Unusual Presentation of Isolated Nonbacterial Thrombotic Tricuspid Valve Endocarditis in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus With Secondary Antiphospholipid Syndrome: A Case Report.

Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE), or marantic endocarditis, is one of the most prevalent cardiac presentations seen in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). It is a condition that is characterized by noninfectious lesions affecting cardiac valves. The most common sight for this disease to affect is the left-sided mitral and aortic cardiac valves. It rarely involves the right-sided tricuspid valve. However, having a secondary condition that increases risk for hypercoagulability can potentiate the severity and frequency of cardiac valvular disease in SLE. In this report, the authors describe a rare case of a patient who presented with clinically symptomatic isolated-sterile tricuspid valve vegetations likely due to antiphospholipid syndrome (APLS) on top of SLE. Optimal medical and surgical managements of these vegetations are not well defined. Criteria call for surgical intervention in infective endocarditis when there are severe heart failure or valve dysfunction, prosthetic valve infection, recurrent systemic emboli, large mobile vegetations, and other detrimental complications. However, intervention for sterile vegetations should also be discussed if the patient can benefit from it clinically and if it can improve quality of life. The authors discuss this case in the context of the relevant medical and surgical literature.

Polysomnographic validation of an under-mattress monitoring device in estimating sleep architecture and obstructive sleep apnea in adults.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to evaluate the validity of an under-mattress monitoring device (Fullpower Technologies) in estimating sleep continuity and architecture, as well as estimating obstructive sleep apnea in an adult population. METHODS: Adult volunteers (n=102, 55% male and 45% female, aged 40.6 ± 13.7 years with a mean body mass index of 26.8 ± 5.8 kg/m2) each participated in a one-night unattended in-lab study conducted by Fullpower Technologies. Each participant slept on a queen-sized bed with Sleeptracker-AI Monitor sensors placed underneath the mattress. Standard polysomnography (PSG) was simultaneously recorded on the same night. Researchers (FD and CK) were provided de-identified sleep studies and datasets by Fullpower Technologies for analysis. Sleep continuity measures, 30-s epoch-by-epoch sleep stages, and apnea and hypopnea events estimated by an automated algorithm from the Sleeptracker-AI Monitor were compared with the PSG recordings, with the PSG recordings serving as the reference. RESULTS: Overall, the Sleeptracker-AI Monitor estimated similar sleep continuity measures compared with PSG. The Sleeptracker-AI Monitor overestimated total sleep time (TST) by an average of 6.3 min and underestimated wake after sleep onset (WASO) by 10.2 min. Sleep efficiency (SE) was similar between the Sleeptracker-AI Monitor and PSG (87.6% and 86.3%, respectively). The epoch-by-epoch accuracy of Sleeptracker-AI Monitor to distinguish 4-stage sleep (wake, light, deep, and REM sleep) was 79.0% (95% CI: 77.8%, 80.2%) with a Cohen's kappa of 0.676 (95% CI: 0.656, 0.697). Thirty-five participants (34.3%) were diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 5 based on PSG. Accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for the Sleeptracker-AI Monitor to estimate OSA (an AHI ≥5) were 87.3% (95% CI: 80.8%, 93.7%), 85.7% (95% CI: 74.1%, 97.3%), and 88.1% (95% CI: 80.3%, 95.8%) respectively. The positive likelihood ratio (LR+) for AHI ≥5 was 7.18 (95% CI: 3.69, 14.0), and the negative likelihood ratio (LR-) for AHI ≥5 was 0.16 (95% CI: 0.072, 0.368). CONCLUSION: The Sleeptracker-AI Monitor had high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity in estimating sleep continuity measures and sleep architecture, as well as in estimating apnea and hypopnea events. These findings indicate that Sleeptracker-AI Monitor is a valid device to monitor sleep quantity and quality among adults. Sleeptracker-AI Monitor may also be a reliable complementary tool to PSG for OSA screening in clinical practice.

Detection of Common Arrhythmias by the Watch-PAT: Expression of Electrical Arrhythmias by Pulse Recording.

Background: The WatchPAT (WP) device was shown to be accurate for the diagnosis of sleep apnea and is widely used worldwide as an ambulatory diagnostic tool. While it records peripheral arterial tone (PAT) and not electrocardiogram (ECG), the ability of it to detect arrhythmias is unknown and was not studied previously. Common arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation (AF) or premature beats may be uniquely presented while recording PAT/pulse wave. Purpose: To examine the potential detection of common arrhythmias by analyzing the PAT amplitude and pulse rate/volume changes. Patients and Methods: Patients with suspected sleep disordered breathing (SDB) were recruited with preference for patients with previously diagnosed AF or congestive heart failure (CHF). They underwent simultaneous WP and PSG studies in 11 sleep centers. A novel algorithm was developed to detect arrhythmias while measuring PAT and was tested on these patients. Manual scoring of ECG channel (recorded as part of the PSG) was blinded to the automatically analyzed WP data. Results: A total of 84 patients aged 57±16 (54 males) participated in this study. Their BMI was 30±5.7Kg/m2. Of them, 41 had heart failure (49%) and 17 (20%) had AF. The sensitivity and specificity of the WP to detect AF segments (of at least 60 seconds) were 0.77 and 0.99, respectively. The correlation between the WP derived detection of premature beats (events/min) to that of the PSG one was 0.98 (p<0.001). Conclusion: The novel automatic algorithm of the WP can reasonably detect AF and premature beats. We suggest that when the algorithm raises a flag for arrhythmia, the patients should shortly undergo ECG and/or Holter ECG study.

Watch-PAT is Useful in the Diagnosis of Sleep Apnea in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is critical. The WatchPAT (WP) device was shown to be accurate for the diagnosis of sleep apnea; however, studies using the WatchPAT device have thus far excluded patients with arrhythmias due to the potential effect of arrhythmias on the peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT) amplitude and pulse rate changes. PURPOSE: To examine the accuracy of the WP in detecting sleep apnea in patients with AF. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with AF underwent simultaneous WP and PSG studies in 11 sleep centers. PSG scoring was blinded to the automatically analyzed WP data. RESULTS: A total of 101 patients with AF (70 males) were recruited. Forty-six had AF episodes during the overnight sleep study. A significant correlation was found between the PSG-derived AHI and the WP- derived AHI (r=0.80, p<0.0001). There was a good agreement between PSG-derived AHI and WP-derived AHI (mean difference of AHI: -0.02±13.2). Using a threshold of AHI ≥15 per hour of sleep, the sensitivity and specificity of the WP were 0.88 and 0.63, respectively. The overall accuracy in sleep staging between WP and PSG was 62% with Kappa agreement of 0.42. CONCLUSION: WP can detect sleep apnea events in patients with AF. AF should not be an exclusion criterion for using the device. This finding may be of even greater importance in the era of the COVID19 epidemic, when sleep labs were closed and most studies were home based.

Shock Index as a Marker for Mortality Rates in Those Admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit from the Emergency Department.

Objective Shock index (SI) is defined as the heart rate divided by systolic blood pressure. Studies have shown a correlation between the shock index and mortality in trauma patients in prehospital settings and in the emergency department (ED). The objective of this study was to identify the utility of SI in predicting mortality in the medical intensive care unit (MICU) patients admitted from the ED and transfers from the floor to MICU.  Design We performed a retrospective analysis of adult patients admitted to the MICU at our urban trauma hospital between January 2015 through August 2015 using ED vital signs to calculate the shock index and identify inpatient deaths. Similar data were examined for inpatient transfers to the MICU. Results Nine hundred and fifty patients were included in the study; 743 had an SI ≤ 0.99 with a mortality rate of 15.9%. Two hundred and seven patients had a SI ≥ 1.00 with a mortality rate of 22.7%. A higher SI was significant for mortality. There was no statistical significance in SI and mortality rate for patients transferred from the medical floor to the ICU. Conclusions Patients with an SI ≥ 1.00 from initial ED vital signs correlated with a higher mortality rate. In patients transferred from the floor to MICU, SI ≥ 1.00 did not correlate with a higher mortality rate.

Detecting central sleep apnea in adult patients using WatchPAT-a multicenter validation study.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To assess the accuracy of WatchPAT (WP-Itamar-Medical, Caesarea, Israel) enhanced with a novel systolic upstroke analysis coupled with respiratory movement analysis derived from a dedicated snoring and body position (SBP) sensor, to enable automated algorithmic differentiation between central sleep apnea (CSA) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) compared with simultaneous in-lab sleep studies with polysomnography (PSG). METHODS: Eighty-four patients with suspected sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) underwent simultaneous WP and PSG studies in 11 sleep centers. PSG scoring was blinded to the automatically analyzed WP data. RESULTS: Overall WP apnea-hypopnea index (AHI; mean ± SD) was 25.2 ± 21.3 (range 0.2-101) versus PSG AHI 24.4 ± 21.2 (range 0-110) (p = 0.514), and correlation was 0.87 (p < 0.001). Using a threshold of AHI ≥ 15, the sensitivity and specificity of WP versus PSG for diagnosing sleep apnea were 85% and 70% respectively and agreement was 79% (kappa = 0.867). WP central AHI (AHIc) was 4.2 ± 7.7 (range 0-38) versus PSG AHIc 5.9 ± 11.8 (range 0-63) (p = 0.034), while correlation was 0.90 (p < 0.001). Using a threshold of AHI ≥ 15, the sensitivity and specificity of WP versus PSG for diagnosing CSA were 67% and 100% respectively with agreement of 95% (kappa = 0.774), and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) area under the curve of 0.866, (p < 0.01). Using a threshold of AHI ≥ 10 showed comparable overall sleep apnea and CSA diagnostic accuracies. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that WP can accurately detect overall AHI and effectively differentiate between CSA and OSA.

A case of positional central sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea results from structural compromise of the upper airway and decreased muscle tone during sleep. Central sleep apnea is usually due to instability of the feedback mechanism of the body that controls respiration. While positional changes commonly affect the severity of obstructive sleep apnea, the effect of positional changes on the severity of central sleep apnea is less well known.

Reliability and validity of two self-administered questionnaires for screening restless legs syndrome in population-based studies.

BACKGROUND: A reliable and valid questionnaire for screening restless legs syndrome (RLS) is essential for determining accurate estimates of disease frequency. In a 2002 NIH-sponsored workshop, experts suggested three mandatory questions for identifying RLS in epidemiologic studies. We evaluated the reliability and validity of this RLS-NIH questionnaire in a community-based sample and concurrently developed and evaluated the utility of an expanded screening questionnaire, the RLS-EXP. METHODS: The study was conducted at Kaiser Permanente of Northern California and the Stanford University Sleep Clinic. We evaluated test-retest reliability in a random sample of subjects with prior physician-assigned RLS (n=87), subjects with conditions frequently misclassified as RLS (n=31), and healthy subjects (n=9). Validity of both instruments was evaluated in a random sample of 32 subjects, and in-person examination by two RLS specialists was used as the gold standard. RESULTS: For the first three RLS-NIH questions, the kappa statistic for test-retest reliability ranged from 0.5 to 1.0, and sensitivity and specificity was 86% and 45%, respectively. For the subset of five questions on RLS-EXP that encompassed cardinal features for diagnosing RLS, kappas were 0.4-0.8, and sensitivity and specificity were 81% and 73%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Sensitivity of RLS-NIH is good; however, the specificity of the instrument is poor when examined in a sample that over-represents subjects with conditions that are commonly misclassified as RLS. Specificity can be improved by including separate questions on cardinal features, as used in the RLS-EXP, and by including a few questions that identify RLS mimics, thereby reducing false positives.

Driving with polyneuropathy.

Polyneuropathy may result in pain, numbness, and weakness, which may in turn affect driving ability. Medications used to treat neuropathic pain may alter cognition, which may further affect driving. Although such impairments have engendered questions about the driving safety in this group of patients, the rate of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) in patients with neuropathy has not been studied rigorously. We surveyed patients with neuropathy from three medical centers for reported accident rate, and we analyzed variables related to increased risk for accidents compared to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data. Surveys from 260 subjects demonstrated that 40.6% were involved in traffic accidents (0.11 accidents/year). Their accident rate was 10.8 MVAs per million vehicle miles traveled (MVA/MVMT), compared to 3.71 MVA/MVMT in 55-59-year-old drivers and 3.72 in 60-64-year-olds (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data). In all, 72.4% cited their neuropathy and 55.2% cited their medications as playing a role in their accidents, and 51.6% changed their driving habits after developing neuropathy. Independently, elevated levels of pain, motor weakness, and ambulation difficulty met statistical significance for increased MVA frequency. We conclude that accident frequency and discomfort with driving are higher in neuropathy patients compared to age-matched national statistics. However, most patients seem to change habits according to their ability to drive; as such, driving issues should be addressed with caution and on a case-by-case basis.

Sites of obstruction in obstructive sleep apnea.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article was to identify the most common sites of obstruction in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by a systematic review of published studies. DESIGN: The review was conducted by a MEDLINE search of the English literature published during the years 1980 to 2002. The inclusion criteria were experiments involving five or more adult subjects, total rather than partial obstruction or narrowing of the upper airway, and techniques that were performed on the subjects while they were asleep. CONCLUSION: Although there was considerable variability in the techniques and the results, the most common site of obstruction detected by these studies was at the level of the oropharynx, with extension to the laryngopharynx commonly observed.