A Case of Ischemic Monomelic Neuropathy After Arteriovenous Fistula Placement.

Ischemic monomelic neuropathy (IMN) is a relatively uncommon and under-recognized complication of vascular access creation for arteriovenous (AV) fistula in hemodialysis patients. They usually develop distal muscle weakness, sensation loss, and severe acute pain without muscle necrosis soon after AV fistula creation. Physicians should be aware of this condition as prompt diagnosis and timely vascular interventions are necessary to save the limbs and prevent permanent functional disability. Once the diagnosis of IMN is made, the patients will need emergent ligation of the fistula to restore the distal perfusion. We report a case of a 59-year-old male patient with End-stage Renal Disease on hemodialysis who developed severe pain, weakness, and loss of sensation in the left arm a few hours after left brachiocephalic vascular access creation. He was subsequently diagnosed with ischemic monomelic neuropathy and underwent emergent AV fistula ligation. Symptoms were relieved immediately after the ligation.

Risk of New-Onset Diabetes Mellitus as a Post-COVID-19 Condition and Possible Mechanisms: A Scoping Review.

Long-term effects of COVID-19 are becoming more apparent even as the severity of acute infection is decreasing due to vaccinations and treatment. In this scoping review, we explored the current literature for the relationship between COVID-19 infection and new-onset diabetes mellitus four weeks after acute infection. We systematically searched the peer-reviewed literature published in English between 1 January 2020 and 31 August 2022 to study the risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus post-COVID-19 infection. This scoping review yielded 11 articles based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria. Except for one, all studies suggested an increased risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus 4 weeks after acute infection. This risk appears most in the first six months after the acute COVID-19 infection and seems to increase in a graded fashion based on the severity of the initial COVID-19 infection. Our review suggests a possible association of new-onset diabetes mellitus 4 weeks after acute COVID-19 infection. Since the severity of COVID-19 infection is associated with the development of post-infectious diabetes, vaccination that reduces the severity of acute COVID-19 infection might help to reduce the risk of post-COVID-19 diabetes mellitus. More studies are needed to better understand and quantify the association of post-COVID-19 conditions with diabetes and the role of vaccination in influencing it.

Is ticagrelor worth its high cost and side-effects?

Ticagrelor is a reversible P2Y12 receptor antagonist that is more potent than clopidogrel. When used in combination with aspirin, it reduces cardiovascular events in patients with acute coronary syndrome. However, unbiased review of 5 randomised controlled trials indicates that although statistically significant, the clinical superiority of ticagrelor over clopidogrel is modest. Thus, identification of patients who benefit the most from ticagrelor is a priority. Besides bleeding issues, ticagrelor can frequently cause bouts of dyspnoea, which requires ticagrelor replacement by another P2Y12 receptor antagonist, with a loading dose.

The Incidence, Risk Factors, and Chronobiology of Acute Myocardial Infarction Ten Years After Hurricane Katrina.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the 10-year impact of Hurricane Katrina on the incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) along with contributing risk factors and any alteration in chronobiology of AMI. METHODS: A single-center, retrospective, comparison study of AMI incidence was performed at Tulane University Health Sciences Center from 2 years before Hurricane Katrina to 10 years after Hurricane Katrina. A 6-year, pre-Katrina and 10-year, post-Katrina cohort were also compared according to pre-specified demographic, clinical, and chronobiological data. RESULTS: AMI incidence increased from 0.7% (150/21,079) to 2.8% (2,341/84,751) post-Katrina (P<0.001). The post-Katrina cohort had higher rates of coronary artery disease (36.4% vs. 47.9%, P=0.01), diabetes mellitus (31.3% vs. 39.9%, P=0.04), hyperlipidemia (45.4% vs. 59.3%, P=0.005), smoking (34.4% vs. 53.8%, P<0.001), drug abuse (10.2% vs. 15.4%, P=0.02), psychiatric illness (6.7% vs. 14.9%, P<0.001), medication non-adherence (7.3% vs. 15.3%, P<0.001), and lack of employment (7.2% vs. 16.4%, P<0.001). The post-Katrina group had increased rates of AMI during nights (29.8% vs. 47.8%, P<0.001) and weekends (16.1% vs. 29.1%, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Even 10 years after the storm, Hurricane Katrina continues to be associated with increased incidence of AMI, higher prevalence of traditional cardiovascular and psychosocial risk factors, and an altered chronobiology of AMI toward nights and weekends. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:217-222).

Painful left bundle branch block syndrome treated with his bundle pacing.

This is a case report of a patient with painful LBBB Syndrome that responded favorably to His Bundle Pacing. This syndrome is largely under recognized despite 50 reports in the literature over the last 60 years. Both diagnosis and treatment are not well defined and represent a major challenge in patients with this entity. Right ventricular pacing has been attempted with inconsistent efficacy outcomes. We report for the first-time complete resolution of chest pain with His bundle pacing. HBP provides a promising alternative pacing option that might provide symptom resolution to patients with a painful LBBB syndrome.

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Versus Surgical Valve Replacement in Low-Intermediate Surgical Risk Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a viable alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in patients with severe aortic stenosis (SAS) who are at high risk for surgery. We sought to evaluate the outcomes of TAVR vs SAVR in low-intermediate risk patients with SAS. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed random-effects meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and propensity-matched observational studies comparing TAVR vs SAVR for low-intermediate risk patients. Five RCTs and 5 observational studies with a total of 6891 patients (3489 TAVR patients; 3402 SAVR patients) were included. Pooled data from RCTs showed no significant differences in all-cause mortality between TAVR and SAVR at 30 days (risk ratio [RR], 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73-1.47) and intermediate-term follow-up (RR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.67-1.10). A trend toward decreased mortality was found with TAVR using the self-expandable vs balloon-expandable valves (RR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.52-1.15 and RR, 1.91; 95% CI, 0.25-14.53, respectively) and transfemoral vs transthoracic approach (RR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.55-1.01 and RR, 2.09; 95% CI, 0.40-11.03, respectively). Compared to SAVR, TAVR was associated with similar risks of stroke (RR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.74-1.11) and myocardial infarction (RR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.71-1.41). Furthermore, risks of major vascular complications, moderate-severe paravalvular regurgitation, and new permanent pacemaker implantation were higher with TAVR, whereas SAVR was associated with higher rates of acute kidney injury, atrial fibrillation, and major or life-threatening bleed. Finally, the above results from RCTs were consistent with pooled analyses of observational studies. CONCLUSION: TAVR appears to be a suitable alternative for patients with SAS who are at low-intermediate risk for SAVR.

Prognostic implications of diastolic dysfunction in patients with acute pulmonary embolism.

BACKGROUND: A history of congestive heart failure has been used to determine the prognosis in patients with acute pulmonary embolism. Diastolic dysfunction is responsible for the half of congestive heart failure but has not been understood well. METHODS: A total of 205 patients were reported admitted with acute pulmonary embolism from January 2009 to July 2011. We excluded hemodynamically unstable patients who received thrombolytics or underwent thromboembolectomy. We included hemodynamically stable patients who underwent echocardiogram within 72 hours of diagnosis. We reviewed medical records of 107 patients to investigate whether diastolic dysfunction increases in-hospital mortality or adverse clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Out of 107 patients, 10 patients died during hospitalization with in-hospital mortality rate of 9.3%. Among 84 patients without diastolic dysfunction as assessed by echocardiogram, six patients died with in-hospital mortality rate of 7.1%. Meanwhile, among 23 patients with diastolic dysfunction, four patients died with in-hospital mortality rate of 17.4%. The multivariable adjusted odds ratio was calculated as 2.71, with 95% confidence interval of 0.59 - 12.44. CONCLUSIONS: For hemodynamically stable patients with acute pulmonary embolism, diastolic dysfunction as assessed by echocardiogram could increase in-hospital mortality 2.71 fold, although this was not statistically significant. Further study with a large patient population is needed to determine the statistically significant implications of diastolic dysfunction in patients with acute pulmonary embolism.