A 73-year-old man with history of pulmonary sarcoidosis was found to have runs of non-sustained bidirectional ventricular tachycardia (BVT) with two different QRS morphologies on a Holter monitor. Cardiac magnetic resonance delayed gadolinium imaging revealed a region of patchy mid-myocardial enhancement within the left ventricular basal inferolateral myocardium. An 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) showed increased uptake in the same area, consistent with active sarcoid, with no septal involvement. Follow-up FDG-PET one year later showed disease progression with new septal involvement. Cardiac sarcoidosis, characterized by myocardial inflammation and interstitial fibrosis that can lead to conduction system disturbance and macro re-entrant arrhythmias, should be considered in differential diagnosis of BVT. BVT may indicate septal involvement with sarcoidosis before the lesions are large enough to be detected radiologically.

BACKGROUND:The aim of this study is to report the long-term efficacy and safety of thoracoscopic epicardial left atrial ablation (TELA) in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS:This was a retrospective review of medical records. We included all patients diagnosed with paroxysmal AF who underwent TELA at our institution between 04/2011 and 06/2017. TELA included pulmonary vein isolation, LA dome lesions and LA appendage exclusion. All (n = 55) patients received an implantable loop recorder (ILR), 30 days post-operatively. Antiarrhythmic and anticoagulation therapy were discontinued at 90 and 180 days postoperatively, respectively, if patients were free of AF recurrence. Failure was defined as ≥two minutes of continuous AF, or atrial tachycardia. RESULTS:Fifty-five patients (78% males, mean age = 61.6 years) qualified for the study. The average duration in AF was 3.64 +/- 3.4 years, mean CHA2DS2-VASc Score was 2.0 +/- 1.6. The procedure was attempted in 57 patients and completed successfully in 55 (96.5%). Two patients experienced a minor pulmonary vein bleed that was managed conservatively. Post procedure, one patient experienced pulmonary edema, another experienced a pneumothorax requiring a chest tube and another experienced acute respiratory distress syndrome resulting in longer hospitalization. Otherwise, there were no major procedural complications. Success rates were 89.1% (n = 49/55), 85.5% (n = 47/55) and 76.9% (n = 40/52) at 6, 12 and 24 months, respectively. In the multivariate cox-proportional hazard model, survival at the mean of covariates was 86 and 74% at 12 and 24 months, respectively. CONCLUSION:In this single center experience, TELA was a safe and efficacious procedure for patients with paroxysmal AF.

Aims

Icosapent ethyl (IPE) significantly reduced ischaemic events in statin-treated patients with atherosclerosis or diabetes and elevated triglycerides in REDUCE-IT, including large reductions in myocardial infarction and elective, urgent, and emergent coronary revascularization. However, the mechanisms driving this clinical benefit are not fully known. The EVAPORATE trial demonstrated that IPE significantly reduced plaque burden. No study to date has assessed the impact of IPE on coronary physiology. Fractional flow reserve (FFR) derived from coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) data sets (FFRCT) applies computational fluid dynamics to calculate FFR values in epicardial coronary arteries. Our objective was to assess the impact of IPE on coronary physiology assessed by FFRCT using imaging data from EVAPORATE.

Methods and results

A total of 47 patients and of 507 coronary lesions at baseline, 9 months, and 18 months with coronary CTA and FFRCT were studied in a blinded core lab. The pre-specified primary endpoint was the FFRCT value in the distal coronary segment from baseline to follow-up in the most diseased vessel per patient using IPE compared with placebo. The pre-specified secondary endpoint was the change in translesional FFRCT (ΔFFRCT) across the most severe (minimum 30% diameter stenosis) coronary lesion per vessel. Baseline FFRCT was similar for IPE compared with placebo (0.83 ± 0.08 vs. 0.84 ± 0.08, P = 0.55). There was significant improvement in the primary endpoint, as IPE improved mean distal segment FFRCT at 9- and 18-month follow-up compared with placebo (0.01 ± 0.05 vs. -0.05 ± 0.09, P = 0.02, and -0.01 ± 0.09 vs. -0.09 ± 0.12, P = 0.03, respectively). ΔFFRCT in 140 coronary lesions was improved, although not statistically significant, with IPE compared with placebo (-0.06 ± 0.08 vs. -0.09 ± 0.1, P = 0.054).

Conclusion

Icosapent ethyl demonstrated significant benefits in coronary physiology compared with placebo. This early and sustained improvement in FFRCT at 9- and 18-month follow-up provides mechanistic insight into the clinical benefit observed in the REDUCE-IT trial. Furthermore, this is the first assessment of FFRCT to determine drug effect.

Infective Endocarditis (IE) is associated with high mortality and morbidity. The data on contemporary trends and health care utilization remain scarce for IE. Consequently, we used the National Inpatient Sample database from 2002 to 2016 to study burden of IE. Risk-adjusted rates were calculated using an Analysis of Covariance with the Generalized Linear Model. Trends were assessed with linear regression and Pearson's Chi-square modeling, where appropriate. Binomial logistic regression was used for computing predictors of in-hospital mortality. We identified 523,432 hospitalizations for native valve IE. Risk-adjusted mortality decreased from 16.7% in 2002 to 9.7% in 2016 (p <0.01). The risk-adjusted length of stay decreased from 17.4 days in 2002 to 13.4 days in 2016 (p <0.01). Mean cost of stay adjusted for risk factors and inflation increased from 112,702$ in 2002 to 164,767$ in 2016 (p <0.01). Valve replacement increased from 10.2% in 2002 in to 13.4% in 2016, (p <0.01). Independent predictors of mortality included age (OR, 1.02 [1.02 to 1.020], p <0.01), female gender (OR, 1.07 [1.05 to 1.09], p <0.01), Blacks (OR, 1.28 [1.24 to 1.31], p <0.01), Hispanics (OR, 1.15 [1.11 to 1.19], p <0.01) and patients with co-morbid conditions like congestive heart failure (OR, 1.78 [1.74 to 1.82], p <0.01), renal failure (OR, [1.69 [1.65 to 1.73], p <0.01) and weight loss (OR, 1.40 [1.36 to 1.43], p <0.01). In summary, in-hospital mortality from native valve IE has been decreasing but total hospitalization and average cost of stay has increased.

Purpose

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a well-recognized risk factor for the development of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). There is limited data on baseline characteristics and outcomes after an in-hospital SCA event in ESRD patients.

Methods

For the purpose of this study, data were obtained from the National Inpatient Sample from January 2007 to December 2017. In-hospital SCA was identified using the International Classification of Disease, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification and International Classification of Disease, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification codes of 99.60, 99.63, and 5A12012. ESRD patients were subsequently identified using codes of 585.6 and N18.6. Baseline characteristics and outcomes were compared among ESRD and non-ESRD patients in crude and propensity score (PS)-matched cohorts. Predictors of mortality in ESRD patients after an in-hospital SCA event were analyzed using a multivariate logistic regression model.

Results

A total of 1,412,985 patients sustained in-hospital SCA during our study period. ESRD patients with in-hospital SCA were younger and had a higher burden of key co-morbidities. Mortality was similar in ESRD and non-ESRD patients in PS-matched cohort (70.4% vs. 70.7%, p = 0.45) with an overall downward trend over our study years. Advanced age, Black race, and key co-morbidities independently predicted increased mortality while prior implantable defibrillator was associated with decreased mortality in ESRD patients after an in-hospital SCA event.

Conclusions

In the context of in-hospital SCA, mortality is similar in ESRD and non-ESRD patients in adjusted analysis. Adequate risk factor modification could further mitigate the risk of in-hospital SCA among ESRD patients.

Objectives

We aimed to assess the in-hospital outcomes in patients with mitral regurgitation treated with percutaneous mitral valve repair (PMVR) among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Background

There is lack of data on the outcomes of PMVR for mitral regurgitation in patients with COPD.

Methods

We analyzed the national inpatient sample (NIS) database from January 2012 to December 2016.

Results

A total of 9125 patients underwent PMVR in the period between January 2012 and December 2016, of whom 2,495 (27.3%) patients had concomitant COPD. Comparing COPD patients to non-COPD patients, COPD patients had higher proportion of females (48.3% vs. 46.6%, p = .16), were younger (75.8 ± 10.0 years vs. 76.4 ± 12.2 years; p = .04), had higher prevalence of peripheral vascular disease (17.4% vs. 13.5%; p < .01) and renal failure (39.3% vs. 37%; p < .01). After propensity matching, there was no significant difference in mortality among the COPD group versus non-COPD patients (2.6% vs. 2.9%; p = .6). Patients with COPD had higher proportion of in-hospital morbidities including St-segment elevation myocardial infarction (1.8% vs. 1.0%; p = .02), cardiogenic shock (1.4% vs. 0.4%; p < .01), vascular complications (2% vs. 0.8; p < .01), pneumothorax (1% vs. 0.4%; p < .01), and septic shock (1.2% vs. 0.4%; p < .01). Moreover, surrogates of severe disability (mechanical intubation and non-home discharges), cost of hospitalization, and length of stay were higher in the COPD group.

Conclusions

There was no difference in mortality between the COPD and non-COPD patients after PMVR. Moreover, we observed higher rates of in-hospital morbidities, surrogates of severe disability, and higher resources utilization by the COPD group.