Tricuspid valve repair and replacement for infective endocarditis.

Infective endocarditis represents a challenging and life-threatening clinical condition affecting native and prosthetic heart valves, endocardium, and implanted cardiac devices. Right-sided infective endocarditis account for approximately 5-10% of all infective endocarditis and are often associated with intravenous drug use, intracardiac devices, central venous catheters, and congenital heart disease. The tricuspid valve is involved in 90% of right-side infective endocarditis. The primary treatment of tricuspid valve infective endocarditis is based on long-term intravenous antibiotics. When surgery is required, different interventions have been proposed, ranging from valvectomy to various types of valve repair to complete replacement of the valve. Percutaneous removal of vegetations using the AngioVac system has also been proposed in these patients. The aim of this narrative review is to provide an overview of the current surgical options and to discuss the results of the different surgical strategies in patients with tricuspid valve infective endocarditis. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12055-023-01650-0.

Ten-Year Experience with Endomyocardial Biopsy after Orthotopic Heart Transplantation: Comparison between Trans-Jugular and Trans-Femoral Approach.

BACKGROUND: Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) is considered the gold standard for monitoring allograft rejection after heart transplantation. EMB is an invasive procedure that may be performed via a trans-jugular or a trans-femoral approach with a complication rate reported as less than 6%. The aim of this study was to evaluate the complication rate after EMBs in heart recipients and to compare the results of EMBs performed via a trans-jugular or a trans-femoral approach. METHODS: Medical records of heart recipients undergoing EMBs between January 2012 and December 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. EMB-related complications were classified as major (death, pericardial effusion, hemopericardium, cardiac tamponade requiring a pericardiocentesis or an urgent cardiac surgery, ventricular arrythmias, permanent atrio-ventricular block requiring permanent pacing, hemothorax, pneumothorax and retroperitoneal bleeding) and minor (de novo tricuspid regurgitation, arrhythmias, coronary artery fistula, vascular access site complications). RESULTS: A total of 1698 EMBs were performed during the study period at our institution in 212 heart recipients. There were 927 (55%) EMBs performed through a trans-jugular approach (TJ group) and 771 (45%) EMBs performed through a trans-femoral approach (TF group). A total of 60 (3.5%) complications were recorded, including nine (0.5%) major complications (six cardiac tamponades, two pneumothorax and one retroperitoneal bleeding) and 51 (3%) minor complications (seven coronary fistulae, five de novo tricuspid regurgitation, four supraventricular arrythmias and thirty-five vascular access site complications). No difference was found in total (38 [4%] vs. 22 [3%]; p = 0.16) and major (6 [1%} vs. 3 [0.4%]; p = 0.65) complications (32 [3%] vs. 19 [2%]; p = 0.23) between the TJ group and the TF group. No difference was found in male sex, age at time of EMB and time from HT between complicated and not complicated EMBs. CONCLUSIONS: EMBs represent a safe procedure with a low risk of complications. In our experience, EMBs performed via a trans-jugular approach are as safe as the trans-femoral approach.

Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) Trial: study protocol for a multicentre, randomized, controlled trial to compare three different strategies of mean arterial pressure management during cardiopulmonary bypass.

BACKGROUND: One of the main goals of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is targeting an adequate mean arterial pressure (MAP) during heart surgery, in order to maintain appropriate perfusion pressures in all end-organs. As inheritance of early studies, a value of 50-60 mmHg has been historically accepted as the "gold standard" MAP. However, in the last decades, the CPB management has remarkably changed, thanks to the evolution of technology and the availability of new biomaterials. Therefore, as highlighted by the latest European Guidelines, the current management of CPB can no longer refer to those pioneering studies. To date, only few single-centre studies have compared different strategies of MAP management during CPB, but with contradictory findings and without achieving a real consensus. Therefore, what should be the ideal strategy of MAP management during CPB is still on debate. This trial is the first multicentre, randomized, controlled study which compares three different strategies of MAP management during the CPB. METHODS: We described herein the methodology of a multicentre, randomized, controlled trial comparing three different approaches to MAP management during CPB in patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery: the historically accepted "standard MAP" (50-60 mmHg), the "high MAP" (70-80 mmHg) and the "patient-tailored MAP" (comparable to the patient's preoperative MAP). It is the aim of the study to find the most suitable management in order to obtain the most adequate perfusion of end-organs during cardiac surgery. For this purpose, the primary endpoint will be the peak of serum lactate (Lmax) released during CPB, as index of tissue hypoxia. The secondary outcomes will include all the intraoperative parameters of tissue oxygenation and major postoperative complications related to organ malperfusion. DISCUSSION: This trial will assess the best strategy to target the MAP during CPB, thus further improving the outcomes of cardiac surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT05740397 (retrospectively registered; 22/02/2023).

Gender representation among speaking and leader roles at European cardio-thoracic surgical annual meetings.

OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to evaluate gender representation among session leaders and abstract presenters at European cardio-thoracic surgical annual meetings. METHODS: We did a descriptive study of the gender distribution among session leaders and abstract presenters at 2 European cardio-thoracic international meetings from 2017 to 2022. Data from publicly available programmes were used to generate a list of session leaders and abstract presenters. The primary outcome was to evaluate the proportion of female sessions leaders at the annual meetings. Descriptive analyses were performed including the Cochran-Armitage trend test for linear trend of proportions. RESULTS: A total of 1025 sessions of 11 annual meetings of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) and the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons were examined. A total of 397 (13.2%) out of 3007 total session leaders and 955 (15.2%) out of 6251 abstract presenters were female. From 2017 to 2022, the proportions of both female session leaders and abstract presenters trended significantly [10.4% to 21.9% (P < 0.001) and 13.7% to 18.3% (P < 0.001), respectively]. The EACTS female members and female meeting attendees significantly increased from 2017 to 2022 [11.1% to 15.9% (P < 0.001) and 23.7% to 26.9% (P < 0.001)], respectively. Most of the women attendees at the EACTS and the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons meetings who were session leaders and speakers came from Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. CONCLUSIONS: Women are under-represented compared to men in leadership and speaking roles at European cardio-thoracic surgical annual meetings. In the past few years, an encouraging positive trend over time for female leadership roles has been noted; as a result, the proportion of female society members is represented at the annual meetings. However, a substantial gender gap still exists in leading roles of meeting attendees.

Three Decades of Experience with Aortic Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis.

The objective of this study was to evaluate early and long-term outcomes of patients with aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis (a-PVE) treated with a prosthetic aortic valve (PAV), prosthetic valved conduit (PVC), or cryopreserved aortic homograft (CAH). A total of 144 patients, 115 male and 29 female, aged 67 ± 12 years, underwent surgery for a-PVE at our institution between 1994 and 2021. Median time from the original cardiac surgery was 1.9 [0.6-5.6] years, and 47 (33%) patients developed an early a-PVE. Of these patients, 73 (51%) underwent aortic valve replacement (AVR) with a biological or mechanical PAV, 12 (8%) underwent aortic root replacement (ARR) with a biological or mechanical PVC, and 59 (42%) underwent AVR or ARR with a CAH. Patients treated with a CAH had significantly more circumferential annular abscess multiple valve involvement, longer CPB and aortic cross-clamping times, and needed more postoperative pacemaker implantation than patients treated with a PAV. No difference was observed in survival, reoperation rates, or recurrence of IE between patients treated with a PAV, a PVC, or a CAH. CAHs are technically more demanding and more often used in patients who have extensive annular abscess and multiple valve involvement. However, the use of CAH is safe in patients with complex a-PVE, and it shows excellent early and long-term outcomes.

The ST2/IL-33 Pathway in Adult and Paediatric Heart Disease and Transplantation.

ST2 is a member of interleukin 1 receptor family with soluble sST2 and transmembrane ST2L isoforms. The ligand of ST2 is IL-33, which determines the activation of numerous intracytoplasmic mediators following the binding with ST2L and IL-1RAcP, leading to nuclear signal and cardiovascular effect. Differently, sST2 is released in the blood and works as a decoy receptor, binding IL-33 and blocking IL-33/ST2L interaction. sST2 is mainly involved in maintaining homeostasis and/or alterations of different tissues, as counterbalance/activation of IL-33/ST2L axis is typically involved in the development of fibrosis, tissue damage, inflammation and remodeling. sST2 has been described in different clinical reports as a fundamental prognostic marker in patients with cardiovascular disease, as well as marker for the treatment monitoring of patients with heart failure; however, further studies are needed to better elucidate its role. In this review we reported the current knowledge about its role in coronary artery disease, heart failure, heart transplantation, heart valve disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and cardiovascular interventions.

Twenty-Year Experience with Surgery for Native and Prosthetic Mitral Valve Endocarditis.

Background and Objectives: To evaluate the early and long-term results of surgical treatment of isolated mitral native and prosthetic valve infective endocarditis. Materials and Methods: All patients undergoing mitral valve repair or replacement for infective endocarditis at our institution between January 2001 and December 2021 were included in the study. The preoperative and postoperative characteristics and mortality of patients were retrospectively reviewed. Results: A total of 130 patients, 85 males and 45 females, with a median age of 61 ± 14 years, underwent surgery for isolated mitral valve endocarditis during the study period. There were 111 (85%) native and 19 (15%) prosthetic valve endocarditis cases. Fifty-one (39%) patients died during the follow-up, and the overall mean patient survival time was 11.8 ± 0.9 years. The mean survival time was better in patients with mitral native valve endocarditis compared to patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis (12.3 ± 0.9 years vs. 8 ± 1.4 years; p = 0.1), but the difference was not statistically significant. Patients who underwent mitral valve repair had a better survival rate compared to patients who had mitral valve replacement (14.8 ± 1.6 vs. 11.3 ± 1 years; p = 0.06); however, the difference was not statistically significant. Patients who underwent mitral valve replacement with a mechanical prosthesis had a significantly better survival rate compared to patients who received a biological prosthesis (15.6 ± 1.6 vs. 8.2 ± 0.8 years; p < 0.001). Patients aged ≤60 years had significantly better survival compared to patients aged >60 years (17.1 ± 1.1 vs. 8.2 ± 0.9; p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that the patient's age >60 years at the time of surgery was an independent risk factor for mortality, while mitral valve repair was a protective factor. Eight (7%) patients required reintervention. Freedom from reintervention was significantly higher in patients with mitral native valve endocarditis compared to patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis (19.3 ± 0.5 vs. 11.5 ± 1.7 years; p = 0.04). Conclusions: Surgery for mitral valve endocarditis is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. The patient's age at the time of surgery represents an independent risk factor for mortality. Mitral valve repair should be the preferred choice whenever possible in suitable patients affected by infective endocarditis.

Tumor Necrosis Factor Family Members and Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: State of the Art and Therapeutic Implications.

Ischemic heart disease is the principal cause of death worldwide and clinically manifests as myocardial infarction (MI), stable angina, and ischemic cardiomyopathy. Myocardial infarction is defined as an irreversible injury due to severe and prolonged myocardial ischemia inducing myocardial cell death. Revascularization is helpful in reducing loss of contractile myocardium and improving clinical outcome. Reperfusion rescues myocardium from cell death but also induces an additional injury called ischemia-reperfusion injury. Multiple mechanisms are involved in ischemia-reperfusion injury, such as oxidative stress, intracellular calcium overload, apoptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, and inflammation. Various members of the tumor necrosis factor family play a key role in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. In this article, the role of TNFα, CD95L/CD95, TRAIL, and the RANK/RANKL/OPG axis in the regulation of myocardial tissue damage is reviewed together with their potential use as a therapeutic target.

Perimount MAGNA Ease vs. INSPIRIS Resilia Valve: A PS-Matched Analysis of the Hemodynamic Performances in Patients below 70 Years of Age.

BACKGROUND: During the past decade, the Perimount Magna Ease (PME) bioprosthesis has been implanted worldwide for aortic valve replacement (AVR). Recently, the INSPIRIS Resilia (IR) valve has been introduced as the newest generation of pericardial bioprostheses. However, few data have been reported about patients ≤70 years, and no comparisons in terms of hemodynamic performance between these two bioprostheses have been ever reported. METHODS: Patients aged <70 years undergoing AVR were considered for comparison between PME (n = 238) and IR (n = 192). Propensity score (PS) matching was performed by logistic regression with adjustment for eight key baseline variables. The two prostheses were compared in terms of hemodynamic performances up to 3 years postoperatively. Sub-analysis according to prosthetic size-category was accomplished. RESULTS: A total of 122 pairs with similar baseline characteristics were obtained from the PS-matching. The two prostheses showed comparable hemodynamic performances at one year (Gmean: 11.3 ± 3.5 mmHg vs. 11.9 ± 5.4 mmHg; p = 0.8) and at 3 years postoperatively (Gmean: 12.2 ± 7.9 mmHg vs. 12.8 ± 5.2 mmHg for; p = 0.3). The sub-analysis of size-category confirmed no statistical differences concerning the hemodynamic performances for each annulus size. CONCLUSIONS: This first PS-matched analysis demonstrated that the newly developed IR valve achieves the same safety and efficacy of the PME valve during mid-term follow-up in patients aged <70 years.

Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Activated by a Left Ventricular Assist Device.

Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) represent the final treatment for patients with end-stage heart failure (HF) not eligible for transplantation. Although LVAD design has been further improved in the last decade, their use is associated with different complications. Specifically, inflammation, fibrosis, bleeding events, right ventricular failure, and aortic valve regurgitation may occur. In addition, reverse remodeling is associated with substantial cellular and molecular changes of the failing myocardium during LVAD support with positive effects on patients' health. All these processes also lead to the identification of biomarkers identifying LVAD patients as having an augmented risk of developing associated adverse events, thus highlighting the possibility of identifying new therapeutic targets. Additionally, it has been reported that LVAD complications could cause or exacerbate a state of malnutrition, suggesting that, with an adjustment in nutrition, the general health of these patients could be improved.

Cryopreserved aortic homografts for complex aortic valve or root endocarditis: a 28-year experience.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate early- and long-term outcomes of cryopreserved aortic homograft (CAH) implantation for aortic valve replacement (AVR) or aortic root replacement (ARR) in patients with or without complex infective endocarditis. METHODS: All adult patients undergoing AVR or ARR with CAH at our institution between January 1993 and July 2021 were included in the study. RESULTS: One hundred four patients, 75 males and 29 females, aged 59 ± 17 years, underwent AVR or ARR with CAH for infective endocarditis (n = 94, 90%) or aortic valve disease (n = 10, 10%). There were 33 (35%) native valve endocarditis and 61 (65%) prosthetic valve endocarditis, which were complicated by annular abscess in 77 (82%) patients, mitral valve endocarditis in 13 (14%) and tricuspid valve endocarditis in 13 (14%). The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 214 ± 80 min and the mean aortic cross-clamping time was 164 ± 56 min. There were 12 (12%) hospital deaths and 7 (7%) postoperative low cardiac output syndrome requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in 4 patients and intra-aortic balloon pump in 3. Thirty-nine (42%) patients died during the follow-up (94% complete). The mean survival time was 13.9 ± 1.2 years. Twenty-five patients (26%) underwent late reoperation for aortic homograft degeneration (n = 17, 18%), homograft endocarditis (n = 6, 7%), homograft dehiscence (n = 1, 1%) and mitral valve regurgitation (n = 1, 1%). The mean survival free from reintervention was 15.7 ± 1.2 years. CONCLUSIONS: AVR or ARR with a CAH for complex endocarditis is associated with satisfactory hospital survival, considering the critical patient presentation at surgery, and excellent survival free from recurrent infection. Need for reoperation late after surgery is similar to other biological prostheses.

Suppression of tumorigenicity-2 (ST2) is a promising biomarker in heart transplantation.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the association between donors' and recipients' serum levels of soluble ST2 (sST2) and recipients' outcome after heart transplantation (HT). METHODS: Blood samples were collected in 50 heart donors before organ procurement and in 50 recipients before HT (D0), a week after HT (D7) and at every first year's endomyocardial biopsy (EMB); sST2 levels were evaluated by ELISA. RESULTS: Donors who sustained a cardiac arrest, had significantly higher sST2 levels. Recipients on national high emergency waiting list had significantly higher preoperative sST2 levels compared to recipients who did not. Recipients with postoperative sepsis or continuous renal replacement therapy had significantly higher sST2 levels at D7. Recipients who needed a postoperative ECMO for allograft dysfunction had significantly higher sST2 levels in their corresponding donors. Recipients who died during the hospitalization after the transplantation had significantly higher sST2 levels at D7 compared to recipients who did not. No difference was observed in sST2 levels in recipients who had mild allograft rejection and recipient who did not. CONCLUSIONS: Higher sST2 levels in donors are associated to allograft dysfunction requiring ECMO in recipients; higher postoperative sST2 levels in recipients are associated with in-hospital mortality.

A single-center long-term experience with marginal donor utilization for heart transplantation.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the early and late outcome of heart transplantation (HT) using marginal (MDs) and optimal donors (ODs). METHODS: Clinical records of recipients transplanted between July 2004 and December 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. MDs were defined as follows: age >55 years, high-dose inotropic support, left ventricular ejection fraction <45%, left ventricular hypertrophy, donor to recipient predicted heart mass ratio <0.86, ischemic time >4 hours. RESULTS: A total of 412 (55%) recipients received an organ from a MD; recipients who received an organ from an OD had less primary graft dysfunction (PGD) (25% vs 38%; P < .001), less acute renal failure (23% vs 34%; P < .001), and higher survival rates (90.2% vs 81.8% at 30 days, 79.5% vs 71.1% at 1 year, 51.8% vs 45.4% at 12 years; P = .01) than recipients who received an organ from a MD. There was no statistically significant difference in 30-day conditional survival between the two groups (survival rates 57.4% vs 55.5% at 12 years; P = .43). PGD, perioperative hemodialysis, and sepsis were independent risk factors of mortality at multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Utilization of MDs for HT is associated with a higher incidence of PGD and acute renal failure, and a reduction of 30-day survival.

Performance of existing risk scores around heart transplantation: validation study in a 4-year cohort.

Several risk scores exist to help identify best candidate recipients for heart transplantation (HTx). This study describes the performance of five heart failure risk scores and two post-HTx mortality risk scores in a French single-centre cohort. All patients listed for HTx through a 4-year period were included. Waiting-list risk scores [Heart Failure Survival Score (HFSS), Seattle Heart Failure Model (SHFM), Meta-Analysis Global Group in Chronic Heart Failure (MAGGIC), Organized Program to Initiate Lifesaving Treatment in Hospitalized Patients with Heart Failure (OPTIMIZE-HF) and Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure (GWTG-HF)] and post-HTx scores Index for Mortality Prediction After Cardiac Transplantation (IMPACT and CARRS) were computed. Main outcomes were 1-year mortality on waiting list and after HTx. Performance was assessed using receiver operator characteristic (ROC), calibration and goodness-of-fit analyses. The cohort included 414 patients. Waiting-list mortality was 14.0%, and post-HTx mortality was 16.3% at 1-year follow-up. Heart failure risk scores had adequate discrimination regarding waiting-list mortality (ROC AUC for HFSS = 0.68, SHFM = 0.74, OPTIMIZE-HF = 0.72, MAGGIC = 0.70 and GWTG = 0.77; all P-values <0.05). On the contrary, post-HTx risk scores did not discriminate post-HTx mortality (AUC for IMPACT = 0.58, and CARRS = 0.48, both P-values >0.50). Subgroup analysis on patients undergoing HTx after ventricular assistance device (VAD) implantation (i.e. bridge-to-transplantation) (n = 36) showed an IMPACT AUC = 0.72 (P < 0.001). In this single-centre cohort, existing heart failure risk scores were adequate to predict waiting-list mortality. Post-HTx mortality risk scores were not, except in the VAD subgroup.

Impact of cardiac arrest resuscitated donors on heart transplant recipients' outcome.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of cardiac arrest-resuscitated donors (CARDs) on the outcome of heart recipients. METHODS: Patients transplanted between July 2004 and December 2012 were divided into 2 groups according to the history of cardiac arrest in donors and their clinical records were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 584 heart transplantations were performed during the study period, and 117 recipients received an organ from a CARD. There were no differences between the 2 groups with regards to recipient age, sex, cardiomyopathy, preoperative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, national high emergency waiting list, and redo surgery. Donors who sustained a cardiac arrest were significantly younger (44 [32-51] vs 49 [41-56] years; P < .001), their main cause of death was anoxia (57% vs 1%; P < .001), and they had significantly greater troponin T peak levels (0.51 [0.128-3.108] vs 0.11 [0.04-0.43] ng/mL; P < .001). Median cardiac arrest duration was 15 minutes (5-25). No difference was noted in donors with regards to left ventricular ejection fraction at time of organ procurement (62% ± 8% vs 63% ± 8%; P = .2). There were no differences between the 2 groups with regards to ischemic time (179 ± 60 vs 183 ± 59 minutes; P = .43), need for postoperative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for primary graft failure (31% vs 30%; P = .993) and 30-days mortality. Recipients receiving an organ from a CARD had a significantly better 10 year survival (69.4% vs 50.4%; P = .017). CONCLUSIONS: History of cardiac arrest in donors with a preserved left ventricular ejection fraction at time of organ procurement doesn't affect outcome of heart recipients.

Clinical outcome and quality of life of patients surviving 20 years or longer after heart transplantation.

To evaluate outcome and quality of life (QoL) in ≥ 20 years survivors after heart transplantation. Patients surviving ≥ 20 years with a single graft were retrospectively reviewed. Heterotopic, multiorgan and retransplantations were excluded. QoL was evaluated using the SF-36 survey. Eight hundred and twenty-seven heart transplants were performed from 1981 to 1993, and among these, 131 (16%) patients survived ≥ 20 years; 98 (75%) were male and mean age at transplant was 43 ± 13 years. Conditional survival in these 20 years survivors was 74.1 ± 4.3% at 23 years and 60.9 ± 5.3% at 25 years (45 deaths, 34%). Forty-four (34%) patients suffered rejection ≥ 2R. Conditional survival free from rejection ≥ 2R was 68 ± 4.1% at 5 years and 66.4 ± 4.2% at 10 years. Thirty-five (27%) patients had cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) grade 2-3. Conditional CAV-free survival was 76 ± 3.8% at 20 years and 72.1 ± 4% at 25. Sixty-nine (53%) patients developed malignancy, mostly skin cancers. Conditional malignancy-free survival was 53.5 ± 4.4% at 20 years and 45.2 ± 4.6% at 25 years. At latest follow-up, 24.0 ± 3.0 years after transplantation, mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 62 ± 11% and mean physical and mental scores were 57 ± 23 and 58 ± 21, respectively. Sixteen per cent of heart recipients survived ≥ 20 years with good ventricular performance and QoL. CAV and malignancies account for late morbidity and mortality.

Interleukin-1 receptor-related protein ST2 and mitral valve repair outcome in patients with chronic degenerative mitral regurgitation.

BACKGROUND: ST2 is a member of the interleukin-1 receptor family that is markedly upregulated in cultured cardiomyocytes subjected to mechanical strain. Serum soluble ST2 (sST2) levels can be detected in patients with acute myocardial infarction and severe chronic heart failure. This study sought to assess for the first time the activation of the ST2 pathway in patients with severe chronic degenerative mitral regurgitation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Serum sST2 levels were measured in 20 patients scheduled for mitral valve (MV) repair at baseline, at the end of the intervention, on postoperative day 1, at hospital discharge, and after 6 months. Patients also underwent measurement of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and echocardiographic evaluation at each time point. RESULTS: At baseline, sST2 was detected in 10 (50%) patients (mean value, 60 ± 74 pg/mL; range, 0-234 pg/mL; median, 8 pg/mL). MV repair was performed successfully in all patients. Cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass was associated with a rapid and transient increase in sST2 levels. Patients with baseline higher versus lower sST2 levels (≥ 8 vs. < 8 pg/mL) had significantly higher levels of sST2 on postoperative day 1 (1,050 ± 593 vs. 440 ± 312 pg/mL; p = 0.009). At follow-up, patients with preoperative sST2 ≥ 8 pg/mL had significantly higher ejection fraction (EF) (64.7 ± 5.8 vs. 57.6 ± 5.9; p = 0.03) and lower left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) (50.6 ± 5.8 vs. 56 ± 4.2; p = 0.03) compared with patients with preoperative sST2 < 8 pg/mL. CONCLUSION: Preoperative ST2 activation, evidenced by the presence of serum sST2 levels, is present in half of the patients with chronic degenerative mitral regurgitation and is associated with higher levels of EF and lower levels of LVEDD after MV repair.

The role of TNF-α and TNF superfamily members in the pathogenesis of calcific aortic valvular disease.

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) represents a slowly progressive pathologic process associated with major morbidity and mortality. The process is characterized by multiple steps: inflammation, fibrosis, and calcification. Numerous studies focalized on its physiopathology highlighting different "actors" for the multiple "acts." This paper focuses on the role of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily (TNFSF) members in the pathogenesis of CAVD. In particular, we discuss the clinical and experimental studies providing evidence of the involvement of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) ligand (RANKL), its membrane receptor RANK and its decoy receptor osteoprotegerin (OPG), and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) in valvular calcification.