An unusual case of Cardiobacterium valvarum causing aortic endograft infection and osteomyelitis.

BACKGROUND: HACEK (Haemophilus spp., Aggregatibacter spp., Cardiobacterium spp., Eikenella corrodens, and Kingella spp.) group organisms are responsible for 0.8% to 6% of all infective endocarditis cases, with Cardiobacterium spp. being the third most commonly implicated HACEK microorganism. Within this genus is Cardiobacterium valvarum (C. valvarum), a novel organism described in 2004. To date, only 15 cases of C. valvarum infection have been reported in the English-language literature, and have primarily been cases of infective endocarditis in patients with valvular disease. C. valvarum has not been reported to cause infections spreading to the surrounding bone. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a 57-year-old man with a history of aortic dissection followed by aortic endograft replacement who presented with back pain. He was found to have radiographic evidence of an infected aortic endograft, along with vertebral osteomyelitis, discitis, and epidural phlegmon. Blood cultures identified C. valvarum as the causative organism. The patient was treated with ceftriaxone and surgical intervention was deferred due to the patient's complex anatomy. His course was complicated by septic cerebral emboli resulting in cerebrovascular accident. CONCLUSIONS: This case report highlights C. valvarum, a rare and emerging HACEK group microorganism that warrants consideration in high-risk patients with evidence of subacute infection and disseminated disease. While C. valvarum classically presents as infective endocarditis, extra-cardiac manifestations have also been described. As demonstrated in this case, endograft involvement and osteomyelitis may occur in rare circumstances.

Balloon-Assisted Coronary Intravascular Lithotripsy for Large Severely Calcified Coronary Artery Stenosis.

We present a patient with in-stent restenosis due to severe coronary calcification with asymmetric stent expansion and resulting stent eccentricity in a very large (6.0 mm) caliber coronary artery. We demonstrate the feasibility of using the largest commercially available coronary intravascular lithotripsy balloon (4.0 mm) along with a "buddy" balloon inflated simultaneously to treat focal coronary artery calcification in a vessel with a diameter significantly larger than the largest commercially available coronary intravascular lithotripsy balloon. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of this technique in coronary artery intervention.

Combined Coronary Orbital Atherectomy and Intravascular Lithotripsy for the Treatment of Severely Calcified Coronary Stenoses: The First Case Series.

OBJECTIVE: Severely calcified coronary stenoses remain a significant challenge during contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), often requiring advanced therapies to circumvent suboptimal lesion preparation and major adverse cardiac events (MACEs). Recent reports suggest combined coronary atherectomy and intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) may achieve superior preparation of severely calcified coronary stenoses during PCI. We sought to evaluate the safety and utility of combined orbital atherectomy (OA) and IVL for the modification of coronary artery calcification (CAC) prior to drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation in PCI. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of all patients who underwent coronary OA and IVL within a single PCI procedure at our institution. The primary outcome was procedural success, defined as successful DES implantation with a residual percent diameter stenosis of <30% and Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) 3 flow following PCI without occurrence of in-hospital MACE (cardiac death, myocardial infarction, or target-vessel revascularization). MACE was additionally assessed at 30 days post intervention. RESULTS: Eight patients underwent combined coronary OA and IVL within a single PCI procedure. The mean percent diameter stenosis prior to intervention was 80.5 ± 8.3%, with a mean calcific arc of 338 ± 42°. Procedural success was achieved in 7 of 8 cases (87.5%). Both in-hospital and 30-day MACE rates were 0%. CONCLUSION: We report the safe and effective use of combined coronary OA and IVL for the preparation of severely calcified coronary stenoses during PCI. Through their distinct yet complementary mechanisms of action, the combined use of these therapies may achieve superior preparation of severely calcified coronary stenoses during PCI.

The Utility of Peripheral Intravascular Lithotripsy in Calcific Coronary Artery Disease: A Case Series.

BACKGROUND: Coronary intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) is an emerging therapy for the modification of coronary artery calcification (CAC). Data on its use in several clinical and lesion subsets are limited due to their exclusion from preapproval trials. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of patients who were excluded from preapproval trials of coronary IVL and underwent CAC modification with the off-label use of a peripheral IVL system. The primary outcome was a composite of procedural success, defined as residual stenosis <10%, and no major adverse cardiac event (MACE), ie, cardiac death, myocardial infarction, or target- vessel revascularization, in hospital and at 30 days. RESULTS: Between June 2019 and April 2020, a total of 9 patients who underwent off-label coronary IVL were identified. Exclusion criteria from preapproval trials included a target lesion within an unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA; n = 3) and/or ostial location (n = 5), a target lesion involving in-stent restenosis (n = 3), a second target-vessel lesion with >50% stenosis (n = 1), and/or New York Heart Association class III/IV heart failure (n = 5). The primary outcome was achieved in 8 patients. MACE rate was 0% in hospital and at 30 days. For ULMCA lesions (n = 3), residual stenosis was 0% in 2 patients and 10% in 1 patient. For right coronary artery lesions (n = 3), residual stenosis was 0% in 2 patients and 40% in 1 patient. For left anterior descending coronary artery lesions (n = 3), residual stenosis was 0% in all patients. CONCLUSION: Coronary IVL with a peripheral IVL system may be an effective therapy for CAC modification within ULMCA disease, ostial disease, in-stent restenosis, and New York Heart Association class III/IV heart failure.

Chronic Post-Concussion Neurocognitive Deficits. II. Relationship with Persistent Symptoms.

Individuals who sustain a concussion may continue to experience problems long after their injury. However, it has been postulated in the literature that the relationship between a concussive injury and persistent complaints attributed to it is mediated largely by the development of symptoms associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. We sought to characterize cognitive deficits of adult patients who had persistent symptoms after a concussion and determine whether the original injury retains associations with these deficits after accounting for the developed symptoms that overlap with PTSD and depression. We compared the results of neurocognitive testing from 33 patients of both genders aged 18-55 at 3 months to 5 years post-injury with those from 140 control subjects. Statistical comparisons revealed that patients generally produced accurate responses on reaction time-based tests, but with reduced efficiency. On visual tracking, patients increased gaze position error variability following an attention demanding task, an effect that may reflect greater fatigability. When neurocognitive performance was examined in the context of demographic- and symptom-related variables, the original injury retained associations with reduced performance at a statistically significant level. For some patients, reduced cognitive efficiency and fatigability may represent key elements of interference when interacting with the environment, leading to varied paths of recovery after a concussion. Poor recovery may be better understood when these deficits are taken into consideration.

Strategy of Using Intratreatment Hypoxia Imaging to Selectively and Safely Guide Radiation Dose De-escalation Concurrent With Chemotherapy for Locoregionally Advanced Human Papillomavirus-Related Oropharyngeal Carcinoma.

PURPOSE: To report a small substudy of an ongoing large, multi-arm study using functional imaging to assess pre-/intratreatment hypoxia for all head and neck cancer, in which we hypothesized that pre- and early-treatment hypoxia assessment using functional positron emission tomography (PET) imaging may help select which human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive (HPV(+)) oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) patients can safely receive radiation de-escalation without jeopardizing treatment outcomes. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Patients with HPV(+) oropharyngeal carcinoma were enrolled on an institutional review board-approved prospective study of which de-escalation based on imaging response was done for node(s) only. Pretreatment (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose and dynamic (18)F-FMISO (fluoromisonidazole) positron emission tomography (PET) scans were performed. For patients with pretreatment hypoxia on(18)F-FMISO PET (defined as a >1.2 tumor to muscle standard uptake value ratio), a repeat scan was done 1 week after chemoradiation. Patients without pretreatment hypoxia or with resolution of hypoxia on repeat scan received a 10-Gy dose reduction to metastatic lymph node(s). The 2-year local, regional, distant metastasis-free, and overall survival rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method. A subset of patients had biopsy of a hypoxic node done under image guidance. RESULTS: Thirty-three HPV(+) OPC patients were enrolled in this pilot study. One hundred percent showed pretreatment hypoxia (at primary site and/or node[s]), and among these, 48% resolved (at primary site and/or node[s]); 30% met criteria and received 10-Gy reduction to the lymph node(s). At the median follow-up of 32 months (range, 21-61 months), the 2-year locoregional control rate was 100%. One patient failed distantly with persistence of hypoxia on (18)F-FMISO PET. The 2-year distant metastasis-free rate was 97%. The 2-year OS rate was 100%. Hypoxia on imaging was confirmed pathologically. CONCLUSIONS: Hypoxia is present in HPV(+) tumors but resolves within 1 week of treatment in 48% of cases either at the primary site and/or lymph node(s). Our 100% locoregional control rate suggests that intratreatment functional imaging used to selectively de-escalate node(s) to 60 Gy was confirmed safe using our stringent imaging criteria. Intratreatment functional imaging warrants further study to determine its ultimate role in de-escalation treatment strategies.

Survey of patient and physician influences and decision-making regarding CT utilization for minor head injury.

OBJECTIVE: Assess factors that influence both the patient and the physician in the setting of minor head injury in adults and the decision-making process around CT utilization. METHODS: This is a convenience sample survey study of adult minor head injury patients (GCS 15) and their physicians regarding factors influencing the decision to use CT to evaluate for intra-cranial haemorrhage. Once a head CT was ordered and before the results were known, both the patient and physician were given a one-page survey asking questions about their concern for injury and rationale for CT use. CT results and surveys were then recorded in a centralized database and analyzed. RESULTS: 584 subjects were enrolled over the 27-month study period. The rate of any intra-cranial haemorrhage was 3.3%. Both the physicians (6% pre-test estimate) and the patients (22% pre-test estimate) over-estimated risk for haemorrhage. Clinical decision rules were not met in 46% of cases where CT was used. Physicians listed an average of 5 factors from a list of 9 that influenced their decision to order CT. Patients listed an average of 1.7 factors influencing their decision to present to the Emergency Department for evaluation. Many patients felt cost (45%) and low risk stratification (34%) should weigh heavily in the decision to use CT. If asked to limit CT utilization, physicians were able to identify a group with less than 2% risk of injury. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with low risk of intra-cranial injury continue to be evaluated by CT. Physician decision-making around the use of CT to evaluate minor head injury is multi-factorial. Shared decision-making between the patient and the physician in a low risk minor head injury encounter shows promise as a method to reduce CT utilization in this low risk cohort.