Pulmonary Embolism in Patients with COVID-19: Comparison between Different Care Settings.

The clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who develop pulmonary embolism (PE) in the full spectrum of patient care settings need to be elucidated. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics, treatment, and 90-day outcomes in patients diagnosed with PE while recovering from COVID-19 in the outpatient setting versus those who were diagnosed with PE while being hospitalized with COVID-19. Data from the international Registro Informatizado de Enfermedad TromboEmbólica (RIETE) registry were used. The major study outcomes were all-cause death, major bleeding, and venous thromboembolism (VTE) recurrences during the first 90 days after PE. From March 2020 to March 2021, 737 patients with COVID-19 experienced acute PE. Of these, 340 (46%) were recovering from COVID-19 as outpatients (267 patients who had been treated at home for COVID-19 and 73 discharged after being hospitalized with COVID-19). Compared with inpatients with COVID-19, those recovering in the outpatient setting upon PE were less likely to be men (odds ratio [OR]: 0.54; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.40-0.72) and less likely to have hypertension (OR: 0.55; 95% CI: 0.41-0.74) or diabetes (OR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.33-0.76). At 90-day follow-up, eight patients (none recovering from COVID-19 as outpatient vs. 2.4% of inpatients with COVID-19) developed recurrent VTE, 34 (1.9 vs. 7.9%) had major bleeding, and 128 (10 vs. 24%) died. On multivariable analysis, inpatients with COVID-19 were at a higher risk of major bleeding (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 6.80; 95% CI: 1.52-30.4) or death (adjusted HR: 2.24; 95% CI: 1.40-3.58). In conclusion, using a large multinational registry of patients with COVID-19 who experienced PE, thromboembolic episodes occurring in those recovering from COVID-19 as outpatients were associated with less ominous outcomes than inpatients with COVID-19.

EUS-guided gallbladder drainage as a treatment for acute perforated cholecystitis.

Acute perforated cholecystitis is a rare but severe complication of acute cholecystitis. Currently, EUS-GBD using LAMS is the preferred choice for gallbladder drainage in high-risk surgical patients with acute cholecystitis unfit for cholecystectomy. However, it has been suggested to avoid this procedure when there is suspicion of gallbladder perforation or necrosis. The evidence of EUS-GBD in this setting is scarce. Our case demonstrates that EUS-GBD with LAMS can be effective in the management of type II perforation of the gallbladder.

Real life results of direct-acting oral anticoagulants recommended-dose in obese vs normal-weight patients with venous thromboembolism.

BACKGROUND: There is scarce evidence on the effectiveness and safety of recommended-dose direct acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in obese patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We used the data in the RIETE registry to compare the rates of VTE recurrences and major bleeding during long-term therapy with DOACs at recommended doses in patients with body mass index ≥30 kg/m2 (obese) vs. those with BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m2 (normal weight). We performed regression models with competing risks for death. RESULTS: From January 2013 through October 2022, 2885 obese patients and 2676 with normal weight in RIETE received rivaroxaban (n = 3020), apixaban (n = 1754), edoxaban (n = 636) or dabigatran (n = 151). Median age was 63 years and 52 % were female. At baseline, obese patients were more likely to have diabetes (18.6 % vs. 8.4 %), hypertension (51.9 % vs. 31.4 %) or pulmonary embolism (67.7 % vs. 61 %), and less likely to have renal insufficiency (5.3 % vs. 16 %) or anaemia (21.8 % vs. 28 %%). During anticoagulation (median, 147 vs. 101 days), the obese had a similar rate of VTE recurrences (1.71 vs. 2.14 events per 100 patients-years; hazard ratio (HR): 0.81; 95 % CI: 0.49-1.34) or major bleeding (1.45 vs. 1.76 per 100 patients-years; HR: 0.91; 95 % CI: 0.52-1.59) than those with normal weight. These findings persisted after multivariable analysis (recurrent VTE, HR: 0.80; 95 % CI: 0.48-1.32; major bleeding, HR: 1.11; 95 % CI: 0.60-2.07). CONCLUSION: The use of DOACs at recommended doses in obese patients with VTE was associated with similar rates of VTE recurrences or major bleeding than in patients with normal weight.

Plasma D-dimer value corrected by inflammatory markers in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection: Its prognostic value in the diagnosis of venous thromboembolism.

Introduction: D-dimer levels are elevated in COVID 19 and they correlate to the levels of other inflammatory markers such us ferritin, fibrinogen and C-reactive protein. It may be possible to correct D-dimer value in function of inflammatory markers, thus identifying patients at higher risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Our objectives are estimating a corrected value of plasma D-dimer as a linear function of ferritin, C-reactive protein and fibrinogen and stablishing a cut-off point of high probability of VTE. Patients and methods: Age and sex matched case-control study of all patients diagnosed with COVID 19 and VTE between March and May 2020 in a tertiary hospital in Madrid (Spain). Using linear regression, the best predictive model will be estimated and residual D-dimer values will be obtained and analyzed using ROC curves to determine its discriminative performance. Results: Thirty-eight cases and seventy-six controls were included. There was 63.2% of men and mean age was 68.2. D-dimer was best predicted by a linear model including fibrinogen, ferritin and C-reactive protein. Using residual values, the optimal cutoff point was 2165 ng/mL, with a sensitivity of 57.9% and specificity of 98.7%. Conclusion: It is possible to estimate a D-dimer corrected value in function of ferritin, C-reactive protein and fibrinogen. Using the observed and estimated value we can obtain a residual value that performs well as a screening method to detect patients who would benefit for further VTE diagnostic testing.

Introducción: El dímero-D está elevado en la COVID-19 y se correlacionan con los niveles de otros marcadores inflamatorios como ferritina, fibrinógeno y proteína C reactiva. Cabe la posibilidad de corregir el dímero-D en función de dichos marcadores inflamatorios, identificando así los pacientes con mayor riesgo de enfermedad tromboembólica venosa (ETV). Nuestros objetivos son estimar un valor corregido de dímero-D como función lineal de ferritina, proteína C reactiva y fibrinógeno, y establecer un punto de corte de alta probabilidad de ETV. Pacientes y métodos: Estudio de casos y controles emparejados por sexo y edad de todos los pacientes diagnosticados con COVID-19 y ETV entre marzo y mayo de 2020 en un hospital terciario de Madrid, España. Mediante regresión lineal, se estima el mejor modelo predictivo y se obtiene el valor residual de dímero-D. Este se analizará con curvas ROC para determinar su capacidad discriminativa. Resultados: Se incluyeron 38 casos y 76 controles. Había un 63,2% de varones y la edad media fue de 68,2 años. El valor de dímero-D fue predicho por un modelo que incluyó fibrinógeno, ferritina y proteína C reactiva. Usando los valores residuales, el punto de corte óptimo estimado de 2.165 ng/ml, con una sensibilidad del 57,9% y una especificidad del 98,7%. Conclusiones: Es posible estimar un valor corregido de dímero-D en función de ferritina, fibrinógeno y proteína C reactiva. Usando el valor observado y estimado podemos obtener un valor residual que funciona bien como método de cribado para detectar pacientes que podrían beneficiarse de más estudios diagnósticos de la ETV.

The Ottawa Score Performs Poorly to Identify Cancer Patients at High Risk of Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism: Insights from the TROPIQUE Study and Updated Meta-Analysis.

The Ottawa score (OS) for predicting the risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) in cancer patients with VTE may help to guide anticoagulant treatment decisions that will optimize benefit-risk ratios. However, data on its reliability are conflicting. We applied the OS to all cancer patients with VTE enrolled in the prospective multicenter TROPIQUE study who received low-molecular-weight heparin over a 6-month period. Of 409 patients, 171 (41.8%) had a high-risk OS. The 6-month cumulative incidence of recurrent VTE was 7.8% (95%CI 4.2-14.8) in the high-risk OS group versus 4.8% (95%CI 2.6-8.9) in the low-risk OS group (SHR 1.47; 95%CI 0.24-8.55). The Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (AUROC) of the OS in identifying patients who developed recurrent VTE was 0.53 (95%CI 0.38-0.65), and its accuracy was 57.9%. Among individual variables included in the OS, only prior VTE was significantly associated with the 6-month risk of recurrent VTE (SHR 4.39; 95% CI 1.13-17.04). When pooling data from all studies evaluating this score for predicting VTE recurrence in cancer patients (7 studies, 3413 patients), the OS estimated pooled AUROC was 0.59 (95%CI 0.56-0.62), and its accuracy was 55.7%. The present findings do not support the use of the OS to assess the risk of recurrent VTE in cancer patients.

Plasma D-dimer value corrected by inflammatory markers in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection: Its prognostic value in the diagnosis of venous thromboembolism.

INTRODUCTION: D-dimer levels are elevated in COVID 19 and they correlate to the levels of other inflammatory markers such us ferritin, fibrinogen and C-reactive protein. It may be possible to correct D-dimer value in function of inflammatory markers, thus identifying patients at higher risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Our objectives are estimating a corrected value of plasma D-dimer as a linear function of ferritin, C-reactive protein and fibrinogen and stablishing a cut-off point of high probability of VTE. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Age and sex matched case-control study of all patients diagnosed with COVID 19 and VTE between March and May 2020 in a tertiary hospital in Madrid (Spain). Using linear regression, the best predictive model will be estimated and residual D-dimer values will be obtained and analyzed using ROC curves to determine its discriminative performance. RESULTS: Thirty-eight cases and seventy-six controls were included. There was 63.2% of men and mean age was 68.2. D-dimer was best predicted by a linear model including fibrinogen, ferritin and C-reactive protein. Using residual values, the optimal cutoff point was 2165ng/mL, with a sensitivity of 57.9% and specificity of 98.7%. CONCLUSION: It is possible to estimate a D-dimer corrected value in function of ferritin, C-reactive protein and fibrinogen. Using the observed and estimated value we can obtain a residual value that performs well as a screening method to detect patients who would benefit for further VTE diagnostic testing.

Prognostic utility of bedside lung ultrasound before discharge in patients with acute heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. / Utilidad pronóstica de la ecografía a pie de cama previa al alta en pacientes con insuficiencia cardíaca aguda y fracción de eyección preservada.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The utility of lung ultrasound as a prognostic tool for patients with acute heart failure is well known, but most studies have been conducted in mixed groups of patients with preserved and reduced ejection fraction. While some subgroup analysis suggests that lung ultrasound is useful regardless of ejection fraction, no specific studies have addressed this question. Our objective is to determine the utility of bedside lung ultrasound as a prognostic tool for patients with preserved ejection fraction, acute heart failure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Prospective cohort study with 3-month follow-up after bedside lung ultrasound before discharge in patients hospitalized for acute heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. The number of Blines was determined. Two groups were formed: less than 15Blines (unexposed) and 15Blines or more (exposed). They were compared in terms of readmission and death attributable to worsening heart failure. RESULTS: The exposed group was at higher risk of readmission (HR: 2.39; 95%CI: 1.12-5.12; P=.024), even after multivariable adjustment (HR: 2.46; 95%CI: 1.11-5.46, P=.03). Differences between groups in terms of mortality were not statistically significant (HR: 1.28; 95%CI: .23-6.98). CONCLUSION: Subclinical congestion evaluated with lung ultrasound before discharge is associated with worse prognosis in patients with acute heart failure and preserved ejection fraction. Patients with 15Blines are 2.5times more likely to be readmitted for acute heart failure than less congestive patients.

Small cell carcinoma of the prostate presenting with Cushing Syndrome. A narrative review of an uncommon condition.

Small cell carcinoma (SCC) of the prostate is an uncommon condition; there are very few cases in which presenting symptoms are consistent with Cushing Syndrome (CS). We report a new case in which CS triggers the suspicion of an SCC of the prostate and a review of the published cases of SCC of the prostate presenting with CS. The origin of these neoplasms is still unclear. It may be suspected when laboratory features appear in patients diagnosed with prostatic adenocarcinoma which becomes resistant to specific therapy. SCC usually occurs after the 6th decade. Patients suffering SCC of the prostate presenting with CS usually present symptoms such as hypertension, hyperglycemia, alkalosis or hypokalemia; cushingoid phenotype is less frequent. Cortisol and ACTH levels are often high. Prostatic-specific antigen levels are usually normal. CT scan is the preferred imaging test to localize the lesion, but its performance may be improved by adding other tests, such as FDG-PET scan. All patients have metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis. Lymph nodes, liver and bone are the most frequent metastases sites. Surgery and Ketokonazole are the preferred treatments for CS. The prognosis is very poor: 2- and 5-year survival rates are 27.5 and 14.3%, respectively. Key messages When a patient presents with ectopic Cushing Syndrome but lungs are normal, an atypical localization should be suspected. We should suspect a prostatic origin if Cushing Syndrome is accompanied by obstructive inferior urinary tract symptoms or in the setting of a prostatic adenocarcinoma with rapid clinical and radiological progression with relatively low PSA levels. Although no imaging test is preferred to localize these tumors, FDG-PET-TC can be very useful. Hormone marker scintigraphy (e.g. somatostatin) could be used too. As Cushing Syndrome is a paraneoplastic phenomenon, treatment of the underlying disease may help control hypercortisolism manifestations. These tumors are usually metastatic by the time of diagnosis. They have very poor prognosis.