Allopurinol as a preventive contrivance after acute ischemic stroke in patients with a high level of serum uric acid: a randomized, controlled trial

To assess the clinical relevance [functional outcome] of a 3-month allopurinol regimen in patients with high serum uric acid [SUA] levels and acute ischemic stroke without considering the changes in SUA levels. In a randomized, double-blind, controlled study, 70 patients [45 females, 25 males] with acute ischemic stroke who had elevated levels of SUA were included. They were divided in two 35-patient groups to investigate the effect of 3 months of an allopurinol [200 mg/day] regimen versus placebo on their functional outcome, which was evaluated using a modified Rankin scale. The overall mean age was 68.9 +/- 11.33 years [range 27-89]. The final favorable functional status [mRS = 0-2] was 23 [65.7%] and 14 [40.0%] in the treated and placebo groups, respectively, which was strongly associated with allopurinol consumption [OR = 4.646, p = 0.014] and age

Determinant factors of renal failure after coronary artery bypass grafting with on-pump technique

The aim of the present study was to investigate the determinant factors of acute renal failure [ARF] after isolated on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting [CABG]. This was a retrospective study of 13, 315 adult patients who underwent isolated CABG with cardiopulmonary bypass [CPB] in Tehran Heart Center from May 2002 to May 2007. The exclusion criteria were age <18, concomitant cardiac and/or noncardiac surgical operations, history of renal failure before surgery, and chronic renal failure requiring dialysis. Preoperative and operative variables were measured, and a multivariate logistic regression model was constructed to identify the independent risk factors for developing renal failure after on-pump CABG. Of the 13,315 patients, 3,347 [25.4%] and 90,883 [74.6%] were females and males, respectively, with a mean age of 58.63 +/- 9.48 years. ARF was detected in 85 [0.6%] of the patients with isolated on-pump CABG. The mean age of the patients was 58.63 +/- 9.48 years, and 25.5% of them were female. The multivariate logistic regression analysis identified age [OR = 1.035; p = 0.002], female gender [OR = 1.622; p = 0.037], history of peripheral vascular disease [PVD] [OR = 2.579; p = 0.042], diabetes mellitus [OR = 1.918; p < 0.001], emergent and urgent surgery [OR = 1.744 and OR = 7.901, respectively; p = 0.003], CPB time >70 min [OR = 1.944; p = 0.007], and intra-aortic balloon pump [IABP] insertion [OR = 10.181; p < 0.001] as the independent risk factors for ARF. The data showed that age, female gender, positive history of diabetes and PVD, urgent and emergent surgery, CPB time >70 min, and need for IABP were the independent determinant factors of ARF after on-pump CABG