The Relationship between Frontal QRS-T Angle and Vitamin D Deficiency.

Background and Objectives: A deficiency in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels is associated with a number of cardiovascular situations, such as high blood pressure, heart failure, atherosclerotic heart disease, and peripheral artery disease. The frontal QRS-T angle has recently been proposed as a marker of ventricular repolarization. A wider frontal QRS-T angle has been positively correlated with adverse cardiac events. The objective of our study was to examine the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and the frontal QRS-T angle. Materials and Methods: A total of 173 consecutive patients aged 18-60 years undergoing routine cardiology check-up evaluation, and not receiving concurrent vitamin D treatment were included in the study. Patients were classified in three groups, depending on their vitamin D levels, and categorized as follows: Group 1-deficient (<20 ng/mL), Group 2-insufficient (20-29 ng/mL), or Group 3-optimal (≥30 ng/mL). The frontal QRS-T angle was determined using the automated reports generated by the electrocardiography machine. Results: The average age of participants was 45.8 (±12.2) years, and 55.5% of participants were female (p < 0.001). Individuals with low vitamin D concentrations exhibited a wider frontal QRS-T angle. It was determined that vitamin D level is an independent predictive factor for the frontal QRS-T angle. Conclusions: As the levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D decrease, repolarization time assessed by frontal QRS-T angle is widened. Our findings indicate that lower concentrations of vitamin D may increase the susceptibility to ventricular arrhythmia.

Impact of drug interactions with direct oral anticoagulants on mortality in elderly with atrial fibrillation during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: To evaluate the effect of drug interactions with chronic direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) on mortality in older atrial fibrillation (AF) patients during the Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic.MethodsWe followed a total of 601 elderly patients (65 years of age) from the NOEL-Drug Registry cohort who were referred to a tertiary outpatient clinic between 9 March 2020 and 1 March 2021. We recorded clinical characteristics and medications for the last 3 months. In addition, all drug interactions were identified using Lexicomp®. Finally, we recorded retrospectively all death events, COVID-19 diagnosis, and relevant deaths from the database at the end of the study. According to logistic regression, we performed propensity score (PS) matching to reduce potential bias. Factors associated with total mortality in the 12 months were analyzed using multivariable Cox proportion hazard analysis.ResultsThe mean age [standard deviation (SD)] was 74.5 (±6.9), and the male/female ratio was 337/264. The prevalence of total mortality was 16.9% (n=102). A total of 4472 drugs were analyzed for DOAC interaction. 81.8% of older AF patients were not at risk in terms of potential interaction. In the Cox proportional hazard model after PS-matching, previous DOAC use with class X interaction was associated with significantly higher mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio: 2.745, 95% confidence interval: 1.465–5.172, p=0.004).ConclusionsOur study showed that while most co-medications do not have significant interactions with DOACs, few serious drug interactions contribute to mortality in elderly patients with AF during the pandemic. (AU)

Introducción: Evaluar el efecto de las interacciones farmacológicas con anticoagulantes orales directos (ACOD) crónicos sobre la mortalidad en pacientes mayores con fibrilación auricular (FA) durante la pandemia de la enfermedad por coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).MétodosSeguimos a un total de 601 pacientes ancianos (65años) de la cohorte NOEL-Drug Registry que fueron remitidos a una consulta externa de tercer nivel entre el 9 de marzo de 2020 y el 1 de marzo de 2021. Registramos las características clínicas y los medicamentos durante los últimos tres meses. Además, todas las interacciones medicamentosas se identificaron utilizando Lexicomp®. Finalmente, registramos retrospectivamente todos los eventos de muerte, el diagnóstico de COVID-19 y las muertes relevantes de la base de datos al final del estudio. De acuerdo con la regresión logística, realizamos un emparejamiento por puntaje de propensión (PP) para reducir el posible sesgo. Los factores asociados con la mortalidad total en los 12 meses se analizaron mediante análisis de riesgo de proporción de Cox multivariable.ResultadosLa edad media (desviación estándar [DE]) fue de 74,5 (±6,9) y la relación hombre/mujer, de 337/264. La prevalencia de mortalidad total fue del 16,9% (n=102). Se analizaron un total de 4.472 fármacos para determinar la interacción con ACOD. El 81,8% de los pacientes mayores con FA no estaban en riesgo en términos de interacción potencial. En el modelo de riesgos proporcionales de Cox después del emparejamiento por PP, el uso previo de ACOD con interacción X clase se asoció con un riesgo de mortalidad significativamente mayor (índice de riesgo ajustado: 2,745; intervalo de confianza del 95%: 1,465-5,172; p=0,004). (AU)

Impact of drug interactions with direct oral anticoagulants on mortality in elderly with atrial fibrillation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of drug interactions with chronic direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) on mortality in older atrial fibrillation (AF) patients during the Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: We followed a total of 601 elderly patients (65 years of age) from the NOEL-Drug Registry cohort who were referred to a tertiary outpatient clinic between 9 March 2020 and 1 March 2021. We recorded clinical characteristics and medications for the last 3 months. In addition, all drug interactions were identified using Lexicomp®. Finally, we recorded retrospectively all death events, COVID-19 diagnosis, and relevant deaths from the database at the end of the study. According to logistic regression, we performed propensity score (PS) matching to reduce potential bias. Factors associated with total mortality in the 12 months were analyzed using multivariable Cox proportion hazard analysis. Results: The mean age [standard deviation (SD)] was 74.5 (±6.9), and the male/female ratio was 337/264. The prevalence of total mortality was 16.9% (n = 102). A total of 4472 drugs were analyzed for DOAC interaction. 81.8% of older AF patients were not at risk in terms of potential interaction. In the Cox proportional hazard model after PS-matching, previous DOAC use with class X interaction was associated with significantly higher mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio: 2.745, 95% confidence interval: 1.465-5.172, p = 0.004). Conclusions: Our study showed that while most co-medications do not have significant interactions with DOACs, few serious drug interactions contribute to mortality in elderly patients with AF during the pandemic.

Introducción: Evaluar el efecto de las interacciones farmacológicas con anticoagulantes orales directos (ACOD) crónicos sobre la mortalidad en pacientes mayores con fibrilación auricular (FA) durante la pandemia de la enfermedad por coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). Métodos: Seguimos a un total de 601 pacientes ancianos (65 años) de la cohorte NOEL-Drug Registry que fueron remitidos a una consulta externa de tercer nivel entre el 9 de marzo de 2020 y el 1 de marzo de 2021. Registramos las características clínicas y los medicamentos durante los últimos tres meses. Además, todas las interacciones medicamentosas se identificaron utilizando Lexicomp®. Finalmente, registramos retrospectivamente todos los eventos de muerte, el diagnóstico de COVID-19 y las muertes relevantes de la base de datos al final del estudio. De acuerdo con la regresión logística, realizamos un emparejamiento por puntaje de propensión (PP) para reducir el posible sesgo. Los factores asociados con la mortalidad total en los 12 meses se analizaron mediante análisis de riesgo de proporción de Cox multivariable. Resultados: La edad media (desviación estándar [DE]) fue de 74,5 (± 6,9) y la relación hombre/mujer, de 337/264. La prevalencia de mortalidad total fue del 16,9% (n = 102). Se analizaron un total de 4.472 fármacos para determinar la interacción con ACOD. El 81,8% de los pacientes mayores con FA no estaban en riesgo en términos de interacción potencial. En el modelo de riesgos proporcionales de Cox después del emparejamiento por PP, el uso previo de ACOD con interacción X clase se asoció con un riesgo de mortalidad significativamente mayor (índice de riesgo ajustado: 2,745; intervalo de confianza del 95%: 1,465-5,172; p = 0,004). Conclusión: Nuestro estudio mostró que, si bien la mayoría de los medicamentos concomitantes no tienen interacciones significativas con los ACOD, pocas interacciones farmacológicas graves contribuyen a la mortalidad en pacientes de edad avanzada con fibrilación auricular durante la pandemia.

Impact of drug interactions with direct oral anticoagulants on mortality in elderly with atrial fibrillation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of drug interactions with chronic direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) on mortality in older atrial fibrillation (AF) patients during the Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: We followed a total of 601 elderly patients (65 years of age) from the NOEL-Drug Registry cohort who were referred to a tertiary outpatient clinic between 9 March 2020 and 1 March 2021. We recorded clinical characteristics and medications for the last 3 months. In addition, all drug interactions were identified using Lexicomp®. Finally, we recorded retrospectively all death events, COVID-19 diagnosis, and relevant deaths from the database at the end of the study. According to logistic regression, we performed propensity score (PS) matching to reduce potential bias. Factors associated with total mortality in the 12 months were analyzed using multivariable Cox proportion hazard analysis. RESULTS: The mean age [standard deviation (SD)] was 74.5 (±6.9), and the male/female ratio was 337/264. The prevalence of total mortality was 16.9% (n=102). A total of 4472 drugs were analyzed for DOAC interaction. 81.8% of older AF patients were not at risk in terms of potential interaction. In the Cox proportional hazard model after PS-matching, previous DOAC use with class X interaction was associated with significantly higher mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio: 2.745, 95% confidence interval: 1.465-5.172, p=0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that while most co-medications do not have significant interactions with DOACs, few serious drug interactions contribute to mortality in elderly patients with AF during the pandemic.

Effects of new drug interaction index on drug adherence in older patients with hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: Hypertension is a challenging problem in the older population because of poor drug adherence (DA). We aimed to determine the DA and examine the drug interaction index (DII) on DA in older patients with hypertension. METHODS: In this cross-sectional, observational study, we enrolled 418 eligible patients aged ≥ 65 years between 1 February 2020 and 30 September 2020 in a tertiary hospital outpatient cardiology clinic. We prepared a questionnaire to record sociodemographic characteristics, morbidities, and drugs used by the population. The Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 (MMAS-8) was used for DA assessment. We identified drug interactions using the Lexicomp application. We calculated the DII from a ratio of clinically relevant interaction to total interaction. Descriptive tests and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to find independent factors on DA. RESULTS: The mean age (± standard deviation [SD]) was 72.91 (±6.47), and 272/146 were female/male in the study population. The most frequent comorbid disease was diabetes mellitus (23.5%). The percentage of patients having polypharmacy was 39.5, and the mean daily drug (±SD) use was 4.27 (±2.57). The most prescribed antihypertensive drugs were thiazide/derivates (29.8%) and angiotensin receptor blockers (24.8%). The mean MMAS-8 (±SD) was 4.55±0.98, and 321 (76.8%) participants had a poor DA. A total of 33.4% of patients had significant drug interaction. The mean DII (±SD) was 0.345±0.017. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for DII was 0.616 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.547-0.686). CONCLUSION: We defined a new index for drug interaction intensity. Furthermore, the DII may be a useful tool to study aspects of DA in older patients with hypertension.