Outcome of transcatheter atrial septal defect closure in a nationwide cohort.

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter (TC) atrial septal defect (ASD) closure has been the mainstay of therapy for secundum-type ASDs for over 20 years. AIMS: This nationwide cohort evaluated the long-term outcome of transcatheter-closed ASDs. METHODS: The study enrolled every transcatheter ASD closure performed in Finland from 1999 to 2019. Five age, sex, and municipality-matched controls per ASD patient were gathered from the general population. The median follow-up period was 5.9 years (range 0-20.8). We used the hospital discharge register to gather all hospital visits and diagnoses. Closure complications and echocardiographic changes were collected from the electronic health records. RESULTS: Transcatheter ASD closure was performed in 1000 patients (68.5% females) during the study period. The median (range) age at the time of the procedure was 37.9 (1.8-87.5) years. ASD patients had an increased risk for new-onset atrial fibrillation (RR 2.45, 95% CI: 1.84-3.25), migraine (RR 3.61, 95% CI: 2.54-5.14), ischemic heart disease (RR 1.73, 95% CI: 1.23-2.45), ventricular fibrillation/tachycardia (RR 3.54 (95% CI: 1.48-8.43) and AV conduction disorder (RR 3.60, 95% CI: 1.94-6.70) compared to the control cohort. Stroke risk was not increased (RR 1.36, 95% CI: 0.91-2.03). Adverse events occurred in 6.3% (n = 63) of the patients, including four erosions and ten device embolizations. CONCLUSION: After TC closure of ASD, patients had a higher risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation and migraine than controls without ASD. As novel findings, we found an increased risk for ischemic heart disease, AV conduction disorders, and ventricular fibrillation/tachycardia.Key messagesEven though patients have an excellent overall prognosis after percutaneous ASD closure, the increased incidence of major comorbidities like atrial fibrillation and heart failure prompts more thorough lifelong follow-up.This study's novel findings revealed the increased risk for ischemic heart disease, AV conduction disorders, or ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation during the follow-up.Major complications after the closure are rare; erosion is seen in 0.4% of the patients and embolization in 1.0% of the patients.

Paricalcitol aggravates perivascular fibrosis in rats with renal insufficiency and low calcitriol.

Cardiovascular complications are a major problem in chronic renal failure. We examined the effects of plasma calcium, phosphate, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and calcitriol on cardiac morphology in 5/6 nephrectomized rats. Fifteen weeks after nephrectomy rats were given a control diet, high-calcium or -phosphorus diet, or given paricalcitol treatment for 12 weeks. Sham-operated rats were on a control diet. Blood pressure, plasma phosphate, and PTH were increased, while the creatinine clearance was reduced in remnant kidney rats. Phosphate and PTH were further elevated by the high-phosphate diet but suppressed by the high-calcium diet, while paricalcitol reduced PTH without influencing phosphate or calcium. The high-calcium diet increased, while the high-phosphate diet reduced plasma calcium. Plasma calcitriol was significantly reduced in other remnant kidney groups, but further decreased after paricalcitol. Cardiac perivascular fibrosis and connective tissue growth factor were significantly increased in the remnant kidney groups, and further increased in paricalcitol-treated rats. Hence, regardless of the calcium, phosphate, or PTH levels, cardiac perivascular fibrosis and connective tissue growth factor increase in rats with renal insufficiency in association with low calcitriol. Possible explanations are that aggravated perivascular fibrosis after paricalcitol in renal insufficiency may be due to further suppression of calcitriol, or to a direct effect of the vitamin D analog.

Concerns and expectations of parents with atopic infants.

The incidence of atopic diseases has rapidly increased in developed countries. The purpose of this study was to describe the problems that parents experience when atopic disease occurs in their children at an early age and what parents expect and get from health care professionals in the management of these problems. The parents of 81 high-risk atopic infants completed a questionnaire during the infant's first attendance at the Tampere University Hospital, Finland. The patients were treated by an intervention team comprising a pediatric nurse and two pediatricians consulting with dietician and a dermatologist to detect the infant's specific food allergies and to introduce and advise on appropriate diets at weaning. After a 9-month intervention period, the parents' perception of the intervention was evaluated by a second questionnaire. The skin prick test was positive to cow's milk in 30%, to egg in 26%, and to cereals in 19%, of infants during breast-feeding. Double-blind placebo-controlled cow's milk challenge was positive in 56% of infants. Upon introduction of a tolerated weaning diet, subjective symptoms and the extent and intensity of atopic eczema diminished as evidenced by lowered SCORAD scores, from 19.3 to 8.2 (F= 57.6, p < 0.0001; SCORAD scoring index combining extent, severity and subjective symptoms of atopic eczema). Ninety per cent of parents found the care of an atopic infant more demanding than that of a healthy child. This was because of the persistence of symptoms, such as atopic eczema and pruritus, and restlessness during sleep. For the management of these problems the parents advocated diagnostic evaluation and elimination of specific foods from the diet of the lactating mother. They expected from the intervention accurate diagnosis of food allergies, practical advice on elimination diets, alleviation of symptoms, and follow-up of growth and nutrition, and they considered the care provided by the intervention team to suffice in these aims. The present data support a comprehensive team approach to the care of atopic infants and their parents.

Breast-feeding of allergic infants.

OBJECTIVE: Infants may have allergic disease even during exclusive breast-feeding. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether allergic infants should continue breast-feeding. STUDY DESIGN: We studied 100 infants who had atopic eczema during exclusive breast-feeding. The extent and severity of the eczema, allergic sensitization, and the patients' growth and nutrition were assessed during and after cessation of breast-feeding. RESULTS: The mean body length SD score decreased at the onset of allergic disease, and an association was seen between the duration of symptoms and poor growth (r = -.23, P =.04). Some improvement could be achieved by strict elimination diet by the mothers. The atopic eczema improved significantly after breast-feeding was stopped: SCORAD score 20 (range 15 to 27) during and 7 (range 4 to 11) after breast-feeding; t = 5.38, P <.0001, and the relative length of patients increased, in parallel with improved nutritional parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Breast-feeding should be promoted for primary prevention of allergy, but breast-fed infants with allergy should be treated by allergen avoidance, and in some cases breast-feeding should also be stopped. This particularly applies to infants with atopic eczema who also have impaired growth.