Changes in Carotid Duplex Ultrasound Velocities After Aortic Valve Replacement for Severe Aortic Stenosis.

OBJECTIVES: The peak systolic velocity (PSV) and end-diastolic velocity (EDV) obtained by carotid duplex ultrasound (CDU) imaging of the internal carotid arteries (ICAs) are parameters used to determine the severity of ICA stenosis. Severe aortic stenosis (AS) results in a parvus-et-tardus pattern on spectral Doppler waveforms; however, the impact of severe AS on CDU velocities is unclear. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of severe AS on CDU velocities by evaluating changes in CDU velocities before and after aortic valve replacement (AVR) METHODS: A single-center retrospective review of patients with severe AS who underwent surgical AVR and who had preoperative and postoperative CDU examinations performed within 12 months of each other was conducted. Patients with any carotid intervention between the preoperative and postoperative CDU were excluded. RESULTS: We identified 92 patients who satisfied all inclusion criteria. The mean age was 72.2 years; 71.7% were men; the mean preoperative aortic valve area ± SD was 0.8 ± 0.2 cm2 ; and the mean time from preoperative to postoperative AVR CDU was 182.3 ± 98.4 days. The peak aortic valve gradient decreased from 62.5 to 22.0 mm Hg after AVR (P < .001); however, there were no significant changes in the PSV or EDV in either the right or left ICA. CONCLUSIONS: Although severe AS may cause characteristic changes in the spectral Doppler waveform on CDU imaging, there is no significant effect on the ICA PSV or EDV. Adjustments in velocity criteria to determine the degree of carotid artery stenosis in patients with substantial AS may not be necessary.

Prognostic Impact of Extent, Severity, and Heterogeneity of Abnormalities on 18F-FDG PET Scans for Suspected Cardiac Sarcoidosis.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to evaluate the incremental value of quantifying the extent and severity of myocardial perfusion and 18F-labeled fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) abnormalities in predicting adverse outcomes among patients with suspicion for cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). BACKGROUND: Positron emission tomography (PET) with FDG is a key component of the noninvasive assessment of patients with suspected CS. However, the optimal method for image interpretation has not been defined. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed of 203 patients who underwent perfusion and FDG-PET imaging to evaluate for CS. Imaging findings were scored by conventional 3-category methods (normal perfusion and metabolism, abnormal perfusion or metabolism, abnormal perfusion and metabolism) and by summed scores using the 17-segment model to represent extent and severity of disease. Heterogeneity of metabolism was quantified using the coefficient of variation (SD divided by the mean) of FDG uptake. Multivariable Cox models were developed to assess associations between imaging findings and adverse events (death, heart transplant, or ventricular arrhythmia requiring defibrillation). RESULTS: The indication for FDG-PET was ventricular arrhythmia in 69 (34%), heart block in 16 (8%), cardiomyopathy in 54 (27%), and other indications in 64 (32%). There were 63 patients who developed adverse events over a mean follow-up of 1.8 years. After robust adjustment, only the summed score in segments with a perfusion-metabolism mismatch and the coefficient of variation were important prognostically (p = 0.029 and p = 0.041, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative measures of extent and severity of perfusion-metabolism mismatch and coefficient of variation of FDG uptake provide an incremental prognostic advantage in patients undergoing FDG-PET for CS. These results support the use of a more detailed analysis of imaging findings, as is conventional in coronary artery disease.

Oral Impacts on Quality of Life in Adult Patients with Class I, II and III Malocclusion.

PURPOSE: To compare the social impact of malocclusion on quality of life between adult patients with Angle Class I, II and III malocclusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 222 adult patients (139, 42 and 41 with Angle Class I, II and III malocclusion, respectively) were recruited voluntarily from those attending the Orthodontic Clinic of Khyber College of Dentistry in Pesh awar, Pakistan. Participants were asked to complete the Urdu version of the short form of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14), which was previously validated for this study. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to compare the seven OHIP-14 domains scores and the total score between patients with malocclusion Class I, II and III. RESULTS: Adults with Class III malocclusion had a significantly higher OHIP-14 total score than those with Class I malocclusion (a mean difference of 5 units between groups), but there were no differences between other Angle malocclusion groups. In addition, adults with Class III malocclusion reported greater impacts on the three OHIP-14 disability domains (physical, psychological and social) than those with Class I malocclusion. No significant interactions with sex and age were found. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that adult patients with Class III malocclusion had a poorer quality of life than those with Class I malocclusion. Differences were mainly found in the physical, psychological and social disability domains of the OHIP-14 instrument.