Balance measures of mini and brief balance evaluation system tests for Iranian population.

Introduction: Falling is a serious problem for all ages. There are several tests to assess balance. Mini-BESTest and brief-BESTest are balance tests for which there are no normative values for Iranian people. We aimed to provide the normative values of mini-BESTest and brief-BESTest among healthy Iranian adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed. Three hundred healthy adults (150 males and 150 females) in six age groups (18-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, +70 years) completed the tests using Persian mini-BESTest and brief-BESTest. Normative values were calculated for age groups. Results: Normative values of mini-BESTest and brief- BESTest decreased significantly with age (from 27 to 21.9 for mini-BESTest and from 22.9 to 15.4 for brief BESTest). There were no significant differences between genders except for females in 30-39 and 40-49 years age groups which scored better on brief-BESTest and mini-BESTest, respectively. Males had significantly scored better in brief- BESTest in 60-69 and ≥ 70 age groups. Conclusions: The normative values of the mini-BESTest and brief-BESTest provided for healthy Iranian adults can help clinicians when assessing subjects with balance dysfunction.

Relationship between Severity and Complexity of Coronary Artery Involvement and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Based on STOP-BANG Questionnaire.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which has a known correlation with cardiovascular disease, is a possible risk factor of coronary artery disease (CAD) that is preventable. Aims: We sought to put lights on the relationship between OSA based on the STOP-BANG questionnaire (SBQ) and the severity and complexity of coronary artery involvement. Methods: This cross-sectional, single-center, retrospective study was conducted among 145 patients who underwent selective coronary angiography (SCA) between October 2018 and March 2019, admitted to the Tehran Heart Center, Tehran, Iran. OSA risk was assessed in patients based on SBQ categories. Also, the severity and complexity of coronary artery involvement calculated according to SYNTAX and Gensini scores. Analysis performed by statistical software SPSS 25. Results: Based on SBQ risk assessment categories, 22 (15.2%), 64 (44.1%), and 59 (40.7%) of the patients were low, intermediate, and high-risk for OSA, respectively. By comparing the means of coronary artery involvement, there was no significant difference in SYNTAX score 17.15 ± 13.67 (10.56-23.74) in low, 15.67 ± 9.78 (13.19-18.16) in intermediate, and 16.93 ± 9.21 (14.42-19.45) in high-risk groups; P value: 0.754, and Gensini score 66.4 ± 70.75 (35.04-97.77) in low, 66.21 ± 55.05 (52.45-79.96) in intermediate, 74.61 ± 56.33 (59.93-89.3) iin high risk groups; P value: 0.697 with groups of OSA risks. Also, after adjusting confounding factors, there was still no statistically significant difference in terms of coronary involvement scores. Conclusions: There was no statistically significant difference in SYNTAX and Gensini scores of different groups of OSA risk categories based on the SBQ. However, our results can't be extended into the connection between OSA and CAD.

Normative values of functional reach test, single-leg stance test, and timed "UP and GO" with and without dual-task in healthy Iranian adults: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Balance impairment is a common problem in all age groups. There are several tools to assess balance. Functional reach test (FRT), single-leg stance (SLS) test, timed up and go (TUG) test, and TUG with the cognitive dual-task (TUGcog) are commonly employed balance tests. The current study aimed to determine the normative values of FRT, SLST, TUG, and TUGcog across age groups and genders in healthy Iranian adults. Methods: We designed a cross-sectional study, and 240 healthy adults (120 males and 120 females) in six age groups (18-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, ≥70 years) completed FRT, SLST, TUG, and TUGcog based on the Persian version of BESTest instructions. Results: There were significant age-specific declines in balance performances. Gender had effects on 18-29 years and older adults (≥60 years), and males performed better than females. Male and females had similar performance on the TUG and TUGcog tests in 60-69 years (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The normative values of FRT, SLS, TUG, and TUGcog provided for healthy Iranian adults increase the clinical utility of tests, and serve as a reference to estimating the individuals' balance performance across age and gender groups.

Very Early Discharge of Patients with ST-Segment-Elevation Myocardial Infarction after Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: The discharge of uncomplicated patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) within 48 to 72 hours has been proven safe and feasible. The safety and feasibility of the very early discharge (≤48 h) of such patients, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic with limited bed availability and infection risk, have yet to be evaluated. Methods: In this cohort study on 108 patients with STEMI who presented to Farshchian Heart Center between February and May 2020, 30 patients received fibrinolysis and 78 were scheduled for emergent coronary angiography. One patient had no coronary obstruction, 3 underwent emergent surgery, and 3 had high-risk features mandating a prolonged stay. The remaining patients were assigned to either Group A (≤48 h) or Group B (>48 h) regarding hospital discharge. Demographic, angiographic, procedural, and outcome data were compared between the 2 groups. Results: Group A consisted of 51 patients, including 7 women (13.7%), at a mean age of 62.74±12.35 years, and Group B comprised 20 patients, including 4 women (20.0%), at a mean age of 65.20±12.82 years. The mean hospital length of stay was 38.02±9.15 hours in Group A and 88.20±23.31 hours in Group B (P<0.001). The mean stent diameter was smaller in Group B (3.19±0.34 mm vs 2.96±0.29 mm; P=0.008). Demographic, angiographic, procedural, and outcome data, including the rates of in-hospital, 1-week, and 1-month mortality, were similar between the 2 groups. Conclusion: This study shows that a hospital discharge in less than 48 hours in low-risk patients with STEMI is safe and feasible. The potential advantages of this approach in the COVID-19 pandemic should be balanced against its risks.

Randomized trial of intracoronary adenosine as adjunctive therapy for prevention of the no-reflow phenomenon.

No-reflow phenomenon as a serious complication following percutaneous coronary intervention, deteriorates clinical outcomes. Intracoronary (IC) Adenosine, seems to be a way to deal with it. One hundred four consecutive patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction were randomized into two groups. Each group consisted of 52 patients who managed with two bolus doses of IC Adenosine (Adenosine group) or two bolus doses of IC normal saline (placebo group) administered before and after stenting. Thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) grade flow, ST-segment resolution (STR) and post-procedural clinical outcomes were used as endpoints. IC adenosine led to lower rates of no-reflow based on TIMI grade flow scaling (15.4% vs. 44.3%; P-value: 0.02). STR classified as complete, partial and no resolution was similar between two groups (P-value: 0.748). Also, post-interventional clinical outcomes, including arrhythmia, left ventricular ejection fraction, hospitalization time, and 30 days mortality were similar between Adenosine and placebo groups.