Multicenter experience with the antegrade fenestration and reentry technique for chronic total occlusion recanalization.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of antegrade fenestration and reentry (AFR) for chronic total occlusion (CTO) recanalization in a multicenter registry. BACKGROUND: Adoption of antegrade dissection/reentry (ADR) for CTO recanalization has been limited, and novel ADR techniques are needed. METHODS: AFR involves the balloon-induced creation of multiple fenestrations between the false and true lumen. A targeted true lumen reentry is subsequently achieved with a low tip-load polymer-jacketed guidewire. Following the initial description and dissemination of AFR, patients undergoing AFR-based CTO recanalization at nine centers were included in the present registry. Study endpoints were AFR success, procedural success, and target-lesion failure (TLF) on follow-up. RESULTS: We included 41 patients. Mean J-CTO score was 2.5 ± 1.4. In 80.5% of cases, AFR was performed after failed antegrade wire escalation. Another ADR technique was used before AFR in one-third of cases. AFR achieved distal true lumen reentry in n = 27/41 (65.9%) cases. In n = 14/41 (34.1%) cases with AFR failure, use of alternative techniques led to successful CTO recanalization in eight additional patients. The overall technical and procedural success rates were 85.4% and 82.9%, respectively. No AFR-related complications were observed. One-year TLF rate was 8.3% overall, with no differences between successful and failed AFR. CONCLUSIONS: We report on AFR feasibility in a multicenter registry of patients undergoing CTO recanalization. We observed a moderate success rate, coupled with the absence of complications. Moreover, even a failed AFR attempt did not preclude the use of alternative techniques to achieve recanalization. Further studies should confirm and extend our findings.

Stress induced cardiomyopathy due to a Mexican earthquake / Cardiomiopatía por estrés inducida por el terremoto en México

Abstract Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy mainly occurs in postmenopausal women, with or with- out cardiovascular disease, and is commonly associated with emotional or physical stress. After nearly 27 years of extensive efforts towards a better understanding of this disorder, current knowledge remains limited. Many people suffer post-traumatic stress, and this situation can be associated to stress cardiomyopathy. The case is presented of a female who suffers stress asso- ciated with the earthquake of 19 September 2017 in Mexico City, and arrived in the Emergency Department in cardiogenic shock.

Resumen La miocardiopatía de Takotsubo ocurre principalmente en mujeres posmenopáusicas con o sin enfermedad cardiovascular, y se asocia comúnmente con estrés emocional o físico. Después de casi 27 an˜os de esfuerzos extensos para una mejor comprensión de este trastorno, el conocimiento actual sigue siendo limitado. Muchas personas sufren estrés postraumático y esta situación puede estar asociada a la cardiomiopatía por estrés. Presentamos el caso clínico de una mujer que sufrió estrés relacionado con el pasado terremoto del 19 de septiembre en la Ciudad de México y llegó al servicio de urgencias en choque cardiogénico.

Stress induced cardiomyopathy due to a Mexican earthquake.

Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy mainly occurs in postmenopausal women, with or without cardiovascular disease, and is commonly associated with emotional or physical stress. After nearly 27 years of extensive efforts towards a better understanding of this disorder, current knowledge remains limited. Many people suffer post-traumatic stress, and this situation can be associated to stress cardiomyopathy. The case is presented of a female who suffers stress associated with the earthquake of 19 September 2017 in Mexico City, and arrived in the Emergency Department in cardiogenic shock.

[Pinch-off syndrome. Case report and review of the literature]. / Síndrome de pinch off. Descripción de un caso y revisión de la literatura.

Central venous catheterization is a common procedure in the emergency and intensive-care units. Rupture of the central catheter has been described as a rare complication in patients with permanent subclavian catheters. We report the case of a patient with rupture and central catheter and embolization secondary to intermittent mechanical compression by the subclavian and the first rib (pinch-off syndrome) and its resolution through a percutaneous device.

Patients with hypertensive crises who are admitted to a coronary care unit: clinical characteristics and outcomes.

Patients with hypertensive crises, especially hypertensive emergencies, require immediate admittance to an intensive care unit for rapid blood pressure (BP) control. The authors analyzed the prevalence of hypertensive crisis, the clinical characteristics, and the evolution of patients with hypertensive emergencies and urgencies. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to their BP values: group I, predominant systolic hypertension (≥180/≤119 mm Hg); group II, severe systolic and diastolic hypertension (≥180/≥120 mm Hg); and group III, predominant diastolic hypertension (≤179/≥120 mm Hg). Of all of the patients admitted to a coronary care unit, 538 experienced a hypertensive crisis, which represented 5.08% of all admissions. Hypertensive emergency was predominant in 76.6% of the cases, which corresponded to acute coronary syndrome and acute decompensated heart failure in 59.5% and 25.2% of the cases, respectively. A pattern of predominant systolic hypertension (≥180/≤119 mm Hg) was most commonly observed in the hypertensive crisis group (71.4%) and the hypertensive emergency group (72.1%). The medications that were most commonly used at onset included intravenous vasodilators (nitroglycerin in 63.4% and sodium nitroprusside in 16.4% of the patients). The overall mortality rate was 3.7%. The mortality rate was 4.6% for hypertensive emergency cases and 0.8% for hypertensive urgencies cases.

[Imatinib-induced pulmonary toxicity]. / Toxicidad pulmonar inducida por imatinib.

Antineoplasic agent-induced pulmonary toxicity is an important cause of respiratory failure. These novel antineoplastic agents include imatinib mesylate, a protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is encoded by the Bcr-Abl gen created by the Philadelphia chromosome abnormality in chronic myeloid leukemia. Pulmonary toxicity of imatinib is directly related to the dose used. The more severe pulmonary manifestations include pleural effusion by water retention and interstitial pneumonitis. We report the first case published in Mexico ofimatinib-induced pulmonary toxicity and its management in the intensive care unit of the Medica Sur Clinic Foundation.