Methemoglobinemia due to local anesthesia: a rare cause of cyanosis and chest pain after placement of implantable cardioverter defibrillator / Journal of Rural Medicine

Although methemoglobinemia is rare in adulthood, it may have fatal consequences if unnoticed. We planned to implant an implantable cardioverter defibrillator ICD in a 50-year-old male patient for primary prevention. Following sterile draping, prilocaine 5 mg/kg (400 mg) was injected subcutaneously for local anesthesia. We injected an additional dose of 200 mg due to pain during subclavian vein puncture. A DDD-R ICD was placed successfully within approximately 40 minutes. The patient complained of sudden chest pain and dyspnea 15 minutes after bed rest and was transferred to the coronary care unit due to cyanosis and deterioration of general status. Physical examination revealed blood pressure of 110/80 mmHg, pulse rate of 110 bpm, and otherwise unremarkable signs. Peripheral oxygen saturation was determined as 83% by pulse oximeter. Possible pneumothorax and cardiac perforation were excluded by emergency chest radiograph and echocardiography. Blood gas analyses was performed to assess for methemoglobinemia, which revealed pH 7.41, pCO2 40 mmHg, oxygen saturation 98.2%, and methemoglobin 7.9% that peaked to 12.3%. Methylene blue (1%) was slowly injected over 10 minutes at a dose of 1 mg/kg. Cyanosis waned and methemoglobin values decreased to 4.1%, 2.1%, and 1.1% at 2, 8, and 16 hours following the administration, respectively. The patient was safely discharged 2 days after implantation of pacemaker. Methemoglobinemia should be considered in cases presenting with cyanosis, non-diagnostic ECG, and a discrepancy in oxygen saturation between pulse oximetry and blood gas analyses.

Bilirubin Level is Associated with Left Ventricular Hypertrophy Independent of Blood Pressure in Previously Untreated Hypertensive Patients

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), a sign of subclinical cardiovascular disease, is an important predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The aim of our study was to determine the association of left ventricular mass (LVM) with possible causative anthropometric and biochemical parameters as well as carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) as surrogates of atherosclerosis and endothelial dysfunction, respectively, in previously untreated hypertensive patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Our study included 114 consecutive previously untreated hypertensive patients who underwent echocardiography and ultrasonography to evaluate their vascular status and function via brachial artery CIMT and FMD. RESULTS: Among all study parameters, age, systolic blood pressure (BP), diastolic BP, pulse pressure, plasma glucose, uric acid, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, hemoglobin, and CIMT were positively correlated with the LVM index. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that office systolic BP, age, male gender, and total bilirubin were independent predictors of LVH. CONCLUSION: Bilirubin seems to be related to LVM and LVH. The positive association of bilirubin with these parameters is novel and requires further research.

The Independent Relationship of Systemic Inflammation With Fragmented QRS Complexes in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: QRS complex fragmentations are frequently seen on routine electrocardiograms with narrow or wide QRS complex. Fragmented QRS complex (fQRS) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, sudden cardiac death and recurrent cardiovascular events. In this study, we aimed to interrogate the relationship of systemic inflammation with the presence of fQRS in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Two-hundred and twenty eligible patients with ACS that underwent coronary angiography were enrolled consecutively in this study. Patients with significant organic valve disease and those with any QRS morphology that had a QRS duration > or =120 ms as well as patients with permanent pacemakers were excluded from this study. RESULTS: Patients with fQRS were of a higher age (p=0.02), had increased C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (p<0.001), prolonged QRS time (p<0.001), extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) (p<0.001), creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) levels (p=0.006) and Q wave on admission electrocardiography (p<0.001) in comparison to patients with non-fragmented QRS. When we performed multiple logistic regression analysis, fQRS was found to be related to increased CRP levels {odds ratio (OR): 1.2, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.045-1.316, p=0.007}, QRS duration (OR: 1.1, 95% CI: 1.033-1.098, p<0.001), extent of CAD (OR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.023-2.144, p=0.037), Q wave (OR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.084-4.598, p=0.03) and CK-MB levels (OR: 1.0, 95% CI: 1.001-1.037, p=0.04) independently. CONCLUSION: In our study, we found that fQRS was independently related to increased CRP. Fragmented QRS that may result as an end effect of inflammation at cellular level can represent increased cardiac risk by different causative mechanisms in patients with ACS.

Absence and Resolution of Fragmented QRS Predict Reversible Myocardial Ischemia With Higher Probability of ST Segment Resolution in Patients With ST Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Fragmented QRS complexes (fQRS) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The causative relationship between fQRS and cardiac fibrosis has been shown, but whether the presence and the number of fQRS on admission of electrocardiogram (ECG) predicts ST segment resolution in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p-PCI) has not been investigated until now. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study included one hundred and eighty-four consecutive patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who underwent p-PCI. The presence or absence of fQRS on pre and post-PCI ECG and their relation with myocardial infarction and reperfusion parameters were investigated. RESULTS: Patients with fQRS on admission of ECG or newly developed fQRS after p-PCI had increased inflammatory markers, higher cardiac enzyme levels, increased pain to balloon time, prolonged QRS time, more extended coronary involvement and more frequent Q waves on ECG in comparison to patients with absence or resolved fQRS. The presence and higher number of fQRS on admission or post-PCI ECGs were significantly related with low percent of ST resolution and myocardial reperfusion parameters. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve values for the presence and number of fQRS to detect Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction Blush Grade 0 and 1, were 0.682 and 0.703. CONCLUSION: In our study, fQRS was significantly related to infarction and myocardial reperfusion parameters before and after p-PCI. Successful myocardial reperfusion by p-PCI caused the reduction in number of fQRS and QRS time with higher ST resolution. fQRS may be useful in identifying the patients at higher cardiac risk with increased ischemic jeopardized or infarcted myocardium, and persistent or newly developed fQRS may predict low percent of ST segment resolution in patients undergoing p-PCI.