Contrast Induced Nephropathy and its predictors after Primary Percutaneous Intervention

Background and Aims: Worldwide many patients are receiving intravascular contrast media (CM) during interventional procedures. Contrast media are used to enhance visualization and guide percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI).1 However, the use of CM also carries the risk of complications and it is important to be aware of these complications. Complications with CM range from mild symptoms to life-threatening conditions like anaphylaxis, hypotension and renal dysfunction and contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is one of them which can have both short and long term consequences.2 This study aimed to know the incidence of CIN in our center and possible predictors associated with it. Methods: This is the single hospital based cross sectional observational study. Patients undergoing primary PCI were enrolled in the study. All the patients underwent thorough history taking and physical examination. Baseline required laboratory investigations were sent. Electrocardiogram and echocardiography screening was done before taking patient to primary PCI as per the protocol of the hospital. Results: The number of patients enrolled in the study was 83 out of which 65(78.2%) were males and mean age was 59.7±13.2. Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) among the patients was 103.8±21.3. Almost 2/3rd of the population received intravenous fluids. Minimum contrast volume used was 50ml and maximum was 270. When absolute rise in creatinine was considered 12 (14.5%) had CIN and when percent rise was also considered total 28 (33.7%) had CIN. While evaluating the predictors of CIN, higher mean age (p=0.01), hypotension with mean MAP <60 mmhg (p=0.04)) and higher contrast volume >100ml (p=0.04) was found to be significant. Conclusion: The incidence of CIN in patients undergoing PPCI was similar to the studies done in other parts of the world. Evaluating the predictors of CIN, higher mean age, hypotension and higher contrast volume was the significant predictor.

The In-hospital Outcome of Ventricular Septal Defect Closure and Predictor of Morbidity and Mortality at Tertiary Level Cardiac Center

Background and Aims: Factors responsible for complications and outcomes of surgical closure of ventricular septal defect differ between different cardiac centers globally. In this study, we tried to evaluate outcomes and predictors of morbidity and mortality of surgical closure of VSD in a single center. Methods: The retrospective cohort study was conducted in Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre from 14th April 2018 to 13th April 2020. It included consecutive series of patients undergoing ventricular septal defect closure as a primary surgery Results: Out of a total 166 patients, males were 100 (60%). Adverse complications occurred on 36 (21%) with mortality of 6 (3.6%). The age ranged from 4 months to 35 years. The weight <10 kgs at the time of operation had significant post-operative prolong ventilation duration (more than 6 hours) with a p value of 0.012; significant prolong ICU stays (>2 days) with a p value of <0.001; significant prolong hospital stay (> 7 days) with a p value of <0.001. The longer CPB time was associated with significantly prolonged ventilation duration (p value 0.001); significant longer ICU stay (p value 0.02). The age <1 year at the time of operation had significant prolonged ICU stay; significantly prolonged hospital stays (p value of 0.033). Severe pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) and weight up to 10 kgs at the time of operation demonstrated a trend towards association with mortality. Conclusion: Surgical VSD closure can be done with acceptable level of mortality and morbidity in our context.

Evaluation of Left ventricular systolic function by Myocardial Deformation Imaging in Hypertensive patients with Preserved Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction

Background and Aims: Hypertension being one of the commonest non communicable diseases is major risk factor leading to premature death.1 With development of, the left ventricular strain imaging technique by echocardiography the consequences of hypertension may be identified and intervene earlier. The aim of study was to show abnormalities in cardiac function in the form of left ventricular strain imaging in hypertensive patients with preserved Ejection fraction. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, comparative and observational study done in Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre and National Academy of Medical Sciences, Bir Hospital Kathmandu which included hypertensive patients with baseline examination including a medical history, clinical examination and a standardized trans thoracic echocardiography and strain imaging examination and the findings were compared among age and sex frequency matched 82 healthy adults in 1 : 2 ratio. The independent paired t test was used for the comparative statistical analysis. Results: We enrolled 240 patients in this study, 158 were hypertensive (mean age 48.5 ±6.1 years with 50.6 % female) and 82 healthy control (mean age 45.62 ±6.3 years with 51.2% female). There was no significant difference in conventional echocardiographic parameters between two groups except for left ventricular mass index and relative wall thickness that was highest in hypertensive group (p value of <0.001). The hypertensive population has lower mean global longitudinal strain (GLS) value of -18.6% ± 2.06 SD compared to the healthy control population with mean of -19.5% ± 1.1 SD (p value of <0.001). Conclusion: Hypertensive patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction have subclinical left ventricular dysfunction revealed by GLS imaging technique.

Agitated Saline Contrast Echocardiogram In Cardio-Pulmonary Evaluation

Agitated saline contrast echocardiogram (ASC) is a very useful technique to detect various intracardiac and extra cardiac shunts in daily cardiology practice . Conventional 2D and color echocardiogram may not be well effective in ruling out various intracardiac shunts especially with patients having poor echo window. The introduction of agitated saline with bubbles formed during the study can help delineate different right to left shunt physiology commonly like patent foramen ovale (PFO) which is often sought for in evaluation of cases with young stroke . Various other etiologies like atrial septal defects, atrial septal aneurysm, large right to left shunts with eisenmengerisation can also be evaluated with this simple bedside study.

Transcatheter closure of post myocardial Infarction ventricular septal rupture with the Amplatzer Septal occluder

Ventricular septal rupture is a rare yet life threatening complication of acute myocardial infarction. Surgical closure is the treatment of choice however despite surgical intervention mortality remains high. Transcatheter closure of ventricular septal rupture has emerged as a new alternative strategy which is less invasive potentially allowing early hemodynamic stabilization. We report a case of a 60-year-old male with post infarction ventricular septal rupture who was treated with percutaneous closure using an Amplatzer device at Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre, Nepal.

Transcatheter Closure of Atrial Septal Defects with 40 mm Septal Occluder in Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre, Nepal

Background and Aims: Transcatheter closure of Atrial septal defect (ASD) is one of important modality of treatment these days for ASD secundum. However, there is a paucity of data on transcatheter closure of ASDs with ³40 septal occluder. We aim to study the outcome of ASD device closure with ³40 mm Septal Occluder in Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre, Nepal. Methods: It was a prospective single center study conducted at Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre, Nepal.Among the 27 patient who underwent successful device closure with ³40 mm devices from January 2016 till December 2019, twenty-six patients could be prospectively followed up during May 2020 till December 2020. A Performa was designed to collect information about age, gender, ASD size, ASD device type and size. Right atrium(RA) and right ventricle(RV) dimension, level of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and tricuspid regurgitation pressure gradient before the procedure and at the time of follow up were also recorded. Results: Amplatzer septal occluder (40mm) was used in 25 (96.1%) patients and Memopart device (42mm) was used in 1 (3.9%) patient. Before the procedure all patients had dilated RA and RV, Mild TR, moderate TR and severe TR was present in 14 (53.8%), 10 (38.4%) and 2 (7.7%) patients respectively. At follow up, only one (3.9%) patient had dilated RA and RV. Mean Tricuspid regurgitation pressure gradient decreased from mean 44.4 mmHg to 18.9 mmHg. Conclusion: Transcatheter Closure of Atrial Septal Defects with ³40 mm Septal Occluder is safe and effective in short term follow up.

Prognostic value of frontal QRST angle and in hospital outcome in ST- Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary angioplasty

Background and Aims: Frontal QRS-T angle has been previously correlated with long term mortality in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of frontal QRS-T angle and in-hospital outcomes in the setting of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Methods: We evaluated 97 consecutive patients presenting to the emergency department of Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre with chest pain of less than 12 hours duration, who were subsequently diagnosed as ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in a prospective observational study. The study was conducted from July 2020 to June 2021.The data evaluation included demographics, clinical variables, electrocardiogram, length of hospital stay and in hospital mortality. Patient outcomes were stratified into three groups according to frontal QRS-T angle. The relationship between mortality and frontal QRS-T angle was tested with chi-square test. The p-value across the groups was again tested for inter-group significance. Results: Out of 97 patients 67 (69.07%) were male and 30 (30.92%) were female., The mean age of study population was 55.8±11.8 years. The patients under study were divided into three groups based on the calculation of fQRST angle as Group 1 (0-45°) being 46(47.4%), Group 2(46-90°) being 20(20.6%) and Group 3 (>90°) with 31(32%) cases. Diabetes and Congestive heart failure (CHF) patients were more likely to have increase in frontal QRST angle (P value 0.029, 0.012 respectively). Atrial fibrillation (AF) was higher among patients in group 3(>90° frontal QRST angle) which was statistically significant (0.012). Although the mean length of hospital stay was higher among patients with highest frontal QRST angle, it was statistically insignificant (p Value 0.062) however, the chance of hospital stay durations significantly increases across three groups at a 5% significance level (p-value: 0.018). In hospital mortality increased with increase in frontal QRST angle with 8.7%, 15% and 22.6% in group 1, 2 and 3 respectively however it was statistically insignificant. Conclusion: Diabetes, CHF and AF patients were more likely to have increase in frontal QRST angle. The chance of hospital stay duration significantly increases with increase in frontal QRST angle Although the in hospital mortality increased with increase in the frontal QRST angle, it was statistically insignificant. A prospective study with larger sample size will help to clarify its association.

Is Two Dimensional Echocardiography sufficient for selection of device for successful transcatheter closure of Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Children?

Background and Aims: Two dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (2DE) is widely used for detecting congenital heart disease and is possible to obtain precise measurement of Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) for device selection required for transcatheter closure. Primary aim of the study is to determine whether echocardiographic assessment alone can be used for selection of device for transcatheter closure of PDA. Methods: Children with PDA and planned for transcatheter intervention were included in this cross-sectional study of one year. PDA was assessed with 2DE and prediction of device size was made. Results: The results were obtained from 107 children. The median age and weight at intervention were 3.8 years (ranging from 6 months to14 years) and 12 kg (ranging from 3.5 to 60 kg). Type A (Conical) PDA was the commonest PDA morphology accounting for 87.8% and 85% in 2DE and angiography respectively. There was no difference (p < 0.05) in the narrowest diameter at pulmonary end measured by 2DE and angiography, however ampulla diameter and ductal length were statistically different (p = 0.95). The predicted size of device by 2DE was discordant (p < 0.05) to the actual device used in a total study population, however when patients with severe pulmonary hypertension, non-type A and larger PDA (narrowest diameter > 6mm) were excluded, the predicted size of device by 2DE was statistically concordant (p = 0.1) to the actual device used in 89 (83%) patients. Conclusion: Two dimensional Transthoracic echocardiography alone may be helpful in choosing the device during transcatheter closure of PDA in selective group of patients.

Congenital Complete Heart Block in Fetal Echocardiography

Congenital Complete Heart Block (CHB) in a fetus is a rare diagnosis occurring 1 in 15,000 to 20,000 live births which can be diagnosed by echocardiography. It’s less talked disease. It is uncommonly reported even in countries where fetal echocardiography is performed in much higher numbers. For countries like Nepal, where small number of fetal echocardiography is performed, we present a case of lupus as the cause of congenital CHB.

Echocardiography Screening for Diagnosis of Latent RHD Using Nurses: Is the Project Feasible for Nepal?

Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) is a preventable disease which occurs years or decades after the onset of Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF) in childhood. The prevalence of RHD is still high in Nepal, with most cases of latent RHD concentrated in the rural, resource-limited setting. The sequelae of latent RHD cases often manifest decades later, causing a significant burden on the health system. Training of non-experts with simple protocols in such remote setting for screening of latent RHD is showing promising results worldwide. Screening of latent RHD is advocated in RHD endemic areas where early detection by echo screening can alleviate a massive burden on morbidity and mortality in the future. More research is needed to explore this possibility in the context of an endemic country like Nepal to tackle the burden of RHD.