The Resolution of a Cerebrovascular Accident With Phlebotomy in a Hemodialysis Patient With Sickle Cell Disease.

Anemia is commonly observed in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on maintenance hemodialysis (HD) and can be quite severe, particularly when there is an additional comorbidity. With the use of erythropoietin-stimulating agents (ESAs), anemia is effectively treated, but the complete normalization of hemoglobin is not recommended since these agents increase the risk of thrombosis. With improvements in the therapy of sickle cell disease (SCD), patients now survive longer and may more frequently reach end-stage renal disease and require renal replacement therapy. Their anemia can be severe but does respond to ESAs. The goal hemoglobin in these patients is not established and likely should be lower than others on maintenance hemodialysis (HD) since SCD patients already have an increased risk of thrombosis, and the use of ESAs may exacerbate this risk. We present a 57-year-old African-American female with SCD on maintenance HD admitted with an acute cerebrovascular accident (CVA) that occurred in spite of the fact that her hemoglobin was within the accepted range for the general population on maintenance HD. Her neurologic status did not improve with blood pressure control and exchange transfusions, the suggested initial therapy for an acute CVA in a patient with sickle cell disease (SCD). However, with phlebotomy, the patient's symptoms rapidly improved when her hemoglobin was lowered and subsequently maintained with a lower dose of ESAs. Our experience suggests that the hemoglobin goal in SCD patients on maintenance HD should be lower than in other HD patients. The role of phlebotomy during an acute thrombotic event needs to be explored further.

Analysis of STEMI and NSTEMI in a Community Cohort of Marijuana Users.

Background: Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Current research has yet to come to a consensus on its association with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Herein, we aimed to analyze how marijuana use relates to acute ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-STEMI (NSTEMI). Methods: Using a retrospective study design, we gathered data from August 2014 to September 2020 on all percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) done at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center (BUHMC) in patients with NSTEMI and STEMI. To compare marijuana users (MUs) with non-users, t-tests and Chi-square tests were used. A total of 195 patients were included, with mean age at presentation of 47 years old; 59 were females (30.3%) and 136 were males (69.7%). We identified 37 patients who were MUs. MUs were younger than non-users (P < 0.01), had higher rates of alcohol (P = 0.025), opiate (P = 0.004) and cigarette (P ≤ 0.001) use. On admission, MUs had lower creatinine (P = 0.031), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (P = 0.031), pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (PBNP) (P = 0.052), BMI (P = 0.014) and lower right coronary artery (RCA) disease (P = 0.026). Results: After logistic regression analyses, results showed that the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) and admission diagnosis of STEMI or NSTEMI were not found to be significantly related to marijuana use. Age, alcohol, cigarette, creatinine, BUN, PBNP, BMI and RCA disease were significantly related to marijuana use. There was a negative correlation between marijuana use and RCA disease (MUs = 29.7% vs. non-users = 50%, P = 0.026). There was no significant association with STEMI, NSTEMI or the severity of CAD. Conclusion: As daily cannabis use is on the rise, more researches are needed to further determine the effects of marijuana use on CAD.

Pre-hospitalization proton pump inhibitor use and clinical outcomes in COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 may escape the inactivation by gastric acid because of hypochlorhydria caused by proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which could predispose the patients to severe COVID-19. METHODS: We studied the association between prehospitalization PPI exposure and clinical outcomes among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. RESULTS: A total of 295 hospitalized COVID-19 patients were included in the study. 15.6% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients were on PPIs at home. Mortality among PPI-users was 2.3 times higher than non-users, along with 2.3 times higher risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome after adjusting for confounding variables. CONCLUSION: We found that prehospitalization PPI-exposure is independently associated with worse clinical outcomes, including mortality in COVID-19 patients, regardless of the presence of cardiovascular comorbidities.

Congestive Heart Failure Hospitalizations and Cannabis Use Disorder (2010-2014): National Trends and Outcomes.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Prior studies have suggested that cannabis use is an independent risk factor for heart failure. With increasing recreational use of cannabis and decriminalization policies, cannabis use is expected to add to the burden of heart failure, but there is still limited data. Therefore, we utilized the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database (2010-2014) to study the national trends and outcomes among cannabis users admitted for congestive heart failure (CHF). METHODS:  We queried the NIS database and identified CHF as the primary diagnosis with a co-diagnosis of cannabis use disorder (CUD). Trends were analyzed with the linear-by-linear association. RESULTS: Total CHF admissions (N = 4,596,024) with comorbid CUD (N = 23,358 (0.5%)) were identified. An increasing prevalence trend from 0.4% to 0.7% (P= 0.001) was seen. CUD patients had a mean age of 49.78 years, 79% were males, 55.4% were African Americans, and 73.6% earn ≤ 50th percentile median household income of the patient's ZIP code. Inpatient deaths (1.1% vs. 3.1%) were lower (P<0.001), and mean length of stay (LOS) was shorter among cannabis users compared to non-users (P=0.001). The mean LOS and total hospitalization costs demonstrated an increasing trend (Ptrend = 0.001 and Ptrend < 0.001) respectively. Alcohol abuse and depression were more prevalent among CUD compared to non-CUD patients. CONCLUSION: CUD was associated with reduced inpatient deaths, but the prevalence of CUD and hospital charges is on the rise in the CHF inpatient population in addition to shorter mean LOS. Notwithstanding, these above findings prompt further research into its underlying mechanisms along with a probable causal relationship between cannabis and heart failure.

A Rare Case of Resolution of High-Degree Atrioventricular Block Associated With COVID-19.

Cardiac arrhythmias have been reported in the setting of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. To date various tachyarrhythmias have been noted. This case report describes an atypical clinical hospitalization course of high-degree atrioventricular (AV) block in the setting of COVID-19 infection which required no intervention. This case highlights the importance of an initial electrocardiogram (ECG) upon presentation and consideration for constant cardiac monitoring in select patients.