Polymerase chain reaction negative cryptococcal meningitis.

A 61-year-old male with subacute headache was found to have cryptococcal meningitis despite a negative BioFire FilmArray meningitis/encephalitis panel. This case underscores the importance of liberal cryptococcal antigen testing, and that a negative FilmArray panel is inadequate in excluding cryptococcal meningitis, particularly in a HIV-negative host.

Atrial Arrhythmias in Patients With Pulmonary Hypertension.

TOPIC IMPORTANCE: Atrial arrhythmia (AA) are common in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) and contribute to morbidity and mortality. Given the growing PH population, understanding the pathophysiology, clinical impact, and management of AA in PH is important. REVIEW FINDINGS: AA occurs in PH with a 5-year incidence of 10% to 25%. AA confers a higher morbidity and mortality, and restoration of normal sinus rhythm improves survival and functionality. AA is thought to develop because of structural alterations of the right atrium caused by changes to the right ventricle (RV) due to elevated pulmonary artery pressures. AA can subsequently worsen RV function. Current guidelines do not provide comprehensive recommendations for the management of AA in PH. Robust evidence to favor a specific treatment approach is lacking. Although the role of medical rate or rhythm control, and the use of cardioversion and ablation, can be inferred from other populations, evidence is lacking in the PH population. Much remains to be determined regarding the optimal management strategy. We present here our institutional approach and discuss areas for future research. SUMMARY: This review highlights the epidemiology and pathophysiology of AA in patients with PH, describes the relationship between AA and RV dysfunction, and discusses current management practices. We outline our institutional approach and offer directions for future investigation.

Ventricular Parasystole in Cardiomyopathy Patients: A Link Between His-Purkinje System Damage and Ventricular Fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: The clinical relevance and prognostic implications of ventricular parasystole are unknown. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to assess the prevalence of ventricular parasystole in patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and ventricular parasystole's association with ventricular arrhythmias and conduction system abnormalities. METHODS: This study retrospectively evaluated patients who underwent ICD interrogation at a single center between June 1, 2019, and August 31, 2020, and reviewed all available ICD and electrocardiogram data. This study identified patients with ventricular parasystole and compared the prevalence of ventricular fibrillation (VF), ventricular tachycardia (VT), and new conduction system abnormalities in those with ≥5 years of intrinsic QRS-complex electrocardiograms to those without parasystole. RESULTS: This study included 374 patients (age 57 ± 21 years, 72% male, 45% nonischemic, 32% ischemic cardiomyopathy), of which, 104 (28%) had VT only, 39 (10%) VF only, and 10 (3%) both VT/VF. Ventricular parasystole was identified in 33 patients (9%); parasystolic foci were predominantly from the His-Purkinje system. Compared with those without parasystole, patients with parasystole had a significantly higher rate of VF (36% vs 11%; P < 0.01), but not VT (42% vs 29%; P = 0.12). Patients with parasystole, compared with those without parasystole, had a higher prevalence of new conduction abnormalities, particularly progressive intraventricular conduction delay (11 of 18 [61%] vs 12 of 83 [14%]; P < 0.01) and new right bundle branch block (4 of 18 [22%] vs 1 of 83 [1%]; P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Ventricular parasystole was strongly associated with new conduction system abnormalities and VF in patients who have cardiomyopathy with ICDs, suggesting a potential link between VF and His-Purkinje damage in this patient population.

First Report of the Clinical Use of a Commercial Automated System for Daily Patient QA Using EPID Exit Images.

PURPOSE: To characterize the clinical utility of a new commercially available system for daily patient treatment quality assurance using electronic portal imaging detector (EPID) exit dose images. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The PerFRACTION automated quality assurance system was used to acquire integrated EPID images for every field every day for 60 treatment courses for 57 patients. Four thousand seventy-nine field values from 855 fractions were analyzed. Gamma passing rates were computed by the system for each field daily. Passing rates and pass-fail status were recorded by treatment modality (intensity modulated radiation therapy or 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy) and location. When failures occurred, an attempt was made to determine the reason. RESULTS: Overall, 23% and 8% of fields failed at 2%/2 mm and 3%/3 mm, respectively. Forty-eight percent and 24% of fields failed at least once during the course of therapy for the 2 tolerance settings. Eighteen percent and 8% of all fractions failed and 60% and 28% of courses failed for the 2 tolerance settings, respectively. Eighteen percent of daily field passing rates were below 75% for 3%/3 mm tolerances. Intensity modulated radiation therapy had higher passing rates than 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy. For 3%/3 mm tolerances, the fraction fail rate for the brain, extremity, and spine treatment sites failed the least, whereas the abdomen, chest, and head and neck failed more often. The most commonly identified reason for failure was body position change, but the reason for about half the daily field value failures could not be identified. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of the clinical utility of a commercial daily patient treatment quality assurance system using EPID exit images. Variations were found in a clinically relevant percentage of images, and these potentially indicate important treatment variations. Reasons for failures are not always discernable. The system was practical to use because of automation and continues to be used for monitoring of nearly every patient in every field every day.