Abstract 17057: Tropheryma Whipplei Endocarditis: A Diagnosis In Hindsight

Description of case: We report a case of Tropheryma whipplei endocarditis, a rare cause of blood-culture-negative infective endocarditis (BCNIE). Due to its rarity and lack of availability of diagnostic tests in district hospitals, the diagnosis remains challenging. The objective of this case report is to increase physician awareness of this pathogen. A 61-year-old man presented to the Emergency Department with central chest pain at rest. A 12-lead ECG demonstrated ST- segment depression in V4-V6 leads, and his serial troponin levels were raised. He was commenced on treatment for acute coronary syndrome and transferred to the Coronary Care Unit. An echocardiogram showed a 15mm x 15mm vegetation in the aortic valve with mild aortic regurgitation. His initial microbiology workup, which included two sets of blood cultures (pre-antibiotics), MRSA screen & COVID-19 PCR, was negative. He was transferred to a cardiothoracic centre four days later. Pre-operative CT coronary angiogram showed severe three vessel coronary artery disease. He underwent triple coronary artery by-pass grafts and tissue aortic valve replacement. During early post-op recovery, he had fever episodes and an elevated C-reactive protein of 280 mg/L but normal white cell counts. He was treated with intravenous Tazocin for hospital-acquired pneumonia and discharged on doxycycline. Two weeks post-discharge, he had a positive 16S/18S PCR for Tropheryma whipplei on molecular analysis of the aortic valve. He was treated for Whipples endocarditis with a 4-week course of IV Ceftriaxone, followed by a 12-month course of oral Cotrimoxazole. The patient has reported doing well since the surgery. Discussion: Molecular assay with PCR of the heart valve is the mainstay of diagnosing Whipple’s endocarditis. There have been 5 previously reported cases of Whipple’s endocarditis in the United Kingdom in our knowledge. It is likely under-reported because of a reliance on tissue diagnosis. Preceding intestinal manifestations and arthralgia should raise its clinical suspicion for timely workup. Physician awareness of Whipple’s Endocarditis is paramount in investigating for this pathogen.

Major Complication Following Kawasaki Disease in an Infant—The Development of Apical Infarction and Aneurysm Formation

Considerable advances have occurred in the understanding of Kawasaki disease, with a substantial drop in morbidity and mortality following the infusion of gamma globulin during the acute phase. Nevertheless, major complications may still occur. A 27-year-old male presented as an infant of 11 weeks when he was diagnosed as having Kawasaki disease. He was appropriately treated with aspirin and a gamma globulin infusion following his diagnosis 5 days after the onset of his illness. Despite that, he went on to develop coronary aneurysms. He represented a few weeks later with a history of inconsolable crying associated with pallor, suggestive of ischaemic chest pain. A repeat echocardiogram revealed infarction of the apex of the left ventricle with localised thrombus formation. There were persistent aneurysms within both coronary artery systems. A further infusion of gamma globulin was given. In view of the thrombus formation, he was started on warfarin. The thrombus gradually resolved with the development of a clearly defined left ventricular apical aneurysm. He has remained on warfarin, aiming for an international normalised ratio (INR) level of 2 to 2.5. He developed mild left ventricular dysfunction during late childhood, which improved following the commencement of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor. Despite his ventricular aneurysm, there has been no documented evidence of ventricular tachycardia over the years. Repeated testing initially by nuclear perfusion scans and then by stress echocardiograms failed to show any inducible ischaemia apart from the apical ventricular aneurysm. A recent computed tomography (CT) coronary angiogram revealed an ectatic origin of the left main and the right coronary arteries with mild calcification involving the mid-portion of the latter and slight calcification of the former. His raised cholesterol level has responded well to a statin. Despite the persistence of the ventricular aneurysm, he continues to be managed conservatively, as he has remained well. The question arises as to what the long-term implications are of his left ventricle apical aneurysm. Should it be excised? Is he at risk for ventricular tachycardia and sudden death? In addition, although the coronary aneurysms have resolved, the CT coronary angiogram shows calcium plaques in both coronary arteries at the site of the earlier aneurysms. This finding raises the question as to whether all children who develop coronary artery aneurysms following Kawasaki disease should have a CT coronary angiogram performed in adulthood.

CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE ON CT-CORONARY ANGIOGRAM – COMPARISON BETWEEN DIABETIC AND NON-DIABETIC POPULATION

Objective: To evaluate the CT coronary angiograms of patients presenting with symptoms of coronary artery disease (CAD) as well as to compare the results between the diabetics and non-diabetics. Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Cardiology department of Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi Institute of Cardiology, Multan. One hundred and fifty nine patients with history of symptoms of CAD and no previous history of myocardial infarction or revascularization were included in study. The conventional risk factors were noted and 64 slice multi detector CT coronary angiogram was done on all patients. Total calcium score and number of segments with disease, obstructive disease and non-obstructive disease were noted. Results were compared among diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Results: Mean age of the patients was 50.54±7.90 years. Out of 159 patients 118(74.2%) were males and 41 (25.8%) were females. Diabetic patients were 101(63.5%), 64 (40.3%) were hypertensive, 39(24.5%) were smokers, 24.5% (n=39) had positive family history, 18.2% (n=29) were obese and 13.8% (n=22) had dyslipidemia. There was no coronary artery disease in 40 (25.2%) patients while 91 (57.2%) patients had obstructive and 28 (17.6%) patients had non-obstructive disease. 83. 1% diabetics had obstructive CAD and 12.0% of non diabetic patients had obstructive CAD. Mean number of obstructive segments in diabetic patients are 2.36±1.23. Conclusion: CAD was more prevalent in diabetic patients and CAD is easily predicted by non-invasive technique of CT coronary angiography.

Native Aorto-ostial coronary lesions on CT coronary angiogram: A pictorial review

Aorto-ostial coronary lesions (AOLs) are important to detect due to the high risk of catastrophic consequences. Unfortunately, due to the complexities of these lesions, they may be missed on invasive coronary angiography. Computed tomography coronary angiogram (CTCA) is highly sensitive and specific in detecting AOLs, and has the additional advantage of demonstrating the surrounding anatomy. CTCA is particularly useful when assessing for AOL aetiologies in addition to atherosclerotic disease, for example Congenital anomalies, extrinsic Compression, Iatrogenic, Arteritis and Other, such as Thrombus, Embolism, Dissection and Spasm. This gives rise to “CIAO (TEDS)” as a proposed aide-mémoire and will form the structure of this pictorial review.

CT coronary angiography in Selected Group of patients with Chest pain of new onset predicts and prevents hospital admissions & Outpatient Clinic referrals

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) guidelines currently recommend the use of CT coronary Angiogram (CTCA) as the initial test to investigate coronary artery disease in patients with new onset of chest pain. Our aim was to evaluate the relationship between the CT coronary angiogram findings on index presentation, and hospital admissions and re-referral to outpatient clinics in following 2 years. Method Data was accrued via a retrospective analysis of electronic medical records at Sunderland Royal Hospital pertaining to patients who presented to the Rapid Access Chest Pain Clinic (RACPC) and underwent CTCA in 2017.Data included: Presentation – Typical & atypical angina Risk factors profile Investigations including ECG, ECHO, CTCA, perfusion scan and invasive coronary angiography Severity of coronary artery lesion on CTCA Hospital admissions or re-referral to outpatient clinics in 2 year follow up Results In the 235 patients studied, mean age was 56 years with 130 (55.5%) men and 195 (82.9%) presented with atypical angina as shown in table. Out of 195 patients with atypical chest pain only 17 (8.7%) were diabetics and most of them 178 (91%) had Coronary Calcium score of 1-400. Most patients (184) underwent CT coronary angiogram with 39 (21%) having normal coronary arteries, 126 (68%) with mild to moderate coronary artery disease and 19 (11%) with severe coronary artery disease. Subsequent assessments with invasive coronary angiography, myocardial perfusion scan and Treadmill exercise did not reveal significant disease warranting coronary revascularization. Patients with normal or mild -moderate CAD on CTCA 24 (15%) represented with acute chest pain (only one needed PCI) and 6 (3.5%) were referred to outpatient clinics over 2 years follow up. In patients with severe CAD on CTCA, 6 (32%) presented with acute chest pain and 4 (21%) needed PCI. Almost all patients were treated with statins and antiplatelets following CTCA results. Conclusion CT coronary angiography is sensitive and specific in assessment of hemodynamically significant coronary artery disease in non-diabetic patients presenting with angina in outpatient setting. CTCA in patients with normal or mild to moderate CAD also gives confidence to the clinician and prevents further un-necessary investigation and hospital admissions/outpatient referrals.

A patient with single coronary artery, bicuspid aortic valve and sinus of Valsalva aneurysm

Background We report a rare case of a patient who presented with chest pain and was found to have a constellation of rare cardiac anomalies. Case presentation A 67-year-old patient with no past medical history presented with chest pain. He had mild troponin elevation, but no ischemic changes on ECG. He underwent a CT coronary angiogram for further evaluation. He was found to have a type 0 bicuspid aortic valve, large left sinus of Valsalva aneurysm and type R-III single coronary artery. These findings were confirmed with transesophageal echocardiogram and coronary angiogram. He underwent a successful repair of his aortic root aneurysm with a synthetic patch. Conclusions The combination of type R-III single coronary artery, bicuspid aortic valve, and left sinus of Valsalva aneurysm congenital anomalies in one individual is extremely rare and marks our case unique. Given the size of his Sinus of Valsalva aneurysm, the patient underwent surgical repair of his aneurysm and was asymptomatic when seen in follow-up.

The broad spectrum of cardiovascular adverse events related to immune check point inhibitors

Background Immunotherapy is one of the latest and most exciting developments in cancer treatment. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have shown to have impressive positive results on several tumours such as melanoma, renal cancer and lung cancer, among others. Along with its benefits come the adverse effects which, concerning the heart, myocarditis is the most well-known and feared event. Yet, the spectrum of cardiovascular adverse events (CVAE) is much broader, ranging from heart failure to arrhythmias, but this has not been well documented until know. Objective Describe the broad spectrum of CVAE related to ICI Methods Observational retrospective, single centre study. We evaluated all the patients that have been referred to the cardio oncology (CO) unit and were under ICI treatment. The referred patients underwent a day case assessment with cardiovascular tests (blood tests, ECG, resting echocardiogram in all cases and MRI, stress echo or CT coronary angiogram if needed). The results were discussed in the multidisciplinary team meeting and the patients were then reviewed by one of the doctors in the team. The conclusions of the assessment were then communicated to the oncology team. Results From the year 2011 until December 2019, 71 patients receiving immunotherapy were referred to the CO unit. Three patients were excluded because they were referred for having an intracardiac tumour, leaving 68 for analysis. The first patient was referred in 2014 and during the first 3 years only 7 patients were reviewed in the CO unit. The frequency increased dramatically in 2017 to 17, 19 in 2018 and 25 in 2019. 21 patients were receiving Nivolumab, 24 on Ipilimumab, and 23 (34%) on combined therapy. The most frequent tumour was Melanoma (26/68, 38%). Regarding the CVAE: 22 patients (32%) were referred for investigtion of myocarditis. 6 had a diagnosis of definite myocarditis, 5 probable and 4 possible. Other CVAE (20/68, 29%) were the supraventricular arrhythmias including atrial fibrilation (20/68, 29%). 8 patients presented with non-inflammatory heart failure with new LVEF drop, 4 with chest pain, and 4 others with syncope. 1 patient developed pulmonary hypertension. Conclusions Myocarditis still remains the most frequent CVAE related to ICI, but the spectrum is broader than initially described. Supraventricular arrhythmias and non-inflammatory LVEF disfunction were very frequent in this series and we suspect that the incidence will increase as cardiologist and oncologists start considering them as probable adverse effects of this treatment. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None