scholarly journals Pregnancy-associated arterial dissections: a nationwide cohort study

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (44) ◽  
pp. 4234-4242
Author(s):  
Sebastian E Beyer ◽  
Andrew B Dicks ◽  
Scott A Shainker ◽  
Loryn Feinberg ◽  
Marc L Schermerhorn ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims Pregnancy is a known risk factor for arterial dissection, which can result in significant morbidity and mortality in the peripartum period. However, little is known about the risk factors, timing, distribution, and outcomes of arterial dissections associated with pregnancy. Methods and results We included all women ≥12 years of age with hospitalizations associated with pregnancy and/or delivery in the Nationwide Readmissions Database between 2010 and 2015. The primary outcome was any dissection during pregnancy, delivery, or the postpartum period (42-days post-delivery). Secondary outcomes included timing of dissection, location of dissection, and in-hospital mortality. Among 18 151  897 pregnant patients, 993 (0.005%) patients were diagnosed with a pregnancy-related dissection. Risk factors included older age (32.8 vs. 28.0 years), multiple gestation (3.6% vs. 1.9%), gestational diabetes (14.3% vs. 0.2%), gestational hypertension (6.0% vs. 0.6%), and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia (2.7% vs. 0.4%), in addition to traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Of the 993 patients with dissection, 150 (15.1%) dissections occurred in the antepartum period, 232 (23.4%) were diagnosed during the admission for delivery, and 611 (61.5%) were diagnosed in the postpartum period. The most common locations for dissections were coronary (38.2%), vertebral (22.9%), aortic (19.8%), and carotid (19.5%). In-hospital mortality was 3.7% among pregnant patients with a dissection vs. <0.001% in patients without a dissection. Deaths were isolated to patients with an aortic (8.6%), coronary (4.2%), or supra-aortic (<2.5%) dissection. Conclusion Arterial dissections occurred in 5.5/100 000 hospitalized pregnant or postpartum women, most frequently in the postpartum period, and were associated with high mortality risk. The coronary arteries were most commonly involved. Pregnancy-related dissections were associated with traditional risk factors, as well as pregnancy-specific conditions.

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. e028237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna C Dionne ◽  
Kristen Sullivan ◽  
Lawrence Mbuagbaw ◽  
Alyson Takaoka ◽  
Erick Huaileigh Duan ◽  
...  

IntroductionDiarrhoea is a frequent concern in the intensive care unit (ICU) and is associated with prolonged mechanical ventilation, increased length of ICU stay, skin breakdown and renal dysfunction. However, its prevalence, aetiology and prognosis in the critically ill have been poorly studied. The primary objectives of this study are to determine the incidence, risk factors and consequences of diarrhoea in critically ill adults. The secondary objectives are to estimate the incidence ofClostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (CDAD) in ICU patients and to validate the Bristol Stool Chart and Bliss Stool Classification System characterising bowel movements in the ICU. Our primary outcome is the incidence of diarrhoea . Our secondary outcomes include: CDAD, ICU and hospital mortality and ICU and hospital length of stay.Methods and analysisThis international prospective cohort study will enrol patients over 10 weeks in 12 ICUs in Canada, the USA, Poland and Saudi Arabia. We will include all patients 18 years of age and older who are admitted to the ICU for at least 24 hours and follow them daily until ICU discharge. Our primary outcome is the incidence of diarrhoea based on the WHO definition, during the ICU stay. Our secondary outcomes include: CDAD, ICU and hospital mortality and ICU and hospital length of stay. We will use logistic regression to identify factors associated with diarrhoea (as defined using WHO criteria) and the kappa statistic to measure agreement on diarrhoea rates between the WHO definition and the Bristol Stool Chart and Bliss Stool Classification System.Ethics and disseminationThe protocol has been approved by the research ethics board of all participating centres. The diarrhoea interventions, consequences and epidemiology in the intensive care unit (DICE-ICU) study will generate evidence about diarrhoea and its frequency, predisposing factors and consequences, to inform critical care practice and future research.Lay summaryDiarrhoea is a frequent clinical problem for hospitalised patients including those who are critically ill in the ICU. Diarrhoea can cause complications such as skin damage, dehydration and kidney problems. It is not clear how common diarrhoea is in the ICU, the factors that cause it or the best way for clinicians to assess it. The DICE-ICU study is an international prospective observational study to examine the frequency, risk factors and outcomes of diarrhoea during critical illness.


Open Heart ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e001648
Author(s):  
Senthil Selvaraj ◽  
Muhammad Shoaib Khan ◽  
Mahesh K Vidula ◽  
Philip C Wiener ◽  
Alejandro E de Feria ◽  
...  

ObjectiveVisually estimated coronary artery calcium (VECAC) from chest CT or attenuation correction (AC)/CT obtained during positron emission tomography (PET)–myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is feasible. Our aim was to determine the prognostic value of VECAC beyond conventional risk factors and PET imaging parameters, including coronary flow reserve (CFR).MethodsWe analysed 608 patients without known coronary artery disease who underwent PET–MPI between 2012 and 2016 and had AC/CT and/or chest CT images. We used Cox regression to estimate the association of VECAC categories (≤10, 11–400, >400 Agatston units (AU)) with the primary outcome of all-cause death, acute coronary syndrome or stroke (mean follow-up 4.3±1.8 years). C-statistics assessed the relationship between PET parameters and VECAC with the primary outcome.ResultsMean age was 58±11 years, 65% were women and 67% were black. VECAC ≤10, 11–400 and >400 AU was observed in 68%, 12% and 20% of subjects, respectively. Compared with VECAC ≤10, VECAC categories 11–400 (HR 2.25, 95% CI 1.24 to 4.08) and >400 AU (HR 3.05, 95% CI 1.87 to 4.98) were associated with the primary outcome after adjusting for traditional risk factors, MPI findings and CFR. Adding VECAC to a model that included PET–MPI, CFR and clinical risk factors improved the prognostic value for the primary outcomes (c-statistic 0.71 to 0.75 with VECAC, p=0.01).ConclusionsVECAC is a potent predictor of events beyond traditional risk factors and PET imaging markers, including CFR. These data further support the importance for routine VECAC implementation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sirui Zhang ◽  
Yupei Li ◽  
Guina Liu ◽  
Baihai Su

Abstract Background Anticoagulation in hospitalized COVID-19 patients has been associated with survival benefit; however, the optimal anticoagulant strategy has not yet been defined. The objective of this meta-analysis was to investigate the effect of intermediate-to-therapeutic versus prophylactic anticoagulation for thromboprophylaxis on the primary outcome of in-hospital mortality and other patient-centered secondary outcomes in COVID-19 patients. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched from inception to August 10th 2021. Cohort studies and randomized clinical trials that assessed the efficacy and safety of intermediate-to-therapeutic versus prophylactic anticoagulation in hospitalized COVID-19 patients were included. Baseline characteristics and relevant data of each study were extracted in a pre-designed standardized data-collection form. The primary outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality and the secondary outcomes were incidence of thrombotic events and incidence of any bleeding and major bleeding. Pooled analysis with random effects models yielded relative risk with 95 % CIs. Results This meta-analysis included 42 studies with 28,055 in-hospital COVID-19 patients totally. Our pooled analysis demonstrated that intermediate-to-therapeutic anticoagulation was not associated with lower in-hospital mortality (RR=1.12, 95 %CI 0.99-1.25, p=0.06, I2=77 %) and lower incidence of thrombotic events (RR=1.30, 95 %CI 0.79-2.15, p=0.30, I2=88 %), but increased the risk of any bleeding events (RR=2.16, 95 %CI 1.79-2.60, p<0.01, I2=31 %) and major bleeding events significantly (RR=2.10, 95 %CI 1.77-2.51, p<0.01, I2=11 %) versus prophylactic anticoagulation. Moreover, intermediate-to-therapeutic anticoagulation decreased the incidence of thrombotic events (RR=0.71, 95 %CI 0.56-0.89, p=0.003, I2=0 %) among critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU), with increased bleeding risk (RR=1.66, 95 %CI 1.37-2.00, p<0.01, I2=0 %) and unchanged in-hospital mortality (RR=0.94, 95 %CI 0.79-1.10, p=0.42, I2=30 %) in such patients. The Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation certainty of evidence ranged from very low to moderate. Conclusions We recommend the use of prophylactic anticoagulation against intermediate-to-therapeutic anticoagulation among unselected hospitalized COVID-19 patients considering insignificant survival benefits but higher risk of bleeding in the escalated thromboprophylaxis strategy. For critically ill COVID-19 patients, the benefits of intermediate-to-therapeutic anticoagulation in reducing thrombotic events should be weighed cautiously because of its association with higher risk of bleeding. Trial registration The protocol was registered at PROSPERO on August 17th 2021 (CRD42021273780). Graphical abstract


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Youfeng Zhu ◽  
Haiyan Yin ◽  
Rui Zhang ◽  
Xiaoling Ye ◽  
Jianrui Wei

Abstract Background The use of dobutamine in patients with sepsis is questionable currently. As the benefit of dobutamine in septic patients is unclear, we aimed to evaluate whether the use of dobutamine was associated with decreased hospital mortality in sepsis patients. Methods Based on the analysis of MIMIC III public database, we performed a big-data, real world study. According to the use of dobutamine or not, patients were categorized as the dobutamine group or non dobutamine group.We used propensity score matched (PSM) analysis to adjust for confoundings. The primary outcome was hospital mortality. Results In the present study, after screening 38,605 patients, 2826 patients with sepsis were included. 121 patients were in dobutamine group and 2165 patients were in non dobutamine group. Compared with patients in non-dobutamine group, patients in dobutamine group had a lower MAP, higher HR, higher RR, higher severity of illness scores. 72 of 121 patients (59.5%) in the dobutamine group and 754 of 2165 patients (34.8%) in the non-dobutamine group died in the hospital, which resulted in a significant between-group difference (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.01–2.40; P = 0.000). For the secondary outcomes, patients in dobutamine group received more MV use, more renal replacement therapy use, had longer ICU stay durations and more cardiac arrhythmias than those in non-dobutamine group. After adjusting for confoundings between groups by PSM analysis, hospital mortality was consistently higher in dobutamine group than that in non-dobutamine group (60.2% vs. 49.4%, OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.01–2.37; P = 0.044). Conclusions Among patients with sepsis, our study showed that the use of dobutamine was not associated with decreased hospital mortality. Further large scale, randomized controlled studies are warrented to confirm our findings.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Mathew ◽  
Pietro Di Santo ◽  
Jeffrey Marbach ◽  
Jordan Hutson ◽  
Trevor Simard ◽  
...  

Introduction: Cardiogenic shock (CS) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Although inotropic support is a mainstay of medical therapy for CS, little evidence exists to guide the selection of inotropic agents in clinical practice. Methods: In this double blind randomized controlled trial, we assigned patients with SCAI class B to E shock to either milrinone or dobutamine for inotropic support. Therapy was titrated based on clinical, biochemical and hemodynamic response as evaluated by the treating physician. The primary outcome was a combined endpoint of in hospital mortality, non-fatal MI, stroke, new initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT), need for MCS or cardiac transplant, or cardiac arrest with successful resuscitation. Secondary outcomes included individual components of the primary outcome. Results: Among 192 participants, there was no significant difference in the primary outcome, occurring in 49% (47 of 96) of patients in the milrinone arm and 54% (52 of 96) patients in the dobutamine group (RR 0.90, 95% CI of 0.69-1.19, p-value = 0.47). There were also no differences in important secondary outcomes between milrinone and dobutamine, including in-hospital mortality 37% (35 of 96) vs 43% (41 of 96) (RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.60-1.21, p-value = 0.38) or need for RRT 22% (21 of 96) vs 17% (16 of 96) (RR 1.31, 95% CI 0.73-2.36, p-value = 0.36). Conclusions: In this randomized clinical trial of milrinone and dobutamine in CS, there was no difference in the primary composite outcome or in important secondary outcomes. The selection of inotropic agent could reasonably be based on physician comfort, cost and individual response to therapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S449-S449
Author(s):  
Kristin C Davis ◽  
Lindsay Reulbach ◽  
John Schrank ◽  
Alex Ewing ◽  
Emily Johnson

Abstract Background Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a serious complication of variceal hemorrhage. Guidelines recommend a maximum of seven days of antibiotics after variceal hemorrhage to prevent SBP and reduce rates of rebleeding and mortality. However, studies supporting these guidelines used varied durations of therapy including those with less than seven days. The objective of this study was to determine if less than seven days of antibiotic prophylaxis was noninferior to seven or more days in patients with cirrhosis and variceal hemorrhage. Methods This was a single-center, retrospective cohort conducted from August 2019 to August 2020 including adult patients who received treatment for variceal hemorrhage and antibiotics for prevention of SBP during hospitalization. Patients were excluded if they were diagnosed with non-variceal hemorrhage, received treatment with antibiotics within 72 hours prior to the variceal hemorrhage, or expired or transitioned to end of life care within 48 hours of hospital admission. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included SBP within the first 30 days after variceal hemorrhage, 30-day mortality, 30-day readmission rate, incidence of rebleeding at seven and 30 days, incidence of Clostridioides difficile infection, and intensive care unit and hospital length of stay. Results 64 patients were included with 45 patients in the less than seven days group and 19 patients in the seven or more days of antibiotic prophylaxis group. In each group, patients were primarily male with a median age of approximately 60 years. There was no difference in the primary outcome of in-hospital mortality between the less than seven days group as compared to the seven or more days group (22.2% vs 0%, p=1). No difference was identified between the less than seven days group as compared to the seven or more days group for any of the secondary outcomes. Conclusion This study identified no difference in patient-centered outcomes when comparing less than seven days of prophylactic antibiotics to seven or more days in patients with variceal hemorrhage. Less than seven days of prophylactic antibiotics may be a reasonable duration for prevention of SBP. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S470-S470
Author(s):  
Jennifer Weiss ◽  
Gargi Patel ◽  
Joseph Cavanaugh

Abstract Background Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the most frequently reported nosocomial infection and is the major cause of healthcare and antibiotic associated diarrhea. Guideline recommended preventative strategies include antibiotic stewardship, hand hygiene, barrier precautions, and disinfection of environmental spaces to reduce the risk of hospital onset CDI (HO-CDI); however, there is no standardized scoring method to tactically detect high-risk patients in order to prevent HO-CDI. The objective of this study was to implement a risk stratification procedure for a pharmacist to prospectively identify high-risk patients and make early interventions to prevent the incidence of HO-CDI. Methods In this single center, ambidirectional cohort study, patients who acquired HO-CDI from January 2019 to June 2020 were identified and evaluated to determine which modifiable risk factors were most prominent. A pharmacist prospectively screened patients who were admitted from October 2020 to February 2021 using a web-based screening tool to detect high-risk patients based on the previously identified risk factors. An interdisciplinary approach was used to make early interventions for high-risk patients such as discontinuation or de-escalation of antibiotics, discontinuation of gastric acid suppression, and early CDI testing before 72 hours of admission. The primary outcome was incidence of HO-CDI per 10,000 patient days and secondary outcomes were length of hospital stay and duration of non-CDI antibiotic therapy. Appropriate statistical tests were used to measure significance. Results The primary outcome of HO-CDI cases per 10,000 patient days occurred at a median rate of 3.95 (IQR 3.38 – 6.30) in the retrospective cohort versus 2.15 (IQR 1.68 – 3.04) in the prospective cohort [p &lt; 0.0125]. There were no significant differences in length of non-CDI antibiotic therapy or length of hospital stay. Baseline Characteristics Primary Outcome Secondary Outcomes Conclusion In patients at high-risk of developing HO-CDI, pharmacist intervention resulted in a reduced rate of HO-CDI cases per 10,000 patient days. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures


Blood ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 126 (23) ◽  
pp. 3471-3471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ang Li ◽  
Robert S Makar ◽  
Shelley Hurwitz ◽  
Lynne Uhl ◽  
Richard M. Kaufman ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: Thrombotic microangiopathies (TMA) are a group of uncommon disorders characterized clinically by the presence of thrombocytopenia and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (MAHA). Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is a proven treatment for cases of autoimmune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) characterized by an ADAMTS13 activity level of ≤10%, but the efficacy of TPE in TMA with an ADAMTS13 activity level of >10% remains controversial. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 186 adult patients included in the Harvard TMA Research Collaborative registry who presented with MAHA and thrombocytopenia concerning for TTP but an ADAMTS13 activity level of >10%. A propensity score (PS) logistic regression model was constructed based on 11 clinically relevant confounding variables: age; sex; ethnicity; Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI); history of prior solid organ or bone marrow transplant; the presence of neurologic symptoms; the presence of sepsis, shock, or multiorgan failure (MOF); platelet count; creatinine; LDH; and INR. Matching was performed using a 1:1 nearest neighbor method without replacement within a set caliper distance. Standardized differences were used to assess the quality of matching and ensure balance of baseline characteristics. The primary outcome was 90-day survival. Secondary outcomes included in-hospital mortality, percent of patients experiencing platelet count recovery, time to platelet count recovery, and hospital length of stay (LOS). Results: Prior to matching, patients treated with TPE (N=71) had a lower acuity of illness compared to untreated patients (N=115) as reflected by a lower mean CCI (2.3 vs. 3.4, P = 0.003), lower mean INR (1.1 vs. 1.3, P = 0.02), and lower incidence of sepsis, shock or MOF (23% vs. 36%, P = 0.06). Consistent with this confounding, TPE in the pre-matched cohort appeared to be associated with reduced mortality at 90 days (HR 0.51, P = 0.01). The PS match was performed to address these imbalances and resulted in 59 TPE-treated patients paired to 59 untreated controls. After matching, baseline characteristics of the treated and untreated groups were well balanced, with a standardized difference of ≤11% in all PS variables (see Figure). In contrast to the unmatched cohort, Cox regression analysis stratified by matched pairs showed no significant difference in the primary outcome of 90-day survival between the treated and untreated groups (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.44-1.8, P = 0.72) (see Table). We performed subgroup analyses by age, diagnostic category, and ADAMTS13 activity level and again did not observe any benefit to TPE. With regard to secondary outcomes, in-hospital mortality (OR 0.77, P = 0.53), percent of patients with platelet count recovery (OR 1.6, P = 0.21), median time to platelet count recovery (6 vs. 6 days, P = 0.99), and median hospital LOS (14 vs. 18 days, P = 0.93) did not differ significantly between the two groups. Conclusions: In the absence of a randomized controlled trial, PS matching represents a rigorous statistical approach to study the effect of treatment while adjusting for differences in baseline characteristics across groups of patients. Here we have used PS matching to assess the efficacy of TPE in the management of TMA associated with an ADAMTS13 activity level of >10%. Our data indicate that there is no benefit from TPE for this diverse group of TMA patients without severe ADAMTS13 deficiency. Figure 1. Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 2. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Li ◽  
Zhuo Zhao ◽  
Hui Jiang ◽  
Minjie Jiang ◽  
Ge Yu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and aims Liver enzymes, including alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), are markers of hepatic dysfunction and fatty liver disease. Although ALT and AST have been suggested as risk factors for cardiovascular disease, their role as predictors of mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has not been established. The objective of this study was to investigate the predictive value of ALT and AST for mortality in patients with AMI. Methods We analyzed records of 712 patients with AMI and no known liver disease treated at the Department of Cardiovascular Center in the First Hospital of Jilin University. The primary outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality. Relationships between primary outcome and various risk factors, including serum transaminase levels, were assessed using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results Age (P < 0.001), hypertension (P = 0.034), prior myocardial infarction (P < 0.001), AST (P < 0.001), ALT (P < 0.001), creatinine (P = 0.007), blood urea nitrogen (P = 0.006), and troponin I (P < 0.001) differed significantly between ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-STEMI. The following factors were associated with an increased risk of in-hospital all-cause mortality in patients with AMI: ALT ≥ 2ULN (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.240 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.331–3.771]; P = 0.002); age ≥ 65 year (AOR 4.320 [95% CI 2.687–6.947]; P < 0.001); increased fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (AOR 2.319 [95% CI 1.564–3.438]; P < 0.001); elevated D-dimer (AOR 2.117 [95% CI 1.407–3.184]; P < 0.001); elevated fibrinogen (AOR 1.601 [95% CI 1.077–2.380]; P = 0.20); and reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (AOR 2.279 [95% CI 1.519–3.419]; P < 0.001). Conclusions Our findings demonstrated that elevated ALT was independently associated with increased in-hospital all-cause mortality in patients with AMI. Other risk factors were increased age, FPG, D-dimer, and fibrinogen and decreased eGFR.


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