Prognosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension patients with pericardial effusion before and after initiation of parenteral prostacyclin therapy.

Few studies have evaluated the effects of pulmonary arterial hypertension therapies on pericardial effusion. We evaluated hemodynamics, echocardiograms, and outcomes for 119 parenteral prostanoid-treated patients. We discovered an increased frequency of pericardial effusions posttreatment, and that a moderate-large pericardial effusion at initiation, but not at 1st follow-up, was significantly associated with mortality.

Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome and Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage in the Era of COVID-19.

Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome (HCPS) can occur after infection with Hantavirus which can occur by inhaling aerosolized rodent urine, feces, and saliva contaminated with the virus. It presents with the rapid development of pulmonary edema, respiratory failure, and cardiogenic shock with the hallmark being microvascular leakage. We report a patient with a history of alcohol abuse and recent exposure to mice and sick kittens who presented with cough with sputum production, shortness of breath, orthopnea, and new-onset lower extremity edema. Imaging revealed bilateral infiltrates more common on the left with an unremarkable echocardiogram. Testing for COVID-19, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), influenza, bacterial pneumonia including tuberculosis and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), aspergillosis, histoplasmosis, Blastomyces, and Coccidiodes was negative. Bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage revealed diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) and were negative for acid-fast bacilli and Nocardia cultures. He was further tested for Hantavirus, Q fever, leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis, and empiric treatment with doxycycline initiated. His Hantavirus IgM antibody came back positive. Human Hantavirus infection occurs after inhalation of infected rodent excreta; fortunately, human-to-human transmission has not been documented. HCPS most commonly occurs due to the Sin Nombre virus (SNV), has a case fatality rate of 50%, and is a notifiable disease in the United States. It has 3 distinct phases, prodromal, cardiopulmonary, and convalescent/recovery. The cardiopulmonary phase occurs from increased permeability of pulmonary capillaries and in severe cases can progress to cardiogenic shock. Diagnosis is based on the presence of IgM and IgG Hantavirus antibodies. Treatment is mainly supportive; however, patients are usually treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics while workup is underway. In animal models, ribavirin and favipiravir are only effective when administered in the prodromal phase. If suspicion of Hantavirus infection exists, early mobilization to the intensive care unit for treatment is recommended. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been suggested to improve outcomes in severe HCPS with refractory shock.

Covid-19, Lockdown and Self-Isolation: Evaluation of Deliberate Self-Harm Admissions.

Background: COVID 19 is still presenting a clear and dynamic global threat. The United Kingdom remains one of the hardest hit countries from the pandemic. In January 2021 parliament announced that the UK will be entering a full national lockdown. This paper explores what effect lockdown measures had on rates of deliberate self-harm presentations to one NHS trust in Manchester UK. Methods: This paper compared the number of cases of deliberate self-harm which presented to the emergency department of Manchester Royal Infirmary for March-May in 2018, 2019 and 2020. This was achieved by utilising coding from emergency department data and reviewing hospital records surrounding each case. Results: 2018 recorded a total of 101 admissions as a result of DSH with all causes admissions of 8,514 making the proportions of admissions due to self-harm 1.19%. In 2019, 9,038 patients were admitted, of these, 130 (1.44%) were identified as DSH. In 2020 the total number of admissions fell to 5,676 with 118 admitted due to self-harm, representing 2.08% of admissions. The absolute number of admissions remained stable however the proportion of admissions due to self-harm was significantly higher in 2020 (p < 0.001). Other significant findings include a higher proportion of male admissions compared to females in 2020 (58.5%) and a decrease in the normal of cases relating to paracetamol overdose in 2020. Discussion: The findings demonstrated by this study do not indicate that lockdown is an absolute risk for DSH behaviours however it does illustrate the stable nature of these cases despite and dramatic decline in all cause admissions. The rate of increase of deliberate self-harm accelerated significantly between March and May in 2020. Steps must be taken to avoid a similar situation following the 2021 lockdown and beyond - focus on improving access to certain virtual services may help to achieve this goal.

Alcohol Ablation of Extracardiac Thoracic Tumor.

This case illustrates a novel percutaneous treatment of a highly vascular thoracic tumor impinging on the left atrium and right pulmonary artery by delivery of coils and alcohol ablation via a circumflex coronary artery feeder branch. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.).

Plaque modification of severely calcified coronary lesions via orbital atherectomy: Single-center observations from a complex Veterans Affairs cohort.

BACKGROUND: Orbital atherectomy (OA) is a known alternative to other atherectomy devices. However, some complex patient demographics (eg, left ventricular ejection fraction <25%) were excluded from the first-in-human trial (ORBIT I) and the pivotal FDA device approval trial (ORBIT II) which evaluated the safety and efficacy of OA in severely calcified de novo coronary lesions. This single-operator cohort study aimed to examine the impact of OA on a real-world complex Veterans Affairs patient subset. METHODS: Retrospective analysis was completed on 40 consecutive patients with severely calcified coronary lesions who underwent OA prior to drug-eluting stent placement at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center from January 2015 to June 2017. RESULTS: Orbital atherectomy plus drug-eluting stent placement was successful in all 40 cases. Chocolate focal force balloon angioplasty was the most commonly used post-atherectomy balloon (N = 34, 85%). Few complications were observed, including one case (2.5%) of perforation and one case (2.5%) of no-reflow. Neither acute stent thrombosis nor emergent coronary artery bypass grafting was observed. The intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-determined median [IQR] pre-procedure minimum lumen area and post-procedure minimum stent area (MSA) were 2.8 [2.2, 3.0] mm2 and 8.7 [7.7, 10.0] mm2, respectively (P < 0.0001, Mann-Whitney test). Major adverse cardiovascular events, including all-cause mortality, at 30 days and at a median [IQR] follow-up of 197.5 [35.5, 461.3] days, was 5% and 10%, respectively. During that period, one target vessel revascularization (2.5%) was observed. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that OA is a useful tool in performing high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention effectively in VA patients with severely calcified coronary lesions. OA plaque modification in combination with a high utilization rate of IVUS and Chocolate focal force angioplasty facilitates stent delivery and optimal stent expansion, resulting in a large MSA.

Left ventricular global longitudinal strain predicts mortality and heart failure admissions in African American patients.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have demonstrated the importance of left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS) as a reliable prognostic indicator in patients with heart failure (HF). These studies have included few African American (AA) patients, despite the growing prevalence and severity of HF in this patient population. HYPOTHESIS: LV GLS predicts long-term HF admission and all-cause mortality in AA patients with chronic HF on optimal guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT). METHODS: We enrolled 207 AA adults, age 56 ± 14.5 years, with New York Heart Association (NYHA) class I through III HF on optimal GDMT from the University of Illinois HF clinic between November 2001 and February 2014. LV GLS was assessed by velocity vector imaging using 2-, 3-, and 4-chamber views. Patients were followed for HF admissions and death for 3 ± 3.0 years. LV GLS value of -7.95 was used as the optimal cutoff point that maximizes sensitivity and specificity RESULTS: LV GLS < -7.95% was significantly associated with higher all-cause mortality and HF admissions in Kaplan-Meier survival curves (log-rank P < 0.001). After incorporation in multivariate Cox proportional hazard models, GLS < -7.95% was found to be an independent predictor of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] = 4.04; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07-15.32; P = 0.04] and HF admissions (HR = 3.86; 95% CI: 1.38-10.77; P = 0.010). CONCLUSIONS: In AA patients with chronic stable HF on GDMT, more impaired LV GLS (< -7.95%) is a strong and independent predictor of long-term all-cause mortality and HF admissions.

Downstream clinical consequences of stress cardiovascular magnetic resonance based on appropriate use criteria.

BACKGROUND: Appropriate use criteria (AUC) have been developed by professional organizations as a response to the rising costs of imaging, with the goal of optimizing test-patient selection. Consequently, the AUC are now increasingly used by third-party-payers to assess reimbursement. However, these criteria were created by expert consensus and have not been systematically assessed for CMR. The aim of this study was to determine the rates of abnormal stress-CMR and subsequent downstream utilization of angiography and revascularization procedures based on the most recent AUC. METHODS: 300 consecutive patients referred for CMR-stress testing were prospectively enrolled. Two cardiologists reviewed all clinical information before the CMR-stress test and classified the test as "appropriate', "maybe appropriate" or "rarely appropriate" according to the 2013 AUC. Patients were followed for 2 months for the primary outcomes of coronary angiography and/or revascularization. RESULTS: 49.7% of stress CMRs were appropriate, 36.7% maybe appropriate, and 13.6% rarely appropriate. Ischemia was significantly more likely to be seen in the appropriate (18.8%) or maybe appropriate groups (21.8%) than the rarely appropriate group (4.8%) (p = 0.030 and p = 0.014 respectively). Referral for cardiac catheterization was not significantly different in the appropriate (10.1%) and maybe appropriate groups (10.0%) compared to the rarely appropriate group (2.4%) (p = 0.119 and p = 0.127 respectively). No patients undergoing catheterization in the rarely appropriate group went on to require revascularization, in contrast to 53.3% of the appropriate vs 36.4% of the maybe appropriate patients (p = 0.391). Presence of ischemia led to referral for cardiac catheterization in 50.0% of the appropriate group vs 33.3% of the maybe appropriate group (p = 0.225); in contrast to none of the rarely appropriate group. CONCLUSIONS: The great majority of tests were classified as appropriate or maybe appropriate. Downstream cardiac catheterization rates were similar in all 3 groups. However, rarely appropriate studies never required revascularization, suggesting suboptimal resource utilization. Studies classified as maybe appropriate had similar rates of abnormal findings and led to similar rates of downstream catheterization and revascularization as those that were deemed appropriate. This suggests that consideration could be given to upgrading some of the common maybe appropriate indications to the appropriate category.