Current practice of percutaneous coronary intervention on patients with acute coronary syndrome in Iran: A prospective observational study.

Background: Frequent Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) procedures are being performed on a daily basis in Iran. However, no study has been reported on the current PCI practice in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in Iran. We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and treatment patterns in Iranian ACS patients treated with PCI. Methods: Between February 2017 and July 2017, ACS patients presented to 5 referral hospitals in two major cities of Iran (Tehran and Shiraz) were included in this observational study if aged > 18 years and underwent PCI for ACS during hospitalization; and their clinical and procedural characteristics were collected. All data were entered into SPSS v.21 and descriptive statistics were performed. Results: Of a total of 314 patients, 228 (73%) were males, 162 (52%) were diagnosed with ST-elevation myocardial infarction and 152 (48%) with Unstable angina/ Non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. Trans-femoral approach was more often (64%) used for PCI procedures. Stent placement was the most frequent (98%) treatment strategy on PCI, with drug-eluting stent selected in the majority of subjects (98%). The overall rate of PCI success was 95%, with 4.1% PCI-related complications, and 1.6% post-PCI bleeding events. The vast majority of the study patients (99%) were discharged with dual anti-platelet therapy. Conclusion: In this study, we observed a high level of adherence to the currently accepted guidelines in the current PCI practice on ACS patients in Iran. Also we found our practice is highly in line with the global reduction trend in the PCI-related complications.

Does Baseline BUN Have an Additive Effect on the Prediction of Mortality in Patients with Acute Pulmonary Embolism?

Background: In patients with heart failure, elevated levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) is a prognostic factor. In this study, we investigated the prognostic value of elevated baseline BUN in short-term mortality among patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Methods: Between 2007 and 2014, cardiac biomarkers and BUN levels were measured in patients with acute PE. The primary endpoint was 30-day mortality, evaluated based on the baseline BUN (≥14 ng/L) level in 4 groups of patients according to the European Society of Cardiology's risk stratification (low-risk, intermediate low-risk, intermediate high-risk, and high-risk). Results: Our study recruited 492 patients with a diagnosis of acute PE (mean age=60.58±16.81 y). The overall 1-month mortality rate was 6.9% (34 patients). Elevated BUN levels were reported in 316 (64.2%) patients. A high simplified pulmonary embolism severity index (sPESI) score (OR: 5.23, 95% CI: 1.43-19.11; P=0.012), thrombolytic or thrombectomy therapy (OR: 2.42, 95% CI: 1.01-5.13; P=0.021), and elevated baseline BUN levels (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01-1.03; P=0.029) were the independent predictors of 30-day mortality. According to our receiver-operating characteristics analysis for 30-day mortality, a baseline BUN level of greater than 14.8 mg/dL was considered elevated. In the intermediate-low-risk patients, mortality occurred only in those with elevated baseline BUN levels (7.2% vs. 0; P=0.008). Conclusion: An elevated baseline BUN level in our patients with PE was an independent predictor of short-term mortality, especially among those in the intermediate-risk group.

Real life management of chronic urticaria: Multicenter and cross sectional study on patients and dermatologists in Iran.

Recently, advances in understanding the etiology of urticaria and updates of diagnostic and therapeutic management guidelines have drawn attention to chronic urticaria (CU) morbidity. The present study aimed to evaluate Iranian dermatologists' practice and real life management of CU patients. A total of 35 dermatologists and 443 patients were included in the study. Number of female patients was 321 (72.5%). Mean (standard deviation) age of the study patients was 38 (13) years and the median (inter quartile range) of disease duration was 12 (6-48) months. Severity of patients' symptoms was mild for 32.1%, moderate for 38.7%, severe for 18.8%, and 10.4% of them had no evident signs or symptoms. The most common diagnostic methods were physical examination (96.6%), differential blood count (83.5%), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (77.4%), and C-reactive protein (62.8%). The number of dermatologists prescribed nonsedating antihistamines (nsAH) in regular dose and high dose mono therapy were 26 (74%) and 6 (17%), respectively. About 66% of dermatologists were familiar with British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) guideline. The most common first-line treatment for CU by Iranian dermatologists was nonsedating antihistamines in regular or high doses. The real-life management of patients with CU in Iran was in accordance with the available practice guidelines.

Association between elevated red blood cell distribution width and long-term mortality in acute pulmonary embolism

Background/aim: The prognostic value of the red cell distribution width (RDW) as a cost-effective and noninvasive test in acute pulmonary embolism (PE) is still unknown. We aimed to investigate the prognostic value of the admission RDW level in the long-term survival of PE patients. Materials and methods: In this registry-based, prospective cohort study, a total of 378 patients (mean age: 60.4 ± 17.11 years, 47.4% female) who presented with acute PE were enrolled. All the clinical data for each patient were obtained from our institutional PE registry. The follow-up was performed at a median time of 17 months. The primary endpoint was death at follow-up. Results: The mean RDW in study patients was 14.67 ± 2.13. The all-cause mortality rate during the follow-up was 15.6% (n = 59). After adjustment for potential confounders, the relationship between RDW and long-term mortality showed a trend of a significant level (hazard ratio: 1.109; 95% CI, 0.998−1.232; P = 0.053). We divided patients into 3 groups based on the European Society of Cardiology's classification. As we moved from the low risk to the higher risk categories, the mean RDW increased significantly (P = 0.037). Conclusion: It seems there may be an independent association between RDW at presentation and PE mortality within 17 months.

Comparing the effect of cardiac biomarkers on the outcome of normotensive patients with acute pulmonary embolism.

Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) is a cardiovascular challenge with potentially fatal consequences. This study was designed to observe the association of novel cardiac biomarkers with outcome in this setting. In this prospective study, from 86 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of PE, 59 patients met the inclusion criteria (22 men, 37 women; mean age, 63.36±15.04 y).The plasma concentrations of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15), heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP), tenascin-C, and D-dimer were measured at the time of confirmed diagnosis. The endpoints of the study were defined as the short-term adverse outcome and long-term all-cause mortality. Totally, 11.8% (7/59) of the patients had the short-term adverse outcome. The mean value of logNT-proBNP was 6.40±1.66 pg/ml. Among all the examined biomarkers, only the mean value of logNT-proBNP was significantly higher in the patients with the short-term adverse outcome (7.88±0.67 vs. 6.22± 1.66 pg/ml; OR, 2.359; 95% CI, 1.037 to 5.367; P=0.041). After adjustment, a threefold increase in the short-term adverse outcome was identified (OR, 3.239; 95% CI, 0.877 to 11.967; P=0.078).Overall, 18.64% (11/59) of the patients had expired by the long-term follow-up. Moreover, adjustment revealed an evidence regarding association between increased logNT-proBNP levels and long-term mortality (HR, 2.163; 95%CI, 0.910 to 5.142; P=0.081). Our study could find evidences on association between increased level of NT-proBNP and short-term adverse outcome and/or long-term mortality in PE. This biomarker may be capable of improving prediction of outcome and clinical care in non-high-risk PE.

Role of clinical and pulmonary computed tomography angiographic parameters in the prediction of short- and long-term mortality in patients with pulmonary embolism.

The utility of pulmonary computed tomography angiography (CTA) in the prediction of short- and long-term outcomes after pulmonary embolism (PE) is controversial. Between November 2011 and September 2014, 190 normotensive patients (age, 61 ± 16.90 years, 53.7 % female) were diagnosed with acute PE using a 128-slice dual-source pulmonary CTA scanner. All the related clinical and cardiovascular measurements were recorded. Primary endpoints were 30-day PE-related death, 30-day composite complications (death, hemodynamic instability, thrombolysis and thrombectomy, inotrope, and mechanical ventilation use), and long-term all-cause mortality during a median follow-up of 14.78 months. Overall 1-month mortality is 5.8 %, and death is PE-related in 4.7 % of total patients. Although non-significant, O2 saturation <90 % and the right ventricular short-axis to left ventricular short-axis diameters (RV/LV) ratio increase the risk of PE-related death by 3.5 and 2 times, respectively. The independent predictors of 30-day complications (15.8 %) are O2 saturation <90 % (OR: 3.924, 95 % CI 1.505-10.229), RV/LV ratio (OR: 3.018, 95 % CI 1.455-6.263), and heart rate ≥ 110 beats/min (OR: 2.607, 95 % CI 1.063-6.391). For long-term mortality (13.7 %), O2 saturation <90 % is an independent predictor (HR: 4.454, 95 % CI 2.016-8.862). The independent impact of the RV/LV ratio on the long-term mortality has a trend towards statistical significance (HR: 1.762, 95 % CI 0.968-4.218; p value = 0.064). The PE-related death is 4.7 % within 30 days after admisson and 13.7 % after a median follow-up of 14 months. Among the pulmonary CTA parameters, only the RV/LV ratio and among the clinical and paraclinical measures, O2 saturation <90 % remain independent predictors of short- and long-term mortality and complications after the diagnosis of PE.

Prevalence and determinants of elevated high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to evaluate the prevalence and determinants of increased high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) as a marker of cardiac injury in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). METHODS: A total of 98 consecutive patients with HCM (71.4% males; mean age 51.18 ± 15.47 years) between 2012 and 2013 were evaluated by measuring the level of serum hs-cTnT along with other clinical assessments. RESULTS: There were 42 (42.9%) patients with a minimum serum hs-cTnT level of 14 ng/L. The mean hs-cTnT level was 12.37 ng/L (6.94-24.26 ng/L). There were significant differences in chest pain New York Heart Association functional class, left ventricular hypertrophy in the surface electrocardiogram, non-sustained ventricular tachycardia in 24-h electrocardiogram-Holter monitoring, left atrial (LA) area index, ratio of peak early (E) transmitral filling velocity to peak early diastolic annular velocity (Ea septal) at the level of the septal mitral annulus (E/Ea septal), maximum left ventricular (LV) wall thickness ≥ 30 mm, and peak LV outflow gradient ≥ 30 mmHg in echocardiography between the patients with hs-cTnT<14 ng/L and those with hs-cTnT ≥ 14 ng/L. However, after multivariate analysis, age, maximum LV wall thickness, LA area index, and E/Ea septal remained as the independent determinants of elevated hs-cTnT in HCM. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrated that hs-cTnT was elevated in a significant number of our HCM patients; therefore, hs-cTnT can be introduced as a valuable marker of myocardial injury in HCM patients.