Elastografia hepática na avaliação complementar da insuficiência cardíaca / Liver elastography for complementary assessment of heart failure

A elastografia hepática (EH) avalia as consequências sistêmicas da insuficiência cardíaca (IC). Este método pode auxiliar na avaliação prognóstica dos portadores de IC. A IC pode afetar de forma secundária a função de vários órgãos e sistemas, notadamente o hepático, mediante congestão venosa. O objetivo deste artigo é mostrar, através de uma revisão narrativa, a importância da EH na avaliação complementar da IC. As consequências hepáticas na doença cardíaca, por vezes, se mostram silenciosas, sem grandes alterações no exame físico e/ou em exames laboratoriais. Nesse contexto, a EH demonstrou ser um método não invasivo recomendável para a mensuração do dano hepático causado pela IC. (AU)

Liver elastography (LE) assesses the systemic consequences of heart failure (HF). This method may help in the prognostic assessment of patients with HF. HF can secondarily affect the function of various organs and systems, especially the liver, through venous congestion. The purpose of this article is to provide a narrative review of the importance of LE in the complementary evaluation of HF. The hepatic consequences of cardiac disease are sometimes silent, without significant changes in physical examination and/or laboratory tests. In this context, LE has emerged as a recommended non-invasive method to measure liver damage caused by HF. (AU)

The Impact of Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Renal Disease on Outcomes in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19: An Observational Study from Two Public Hospitals in Brazil

Abstract Background Cardiovascular risk factors are prognostic factors in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and have been scarcely studied in Brazil. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the impact of cardiovascular risk factors on the outcomes of patients admitted for COVID-19. Methods From July 2020 to February 2021, 200 patients from two public hospitals were enrolled. Patients were included if they had typical symptoms or signs of COVID-19, a positive real-time polymerase chain reaction test (RT-PCR) for COVID-19, and an age above 18 years. This is a prospective, observational, and longitudinal study. Data were collected within 24 h of admission. The primary endpoint was a combination of hospital lethality, mechanical ventilation, hemodialysis, or length of hospital stay >28 days. Continuous variables were compared with the Student's t-test for independent samples or the Mann-Whitney test. For comparisons of proportions, the χ 2 test was applied. ROC curves and survival curves were constructed. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify independent predictors of events. The level of significance was 0.05. Results There were 98 (49%) events during the hospital course, and 72 (36%) died in the hospital. Patients with a primary endpoint were older and more likely to have a history of hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Vital signs at admission associated with events were diastolic blood pressure, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation in ambient air (O 2 Sat). Serum creatinine >1.37 mg/dL at admission had a sensitivity of 51.6 and a specificity of 82% to predict the primary endpoint, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.68. In multivariate analysis, age, diabetes, CKD, and COPD were independent predictors of the primary endpoint. Age and CKD were independent predictors of in-hospital lethality. Conclusion Cardiovascular risk factors, such as diabetes and CKD, were related to a worse prognosis in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in this sample from two public hospitals in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Complete Atrioventricular Block and Cardiopulmonary Involvement in Rapidly Progressive Systemic Sclerosis

Abstract The heart and lung are target organs in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and similar symptoms (dyspnea and cough) may make the differential diagnosis between the two lesions difficult. In addition, complete atrioventricular block (CAVB) is a rare complication of this disease. This case report is about a patient with SSc and pulmonary fibrosis who was admitted to the emergency room with CAVB, heart failure (HF) and progressive worsening of the underlying disease.