Impact Exploration of Spatiotemporal Feature Derivation and Selection on Machine Learning-Based Predictive Models for Post-Embolization Cerebral Aneurysm Recanalization.

PURPOSE: To enhance the performance of machine learning (ML) models for the post-embolization recanalization of cerebral aneurysms, we evaluated the impact of hemodynamic feature derivation and selection method on six ML algorithms. METHODS: We utilized computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simulate hemodynamics in 66 cerebral aneurysms from 65 patients, including 57 stable and nine recanalized aneurysms. We derived a total of 107 features for each aneurysm, encompassing four clinical features, 12 morphological features, and 91 hemodynamic features. To investigate the influence of feature derivation and selection methods on the ML models, we employed two derivation methods, simplified and fully derived, in combination with four selection methods: all features, statistically significant analysis, stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis (stepwise-LR), and recursive feature elimination (RFE). Model performance was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and precision-recall curve (AUPRC) on both the training and testing datasets. RESULTS: The AUROC values on the testing dataset exhibited a wide-ranging spectrum, spanning from 0.373 to 0.863. Fully derived features and the RFE selection method demonstrated superior performance in intra-model comparisons. The multi-layer perceptron (MLP) model, trained with RFE-selected fully derived features, achieved the best performance on the testing dataset, with an AUROC value of 0.863 (95% CI: 0.684- 1.000). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated the importance of feature derivation and selection in determining the performance of ML models. This enabled the development of accurate decision-making models without the need to invade the patient.

Statins use and recurrent venous thromboembolism in the direct oral anticoagulant era: insight from the COMMAND VTE Registry-2.

Statins were reported to have a potential effect of primary prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE), although that of secondary prevention remains uncertain. To investigate the association between statins use and recurrent VTE in the current era. The COMMAND VTE Registry-2 is a multicenter registry enrolling 5,197 consecutive VTE patients among 31 centers in Japan between January 2015 and August 2020. We divided the entire cohort into 2 groups according to statins use at the time of discharge; the statins (N = 865) and no statins groups (N = 4332). The statins group was older (72.9 vs. 66.7 years, P < 0.001), and less often had active cancer (22.0% vs. 30.4%, P < 0.001). The cumulative incidence of discontinuation of anticoagulation was significantly lower in the statins group (60.3% vs. 52.6%, Log-rank P < 0.001). The cumulative 5-year incidence of recurrent VTE was significantly lower in the statins group (6.8% vs. 10.1%, Log-rank P = 0.01). Even after adjusting for the confounders, the lower risk of the statins group relative to the no statins group remained significant for recurrent VTE (HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.45-0.91, P = 0.01). The cumulative 5-year incidence of major bleeding was significantly lower in the statins group (12.2% vs. 14.1%, Log-rank P = 0.04), although, after adjusting for the confounders, the risk of the statins group relative to the no statins group turned to be insignificant (HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.59-1.00, P = 0.054). In this large real-world VTE registry, statins use was significantly associated with a lower risk for the recurrent VTE in the current era.

Edoxaban, Rivaroxaban, or Apixaban for Cancer-Associated Venous Thromboembolism in the Real World: Insights from the COMMAND VTE Registry-2.

BACKGROUND: Real-world data on clinical characteristics and outcomes related to the use of different direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) is lacking. METHODS: The COMMAND VTE Registry-2 is a multicenter registry enrolling 5,197 consecutive patients with acute symptomatic VTE from 31 centers in Japan from January 2015 to August 2020. Our study population comprised 1,197 patients with active cancer who were divided into the edoxaban (N = 643, 54%), rivaroxaban (N = 297, 25%), and apixaban (N = 257, 22%) groups. RESULTS: The cumulative 5-year incidence of recurrent VTE (9.3, 10.2, and 8.5%, respectively, p = 0.82) and all-cause death (67.5, 66.8, and 63.8%, respectively, p = 0.22) did not differ among the groups. Despite adjusting for confounders, the risks of recurrent VTE and all-cause death did not differ significantly among the groups. The cumulative 5-year incidence of major and clinically relevant bleeding was significantly lower in the rivaroxaban group than those in the other groups (22.6, 14.0, and 22.8%, p = 0.04; and 37.6, 26.8, and 38.3%, p = 0.01, respectively). After adjusting for confounders, in the rivaroxaban group, the risk for major bleeding was numerically lower (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.65, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.40-1.01) and that of clinically relevant all bleeding was significantly lower (HR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.48-0.92) than those in the edoxaban group. CONCLUSION: The risks of recurrent VTE and all-cause death did not differ significantly among the different DOACs ; however, the risk of bleeding events could differ, with a potentially lower risk of bleeding with rivaroxaban.

Subclass phenotypes in patients with unprovoked venous thromboembolisms using a latent class analysis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with unprovoked venous thromboembolisms (VTEs) can be sub-classified based on the different phenotypes using a latent class analysis (LCA), which might be useful for selecting individual management strategies. METHODS: In the COMMAND VTE Registry-2 database enrolling 5197 VTE patients, the current derivation cohort consisted of 1556 patients with unprovoked VTEs. We conducted clustering with an LCA, and the patients were classified into subgroups with the highest probability. We compared the clinical characteristics and outcomes among the developed subgroups. RESULTS: This LCA model proposed 3 subgroups based on 8 clinically relevant variables, and classified 592, 813, and 151 patients as Class I, II, and III, respectively. Based on the clinical features, we named Class I the younger, Class II the older with a few comorbidities, and Class III the older with many comorbidities. The cumulative 3-year anticoagulation discontinuation rate was highest in the older with many comorbidities (Class III) (39.9 %, 36.1 %, and 48.4 %, P = 0.02). There was no significant difference in the cumulative 5-year incidence of recurrent VTEs among the 3 classes (12.8 %, 11.1 %, and 4.0 % P = 0.20), whereas the cumulative 5-year incidence of major bleeding was significantly higher in the older with many comorbidities (Class III) (7.8 %, 12.7 %, and 17.8 %, P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: The current LCA revealed that patients with unprovoked VTEs could be sub-classified into further phenotypes depending on the patient characteristics. Each subclass phenotype could have different clinical outcomes risks especially a bleeding risk, which could have a potential benefit when considering the individual anticoagulation strategies. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index.htm COMMAND VTE Registry-2: Unique identifier, UMIN000044816 COMMAND VTE Registry: Unique identifier, UMIN000021132.

Fragility and long-term clinical outcomes in patients with venous thromboembolism receiving direct oral anticoagulants: From the COMMAND VTE REGISTRY-2.

INTRODUCTION: There is limited data on the safety of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in fragile patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used the COMMAND VTE Registry-2 enrolling patients with acute symptomatic VTE. The study population consisted of 3928 patients receiving DOACs, who were divided into fragile (2136 patients) and non-fragile groups (1792 patients). Fragility was defined as patients of age ≥ 75 years, creatinine clearance level ≤ 50 ml/min, and/or body weight ≤ 50 kg. RESULTS: The fragile group significantly more often received reduced doses of DOACs compared to the non-fragile group (51 % and 19 %, P < 0.001). The cumulative 5-year incidence of major bleeding was numerically higher in the fragile group than the non-fragile group (15.0 % and 11.1 %, P = 0.052), even with no significant excess risk after adjusting for confounders (HR 1.03, 95%CI 0.81-1.31, P = 0.78). The cumulative 5-year incidence of clinically relevant bleeding was significantly higher in the fragile group than the non-fragile group (28.6 % and 19.6 %, P < 0.001), even after adjusting for confounders (HR 1.28, 95%CI 1.08-1.53, P = 0.005). There was no significant difference in cumulative 5-year incidence of recurrent VTE between the groups (9.6 % and 8.9 %, P = 0.68), which was consistent after adjusting for confounders (HR 1.13, 95%CI 0.84-1.51, P = 0.41). CONCLUSIONS: Among VTE patients receiving DOACs, fragile patients were associated with a numerically higher rate of major bleeding and a significantly increased risk of clinically relevant bleeding, but not an increased risk of recurrent VTE.

Prognostic value of E/e' ratio and its change over time in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction in the reperfusion era.

BACKGROUND: The ratio of early diastolic mitral inflow velocity to mitral annular velocity (E/e') is a prognostic factor in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, data are lacking on long-term outcomes and longitudinal changes in E/e' in patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in the reperfusion era. METHODS: This is a pre-specified echocardiographic substudy of a randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of beta-blockers in STEMI patients with LVEF ≥40 % after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Patients were divided into 2 groups according to E/e' at discharge: ≤14 (normal E/e' group) or > 14 (high E/e' group). The primary outcome was a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, stroke, acute coronary syndrome, and heart failure hospitalization. We also assessed longitudinal changes in E/e' and conducted a landmark analysis using E/e' at 1 year after STEMI. RESULTS: There were 173 and 38 patients in the normal and high E/e' groups, respectively. During a median follow-up of 3.9 years, the primary outcome occurred in 19 patients (11.0 %) and 10 patients (26.3 %) in the normal and high E/e' groups, respectively. The cumulative incidence of the primary outcome was higher in the high E/e' group than in the normal E/e' group (21.9 % vs. 7.1 % at 3 years; log-rank p = 0.013). E/e' in the high E/e' group decreased over time (p < 0.001), but remained higher than in the normal E/e' group at 1 year after STEMI (13.7 ±â€¯5.3 vs. 8.6 ±â€¯2.3, p < 0.001). E/e' > 14 at 1 year was also associated with poor outcomes (log-rank p = 0.008). A sensitivity analysis using multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models yielded consistent results. CONCLUSION: High E/e' at discharge is associated with poor long-term outcomes in STEMI patients with preserved LVEF after primary PCI, which may be explained by persistent high E/e' late after STEMI.

Home Treatment for Active Cancer Patients With Low-Risk Pulmonary Embolism　- A Predetermined Companion Report From the ONCO PE Trial.

BACKGROUND: Patients with appropriately selected low-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) can be treated at home, although it has been controversial whether applies to patients with cancer, who are considered not to be at low risk.Methods and Results: The current predetermined companion report from the ONCO PE trial evaluated the 3-month clinical outcomes of patients with home treatment and those with in-hospital treatment. The ONCO PE trial was a multicenter, randomized clinical trial among 32 institutions in Japan investigating the optimal duration of rivaroxaban treatment in cancer-associated PE patients with a score of 1 using the simplified version of the Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (sPESI). Among 178 study patients, there were 66 (37%) in the home treatment group and 112 (63%) in the in-hospital treatment group. The primary endpoint of a composite of PE-related death, recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) and major bleeding occurred in 3 patients (4.6% [0.0-9.6%]) in the home treatment group and in 2 patients (1.8% [0.0-4.3%]) in the in-hospital treatment group. In the home treatment group, there were no cases of PE-related death or recurrent VTE, but major bleeding occurred in 3 patients (4.6% [0.0-9.6%]), and 2 patients (3.0% [0.0-7.2%]) required hospitalization due to bleeding events. CONCLUSIONS: Active cancer patients with PE of sPESI score=1 could be potential candidates for home treatment.

Fluid dynamic analysis in predicting the recanalization of intracranial aneurysms after coil embolization - A study of spatiotemporal characteristics.

Purpose: Hemodynamics play a key role in the management of cerebral aneurysm recanalization after coil embolization; however, the most reliable hemodynamic parameter remains unknown. Previous studies have explored the use of both spatiotemporally averaged and maximal definitions for hemodynamic parameters, based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, to build predictive models for aneurysmal recanalization. In this study, we aimed to assess the influence of different spatiotemporal characteristics of hemodynamic parameters on predictive performance. Methods: Hemodynamics were simulated using CFD for 66 cerebral aneurysms from 65 patients. We evaluated 14 types of spatiotemporal definitions for two hemodynamic parameters in the pre-coiling model and five in virtual post-coiling model (VM) created by cutting the aneurysm from the pre-coiling model. A total of 91 spatiotemporal hemodynamic features were derived and utilized to develop univariate predictor (UP) and multivariate logistic regression (LR) models. The model's performance was assessed using two metrics: the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and the area under the precision-recall curve (AUPRC). Results: Different spatiotemporal hemodynamic features exhibited a wide range of AUROC values ranging from 0.224 to 0.747, with 22 feature pairs showing a significant difference in AUROC value (P-value <0.05), despite being derived from the same hemodynamic parameter. PDave,q1 was identified as the strongest UP with AUROC/AUPRC values of 0.747/0.385, yielding sensitivity and specificity value of 0.889 and 0.614 at the optimal cut-off value, respectively. The LR model further improved the prediction performance, having AUROC/AUPRC values of 0.890/0.903. At the optimal cut-off value, the LR model achieved a specificity of 0.877, sensitivity of 0.719, outperforming the UP model. Conclusion: Our research indicated that the characteristics of hemodynamic parameters in terms of space and time had a significant impact on the development of predictive model. Our findings suggest that LR model based on spatiotemporal hemodynamic features could be clinically useful in predicting recanalization after coil embolization in patients, without the need for invasive procedures.

Determination of Significant Three-Dimensional Hemodynamic Features for Postembolization Recanalization in Cerebral Aneurysms Through Explainable Artificial Intelligence.

BACKGROUND: Recanalization poses challenges after coil embolization in cerebral aneurysms. Establishing predictive models for postembolization recanalization is important for clinical decision making. However, conventional statistical and machine learning (ML) models may overlook critical parameters during the initial selection process. METHODS: In this study, we automated the identification of significant hemodynamic parameters using a PointNet-based deep neural network (DNN), leveraging their three-dimensional spatial features. Further feature analysis was conducted using saliency mapping, an explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) technique. The study encompassed the analysis of velocity, pressure, and wall shear stress in both precoiling and postcoiling models derived from computational fluid dynamics simulations for 58 aneurysms. RESULTS: Velocity was identified as the most pivotal parameter, supported by the lowest P value from statistical analysis and the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curves/precision-recall curves values from the DNN model. Moreover, visual XAI analysis showed that robust injection flow zones, with notable impingement points in precoiling models, as well as pronounced interplay between flow dynamics and the coiling plane, were important three-dimensional features in identifying the recanalized aneurysms. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of DNN and XAI was found to be an accurate and explainable approach not only at predicting postembolization recanalization but also at discovering unknown features in the future.

Cancer-associated venous thromboembolism in the direct oral anticoagulants era: Insight from the COMMAND VTE Registry-2.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of data on real-world management strategies and clinical outcomes of cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) era. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the status of cancer-associated VTE in the DOAC era. METHODS: This multicenter, retrospective cohort study among 31 centers in Japan between 2015 and 2020 enrolled 5197 consecutive patients with acute symptomatic VTE, who were divided into 1507 patients (29 %) with active cancer and 3690 patients (71 %) without. RESULTS: The cumulative 3-year rate of anticoagulation discontinuation was significantly higher in patients with active cancer than in those without (62.7 % vs. 59.1 %, P < 0.001). The cumulative 5-year incidence of recurrent VTE was higher in patients with active cancer than in those without (10.1 % vs. 9.1 %, P = 0.01), however, after adjusting for the confounders and competing risk of mortality, the excess risk of the active cancer group relative to the no active cancer group was no longer significant (HR: 0.95, 95 % CI: 0.73-1.24). The cumulative 5-year incidence of major bleeding was much higher in the active cancer group (20.4 % vs. 11.6 %, P < 0.001). Even after adjusting for the confounders and competing risk of mortality, the risk of the active cancer group relative to the no active cancer group remained significant (HR: 1.36, 95 % CI: 1.11-1.66). CONCLUSIONS: The current large real-world registry revealed that the risk of major bleeding was still higher in patients with active cancer than in those without, leading to the frequent anticoagulation discontinuation, which has been still a huge challenge to overcome in the DOAC era.

Adult-onset idiopathic peripheral pulmonary artery stenosis.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral pulmonary artery stenosis (PPS) refers to stenosis of the pulmonary artery from the trunk to the peripheral arteries. Although paediatric PPS is well described, the clinical characteristics of adult-onset idiopathic PPS have not been established. Our objectives in this study were to characterise the disease profile of adult-onset PPS. METHODS: We collected data in Japanese centres. This cohort included patients who underwent pulmonary angiography (PAG) and excluded patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension or Takayasu arteritis. Patient backgrounds, right heart catheterisation (RHC) findings, imaging findings and treatment profiles were collected. RESULTS: 44 patients (median (interquartile range) age 39 (29-57) years; 29 females (65.9%)) with PPS were enrolled from 20 centres. In PAG, stenosis of segmental and peripheral pulmonary arteries was observed in 41 (93.2%) and 36 patients (81.8%), respectively. 35 patients (79.5%) received medications approved for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and 22 patients (50.0%) received combination therapy. 25 patients (56.8%) underwent transcatheter pulmonary angioplasty. RHC data showed improvements in both mean pulmonary arterial pressure (44 versus 40 mmHg; p<0.001) and pulmonary vascular resistance (760 versus 514 dyn·s·cm-5; p<0.001) from baseline to final follow-up. The 3-, 5- and 10-year survival rates of patients with PPS were 97.5% (95% CI 83.5-99.6%), 89.0% (95% CI 68.9-96.4%) and 67.0% (95% CI 41.4-83.3%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, patients with adult-onset idiopathic PPS presented with segmental and peripheral pulmonary artery stenosis. Although patients had severe pulmonary hypertension at baseline, they showed a favourable treatment response to PAH drugs combined with transcatheter pulmonary angioplasty.

Application of the RIETE score to identify low-risk patients with pulmonary embolism: From the COMMAND VTE Registry.

BACKGROUND: The RIETE score could be specifically useful for identification of low-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) patients for home treatment. However, the external validation of the RIETE score has been limited. METHODS: The COMMAND VTE Registry is a multicenter registry enrolling consecutive patients with acute symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE). The current study population consisted of 1479 patients with acute PE, who were divided into 2 groups; RIETE scores of 0 (N = 260) and ≥ 1 (N = 1219). RESULTS: The cumulative 10-day and 30-day incidences of a composite endpoint of all-cause death, recurrent PE, or major bleeding were lower in patients with the RIETE score of 0 than in those with the RIETE score of ≥1 (10-day: 0.4 % vs. 6.7 %, P < 0.001, and 30-day: 0.4 % vs. 10.0 %, P < 0.001). The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) in the RIETE score for the 10-day composite endpoint showed numerically better predictive ability than that in the sPESI score (0.77 vs. 0.73, P = 0.07), and the AUC in the RIETE score for the 30-day composite endpoint showed significantly better predictive ability than that in the sPESI score (0.77 vs. 0.71, P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The RIETE score was well validated in the current large real-world registry. The RIETE score of 0 could identify patients with reasonably low risks of the 10-day and 30-day composite endpoint of all-cause death, recurrent PE, or major bleeding.

Age and long-term outcomes of patients with venous thromboembolism: From the COMMAND VTE Registry.

BACKGROUND: There is still a scarcity of data on the relation between age and long-term clinical outcomes of patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE). METHODS: The COMMAND VTE Registry was a multicenter registry enrolling 3027 consecutive patients with acute symptomatic VTE in Japan between January 2010 and August 2014. We divided the entire cohort into 3 groups: patients aged <65 years (N = 1100, 36.7%), patients aged 65 ≤ and ≤ 80 years (N = 1314, 43.4%), and patients aged >80 years (N = 603, 19.9%). RESULTS: Discontinuation of anticoagulation therapy during the follow-up period was most frequent in patients aged <65 years (44%, 38% and 33%, P < 0.001). The cumulative 5-year incidences were 12.7%, 9.8% and 7.4% for recurrent VTE, 10.8%, 12.2% and 14.9% for major bleeding, and 23.0%, 31.4%, and 38.6% for all-cause death. Adjusting for cofounders and taking into account the competing risk of all-cause death, the lower risk of patients aged >80 years, and those aged 65 ≤ and ≤ 80 years relative to those aged <65 years remained significant for recurrent VTE (65 ≤ age ≤ 80 years, HR: 0.71, 95%CI: 0.53-0.94, P = 0.02; age > 80 years, HR: 0.59, 95%CI: 0.39-0.89, P = 0.01), and the risk remained insignificant for major bleeding (65 ≤ age ≤ 80 years, HR: 1.00, 95%CI: 0.76-1.31, P = 0.98; age > 80 years, HR: 1.17, 95%CI: 0.83-1.65, P = 0.37). CONCLUSIONS: In the current real-world VTE registry, there was no significant difference in the risk of major bleeding depending on different age groups, while younger patients showed an excess risk for recurrent VTE compared with older patients.

Forty-year survival after Glenn procedure without Fontan procedure in patients with single ventricle.

OBJECTIVES: There are no data on long-term outcomes beyond 30 years after the Glenn procedure without the subsequent Fontan procedure in patients with single-ventricle physiology. Hence, this study aimed to clarify the very long-term outcomes of these patients. METHODS: This single-centre, retrospective cohort study investigated the clinical outcomes of patients with single-ventricle physiology who underwent the Glenn procedure between 1970 and 1999. Those who underwent the subsequent Fontan procedure were excluded. The primary outcome was all-cause death. The secondary outcome was a composite of all-cause death, arrhythmic events, neurological events or infective endocarditis. The prognostic factors associated with the long-term outcomes were also evaluated. RESULTS: In total, 36 patients were enrolled (median age at Glenn procedure: 6.2 years, 56% male). During a median follow-up of 17.6 years (interquartile range: 6.1-33.4), 21 patients died and 29 experienced the composite outcome. The 20-, 30- and 40-year overall survival after the Glenn procedure was 51.2%, 44.4% and 40.3%, respectively. The 20-, 30- and 40-year event-free survival was 36.0%, 25.5% and 14.5%, respectively. Patients with dominant left ventricular morphology had better overall survival than those with dominant right ventricular morphology (hazard ratio: 0.24, 95% confidence interval: 0.08-0.76, P = 0.014). None of the patients had liver cirrhosis but 1 had protein-losing enteropathy. CONCLUSIONS: The 40-year overall survival after the Glenn procedure without the subsequent Fontan procedure in patients with single-ventricle physiology was 40.3%. Dominant left ventricular morphology may be associated with better long-term overall survival than dominant right ventricular morphology.

Impact of Heart Rate at Diagnosis on Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Acute Pulmonary Embolism.

Data on the impact of heart rate (HR) at diagnosis on clinical outcomes in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) remain scarce. The present study population consisted of 1,532 patients with PE; the patients were divided into 4 groups, including (1) HR <80 beats/min (n = 451, 29%), (2) 80 ≤HR <100 beats/min (n = 620, 40%), (3) 100 ≤HR <110 beats/min (n = 215, 14%), and (4) HR ≥110 beats/min (n = 246, 16%). The cumulative 30-day incidences of all-cause death were significantly higher in the 100 ≤HR <110 and HR ≥110 beats/min groups than in the HR <80 beats/min group. Incidences were 2.7%, 3.6%, 6.6%, and 5.7% (p = 0.04) in the HR <80 beats/min, 80 ≤HR <100 beats/min, 100 ≤HR <110 beats/min, and HR ≥110 beats/min groups, respectively. With the HR <80 beats/min group as reference, the 100 ≤HR <110 and HR ≥110 groups, but not the 80 ≤HR <100 group, were significantly associated with an increased risk of 30-day all-cause death. Hazard ratio was 2.53 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17 to 5.56, p = 0.02) for the 80 ≤HR <100 beats/min group, 2.20 (95% CI 1.02 to 4.84, p = 0.046) for the 100 ≤HR <110 beats/min group, and 1.34 (95% CI 0.67 to 2.79, p = 0.41) for the HR ≥110 beats/min group. The cumulative 30-day incidences of all-cause death in patients with simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index score = 0 were 0.6%, 0.3%, and 0.7% when based on cut-off values of HR ≥110 beats/min, HR ≥100 beats/min, and ≥80 beats/min, respectively. Patients with moderate tachycardia (100 ≤HR <110) seemed to be at comparable risk of 30-day all-cause death to those with HR ≥110 beats/min and at higher risk of 30-day all-cause death than those with HR <80 beats/min; this may suggest a potential benefit of the alternative cut-off value of HR ≥100 beats/min in the simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index score for identification of low-risk patients.

Clinical characteristics, management strategies and outcomes of patients with recurrent venous thromboembolism in the real world.

There is a paucity of data on management strategies and clinical outcomes after recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE). In a multicenter registry enrolling 3027 patients with acute symptomatic VTE, the current study population was divided into the following 3 groups: (1) First recurrent VTE during anticoagulation therapy (N = 110); (2) First recurrent VTE after discontinuation of anticoagulation therapy (N = 116); and (3) No recurrent VTE (N = 2801). Patients with first recurrent VTE during anticoagulation therapy more often had active cancer (45, 25 and 22%, P < 0.001). Among 110 patients with first recurrent VTE during anticoagulation therapy, 84 patients (76%) received warfarin at recurrent VTE with the median prothrombin time-international normalized ratio (PT-INR) value at recurrent VTE of 1.6, although patients with active cancer had a significantly higher median PT-INR value at recurrent VTE compared with those without active cancer (2.0 versus 1.4, P < 0.001). Within 90 days after recurrent VTE, 23 patients (20.9%) during anticoagulation therapy and 24 patients (20.7%) after discontinuation of anticoagulation therapy died. Active cancer was a major cause of recurrent VTE during anticoagulation therapy as a patient-related factor, while sub-optimal intensity of anticoagulation therapy was a major cause of recurrent VTE during anticoagulation therapy as a treatment-related factor, particularly in patients without active cancer.

Influence of forward head posture on muscle activation pattern of the trapezius pars descendens muscle in young adults.

Forward head posture (FHP) is a serious problem causing head and neck disability, but the characteristics of muscle activity during long-term postural maintenance are unclear. This study aimed to investigate a comparison of electromyography (EMG) activation properties and subjective fatigue between young adults with and without habitual FHP. In this study, we examined the changes in the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of muscle activity using high-density surface EMG (HD-SEMG) in addition to mean frequency, a conventional measure of muscle fatigue. Nineteen male participants were included in the study (FHP group (n = 9; age = 22.3 ± 1.5 years) and normal group (n = 10; age = 22.5 ± 1.4 years)). Participants held three head positions (e.g., forward, backward, and neutral positions) for a total of 30 min each, and the EMG activity of the trapezius pars descendens muscle during posture maintenance was measured by HD-SEMG. The root mean square (RMS), the modified entropy, and the correlation coefficient were calculated. Additionally, the visual analogue scale (VAS) was evaluated to assess subjective fatigue. The RMS, VAS, modified entropy, and correlation coefficients were significantly higher in the FHP group than in the normal group (p < 0.001). With increasing postural maintenance time, the modified entropy and correlation coefficient values significantly decreased, and the mean frequency and VAS values significantly increased (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the forward position had significantly higher RMS, correlation coefficient, modified entropy, and VAS values than in the neutral position (p < 0.001). The HD-SEMG potential distribution patterns in the FHP group showed less heterogeneity and greater muscle activity in the entire muscle and subjective fatigue than those in the normal group. Excess muscle activity even in the neutral/comfortable position in the FHP group could potentially be a mechanism of neuromuscular conditions in this population.

Causes of long-term mortality in patients with venous thromboembolism in the real world: From the COMMAND VTE registry.

INTRODUCTION: There is still a scarcity of data on causes of long-term mortality in patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The COMMAND VTE Registry is a physician-initiated, retrospective, multicenter cohort study in which consecutive 3027 patients with acute symptomatic VTE among 29 centers in Japan were included between January 2010 and August 2014. We investigated detailed causes and risk factors for long-term mortality. RESULTS: During a median observation period of 1218 days, a total of 764 patients died, and the prevalence of active cancer was higher in patients who died than in patients alive (61 % versus 10 %, P < 0.001). The cumulative incidences of cardiac death, pulmonary embolism (PE)-related death, bleeding death, cancer death, and non-cardiovascular non-cancer death were 2.2 %, 2.9 %, 2.0 %, 16.1 %, and 6.7 % at 5 years, respectively. The incidence of cancer death increased gradually, which was the most common cause of long-term death. Among patients without active cancer, the incidence of PE-related death increased rapidly and became a plateau beyond the acute phase, whereas the incidence of non-cardiovascular non-cancer death kept increasing, which became most common in the long term. The separate multivariable analysis among patient with and without active cancer identified independent risk factors of all-cause death including a few patient characteristics among patients with active cancer and several patient characteristics among patients without active cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer was the most common cause of long-term mortality, while non-cardiovascular non-cancer death became most common among patients without active cancer.

A case of systemic sclerosis with worsened subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction after pacemaker implantation.

A 58-year-old man suffering from systemic sclerosis was admitted to our hospital because of heart failure. He developed atrioventricular block 4 months previously and had a pacemaker implanted, after which left ventricular wall motion markedly worsened. The global longitudinal strain was already decreased before the onset of atrioventricular block, although the left ventricular ejection fraction was normal. Right ventricular pacing was suspected to have caused overt left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Therefore, right ventricular pacing was upgraded to cardiac resynchronization therapy. After this change, the left ventricular ejection fraction improved to almost normal, but global longitudinal strain remained decreased. The findings in our case suggest that some patients with systemic sclerosis already have subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction before the onset of atrioventricular block. Additionally, right ventricular pacing may cause further deterioration of left ventricular systolic function and heart failure. Learning objective: The possibility of subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction associated with systemic sclerosis should be considered when implanting a pacemaker. Speckle-tracking echocardiography may also be useful in the management of patients with systemic sclerosis.