Chest Pain in the Patient with Arteria Lusoria: A Case Report

The most common anomaly of the aortic arch and its branches is the aberrant right subclavian artery – arteria lusoria. Usually, it produces dysphagia or dyspnea and chronic coughing.Our purpose is to underline that it is necessary to exclude the anomalies of the branches of the thoracic aorta, including arteria lusoria, in the patients with cardialgia of unknown origin.Clinical case. An 18-year-old female patient without a previously diagnosed chronic pathology was admitted to a hospital with chest pain after emotional stress for about an hour. The ECG revealed a sinus rhythm with a heart rate of 50 per minute, the normal direction of the electrical axis of the heart, the incomplete right bundle branch block, the negative T wave in the lead III. After excluding ischemic heart disease, acute coronary syndrome, pulmonary embolism, contrast-enhanced chest computed tomography revealed an aortic arch anomaly – a. lusoria.Conclusion. A. lusoria may manifest by cardiac pain. In patients with chest pain of unknown origin, it is advisable to include anomalies of the aorta and its branches, including the presence of the lusoria artery, in the range of differential diagnostics.

How Abnormal Sympatho-Activation Can Potentially Develop Heart Failure: A Mini Review

Cardiac sympathetic afferent that signal the sensation of cardiac pain, ostensibly, has more underlying mechanisms than what scientists have ever been led to believe. Cardiac sympathetic afferent reflex, also known as (CSAR), has been shown to be responsive to a variety of stimuli. Many of which scientists observed in increased levels during ischemia hydrogen ion, oxygen radicals, potassium, lactate, ATP, prostaglandins bradykinin, substance p and, finally and most importantly, endogenous substances (neurohormones) such as norepinephrine (NE). In the outset of chronic heart failure (HF), it has been known for a long time, that there are abnormalities in arterial baroreceptor input which depress its sensitivity, and arterial chemoreceptors seem augmented. Therefore, they tend to not only initiate sympathetic outflow but also to sensitise cardiac afferents which are appearing to do the same thing where there are abnormalities in vagus mechano-reflexes as well. Some of these receptors are in the spinal reticulate tract and interestingly these a third pathways give off neurons to the brainstem some in the hypothalamus and trance translate through the thalamus and then ultimately up into the cortex where we have sensation of pain. Here in this essay, we aim to discuss important aspects of cardiac failure in relation to abnormal sympatho-activators through evaluation of different available studies and animal models.

Development and usability testing of HEARTPA♀N: protocol for a mixed methods strategy to develop an integrated smartphone and web-based intervention for women with cardiac pain

IntroductionMore women experience cardiac pain related to coronary artery disease and cardiac procedures compared with men. The overall goal of this programme of research is to develop an integrated smartphone and web-based intervention (HEARTPA♀N) to help women recognise and self-manage cardiac pain.Methods and analysisThis protocol outlines the mixed methods strategy used for the development of the HEARTPA♀N content/core feature set (phase 2A), usability testing (phase 2B) and evaluation with a pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) (phase 3). We are using the individual and family self-management theory, mobile device functionality and pervasive information architecture of mHealth interventions, and following a sequential phased approach recommended by the Medical Research Council to develop HEARTPA♀N. The phase 3 pilot RCT will enable us to refine the prototype, inform the methodology and calculate the sample size for a larger multisite RCT (phase 4, future work). Patient partners have been actively involved in setting the HEARTPA♀N research agenda, including defining patient-reported outcome measures for the pilot RCT: pain and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). As such, the guidelines for Inclusion of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Clinical Trial Protocols (SPIRIT-PRO) are used to report the protocol for the pilot RCT (phase 3). Quantitative data (eg, demographic and clinical information) will be summarised using descriptive statistics (phases 2AB and 3) and a content analysis will be used to identify themes (phase 2AB). A process evaluation will be used to assess the feasibility of the implementation of the intervention and a preliminary efficacy evaluation will be undertaken focusing on the outcomes of pain and HRQoL (phase 3).Ethics and disseminationEthics approval was obtained from the University of Toronto (36415; 26 November 2018). We will disseminate knowledge of HEARTPA♀N through publication, conference presentation and national public forums (Café Scientifique), and through fact sheets, tweets and webinars.Trial registration numberNCT03800082.

LO29: Unexplained variation in ‘to-go’ opioid prescribing across emergency departments in a large Canadian cohort

Introduction: Emergency Department (ED) opioid prescribing has been linked to long-term use and dependence. Small packets of opioid medications are sometimes prescribed at discharge, i.e. ‘To-Go’, in an attempt to treat pain but avoid unintended consequences. The extent of this practice and its associated risks are not fully understood. This study's objective was to describe the use of ‘To-Go’ opioids in a large urban center. Methods: Multicenter linked administrative databases were used to recruit an observational cohort. The referral population was comprised of all patients discharged from a Calgary ED in 2016 (four hospitals) with an arrival pain score greater than 0. We first described this population and then performed a multivariable analysis to assess for predictors of ‘To-Go’ opioids. ‘To-Go’ opioids were either Tylenol-Codeine or Tylenol-Oxycodone. Results: A total of 88,855 patients were recruited. The majority were female (57%) and the average age was 44.5 yrs. Abdominal pain was the most frequent complaint (22.1%) followed by extremity (18.3%) and cardiac pain (8.0%). Overall, 2,736 patients (3.1%) received an opioid ‘To-Go’ with significant variation in prescribing rates across hospitals (1.8-5% Chi2 p < 0.05). Logistic regression (covariates: age, sex, CTAS, pain score, type of pain, hospital, ED opioid, length of stay) revealed that receiving an opioid (IV or PO) prior to discharge was the strongest predictor of ‘To-Go’ opioid (OR 6.4 [5.9-7.0]). Hospital (OR 1.4 [1.3-1.4]) and male sex (OR 1.2 [1.1-1.3]) also emerged as predictors, whereas age over 65 decreased the odds of ‘To-Go’ opioid (OR 0.8 [0.6-0.9]). Hospital-specific ORs ranged from 1.3-2.7. Conclusion: In comparable patient populations some hospitals are more likely than others to provide a short course of opioids at discharge. This difference is not explained by patient demographics, pain profiles, or medications prior to discharge. The reasons for this variation are unclear but it underscores the need to determine the risks of ED opioid exposures and develop clear evidence-based prescribing guidelines.