Echocardiography predictors of sustained sinus rhythm after cardioversion of supraventricular arrhythmia in patients with septic shock.

PURPOSE: The echocardiography parameters may predict the maintenance of sinus rhythm after cardioversion of a supraventricular arrhythmia (SVA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients in septic shock with onset of an SVA, normal to moderately reduced LV systolic function (EF_LV˃̳35%) and on a continuous noradrenaline of <1.0 µg/kg.min were included. Echocardiography was performed at the arrhythmia onset, 1 h and 4 h post cardioversion on an infusion of propafenone or amiodarone. RESULTS: Cardioversion was achieved in 96% of the 209 patients within a median time of 6(1.8-15.6)h, 134(64.1%) patients experienced at least one SVA recurrence after cardioversion. At 4 h the left atrial emptying fraction (LA_EF, cut-off 38.4%, AUC 0.69,p˂0.001), and transmitral A wave velocity-time-integral (Avti, cut-off 6.8 cm, AUC 0.65,p = 0.001) showed as limited predictors of a single arrhythmia recurrence. The LA_EF 44(36,49)%, (p = 0.005) and the Avti 8.65(7.13,9.50)cm, (p < 0.001) were associated with sustained sinus rhythm and decreased proportionally to increasing numbers of arrhythmia recurrences (p < 0.001 and p = 0.007, respectively). The enlarged left atrial end-systolic diameter at the arrhythmia onset (p = 0.04) and elevated systolic pulmonary artery pressure at 4 h (p = 0.007) were weak predictors of multiple(˃3) recurrences. CONCLUSION: The LA_EF and Avti are related to arrhythmia recurrences post-cardioversion suggesting potential guidance to the choice between rhythm and rate control strategies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03029169, registered on 24th of January 2017.

Inflammation and altered metabolism impede efficacy of functional electrical stimulation in critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND: Critically ill patients suffer from acute muscle wasting, which is associated with significant physical functional impairment. We describe data from nested muscle biopsy studies from two trials of functional electrical stimulation (FES) that did not shown improvements in physical function. METHODS: Primary cohort: single-centre randomized controlled trial. Additional healthy volunteer data from patients undergoing elective hip arthroplasty. Validation cohort: Four-centre randomized controlled trial. INTERVENTION: FES cycling for 60-90min/day. ANALYSES: Skeletal muscle mRNA expression of 223 genes underwent hierarchal clustering for targeted analysis and validation. RESULTS: Positively enriched pathways between healthy volunteers and ICU participants were "stress response", "response to stimuli" and "protein metabolism", in keeping with published data. Positively enriched pathways between admission and day 7 ICU participants were "FOXO-mediated transcription" (admission = 0.48 ± 0.94, day 7 = - 0.47 ± 1.04 mean log2 fold change; P = 0.042), "Fatty acid metabolism" (admission = 0.50 ± 0.67, day 7 = 0.07 ± 1.65 mean log2 fold change; P = 0.042) and "Interleukin-1 processing" (admission = 0.88 ± 0.50, day 7 = 0.97 ± 0.76 mean log2 fold change; P = 0.054). Muscle mRNA expression of UCP3 (P = 0.030) and DGKD (P = 0.040) decreased in both cohorts with no between group differences. Changes in IL-18 were not observed in the validation cohort (P = 0.268). Targeted analyses related to intramuscular mitochondrial substrate oxidation, fatty acid oxidation and intramuscular inflammation showed PPARγ-C1α; (P < 0.001), SLC25A20 (P = 0.017) and UCP3 (P < 0.001) decreased between admission and day 7 in both arms. LPIN-1 (P < 0.001) and SPT1 (P = 0.044) decreased between admission and day 7. IL-18 (P = 0.011) and TNFRSF12A (P = 0.009) increased in both arms between admission and day 7. IL-1ß (P = 0.007), its receptor IL-1R1 (P = 0.005) and IL-6R (P = 0.001) decreased in both arms between admission and day 7. No between group differences were seen in any of these (all p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Intramuscular inflammation and altered substrate utilization are persistent in skeletal muscle during first week of critical illness and are not improved by the application of Functional Electrical Stimulation-assisted exercise. Future trials of exercise to prevent muscle wasting and physical impairment are unlikely to be successful unless these processes are addressed by other means than exercise alone.

Breast implant rupture: A sports trauma report.

OBJECTIVE: Breast augmentation is one of the most commonly performed plastic surgery procedures worldwide. Because of the quality of the implant material, implant rupture may first occur about 10 years after implantation. Ruptured breast implants caused by competitive sport events are rare but should be considered in women athletes as a potential risk factor. The authors report a noteworthy case of this kind. DESIGN: Literature overview and case report. SETTING: Department of Plastic and Obstetrics and Gynaecology 1st faculty of Charls University, Bulovka hospital, Prague. METHODS: Evaluation of the literature and an observational study. CONCLUSION: Breast implant ruptures are generally at high risk in competitive contact sports. We do not recommend the use of breast implants in women competing in contact sports such as boxing.

The history and safety of breast implants.

Breast implants are medical devices used for augmentation of the breast, to reconstruct the breast after mastectomy and to correct breast asymmetry. The breast prostheses are likely the most frequently used medical implants. The evolution of modern silicone breast implants was not straightforward and is characterised with a lot of medical, forensic and public attention. Currently it is sufficiently established that implants are safe and can be used for breast reconstruction and aesthetic augmentation. Prosthesis can rupture and produce local symptoms but there is no evidence that silicone breast implants can be of any health hazards for the patients.

Haemophilia - unexpected complication of rhinoplasty.

Authors report a case of unexpected postoperative bleeding after an aesthetic rhinoplasty that was due to previously undiagnosed asymptomatic haemophilia.

Our eight-year experience with breast reconstruction using abdominal advancement flap (207 reconstructions).

There are many possibilities for breast reconstruction after mastectomy. The use of abdominal advancement flap in combination with silicone implant is among the less commonly used methods, although it is simple, fast and leads to excellent results. We started to use this technique at our department eight years ago. Since then we have performed 207 breast reconstructions using abdominal advancement flap in combination with silicone implants. We performed follow-up checks on the patients for between one and six years.

[Hormonal contraception interactions]. / Moiné interakce hormonální antikoncepce.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to discuss the probable ways of interactions between some drugs or remedies and steroid contraceptives. DESIGN: A review article. SETTING: OBGYN Clinic of the 1t Faculty of Medicine, Prague, Teaching Hospital Bulovka. SUBJECT: Low dose oral contraceptives are very popular these days. Some drugs and remedies could negatively influence the levels of ethinyl estradiol (EE) and/or progestins and thus increase the possibility of their failure. These drugs mostly implicate as an inducer of the CYP450 system (liver) and as an inducer of P-glycoprotein transport system (transmembrane drug pump in the intestines). We wanted to describe briefly the mechanism and the principles of their impact.