IgA Vasculitis Triggered by Infective Endocarditis of Pulmonary Artery with Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries.

A man in his 40s with a history of congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (CCTGA) and closure of ventricular septal defect was referred to our hospital with purpura and hematuria. Presence of purpura, renal damage, and pathological findings on skin biopsy led to the diagnosis of IgA vasculitis (IgAV). Oral prednisolone (PSL) was initiated. However, Streptococcus pseudoporcinus was isolated from blood cultures, and transthoracic echocardiogram revealed vegetation on the pulmonary valve. From these findings, the diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) was made. Although the patient's condition improved after PSL interruption and antibiotic administration, his purpura relapsed. PSL readministration improved symptoms, with no further relapse even after gradual PSL dose reduction. The present case raises awareness of the importance of recognizing the occurrence of IE in IgAV patients, especially in those with congenital heart disease. CCTGA should be acknowledged as a risk factor for IE in the right-sided heart.

Monitoring sound to quantify snoring and sleep apnea severity using a smartphone: proof of concept.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Habitual snoring is a prevalent condition that is not only a marker of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) but can also lead to vascular risk. However, it is not easy to check snoring status at home. We attempted to develop a snoring sound monitor consisting of a smartphone alone, which is aimed to quantify snoring and OSA severity. METHODS: The subjects included 50 patients who underwent diagnostic polysomnography (PSG), of which the data of 10 patients were used for developing the program and that of 40 patients were used for validating the program. A smartphone was attached to the anterior chest wall over the sternum. It acquired ambient sound from the built-in microphone and analyzed it using a fast Fourier transform on a real-time basis. RESULTS: Snoring time measured by the smartphone highly correlated with snoring time measured by PSG (r = 0.93). The top 1 percentile value of sound pressure level (L1) determined by the smartphone correlated with the ambient sound L1 during sleep determined by PSG (r = 0.92). Moreover, the respiratory disturbance index estimated by the smartphone (smart-RDI) highly correlated with the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) obtained by PSG (r = 0.94). The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the smart-RDI for diagnosing OSA (AHI ≥ 15) were 0.70 and 0.94, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A smartphone can be used for effectively monitoring snoring and OSA in a controlled laboratory setting. Use of this technology in a noisy home environment remains unproven, and further investigation is needed.