in teams safely improves goal-oriented care operationalized via written DNI-DNACPR decisions in hospitalized patients, however without concomitantly improving the quality of the ethical climate.
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BACKGROUND: The 12lead ECG provides an excellent substrate for artificial intelligence (AI) enabled prediction of various cardiovascular diseases. However, a measure of prediction certainty is lacking. OBJECTIVES: To assess a novel approach for estimating certainty of AI-ECG predictions. METHODS: Two convolutional neural networks (CNN) were developed to predict patient age and sex. Model 1 applied a 5 s sliding time-window, allowing multiple CNN predictions. The consistency of the output values, expressed as interquartile range (IQR), was used to estimate prediction certainty. Model 2 was trained on the full 10s ECG signal, resulting in a single CNN point prediction value. Performance was evaluated on an internal test set and externally validated on the PTB-XL dataset. RESULTS: Both CNNs were trained on 269,979 standard 12lead ECGs (82,477 patients). Model 1 showed higher accuracy for both age and sex prediction (mean absolute error, MAE 6.9 ± 6.3 years vs. 7.7 ± 6.3 years and AUC 0.946 vs. 0.916, respectively, P < 0.001 for both). The IQR of multiple CNN output values allowed to differentiate between high and low accuracy of ECG based predictions (P < 0.001 for both). Among 10% of patients with narrowest IQR, sex prediction accuracy increased from 65.4% to 99.2%, and MAE of age prediction decreased from 9.7 to 4.1 years compared to the 10% with widest IQR. Accuracy and estimation of prediction certainty of model 1 remained true in the external validation dataset. CONCLUSIONS: Sliding window-based approach improves ECG based prediction of age and sex and may aid in addressing the challenge of prediction certainty estimation.
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Inteligencia Artificial , Enfermedades Cardiovasculares , Humanos , Electrocardiografía , Redes Neurales de la ComputaciónRESUMEN
Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS) is an autosomal recessive inflammatory syndrome that manifests as an early-onset encephalopathy with both neurologic and extraneurologic clinical findings. AGS has been associated with pathogenic variants in nine genes: TREX1, RNASEH2B, RNASEH2C, RNASEH2A, SAMHD1, ADAR, IFIH1, LSM11, and RNU7-1. Diagnosis is established by clinical findings (encephalopathy and acquired microcephaly, intellectual and physical impairments, dystonia, hepatosplenomegaly, sterile pyrexia, and/or chilblains), characteristic abnormalities on cranial CT (calcification of the basal ganglia and white matter) and MRI (leukodystrophic changes), or the identification of pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants in the known genes. One of the genes associated with AGS, SAMHD1, has also been associated with a spectrum of cerebrovascular diseases, including moyamoya disease (MMD). In this report, we describe a 31-year-old male referred to genetics for MMD since childhood who lacked the hallmark features of AGS patients but was found to have compound heterozygous SAMHD1 variants. He later developed mitral valve insufficiency due to recurrent chordal rupture and ultimately underwent a heart transplant at 37 years of age. Thus, these data suggest that SAMHD1 pathogenic variants can cause MMD without typical AGS symptoms and support that SAMHD1 should be assessed in MMD patients even in the absence of AGS features.
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Enfermedades Autoinmunes del Sistema Nervioso , Encefalopatías , Enfermedad de Moyamoya , Malformaciones del Sistema Nervioso , Masculino , Humanos , Niño , Adulto , Proteína 1 que Contiene Dominios SAM y HD/genética , Enfermedad de Moyamoya/complicaciones , Válvula Mitral/patología , Mutación , Malformaciones del Sistema Nervioso/diagnóstico por imagen , Malformaciones del Sistema Nervioso/genética , Enfermedades Autoinmunes del Sistema Nervioso/diagnóstico , Enfermedades Autoinmunes del Sistema Nervioso/genética , Enfermedades Autoinmunes del Sistema Nervioso/patología , Encefalopatías/complicacionesRESUMEN
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Given limited evidence and lack of consensus on donor acceptance for heart transplant (HT), selection practices vary widely across HT centres in the USA. Similar variation likely exists on a broader scale-across countries and HT systems-but remains largely unexplored. This study characterized differences in heart donor populations and selection practices between the USA and Eurotransplant-a consortium of eight European countries-and their implications for system-wide outcomes. METHODS: Characteristics of adult reported heart donors and their utilization (the percentage of reported donors accepted for HT) were compared between Eurotransplant (n = 8714) and the USA (n = 60 882) from 2010 to 2020. Predictors of donor acceptance were identified using multivariable logistic regression. Additional analyses estimated the impact of achieving Eurotransplant-level utilization in the USA amongst donors of matched quality, using probability of acceptance as a marker of quality. RESULTS: Eurotransplant reported donors were older with more cardiovascular risk factors but with higher utilization than in the USA (70% vs. 44%). Donor age, smoking history, and diabetes mellitus predicted non-acceptance in the USA and, by a lesser magnitude, in Eurotransplant; donor obesity and hypertension predicted non-acceptance in the USA only. Achieving Eurotransplant-level utilization amongst the top 30%-50% of donors (by quality) would produce an additional 506-930 US HTs annually. CONCLUSIONS: Eurotransplant countries exhibit more liberal donor heart acceptance practices than the USA. Adopting similar acceptance practices could help alleviate the scarcity of donor hearts and reduce waitlist morbidity in the USA.
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Trasplante de Corazón , Donantes de Tejidos , Adulto , Humanos , Europa (Continente)/epidemiología , Modelos Logísticos , Obesidad/epidemiologíaRESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess discordance between results of instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR), fractional flow reserve (FFR), and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in intermediate left main coronary (LM) lesions, and its impact on clinical decision making and outcome. METHODS: We enrolled 250 patients with a 40%-80% LM stenosis in a prospective, multicenter registry. These patients underwent both iFR and FFR measurements. Of these, 86 underwent IVUS and assessment of the minimal lumen area (MLA), with a 6 mm2 cutoff for significance. RESULTS: Isolated LM disease was recognized in 95 patients (38.0%), while 155 patients (62.0%) had both LM disease and downstream disease. In 53.2% of iFR+ and 56.7% of FFR+ LM lesions, the measurement was positive in only one daughter vessel. iFR/FFR discordance occurred in 25.0% of patients with isolated LM disease and 36.2% of patients with concomitant downstream disease (P=.049). In patients with isolated LM disease, discordance was significantly more common in the left anterior descending artery and younger age was an independent predictor of iFR-/FFR+ discordance. iFR/MLA and FFR/MLA discordance occurred in 37.0% and 29.4%, respectively. Within 1 year of follow-up, major cardiac adverse events (MACE) occurred in 8.5% and 9.7% (P=.763) of patients whose LM lesion was deferred or revascularized, respectively. Discordance was not an independent predictor of MACE. CONCLUSIONS: Current methods of estimating LM lesion significance often yield discrepant findings, complicating therapeutic decision-making.
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Reserva del Flujo Fraccional Miocárdico , Humanos , Estudios Prospectivos , Toma de Decisiones Clínicas , Constricción Patológica , Sistema de RegistrosRESUMEN
AIMS: The aim of this study was to provide an up-to-date overview of gender differences or similarities in risk factor control and medical management in the Belgian CHD population. METHODS: All analyses are based on the ESC EORP EUROASPIRE IV and EUROASPIRE V (European Survey Of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention And Diabetes) surveys. Patients between 18 and 80 years old, hospitalised for a first or recurrent coronary event, were included in the survey. RESULTS: Data were available for 10,519 patients, of which 23.9% were women. Women had a worse risk factor profile compared to men. Women were more physical inactive (OR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.19-1.44), had a higher prevalence of obesity (OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.25-1.50) and had a worse LDL-C control (OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.36-1.70). Moreover, women were less likely to use ACE-I/ARBs (OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.76-0.94) and statins (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.70-0.90). In addition, little gender differences were found in patients' risk factor awareness, except on cholesterol awareness. Women were more aware about their total cholesterol levels (OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.21-1.56). CONCLUSION: Despite little to no gender differences in the management of CHD patients, women still have a worse risk factor profile, both in Belgian and in other European high-income countries.
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Antagonistas de Receptores de Angiotensina , Enfermedad Coronaria , Masculino , Humanos , Femenino , Adolescente , Adulto Joven , Adulto , Persona de Mediana Edad , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Bélgica/epidemiología , Antagonistas de Receptores de Angiotensina/uso terapéutico , Enfermedad Coronaria/epidemiología , Inhibidores de la Enzima Convertidora de Angiotensina/uso terapéutico , Factores de Riesgo , Europa (Continente)/epidemiología , ColesterolRESUMEN
In 2019, a total of 70 original scientific papers or reviews were published in Acta Cardiologica. In this paper, we focus on the 10 best papers that we selected based upon the innovative character and/or upon the clinical relevance of their research. In different domains of cardiology, we highlight the most important findings from these 10 best research papers.
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Cardiología , HumanosRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Autonomic disorders are common in chronic illness, and their symptoms may restrict the daily functioning of patients. However, in chronic heart failure, extensive knowledge about autonomic symptoms is still lacking. This study aims to explore self-perceived autonomic symptoms, associated factors, and their relationship with health-related quality of life in chronic heart failure. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-four patients with documented chronic heart failure (men and women; 50-86 years) and 124 sex and age-matched controls participated in this study. The participants filled validated questionnaires about autonomic symptom profile (COMPASS 31), fatigue (CIS, Checklist for individual strength), anxiety and depression (HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression), and health-related quality of life (SF36). Non-parametric statistics were performed to analyse the data. RESULTS: Total score for autonomic symptoms was higher in chronic heart failure compared to controls [Median: 14.9; IQR: 6.2-25.1 vs. 7.3; 0-18; p < 0.001], especially for orthostatic hypotension [Median: 8; IQR: 0-16 vs. 0; 0-12; p < 0.001], vasomotor [Median: 0; IQR: 0-0 vs. 0; 0-0; p < 0.001] and secretomotor function [Median: 0; IQR: 0-4.2 vs. 0; 0-2.1; p = 0.013]. High scores for autonomic symptoms were moderate correlated with higher scores of fatigue, anxiety and depression (0.343 ≤ rs ≥ 0.420; p < 0.001) and with decreased health-related quality of life (-0.454; p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Autonomic symptoms, especially for orthostatic intolerance, vasomotor and secretomotor subdomains, are prevalent and are associated with fatigue complaints and poor health-related quality of life in CHF.
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Enfermedades del Sistema Nervioso Autónomo , Calidad de Vida , Masculino , Humanos , Femenino , Enfermedad Crónica , Fatiga/etiología , Sistema Nervioso Autónomo , Ansiedad/epidemiología , Ansiedad/etiología , Enfermedades del Sistema Nervioso Autónomo/complicaciones , Enfermedades del Sistema Nervioso Autónomo/diagnóstico , Enfermedades del Sistema Nervioso Autónomo/epidemiologíaRESUMEN
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is present in an important proportion of patients with interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), encompassing a large, heterogeneous group of diffuse parenchymal lung diseases. Development of ILD-related PH is associated with reduced exercise capacity, increased need for supplemental oxygen, decreased quality of life and earlier death. Diagnosis of ILD-related PH is important and requires a high index of suspicion. Noninvasive diagnostic assessment can suggest the presence of PH, although right heart catheterisation remains the gold standard to confirm the diagnosis and to assess its severity. A comprehensive assessment is needed to make sure reversible causes of PH have been ruled out, including thromboembolic events, untreated hypoxaemia and sleep disordered breathing. The results of trials concerning pulmonary vasodilators in this particular patient group have been disappointing and, in some cases, were even associated with an increased risk of harm. Newer strategies such as medications administered through inhalation and combinations with antifibrotic drugs show encouraging results. Moreover, unravelling the role of the vasculature in the pathophysiology of pulmonary fibrosis and ILD-related PH may potentially unlock new therapeutic opportunities.
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BACKGROUND: The study aims to assess real-life short- and long-term outcomes of patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) complicated with cardiogenic shock (CS). Outcome after left main (LM) PCI is of particular interest. METHODS: Procedural, 30-day, and >30-day mortality rates were assessed in 2744 CS-STEMI patients enrolled between 2012 and 2019 in a nationwide registry involving 49 centers. RESULTS: Procedural, 30-day, and >30-day mortality rates were 6.9%, 39.8%, and 12.6%, respectively. The mortality rates were significantly higher in the 348 patients (12.7%) who underwent LM-PCI (13.5%, 59.5%, and 18.4%, respectively). LM-PCI, a suboptimal PCI result, and transfemoral access were independent predictors of procedural and 30-day mortality. Operator experience was an independent predictor of procedural mortality, but not 30-day mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality remains high in CS-STEMI patients, especially within the first month. Patients undergoing LM-PCI are particularly at risk. Operator experience is predictive of procedural mortality.
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Infarto del Miocardio , Intervención Coronaria Percutánea , Infarto del Miocardio con Elevación del ST , Mortalidad Hospitalaria , Humanos , Infarto del Miocardio/complicaciones , Infarto del Miocardio/diagnóstico , Infarto del Miocardio/cirugía , Intervención Coronaria Percutánea/métodos , Sistema de Registros , Factores de Riesgo , Infarto del Miocardio con Elevación del ST/complicaciones , Infarto del Miocardio con Elevación del ST/diagnóstico , Infarto del Miocardio con Elevación del ST/cirugía , Choque Cardiogénico , Resultado del TratamientoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Malignant cardiac tamponade is a life-threatening condition that requires prompt treatment and effective management to prevent recurrence. This paper describes safety and efficacy outcomes after intrapericardial instillation of bleomycin as well as possible predictors of survival. METHODS: We performed a 10-year retrospective, single-center study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intrapericardial instillation of bleomycin in patients with suspected malignant cardiac tamponade. RESULTS: Intrapericardial instillation of bleomycin was performed in 31 cancer patients (9 men, 22 women) presenting with cardiac tamponade. Non-fatal complications occurred in 3 patients and relapse occurred in 1 patient. Overall survival was less than 10% at the end of the study. Median survival was 104 days (95% CI, 0-251 days). Survival was compared between different groups (defined by primary tumor, type of tumor, TNM stage and results of cytological analysis) with median survival being considerably higher when oncologic therapy was altered afterwards. CONCLUSIONS: The use of intrapericardial bleomycin instillation following pericardiocentesis for malignant cardiac tamponade is a safe procedure with a high success rate. Survival rates depend on further oncological treatment options available.
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Antineoplásicos , Taponamiento Cardíaco , Neoplasias Pulmonares , Derrame Pericárdico , Antineoplásicos/uso terapéutico , Bleomicina/efectos adversos , Taponamiento Cardíaco/tratamiento farmacológico , Femenino , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamiento farmacológico , Masculino , Recurrencia Local de Neoplasia , Estudios RetrospectivosRESUMEN
The influence of Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) on heart transplantation is considerable. Reports of COVID-19 infection in recently transplanted patients are scarce. We present a 60-year-old male patient with COVID-19 infection, diagnosed 6 days after transplantation. His clinical course revealed 2 phases. Initially, there were mild respiratory symptoms for which he was treated with remdesivir and noninvasive respiratory support. In a second phase with clinical deterioration on postoperative day 22, further respiratory decline led to the administration of convalescent plasma, with satisfactory response and further improvement of his condition.
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COVID-19 , Trasplante de Corazón , COVID-19/terapia , Humanos , Inmunización Pasiva , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , SARS-CoV-2 , Sueroterapia para COVID-19RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is increasingly performed in significant left main (LM) lesions. Left untreated, the prognosis is poor, but PCI and coronary bypass surgery (CABG) behold risks as well. Additional long-term outcome data might guide future treatment decisions. METHODS: Between 2012 and 2019, all 6783 patients who underwent LM PCI were prospectively enrolled in a national registry. Patients with prior CABG or prior LM PCI, and patients presenting in cardiogenic shock or after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest were excluded. From the remaining 5284 patients, baseline and procedural data as well as long-term survival were assessed. RESULTS: The annual rate of LM PCI increased from 422 (2.2% of PCIs) in 2012 to 868 in 2018 (3.0%). By 2018, 71% of the interventional cardiologists performed at least 1 LM PCI a year, though only 5 on average. Use of transradial access (TRA) in LM PCI increased from 20.4% in 2012 to 59.5% in 2019. All-cause mortality was 6.0% at 30 days and 18.5% at a mean follow-up of 33.5 months. Independent predictors of higher long-term mortality were older age, diabetes, multivessel disease, an urgent indication, a suboptimal angiographical result, and non-exclusive use of drug-eluting stents. TRAand higher operator and centre LM PCI experience were independent predictors of a lower long-term mortality. CONCLUSION: LM PCI is associated with high short- and long-term mortality. Use of TRA and higher expertise in LM PCI were associated with better survival.
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Enfermedad de la Arteria Coronaria , Intervención Coronaria Percutánea , Puente de Arteria Coronaria , Enfermedad de la Arteria Coronaria/diagnóstico , Enfermedad de la Arteria Coronaria/cirugía , Humanos , Intervención Coronaria Percutánea/efectos adversos , Sistema de Registros , Resultado del TratamientoRESUMEN
During the ESC congress in September 2020, the new ESC guidelines were presented and are available on the ESC website. The new guidelines describe management recommendations on following cardiovascular diseases: non-STE ACS, adult congenital heart disease, sports cardiology and atrial fibrillation. The present document gives a summary of these guidelines and highlights the most important recommendations and changes in the management of these diseases. It will help to increase awareness about the new guidelines and may stimulate to consult the full document for specific items. Ultimately, the authors hope that this document will enhance implementation of new ESC guidelines in daily clinical practice.
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Fibrilación Atrial , Cardiología , Cardiopatías Congénitas , Adulto , Humanos , Fibrilación Atrial/diagnóstico , Fibrilación Atrial/terapia , Cardiopatías Congénitas/diagnóstico , Cardiopatías Congénitas/terapiaRESUMEN
Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD) represents a rare and challenging form of pulmonary hypertension, characterized by preferential remodelling of the pulmonary venules. PVOD may be idiopathic as well as related to other conditions with environmental and genetic factors contributing to its development. Recently, bi-allelic mutations in the EIF2AK4-gene have been identified as a cause of heritable PVOD. PVOD shares an overlapping disease phenotype with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and is regularly misdiagnosed as such, although differentiation between these two conditions is important because of the different prognosis and therapeutic approach. The diagnosis of PVOD is frequently delayed because of the complex diagnostic process. The gold standard remains histology with widespread obliteration of small pulmonary veins by fibrous intimal thickening and patchy capillary proliferation as the pathological hallmark. At present, neither treatment guidelines nor curative medical therapies are available for PVOD. Because of the progressive nature of the disease, a quick referral for lung transplantation remains the only definitive therapy in subjects below the age of 65.
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Trasplante de Células Madre Hematopoyéticas , Hipertensión Pulmonar , Trasplante de Pulmón , Enfermedad Veno-Oclusiva Pulmonar , Hipertensión Pulmonar Primaria Familiar , Trasplante de Células Madre Hematopoyéticas/efectos adversos , Humanos , Hipertensión Pulmonar/genética , Trasplante de Pulmón/efectos adversos , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinasas , Enfermedad Veno-Oclusiva Pulmonar/diagnóstico , Enfermedad Veno-Oclusiva Pulmonar/etiología , Enfermedad Veno-Oclusiva Pulmonar/patologíaRESUMEN
AIM: Due to improved therapy in childhood, many patients with congenital heart disease reach adulthood and are termed adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD). ACHD often develop heart failure (HF) as a consequence of initial palliative surgery or complex anatomy and subsequently require advanced HF therapy. ACHD are usually excluded from trials evaluating heart failure therapies, and in this context, more data about heart failure trajectories in ACHD are needed to guide the management of ACHD suffering from HF. METHODS AND RESULTS: The pAtients pResenTing with cOngenital heaRt dIseAse Register (ARTORIA-R) will collect data from ACHD evaluated or listed for heart or heart-combined organ transplantation from 16 countries in Europe and the Asia/Pacific region. We plan retrospective collection of data from 1989-2020 and will include patients prospectively. Additional organizations and hospitals in charge of transplantation of ACHD will be asked in the future to contribute data to the register. The primary outcome is the combined endpoint of delisting due to clinical worsening or death on the waiting list. The secondary outcome is delisting due to clinical improvement while on the waiting list. All-cause mortality following transplantation will also be assessed. The data will be entered into an electronic database with access to the investigators participating in the register. All variables of the register reflect key components important for listing of the patients or assessing current HF treatment. CONCLUSION: The ARTORIA-R will provide robust information on current management and outcomes of adults with congenital heart disease suffering from advanced heart failure.
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Cardiopatías Congénitas , Insuficiencia Cardíaca , Trasplante de Corazón , Adulto , Cardiopatías Congénitas/complicaciones , Cardiopatías Congénitas/epidemiología , Cardiopatías Congénitas/terapia , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/epidemiología , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/etiología , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/terapia , Trasplante de Corazón/efectos adversos , Humanos , Estudios Retrospectivos , Listas de EsperaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: An increasing number of older patients are hospitalised. Prognostic uncertainty causes hospital doctors to be reluctant to make the switch from cure to care. The Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT) has not been validated for prognostication in an older hospitalised population. AIM: To validate SPICT as a prognostic tool for risk of dying within one year in older hospitalised patients. DESIGN: Prospective multicentre study. Premorbid SPICT and 1-year survival and survival time were assessed. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Patients 75 years and older admitted at acute geriatric (n=209) and cardiology units (CUs) (n=249) of four hospitals. RESULTS: In total, 59.3% (124/209) was SPICT identified on acute geriatric vs 40.6% (101/249) on CUs (p<0.001). SPICT-identified patients in CUs reported more functional needs and more symptoms compared to SPICT non-identified patients. On acute geriatric units, SPICT-identified patients reported more functional needs only.The HR of dying was 2.9 (95% CI 1.1 to 8.7) in SPICT-identified versus non-identified after adjustment for hospital strata, age, gender and did not differ between units. One-year mortality was 24% and 22%, respectively, on acute geriatric versus CUs (p=0.488). Pooled average sensitivity, specificity and partial area under the curve differed significantly between acute geriatric and CUs (p<0.001), respectively, 0.82 (95%CI 0.66 to 0.91), 0.49 (95%CI 0.40 to 0.58) and 0.82 in geriatric vs 0.69 (95% CI 0.42 to 0.87), 0.66 (95% CI 0.55 to 0.77) and 0.65 in CUs. CONCLUSIONS: SPICT may be used as a tool to identify older hospitalised patients at risk of dying within 1 year and who may benefit from a palliative care approach including advance care planning. The prognostic accuracy of SPICT is better in older patients admitted at the acute geriatric versus the CU.
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The waiting time in infants for a cardiac transplant remains high, due to the scarcity of donors. Consequently, waiting list morbidity and mortality are higher than those in other age groups. Therefore, the decision to list a small infant for cardiac transplantation is seen as an ethical dilemma by most physicians. This review aims to describe outcomes, limitations, and ethical considerations in infant heart transplantation. We used Medline and Embase as data sources. We searched for publications on infant (< 1 year) heart transplantation, bridge-to-transplant and long-term outcomes, and waiting list characteristics from January 2009 to March 2021. Outcome after cardiac transplant in infants is better than that in older children (1-year survival 88%), and complications are less frequent (25% CAV, 10% PTLD). The bridge-to-transplant period in infants is associated with increased mortality (32%) and decreased transplantation rate (43%). This is mainly due to MCS complications or the limited MCS options (with 51% mortality in infancy). Outcomes are worse for infants with CHD or in need of ECMO-support.Conclusion: Infants listed for cardiac transplantation have a high morbidity and mortality, especially in the period between diagnosis and transplantation. For those who receive cardiac transplant, the outlook is encouraging. Unfortunately, despite growing experience in VAD, mortality in children < 10 kg and children with CHD remains high. After transplantation, patients carry a psychological burden and there is a probability of re-transplantation later in life, with decreased outcomes compared to primary transplantation. These considerations are seen as an important ethical dilemma in many centers, when considering cardiac transplantation in infants (< 1 year). What is Known: ⢠For infants, waitlist mortality remains high. In the pediatric population, MCS reduces the waiting list mortality. What is New: ⢠Outcomes after infant cardiac transplantation are better than other age groups; however, MCS options remain limited, with persistently high waiting list mortality. ⢠Future developments in MCS and alternative options to reduce waiting list mortality such as ABO-incompatible transplantation and pulmonary artery banding are encouraging and will improve ethical decision-making when an infant is in need of a cardiac transplant.
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Trasplante de Corazón , Niño , Predicción , Humanos , Lactante , Estudios Retrospectivos , Donantes de Tejidos , Listas de EsperaRESUMEN
This study tested the effectiveness of HeartMan-a mobile personal health system offering decisional support for management of congestive heart failure (CHF)-on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), self-management, exercise capacity, illness perception, mental and sexual health. A randomized controlled proof-of-concept trial (1:2 ratio of control:intervention) was set up with ambulatory CHF patients in stable condition in Belgium and Italy. Data were collected by means of a 6-min walking test and a number of standardized questionnaire instruments. A total of 56 (34 intervention and 22 control group) participants completed the study (77% male; mean age 63 years, sd 10.5). All depression and anxiety dimensions decreased in the intervention group (p < 0.001), while the need for sexual counselling decreased in the control group (p < 0.05). Although the group differences were not significant, self-care increased (p < 0.05), and sexual problems decreased (p < 0.05) in the intervention group only. No significant intervention effects were observed for HRQoL, self-care confidence, illness perception and exercise capacity. Overall, results of this proof-of-concept trial suggest that the HeartMan personal health system significantly improved mental and sexual health and self-care behaviour in CHF patients. These observations were in contrast to the lack of intervention effects on HRQoL, illness perception and exercise capacity.
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Insuficiencia Cardíaca/terapia , Prueba de Estudio Conceptual , Automanejo , Telemedicina , Anciano , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Resultado del TratamientoRESUMEN
Pulmonary disease in liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension (PH) constitutes a challenging clinical scenario and may have important implications with regard to prognosis, liver transplantation (LT) candidacy, and post-LT outcome. Pre-LT evaluation should include adequate screening for pulmonary diseases that may occur concomitantly with liver disease as well as for those that may arise as a complication of end-stage liver disease and PH, given that either may jeopardize safe LT and successful outcome. It is key to discriminate those patients who would benefit from LT, especially pulmonary disorders that have been reported to resolve post-LT and are considered "pulmonary indications" for transplant, from those who are at increased mortality risk and in whom LT is contraindicated. In conclusion, in this article, we review the impact of several pulmonary disorders, including cystic fibrosis, alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, sarcoidosis, coronavirus disease 2019, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary nodules, interstitial lung disease, hepatic hydrothorax, hepatopulmonary syndrome, and portopulmonary hypertension, on post-LT survival, as well as the reciprocal impact of LT on the evolution of lung function.