Objective Improvements in Peripheral Arterial Disease from Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation: A Case Series.

BACKGROUND: The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is important in the regulation of perfusion. Dorsal root ganglion stimulation (DRG-S) modulates sympathetic tone and is approved to treat complex regional pain syndrome, a disorder related to SNS dysfunction. We herein present 3 cases of DRG-S therapy to improve blood flow and symptoms of ischemia in peripheral arterial disease (PAD). METHODS: Patient 1 is a 44-year-old female with dry gangrene of the third and fourth digits of her right hand due to Raynaud's syndrome who was scheduled for amputation of the affected digits. DRG-S leads were placed at the right C6, 7, and 8 DRG. Pulse volume recordings (PVR) were measured at baseline and after DRG-S. Patient 2 is a 55-year-old female with a non-healing ulcer of her left foot secondary to PAD scheduled for a below the knee amputation who underwent a DRG-S trial with leads placed at the left L4 and L5 DRG followed by a spinal cord stimulation trial with leads placed at the T9-T10 spinal levels for comparison. Transcutaneous oximetry (TcPO2) was measured at baseline and after 3 days of each therapy. Patient 3 is a 69-year-old female with persistent left foot pain at rest secondary to PAD with DRG-S leads placed at the left L4 and S1 levels. RESULTS: All 3 patients experienced a significant reduction in pain with DRG-S, along with improvements in blood flow of the involved extremities, avoiding or limiting amputation. PVR improved dramatically with DRG-S in patient 1. A greater improvement in TcPO2 was seen with the DRG-S trial compared to spinal cord stimulation trial in patient 2. Patient 3 experienced an increase in walking distance and demonstrated long term efficacy and limb salvage at 32 months postimplantation. CONCLUSIONS: Modulation of SNS output from DRG-S through orthodromic and antidromic autonomic pathways is likely responsible for improving blood flow. DRG-S may be a treatment option for PAD.

Acute Arterial Thromboembolism in Patients with COVID-19 in the New York City Area.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) predisposes to arterial and venous thromboembolic complications. We describe the clinical presentation, management, and outcomes of acute arterial ischemia and concomitant infection at the epicenter of cases in the United States. METHODS: Patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection between March 1, 2020 and May 15, 2020 with an acute arterial thromboembolic event were reviewed. Data collected included demographics, anatomical location of the thromboembolism, treatments, and outcomes. RESULTS: Over the 11-week period, the Northwell Health System cared for 12,630 hospitalized patients with COVID-19. A total of 49 patients with arterial thromboembolism and confirmed COVID-19 were identified. The median age was 67 years (58-75) and 37 (76%) were men. The most common preexisting conditions were hypertension (53%) and diabetes (35%). The median D-dimer level was 2,673 ng/mL (723-7,139). The distribution of thromboembolic events included upper 7 (14%) and lower 35 (71%) extremity ischemia, bowel ischemia 2 (4%), and cerebral ischemia 5 (10%). Six patients (12%) had thrombus in multiple locations. Concomitant deep vein thrombosis was found in 8 patients (16%). Twenty-two (45%) patients presented with signs of acute arterial ischemia and were subsequently diagnosed with COVID-19. The remaining 27 (55%) developed ischemia during hospitalization. Revascularization was performed in 13 (27%) patients, primary amputation in 5 (10%), administration of systemic tissue- plasminogen activator in 3 (6%), and 28 (57%) were treated with systemic anticoagulation only. The rate of limb loss was 18%. Twenty-one patients (46%) died in the hospital. Twenty-five (51%) were successfully discharged, and 3 patients are still in the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: While the mechanism of thromboembolic events in patients with COVID-19 remains unclear, the occurrence of such complication is associated with acute arterial ischemia which results in a high limb loss and mortality.

Relationships between the use of pharmacomechanical catheter-directed thrombolysis, sonographic findings, and clinical outcomes in patients with acute proximal DVT: Results from the ATTRACT Multicenter Randomized Trial.

Few studies have documented relationships between endovascular therapy, duplex ultrasonography (DUS), post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS), and quality of life (QOL). The Acute Venous Thrombosis: Thrombus Removal with Adjunctive Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis (ATTRACT) trial randomized 692 patients with acute proximal deep vein thrombosis (DVT) to receive anticoagulation or anticoagulation plus pharmacomechanical catheter-directed thrombolysis (PCDT). Compression DUS was obtained at baseline, 1 month and 12 months. Reflux DUS was obtained at 12 months in a subset of 126 patients. Clinical outcomes were collected over 24 months. At 1 month, patients who received PCDT had less residual thrombus compared to Control patients, evidenced by non-compressible common femoral vein (CFV) (21% vs 35%, p < 0.0001), femoral vein (51% vs 70%, p < 0.0001), and popliteal vein (61% vs 74%, p < 0.0001). At 12 months, in the ultrasound substudy, valvular reflux prevalence was similar between groups (85% vs 91%, p = 0.35). CFV non-compressibility at 1 month was associated with higher rates of any PTS (61% vs 46%, p < 0.001), a higher incidence of moderate-or-severe PTS (30% vs 19%, p = 0.003), and worse QOL (difference 8.2 VEINES-QOL (VEnous INsufficiency Epidemiological and Economic Study on Quality of Life) points; p = 0.004) at 24 months. Valvular reflux at 12 months was associated with moderate-or-severe PTS at 24 months (30% vs 0%, p = 0.01). In summary, PCDT results in less residual thrombus but does not reduce venous valvular reflux. CFV non-compressibility at 1 month is associated with more PTS, more severe PTS, and worse QOL at 24 months. Valvular reflux may predispose to moderate-or-severe PTS. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT00790335.

Routine Postoperative Cardiac Testing is Unnecessary after Carotid Endarterectomy.

BACKGROUND: Routine laboratory testing to rule out myocardial infarction (MI) after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is common in many centers. Its use in this patient population has not been thoroughly investigated. We hypothesize that routine testing for MI in post-CEA patients is of low yield and not cost-effective. METHODS: A retrospective review of 291 consecutive CEAs from February 2011 to July 2015 was performed. Two patients were excluded: one for postoperative noncardiac death and one for preoperative MI. Patient demographics, medications, medical history, type of anesthesia, and postoperative laboratory results were reviewed. All patients had troponin-I and creatine kinase-MB levels taken postoperatively. A patient was judged to have an MI if troponin-I was greater than or equal to 0.6 ng/mL or CK-MB is >6.3 ng/mL. The incidence of postoperative MI was recorded, and a cost analysis was performed. RESULTS: The mean age was 70.2 years (range: 42-92). Of all, 59.5% were male, and 92.4% had a history of hypertension. Preoperatively, 57.4% were on beta-blocker therapy, 86.5% on aspirin, and 52.2% on both. Most (80.6%) were on preoperative statin therapy, 26.9% had a prior history of MI (37.2% within 5 years of surgery), and 56.4% of patients had a prior coronary intervention (27.6% percutaneous, 28.7% coronary artery bypass grafting, and 11% both). All patients received general anesthesia. The mean procedure time was 121.5 min (range: 62-258). The mean postoperative length of stay was 2.6 days. Eight patients (2.7%) were judged to have acute MI, one of which was symptomatic. Three of the 8 (38%) had a prior history of MI. In asymptomatic patients, the peak level of troponin-I ranges from 0.52 to 3.64 ng/mL and that of CK-MB from 11.8 to 24 ng/mL. The symptomatic patient had chest pain and bradycardia. The patient had a peak troponin-I level of 1.59 ng/mL, with a CK-MB level of 11.5 ng/mL. All patients were treated medically. The cost per troponin-I and CK-MB is $27.78 and $31.44, respectively, in our institution. We estimate that eliminating routine postoperative troponin-I and CK-MB testing in patients who underwent CEA would have saved an estimated $51,343 over the course of treatment of the studied population. CONCLUSIONS: Routine postoperative cardiac laboratory testing in asymptomatic patients after CEA increases the hospital cost. The low overall rate of postoperative MI suggests that cardiac testing is best reserved for symptomatic patients or those with clinical suspicion for MI.