Gender based differences in drug eluting stent implantation - data from the German ALKK registry suggest underuse of DES in elderly women.

BACKGROUND: Observational studies suggest there are gender based differences in the treatment of coronary artery disease, with women receiving evidence based therapy less frequently than suggested by current guidelines. The aim of our study was to evaluate gender based differences in the use of DES. METHODS: We analysed prospectively collected data from 100704 stent implantations in the PCI registry of the ALKK between 2005 and 2009. RESULTS: The usage of DES increased from 16.0 to 43.9%. Although women had smaller vessel sizes, they received DES less often compared to men (28.2 vs. 31.3%), with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.93 (95% confidence interval 0.89-0.97) at the age of 75, and an adjusted odds ratio of 0.89 (95% confidence interval 0.84-0.94) at the age of 80. CONCLUSION: Despite having smaller vessels than men, women were treated less often with DES. These findings apply to women above the age of 75 years. These findings support previous reports, that elderly women with coronary artery disease are treated differently to men.

Right ventricular function in myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock: Improvement with levosimendan.

OBJECTIVES: Levosimendan improves left ventricular hemodynamic function in patients with cardiogenic shock. However, its impact on right ventricular performance has not been determined. We compared the hemodynamic effects of levosimendan on left and right ventricular function in patients with intractable cardiogenic shock following myocardial infarction. DESIGN: Observational hemodynamic study. SETTING: Tertiary care center university hospital. PATIENTS: Fifty-six patients with cardiogenic shock secondary to myocardial infarction were treated with percutaneous revascularization (including intra-aortic balloon pump when appropriate) and commenced on conventional inotropic therapy. INTERVENTION: Twenty-five consecutive patients with cardiogenic shock due to myocardial infarction who had not improved sufficiently with conventional therapy (including dobutamine and norepinephrine) received levosimendan (as a bolus of 12 microg/kg per minute for 10 mins then 0.1 microg/kg per minute--0.2 mug/kg per minute) as "bail-out" therapy for 24 hrs while invasive hemodynamic parameters were recorded. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Levosimendan therapy was associated with a significant increase in cardiac index from 2.1 +/- 0.1 to 3.0 +/- 0.2 L x min x m (p < .01). In addition, levosimendan enhanced right ventricular cardiac power index (0.14 +/- 0.19 to 0.18W +/- 0.12, p < .001), while pulmonary vascular resistance fell from 227.7 +/- 94.5 to 178.1 +/- 62.3 dyne x s x cm (p = .002). No significant change in central venous pressure or mean pulmonary artery pressure was observed. The observed hemodynamic improvement was sustained after the levosimendan infusion was stopped. CONCLUSIONS: Levosimendan infusion for cardiogenic shock following acute myocardial infarction improved hemodynamic parameters of right ventricular performance. Furthermore, we describe the use of right ventricular cardiac power index as a hemodynamic parameter of right ventricular performance.

Hemodynamic improvement following levosimendan treatment in patients with acute myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock.

OBJECTIVES: Levosimendan, a novel inodilator, has been shown to improve hemodynamic function in patients with acute exacerbation of congestive heart failure. We wanted to determine the hemodynamic effects of levosimendan following ineffective conventional therapy (with catecholamines) in patients with cardiogenic shock following myocardial infarction. DESIGN: Observational hemodynamic study. SETTING: Tertiary care center university hospital. PATIENTS: Fifty-six patients with cardiogenic shock secondary to myocardial infarction were treated with percutaneous revascularization (intra-aortic balloon pump where appropriate) and commenced on conventional inotropic therapy. INTERVENTIONS: Patients with persisting cardiogenic shock 24 hrs after revascularization were additionally treated with levosimendan (rapid bolus of 12 microg/kg for 10 mins, then 0.05-0.2 mug/kg/min for 24 hrs) (n = 25). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: With conventional catecholamine therapy (norepinephrine and dobutamine), we observed only marginal improvement in mean arterial pressure or cardiac index. In contrast, the addition of levosimendan produced a significant increase in cardiac index (2.1 +/- 0.56 to 3.0 +/- 1.11 L/min/m2, p < .01) and cardiac power index (0.32 +/- 0.08 to 0.44 +/- 0.18 W, p < .01), whereas systemic vascular resistance decreased significantly (1208 +/- 333 to 858 +/- 299 dyne.sec.cm(-5), p < .01). There was no significant change in blood pressure during levosimendan treatment. Hemodynamic improvement was sustained after levosimendan infusion was stopped. CONCLUSIONS: Levosimendan infusion in cardiogenic shock following acute myocardial infarction improved cardiovascular hemodynamics without leading to hypotension.

The severity of infection induces a shift in the type 1/Type 2 T-helper cell balance in patients with or without peritonitis.

BACKGROUND: A type-1 to type-2 T-helper cell (Th1/Th2) shift is hypothesized to occur among patients with severe trauma and pancreatitis. It was hypothesized that the Th2 situation caused an immune-suppressed period that led to a critical imbalance in the patients' conditions, with an increased risk of multiple organ failure and mortality. METHODS: In eight patients with localized intra-abdominal infection (diverticulitis) and six patients with peritonitis due to perforation of a hollow viscus, we examined the cytokine response of CD3(+) T cells in the greater omentum and in the peripheral blood by in vitro stimulation, intracellular cytokine staining, and flow cytometry for TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-2, and IL-4. Follow-up cytokine assays were carried out on peripheral blood on days 3 and 7. Different levels of cytokine expression in each group were examined to determine the origin of the lymphocytes, both from omentum or peripheral blood. Cytokine production in the diverticulitis group was compared with that of the peritonitis patients. RESULTS: In localized infections (diverticulitis), there was higher expression of TNF-alpha (51%/35% positive cells in omentum/blood), IFN-gamma (47%/32%), and IL-2 (33%/20%) in the omentum than in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PMBCs), but this was not true for IL-4 expression (0.8%/1.3%). In patients with peritonitis, there were no differences in cytokine expression between lymphocytes from the greater omentum and from PMBCs for TNF-alpha (18%/21% omentum/blood), IFN-gamma (20%/22%), IL-2 (16%/12%), or IL-4 (10.9%/7.6%). Compared to the diverticulitis group, patients with peritonitis showed reduced expression for TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, and IL-2, but there was a significantly higher response for IL-4 for both compartments. CONCLUSIONS: There was a shift from Th1 to Th2 in patients with severe clinical symptoms of peritonitis. Immune suppression is evident because of the T cell response in the greater omentum, but immunosuppression seems to not reach its maximum level before day 7 post operation. This differs from findings in multiple trauma and pancreatitis; however, it is parallel to the clinical situation in patients with peritonitis.