“Guidezilla”extension catheter combined with balloon technique for treating pulmonary artery stenosis caused by Takayasu arteritis

Takayasu arteritis(TA)is a rare systemic vasculitis of the aorta and its primary branches,which usually occurs in young women.Due to its insidious onset and lack of specific symptoms,this disease can be easily misdiagnosed or missed.Approximately 50%of the patients having TA with pulmonary artery involvement develop pulmonary hypertension(PH).The 3-year survival rate among patients with TA-related PH is lower than that among patients with TA alone.Early balloon pulmonary angioplasty(BPA)can improve the clinical symptoms and survival of patients with stable TA.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first case reported in the English literature in which a“Guidezilla”catheter was used during BPA to treat stenosis and occlusion of the pulmonary artery caused by Takayasu arteritis(TA).

The value of CT pulmonary angiography to the diagnosis of right ventricular dysfunction due to acute pulmonary embolism:compared with ultrasonographic cardiography

To analyze the value of CT pulmonary angiography（CTPA） in assessing right ventdcular dysfunction（RVD） after acute pulmonary embolism. Methods：Thirty-six patients with CTPA-confirmed PE who underwent ultrasonic cardiography（UCG） within the ensuing 24 hours were retrospectively reviewed. According to the severity of the disease, the patients were divided into the massive PE group（24 cases） and non-massive PE group（12 cases） respectively. CT scans were analyzed for findings suggestive of RVD. Scans were considered positive for RVD if the right ventricle was dilated（RVd/LVd 〉 1） or if the interventricular septum was straightened or deviated towards the left ventricle. Results were then compared with the results of UCG to estimate the value of CTPA in detecting RVD associated with PE, Results：In all cases, compared with UCG, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of CTPA was 84.61%, 78.26%, 3.892, 0.197, 68.75% and 90% respectively. Kappa value was 0.60, which suggested moderate agreement between CTPA and UCG in the whole level. In the massive PE group, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, positive predictive value, negative predictive value of CTPA was 84.61%, 72.73%, 3.103, 0.212, 78.57% and 80% respectively. Kappa value was 0.58, which suggested moderate agreement between CTPA and UCG in the massive PE group. In the non-massive PE group, the diagnostic specificity of CTPA was 83.33%. By statistics, the value of RVd/LVd had significant difference between the massive PE and the non-massive PE group. Conclusion：CTPA can reliably detect RVD through the evaluation of cardiac morphology. However, this result requires confirmation using a larger prospective cohort study.

The dynamic study of the pulmonary artery obstruction degree and the right ventricular function in massive pulmonary embolism on CT pulmonary angiography

Objective： To analyze the value of CTPA in assessing the dissolve of embolus and the function of the right ventricle dynamically. Methods：Twenty-three cases of massive pulmonary embolism were analyzed retrospectively. The pulmonary artery obstruction index and the right ventricular function parameters were collected and analyzed on CTPA before thrombolytic therapy, 24 hours and 14 days after therapy, respectively. Results：The pulmonary artery obstruction index decreased gradually, and there was significant difference before therapy, 24 hours and 2 weeks after therapy. Twenty-four hours after therapy, the maximal short axes diameter and the maximal transverse area of right ventricle（RVd, RV~） decreased significantly, the maximal short axes diameter and the maximal transverse area of left ventricle（LVd, LVs） increased significantly, and the RVd/LVd, RVs/LVS decreased apparently. The pulmonary artery symbolic pressure before and 24 hours after therapy were apparently different. There was no significant difference between azygos vein, the super vena cava, the main pulmonary artery and vein reflux before and after therapy. Conclusion：CTPA can evaluate the pulmonary artery obstruction degree and right ventricular function dynamically.

A machine learning model for diagnosing acute pulmonary embolism and comparison with Wells score,revised Geneva score,and Years algorithm

Background:Acute pulmonary embolism(APE)is a fatal cardiovascular disease,yet missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis often occur due to non-specific symptoms and signs.A simple,objective technique will help clinicians make a quick and precise diagnosis.In population studies,machine learning(ML)plays a critical role in characterizing cardiovascular risks,predicting outcomes,and identifying biomarkers.This work sought to develop an ML model for helping APE diagnosis and compare it against current clinical probability assessment models.Methods:This is a single-center retrospective study.Patients with suspected APE were continuously enrolled and randomly divided into two groups including training and testing sets.A total of 8 ML models,including random forest(RF),Naïve Bayes,decision tree,K-nearest neighbors,logistic regression,multi-layer perceptron,support vector machine,and gradient boosting decision tree were developed based on the training set to diagnose APE.Thereafter,the model with the best diagnostic performance was selected and evaluated against the current clinical assessment strategies,including the Wells score,revised Geneva score,and Years algorithm.Eventually,the ML model was internally validated to assess the diagnostic performance using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)analysis.Results:The ML models were constructed using eight clinical features,including D-dimer,cardiac troponin T(cTNT),arterial oxygen saturation,heart rate,chest pain,lower limb pain,hemoptysis,and chronic heart failure.Among eight ML models,the RF model achieved the best performance with the highest area under the curve(AUC)(AUC=0.774).Compared to the current clinical assessment strategies,the RF model outperformed the Wells score(P=0.030)and was not inferior to any other clinical probability assessment strategy.The AUC of the RF model for diagnosing APE onset in internal validation set was 0.726.Conclusions:Based on RF algorithm,a novel prediction model was finally constructed for APE diagnosis.When compared to the current clinical assessment strategies,the RF model achieved better diagnostic efficacy and accuracy.Therefore,the ML algorithm can be a useful tool in assisting with the diagnosis of APE.

Identification of prophylaxis and treatment for hospitalized patients associated with venous thromboembolism

To the Editor:Venous thromboembolism(VTE)is a collective term consisting of deep venous thrombosis(DVT)and pulmonary embolism(PE).It is a major worldwide health concern as it affects 5%to 15%of hospitalized patients.Various predisposing factors for VTE occurrence include cancer,surgery,prolonged immobilization,fracture,paralysis,oral contraceptive use,and hereditary coagulopathies.

Comorbidities and high in-hospital mortality of cancer-associated pulmonary embolism:findings from a real-world registry study

To the Editor:Cancer has been recognized as an independent predisposing factor of venous thromboembolism(VTE),including pulmonary embolism(PE)and deep vein thrombosis(DVT).Patients with cancer have a sevenfold increased risk of VTE compared with those without cancer.[1]Evidence from autopsy in cancer patients showed that PE is an important disease complication in patients with cancer.[2]Optimal management of PE patients with cancer has become a major concern that challenges clinicians in daily clinical practice.Understanding the risk factors of all-cause death in PE patients with cancer in the real world may enable optimal management and improve their survival.Therefore,this study was performed to characterize cancerassociated PE and evaluate the clinical predictors of inhospital death based on the data of PE patient population in China.

夯实基础、稳步推进全面提升我国静脉血栓栓塞症防治的质控水平

医院相关性静脉血栓栓塞症(HA-VTE)已经成为严重影响医疗质量和患者安全的公共卫生健康问题。国际上多个国家将VTE预防作为医疗质量管理的关键要素,在VTE预防方面开展了大量质量改进工作并取得显著的效果。我国医学界也在VTE防治领域进行坚持不懈的努力与探索。全国肺栓塞和深静脉血栓形成防治能力建设项目通过开展中心建设、发展区域联盟以及强化质控与信息化等一系列强有力的措施,极大地促进了全国医疗机构的医院内VTE防治体系建设。加强VTE防治已经成为政府、医院管理者、临床医务人员和公众的共同意志。未来我们需要继续稳步推进VTE防治工作,全面提升各级医疗机构的VTE防治质控管理水平。

Publishing clinical prActice GuidelinEs(PAGE):Recommendations from Editors and Reviewers

Transparency Ecosystemfor Research and Journals inMedicine(TERM)Working Group summarized the essential recommendations that should be considered to review and publish a high-quality guideline.These recommendations fromeditors and reviewers included the 10 components of essential requirements:systematic review of existing relevant guidelines,guideline registration,guideline protocol,stakeholders,conflicts of interest,clinical questions,systematic reviews,recommendation consensus,guideline reporting,and external review.TERMWorking Group abbreviates them as PAGE(essential requirements for Publishing clinical prActice GuidelinEs),recommends guideline authors,editors,and peer reviewers use them for high-quality guidelines.