Contrast-induced acute kidney injury after computed tomography prior to transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

AIM: To identify independent predictors of contrast medium-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) after enhanced multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) prior to transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in high-risk patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present single-centre study analysed retrospectively 361 patients who were assessed using MDCT prior to TAVI. CI-AKI was defined as an increase in serum creatinine (SCr) of ≥ 25% or ≥ 0.5 mg/dl in at least one sample over baseline (24 h before MDCT) and at 24, 48, and 72 h after MDCT. RESULTS: A total of 38 patients (10.5%) experienced CI-AKI. As compared to patients without CI-AKI, they presented more frequently with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 ml/min/1.73 m(2), (81.6% versus 64.4%, p = 0.045) and tended to receive higher volumes of iodinated contrast media (ICM; 55.3% versus 39%, p = 0.057). There was a significant interaction between baseline eGFR and the amount of intravenous ICM administered (pfor interaction = <0.001) identifying the amount of ICM >90 ml as independent predictive factor of CI-AKI only in patients with baseline eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73m(2) (OR 2.615; 95% CI: 1.21-5.64). CONCLUSION: One in ten elderly patients with aortic stenosis undergoing MDCT to plan a TAVI procedure experienced CI-AKI after intravenous ICM injection. Intravenous administration of <90 ml of ICM reduces this risk in patients with or without pre-existing impaired renal function. However, in the majority of patients renal function recovers before the TAVI procedure.

Biodegradable-polymer-based drug-eluting stent for left main coronary artery disease.

Percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) have gained widespread acceptation among cardiologists and among the general population for a variety of clinical indications, comprising from stable angina to ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction, due to the undisputed clinical benefit they provide and to their large availability and accessibility. Nonetheless PCI in the left main coronary artery (LMCA) is still controversial. Traditionally the revascularization of the LMCA has been one of those exceptions in which surgery was preferred to PCI, although PCI still found a slot in non-surgically-suitable cases or as bailout intervention. Some evidence has been recently generated, that challenges this traditional approach, and also about the clinical advantages of new-generation intracoronary devices, among them the drug-eluting stents with biodegradable polymers in abluminal coating. This scenario opens new horizons for the treatment of LMCA disease, in which a more prominent role of PCI can be anticipated.

Amlodipine reduces predicted risk of coronary heart disease in high-risk patients with hypertension in Spain (The CORONARIA Study).

We evaluated the efficacy and safety of amlodipine besylate alone or in combination with other antihypertensive agents in high-risk hypertensive patients in Spanish primary care. In this 1-year, open-label, prospective cohort study, 7468 patients were treated with amlodipine 5 - 10 mg as a monotherapy or as an add-on therapy to attain blood pressure control (target of < 140/90 mmHg or, in patients with conditions such as diabetes or chronic kidney disease, < 130/85 mmHg). At 12 months, the primary outcome (change from baseline in predicted 10-year coronary heart disease risk) was -8.6%, down from 24.7% at baseline (relative risk reduction, 31.6%). Change in blood pressure from baseline (162.5/95.3 mmHg) was -26.7/-14.6 mmHg, and 38.6% of patients achieved their blood pressure target. In summary, significant reductions in predicted coronary heart disease risk and blood pressure were observed with amlodipine both as a monotherapy and as an add-on therapy. Amlodipine was well tolerated and compliance with treatment was good.

Taponamiento cardiaco como manifestación inicial de un lupus eritematoso sistémico de comienzo tardío / Cardiac tamponade as initial manifestation of late onset systemic lupus erythematosus

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