Rates, predictors, and causes of readmission after transcatheter aortic valve replacement in patients with chronic kidney disease

BACKGROUND Transcatheter aortic valve replacement(TAVR)is a revolutionary procedure for severe aortic stenosis.The coexistence of chronic kidney disease(CKD)and TAVR introduces a challenge that significantly impacts patient outcomes.AIM To define readmission rates,predictors,and causes after TAVR procedure in CKD stage 1-4 patients.METHODS We used the national readmission database 2018 and 2020 to look into readmission rates,causes and predictors after TAVR procedure in patients with CKD stage 1-4.RESULTS Out of 24758 who underwent TAVR and had CKD,7892(32.4%)patients were readmitted within 90 days,and had higher adjusted odds of being females(adjusted odds ratio:1.17,95%CI:1.02-1.31,P=0.02)with longer length of hospital stay>6 days,and more comorbidities including but not limited to diabetes mellitus,anemia,and congestive heart failure(CHF).CONCLUSION Most common causes of readmission included CHF(18.0%),sepsis,and complete atrioventricular block.Controlling readmission predictors with very close followup is warranted to prevent such high rate of readmission.

Three-dimensional printing for heart diseases: clinical application review

Heart diseases remain the top threat to human health,and the treatment of heart diseases changes with each passing day.Convincing evidence shows that three-dimensional(3D)printing allows for a more precise understanding of the complex anatomy associated with various heart diseases.In addition,3D-printed models of cardiac diseases may serve as effective educational tools and for hands-on simulation of surgical interventions.We introduce examples of the clinical applications of different types of 3D printing based on specific cases and clinical application scenarios of 3D printing in treating heart diseases.We also discuss the limitations and clinically unmet needs of 3D printing in this context.

Infective endocarditis and thoracic aortic disease: A review on forgotten psychological aspects

AIM To summarize the current evidence on psychological issues in thoracic aortic disease(TAD) and infective endocarditis(IE) setting. METHODS We performed a narrative review about psychological issues in adults with IE and TAD. Through the electronic databases, Pub Med and Psyc INFO, we searched full manuscripts in English and published until September 1, 2014. RESULTS We found sixteen studies exploring psychological issues in patients with IE(six studies) and in TAD(ten papers). Psychological issues assessed were quality of life, depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder. Quality of life was explored in IE(four papers) and in TAD(eight papers). Depression and anxiety were analyzed in TAD only(five papers). Post-traumatic stress disorder was assessed in IE(one study). Quality of life was found impaired in three of four studies about IE and in three of eight studies about TAD. Posttraumatic stress disorder was present in 11% and was associated with lower levels of quality of life in IE patients. In TAD patients, anxiety and depression levels after different invasive interventions did not differ. CONCLUSION Sixteen studies report about psychological issues in IE and TAD. Most of them explore quality of life and to a less extent anxiety and depression.

Decreased serum HMGB1 associated with M2 macrophagepolarization and patients with calcific aortic valve disease

Except for the standard aortic valve replacement,no effective medical treatment is available to prevent or delay calcific aortic valve disease(CAVD)progression.Recently,macrophages and high-mobility group box 1(HMGB1)are the most intriguing candidates in various inflammatory disorders.However,the association between serum HMGB1,CAVD,and macrophage polarization remains unclear.Therefore,we examined whether the level of serum HMGB1 is clinically associated with aortic valve calcification and whether HMGB1 treatment can promote macrophage differentiation toward M1 or M2 phenotype.This experimental study included 19 CAVD patients and 20 healthy controls whose serum HMGB1 levels were examined by ELISA assay.THP-1 macrophage polarization system was established to test the polarization capability of HMGB1 treatment.The results showed that serum levels of HMGB1 were significantly reduced in patients with CAVD.HMGB1 treatment promoted M2 macrophage polarization but not M1 phenotype with increased IL-10 expression and reduced inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS)expression.Our findings suggest that serum HMGB1 is negatively associated with the development of aortic valve calcification,and HMGB1 treatment may facilitate M2 macrophage polarization for reducing aortic valve calcification.

Cardiovascular Care for Older Adults Aortic valve disease in the older adult

As the population continues to age, aortic stenosis re- mains as the most prevalent valvular disease in Western countries. The number of elderly patients with aortic ste- nosis continues to pose both a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Despite new advances such as transcatheter aortic valvular replacement （TAVR）, there is still much pa- tient-provider decision making that needs to take place giv- en the comorbidities and complex goals of care in an elderly patient population.

The clinical application of multi-slice spiral CT angiography in abdominal aortic disease

Objective： To evaluate the clinical application of multi-slice spiral CT angiography（MSCTA） in the assessment of abdominal aortic disease. Methods： Fifty-four patients underwent multi-slice spiral CT angiography of abdomen. Contrast agent （Omnipaque 300 I g/L） 1.5 ml/kg was injected and the injection rate was 3 ml/s. The delay time was determined by bolus tracking technique, Tll level abdominal aorta was set as the target vessel and the threshold was 180-200Hu, slice width was 3mm and with a pitch of 4-6. Original data were transferred to working-station to perform functional reconstruction. Results： Ten cases were normal, twenty-eight cases were abdominal aortic aneurysms, five abdominal aortic dissecting aneurysms （Debakay type Ⅲ） and eleven aortic sclerosis. SSD showed the body of aneurysm and the relationship between aneurysm and adjacent blood vessel, MIP better displayed calcification of blood vessel wall and condition of the stent, MPR demonstrated true and false lumen, rapture site of abdominal aorta intima and mural thrombus. Conelusion： MSCTA axial and reconstruction image can show the extent of abdominal aortic disease and the relationship with adjacent blood vessels. It is a safe, simple and non-invasive examination method.

Diet therapy for inflammatory bowel diseases: The established and the new

Although patients with inflammatory bowel diseases(IBD) have a strong interest in dietary modifications as part of their therapeutic management, dietary advice plays only a minor part in published guidelines. The scientific literature shows that dietary factors might influence the risk of developing IBD, that dysbiosis induced by nutrition contributes to the pathogenesis of IBD, and that diet may serve as a symptomatic treatment for irritable bowel syndrome-like symptoms in IBD. The role of nutrition in IBD is underscored by the effect of various dietary therapies. In paediatric patients with Crohn's disease(CD) enteral nutrition(EN) reaches remission rates similar to steroids. In adult patients, however, EN is inferior to corticosteroids. EN is not effective in ulcerative colitis(UC). Total parenteral nutrition in IBD is not superior to steroids or EN. The use of specific probiotics in patients with IBD can be recommended only in special clinical situations. There is no evidence for efficacy of probiotics in CD. By contrast, studies in UC have shown a beneficial effect in selected patients. For patients with pouchitis, antibiotic treatment followed by probiotics, like VSL#3 or Lactobacillus GG, is effective. When probiotics are used, the risk of bacterial translocation and subsequent bacteremia has to be considered. More understanding of the normal intestinal microflora, and better characterization of probiotic strains at the phenotypic and genomic levels is needed as well as clarification of the mechanisms of action in different clinical settings. A FODMAP reduced diet may improve symptoms in IBD.

Epidemiological studies of migration and environmental risk factors in the inflammatory bowel diseases

Inflammatory bowel diseases(IBD)are idiopathic chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract well known to be associated with both genetic and environmental risk factors.Permissive genotypes may manifest into clinical phenotypes under certain environmental influences and these may be best studied from migratory studies.Exploring differences between first and second generation migrants may further highlight the contribution of environmental factors towards the development of IBD.There are few opportunities that have been offered so far.We aim to review the available migration studies on IBD,evaluate the known environmental factors associated with IBD,and explore modern migration patterns to identify new opportunities and candidate migrant groups in IBD migration research.

Hybrid Procedure for Thoracic Aortic Disease

Form 2008 to 2009, four patients with complex thoracic aortic disease, including aortic aneurysms and dissections, were successfully treated in our department with a new treatment approach:hybrid procedure.Combined open surgery and endovascular repair were performed in these patients without deep hypothermia or circulatory arrest.Compared to those who underwent traditional open surgery in the same period, time of mechanical ventilation and ICU stay was decreased in these four patients.All of them were discharged soon after operation without postoperative complications or death.The result suggests that this new approach could be an option for thoracic aortic disease, but long-term and large-population studies are still required to demonstrate the safety and validity.

Valvular Heart Disease and Aortic Dilatation

The case presented here offers us an opportunity to discuss an increasingly commonly confronted clinical challenge.Two issues are raised:how best to manage the patient’s valvular heart disease,including both the indications for surgical intervention and the prosthetic options,and how best to manage his aortic dilatation.Let us take them one at a time.The patient has severe aortic regurgitation but a normal ejection fraction.Although we do not have his ventricular dimensions,he has a class I indication for intervention given his symptoms.

The Characterization of Aortic Valve Calcification at Different Stage of Disease

Cardiac valve calcification is a common disease,especially among the elderly.Calcification can affect valve function and cause heart failure and sudden death(Adler et al.,2002).Aortic valve calcification is alsorelated to arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease(Rashedi et al.,2015).However,the origin of valve calcification is still unclear.This study characterized the

罕见抗-Di^(b)致严重胎儿新生儿溶血病的实验室检测与相关研究

目的对1例高频抗体导致的胎儿新生儿溶血病(hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn,HDFN)进行检测、鉴定及配血。方法对患儿进行新生儿溶血试验,对母亲进行血清学意外抗体鉴定,并对母亲红细胞进行常见高频抗原鉴定;对检出抗体进行IgG分型检测,并用流式细胞术进行单核细胞体外吞噬致敏红细胞试验,以检测抗体相关的吞噬率;对患儿母亲、父亲及舅舅进行相关红细胞血型基因测序;利用稀释的母亲血浆和抗人球卡法,在献血者中进行大规模相合血液的筛选。结果产妇鉴定为Di(b-)稀有血型,产生了抗-Di b(效价512)并导致了严重的HDFN;抗-Di b亚型分型为IgG1和IgG2型,单核细胞体外吞噬效率为88.83%(74.7/84.09);产妇亲属中没有相合献血者,后续从5520名献血者中筛选到2例Di(b-)相合血液,患儿接收输血治疗后康复出院。后续在51334名献血者中筛查到17名Di(b-)献血者,该数据表明Di(b-)在广州地区献血者中的分布频率约为三千分之一(0.033%,17/51334)。结论综合利用血型血清学及分子生物学方法诊断了抗-Di b所致的严重HDFN,建立了1种有效大规模筛查Di(b-)稀有血型的方法并找到相合血液,为建立Di(b-)稀有血型库奠定了基础。

Evaluation of cardiovascular risk in patients with Parkinson disease under levodopa treatment

BackgroundLevodopa 是在有 Parkinson 疾病(PD ) 的病人的中间的治疗的不可缺少的选择。因为 L-dopa 治疗被显示增加浆液 homocysteine 层次，为心血管的混乱的一个著名风险因素，有在 L-dopa 治疗下面的 PD 的病人将在为未来的增加的风险心血管的事件。这研究的目的是在 levodopa treatment.MethodsThe 学习下面与 PD 在病人评估心血管的风险人口在 L-dopa 治疗下面与自发的 PD 由 65 个病人组成了。控制组包括了 32 年龄，性匹配没有认知衰落的个人。Echocardiographic 大小，浆液 homocysteine 层次和主动脉的有弹性的参数与 PD 和 controls.ResultsAs 在病人之间被作比较 L-dopa 治疗的一个期望的特征， Parkinson 组有显著地更高的 homocystein 层次(15.1 ±；3.9 µ； mol/L 对 11.5 ±；3.2 µ； mol/L， P = 0.02 ) 。当时，大动脉的膨胀性在有 PD 的病人是显著地更低的与控制相比(4.8 ±；1.5 dyn/cm 2 对 6.2 ±；1.9 dyn/cm 2, P = 0.016 ) 。另外，有 PD 的病人有更高大动脉的紧张和大动脉的僵硬索引(13.4%±；6.4% 对 7.4%±；3.6% ， P <；0.001 和 7.3 ±；1.5 对 4.9 ±；1.9， P <；0.001 分别地) 。而且，浆液 homocysteine 层次被发现断然与大动脉的僵硬索引被相关，在浆液 homocysteine 的大动脉的膨胀性和层次之间有否定关联(r = 0.674， P <；0.001；r =−； 0.602， P <；0.001，分别地) 有在 L-dopa 治疗下面的 PD 的 .ConclusionsThe 病人增加了大动脉的僵硬并且与健康个人相比损害了心脏舒张的功能。提高的浆液 homocysteine 层次可以是可能的 pathophysiological 机制。

Aortic valve stenosis provides complementary information to bleeding risk scores in non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients initiating anticoagulation

Background The identification of modifiable bleeding risk factors may be of relevance.The aim is to evaluate if aortic stenosis(AS)provides additional information to bleeding risk scores for predicting major bleeding(MB)in non-valvular atrial fibrillation(AF).Methods We designed a retrospective multi-center study including 2880 consecutive non-valvular AF patients initiating oral anticoagulation between January 2013 and December 2016.AS was defined as moderate or severe according to European echocardiography guidelines criteria.HASBLED,ATRIA and ORBIT scores were used to evaluate the bleeding risk.MB was defined according to the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasia criteria and registered at 18 months of follow-up.Results 168(5.8%)patients had AS.Patients with AS had higher risk for MB compared to those without AS(HR=2.13,95%CI:1.40-3.23,P<0.001).Patients without AS and low-intermediate bleeding risk(0 points)showed the lowest MB rate,whereas the MB rate observed among patients with AS and high bleeding risk(2 points)was the highest one.Discrimination and reclassification analyses showed that AS provided additional information to bleeding risk scores for predicting MB at 18 months of follow-up.Conclusions In this population,AS was associated with an increased risk for MB at midterm follow-up.The three scoring systems showed a moderate discriminatory ability for MB.Moreover,the addition of AS was associated with a significant improvement in their predictive accuracy.We suggest that the presence of this valvulopathy should be taken into account for bleeding risk assessment.

An aortoduodenal fistula as a complication of immunoglobulin G4-related disease

Most primary aortoduodenal fistulas occur in the presence of an aortic aneurysm,which can be part of immunoglobulin G4(IgG4)-related sclerosing disease.We present a case who underwent endovascular grafting of an aortoduodenal fistula associated with a high serum IgG4 level.A 56-year-old male underwent urgent endovascular reconstruction of an aortoduodenal fistula.The patient received antibiotics and other supportive therapy,and the postoperative course was uneventful,however,elevated levels of serum IgG,IgG4 and C-reactive protein were noted,which normalized after the introduction of steroid therapy.Control computed tomography angiography showed no endoleaks.The primary aortoduodenal fistula may have been associated with IgG4-related sclerosing disease as a possible complication of IgG4-related inflammatory aortic aneurysm.Endovascular grafting of a primary aortoduodenal fistula is an effective and minimally invasive alternative to standard surgical repair.

Inflammatory bowel disease and thromboembolism

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have an increased risk of vascular complications. Thromboembolic complications, both venous and arterial, are serious extraintestinal manifestations complicating the course of IBD and can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. Patients with IBD are more prone to thromboembolic complications and IBD per se is a risk factor for thromboembolic disease. Data suggest that thrombosis is a specific feature of IBD that can be involved in both the occurrence of thromboembolic events and the pathogenesis of the disease. The exact etiology for this special association between IBD and thromboembolism is as yet unknown, but it is thought that multiple acquired and inherited factors are interacting and producing the increased tendency for thrombosis in the local intestinal microvasculature, as well as in the systemic circulation. Clinicians&#x02019; awareness of the risks, and their ability to promptly diagnose and manage tromboembolic complications are of vital importance. In this review we discuss how thromboembolic disease is related to IBD, specifically focusing on: (1) the epidemiology and clinical features of thromboembolic complications in IBD; (2) the pathophysiology of thrombosis in IBD; and (3) strategies for the prevention and management of thromboembolic complications in IBD patients.

Staphylococcal thoracic aortitis complicated by aortic dissection

BACKGROUND:The diagnosis of aortitis is often delayed as symptoms are largely nonspecific.We report a case of Staphylococcal thoracic aortitis in a 73-year-old Chinese woman complicated by aortic dissection.METHODS:The patient presented with pyrexia of unknown origin,and a contrast enhanced computed tomography aortogram revealed a large thrombus at the anterior aspect of the ascending aorta with two large ulcerations as a result of a chronic type A aortic dissection.A hemiarch replacement with a 28 mm Gleweave Vascutek graft was performed with resuspension of aortic valve commisures.Aortic thrombus cultures were positive for coagulase negative Staphylococcus aureaus,and histology showed chronic dissection of the aorta.RESULTS:The patient was treated with intravenous cefazolin for a 6-week duration and made good progress.CONCLUSIONS:This case highlights Staphylococcal infective aortitis complicated by dissection presenting as fever of unknown origin.Timely diagnosis is essential as progression to catastrophic rupture may occur.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)and cardiovascular disease(CVD)are two diseases that are common in the general population.To date,many studies have been conducted and demonstrate a direct link between NAFLD and CVD,but the exact mechanisms for this complex relationship are not well established.A systematic search of the PubMed database revealed that several common mechanisms are involved in many of the local and systemic manifestations of NAFLD and lead to an increased cardiovascular risk.The possible mechanisms linking NAFLD and CVD include inflammation,oxidative stress,insulin resistance,ectopic adipose tissue distribution,dyslipidemia,endothelial dysfunction,and adiponectin,among others.The clinical implication is that patients with NAFLD are at an increased risk of CVD and should undergo periodic cardiovascular risk assessment.

Current knowledge and contemporary management of non-A non-B aortic dissections

Non-A non-B aortic dissection(AAD)is an infrequently documented condition,comprising of only a small proportion of all AADs.The unique anatomy of the aortic arch and the failure of the existing classifications to adequately define individuals with non-A non-B AAD,have led to an ongoing controversy around the topic.It seems that the clinical progression of acute non-A non-B AAD diverges from the typical type A and B dissections,frequently leading to serious complications and thus mandating early intervention.Currently,the available treatment methods in the surgical armamentarium are conventional open,endovascular techniques and combined hybrid methods.The optimum approach is tailored in every individual case and may be determined by the dissection’s location,extent,the aortic diameter,the associated complications and the patient’s status.The management of non-A non-B dissections still remains challenging and a unanimous consensus defining the gold standard treatment has yet to be reached.In an attempt to provide further insight into this perplexing entity,we performed a minireview of the literature,aiming to elucidate the epidemiology,clinical course and the optimal treatment modality.