ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Considering the global burden of cardiovascular disease, we analysed trends in interventional coronary and structural procedures over the past 16 years (2005-2021), using continuous data from the Swiss national registry. METHODS: Based on a standardised questionnaire, data on coronary and structural interventions in Switzerland were assessed by the Working Group Interventional Cardiology of the Swiss Society of Cardiology (SSC). Here, we analysed the trend of annually performed interventions from 2005 to 2021 in Switzerland and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: We observed a constant increase in the total number of cases (including coronary angiographies (CA) and percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI)) from 36,436 cases in 2005 to 56,555 cases in 2021 (+55%). With 18 cases in 2007, TAVI procedures have increased to 2004 cases in 2021. During the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a slight decrease in CAs and PCIs of 9.15% was observed. In contrast, we did not observe an impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of no TAVI procedures. Most importantly, all cause in-hospital mortality for coronary interventions before and during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic was comparable (1.4% vs. 1.3%). CONCLUSION: Over a 16-year period, we observed an upward trend in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for coronary as well as structural heart disease, with only a small short-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on interventions and a similar procedure-related in-hospital-mortality in Switzerland.
ABSTRACT
The receptor-interacting serine/threonine protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) is a key mediator of regulated cell death and inflammation. Recent studies suggest that RIPK1 inhibition would fundamentally improve the therapy of RIPK1-dependent organ damage in stroke, myocardial infarction, kidney failure, and systemic inflammatory response syndrome. Additionally, it could ameliorate or prevent multi-organ failure induced by cytokine release in the context of hyperinflammation, as seen in COVID-19 patients. Therefore, we searched for a RIPK1 inhibitor and present the aromatic antiepileptic and FDA-approved drug primidone (Liskantin®) as a potent inhibitor of RIPK1 activation in vitro and in a murine model of TNFα-induced shock, which mimics the hyperinflammatory state of cytokine release syndrome. Furthermore, we detected for the first time RIPK1 activation in the respiratory tract epithelium of hospitalized patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our data provide a strong rationale for evaluating the drug primidone in conditions of hyperinflammation in humans.