Internal Jugular Vein as Alternative Access for Implantation of a Wireless Pulmonary Artery Pressure Sensor.

BACKGROUND: A wireless pulmonary artery pressure sensor (CardioMEMS) is approved for implantation via the femoral vein. The internal jugular vein (IJ) is an attractive alternative access route commonly used in pulmonary artery catheterization. METHODS AND RESULTS: Retrospective chart review was performed for all sensor implants from 10 providers at 4 centers from September 2016 to June 2018. To compare procedural outcomes and discharge efficiency between groups, multivariate analyses incorporating potential confounders were performed. Seventy-three (28%) patients had femoral access, and 189 (72%) had IJ access; demographics were similar between the groups. Complications, including one case of hematoma and 4 cases of mild hemoptysis, and 30-day mortality (2%-3%) did not differ between groups. Provider preference for IJ access substantially increased over time, with IJ accounting for 90% of cases in 2018. After risk-adjustment, IJ cases had 20% (5%-33%) shorter fluoroscopy time (P=0.01) and 24% (7%-38%) lower contrast volume (P=0.008). Compared with outpatient femoral cases, outpatient IJ cases had 62% (52%-69%) faster needle-to-door time and were 34 times (6-235) more likely to have same-day discharge (P<0.001 for both). CONCLUSIONS: IJ access for CardioMEMS implant is a safe alternative associated with superior procedural and discharge outcomes. Implanters at 4 high-volume centers adopted IJ access as the preferred implant approach.

Depletion of B-cells with rituximab improves endothelial function and reduces inflammation among individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, partly due to systemic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. B-cells play an important pathogenic role in the inflammatory process that drives RA disease activity. Rituximab, a chimeric murine/human monoclonal antibody that depletes B-cells, is an effective therapy for RA. The purpose of this study was to determine whether B-cell depletion with rituximab reduces systemic inflammation and improves macrovascular (brachial artery flow-mediated dilation, FMD) and microvascular (reactive hyperemia) endothelial function in RA patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: RA patients received a single course of rituximab (1000 mg IV infusion at baseline and on day 15). FMD, reactive hyperemia, inflammatory markers, and clinical assessments were performed at baseline, week 12, and week 24. Twenty patients (95% female, median age 54 years) completed the study. Following treatment, FMD improved from a baseline of 4.5±0.4% to 6.4±0.6% at 12 weeks (mean±SE; P<0.0001), followed by a decline at week 24; a similar pattern was observed for hyperemic velocity. Significant decreases in RA disease scores, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and circulating CD19+ B-cells were sustained through week 24. Cholesterol and triglycerides became significantly although modestly elevated during the study. CONCLUSIONS: Depletion of B-cells with rituximab improved macrovascular and microvascular endothelial function and reduced systemic inflammation, despite modest elevation in lipids. Given these results, rituximab should be evaluated in the future for its possible role in reducing excess cardiovascular risk in RA. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL http://ClinicalTrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00844714.