The relationship between the systemic immune inflammatory index and computerized tomography guided coronary lesion severity in diabetic patients.

PURPOSE: The incidence of cardiovascular events is high in diabetic patients. In diabetic patients, the levels of inflammatory parameters in the circulation are increased, which is associated with poor outcome. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the systemic immune inflammatory index (SII), which is a sensitive indicator of the inflammatory response, and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis in diabetic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Diabetic patients who underwent coronary computed tomography for chest pain were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups according to their median systemic immune inflammatory index values, and the predictors of SII elevation were investigated. RESULTS: A total 210 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 52.6 ± 9.3 and 44.3% were male. In univariate analysis, HDL, triglyceride, lesion severity, and CAR were associated with high SII. In the regression analysis, lesion severity and lower HDL levels were determined as predictor of high SII. CONCLUSION: Inflammation plays an important role in the development of coronary atherosclerosis. Diabetic patients with elevated SII levels may require further investigation for significant atherosclerosis.

Turkish Real Life Atrial Fibrillation in Clinical Practice: TRAFFIC Study.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmia worldwide and is associated with an increased risk of thromboembolism, ischemic stroke, impaired quality of life, and mortality. The latest research that shows the prevalence and incidence of AF patients in Türkiye was the Turkish Adults' Heart Disease and Risk Factors study, which included 3,450 patients and collected data until 2006/07.The Turkish Real Life Atrial Fibrillation in Clinical Practice (TRAFFIC) study is planned to present current prevalence data, reveal the reflection of new treatment and risk approaches in our country, and develop new prediction models in terms of outcomes. METHODS: The TRAFFIC study is a national, prospective, multicenter, observational registry. The study aims to collect data from at least 1900 patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, with the participation of 40 centers from Türkiye. The following data will be collected from patients: baseline demographic characteristics, medical history, vital signs, symptoms of AF, ECG and echocardiographic findings, CHADS2-VASC2 and HAS-BLED (1-year risk of major bleeding) risk scores, interventional treatments, antithrombotic and antiarrhythmic medications, or other medications used by the patients. For patients who use warfarin, international normalized ratio levels will be monitored. Follow-up data will be collected at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Primary endpoints are defined as systemic embolism or major safety endpoints (major bleeding, clinically relevant nonmajor bleeding, and minor bleeding as defined by the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis). The main secondary endpoints include major adverse cardiovascular events (systemic embolism, myocardial infarction, and cardiovascular death), all-cause mortality, and hospitalizations due to all causes or specific reasons. RESULTS: The results of the 12-month follow-up of the study are planned to be shared by the end of 2023. CONCLUSION: The TRAFFIC study will reveal the prevalence and incidence, demographic characteristics, and risk profiles of AF patients in Türkiye. Additionally, it will provide insights into how current treatments are reflected in this population. Furthermore, risk prediction modeling and risk scoring can be conducted for patients with AF.

Hypervolemia suppresses dilutional anaemic injury in a rat model of haemodilution.

Background and Objectives: Haemodilution leads to complications in clinical practice. It is exactly unknown whether this damage is caused by the fluid or by the stretching of the vascular bed. We aimed to compare two different haemodilution techniques at the same anaemic level. Methods: Normovolemic or hypervolemic haemodilution was performed on twelve adult male Wistar rats. In the normovolemic procedure, blood was withdrawn and instantaneously administered with similar amounts of 6% hydroxyethyl starch (HES 130/0.4). Fluid was administered without withdrawing blood in the hypervolemic procedure. In both models, a 25% haematocrit level was targeted and kept at this level for 90 min to deepen the anaemia effect. Besides haemodynamics measurement, renal function (creatinine, blood urea nitrogen) and injury (tissue norepinephrine, malondialdehyde) were evaluated. Also, systemic hypoxia (lactate), oxidative stress (malondialdehyde, ischaemia-modified albumin), inflammation (tumour necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-α]), osmotic stress, adrenal stress (norepinephrine, epinephrine), and vascular stretching (atrial natriuretic peptide [ANP]) were assessed. Results: Arterial pressure in the normovolemic group was lower than in the hypervolemic group. Serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and lactate levels were higher in the normovolemic group. Tissue norepinephrine and malondialdehyde levels were higher in the normovolemic group. Serum ANP, malondialdehyde, ischaemia-modified albumin, free haemoglobin, syndecan-1, and TNF-α were higher in both groups compared to respective baseline. Conclusions: Normovolemic haemodilution may lead to hypoxic kidney injury. The hypervolemic state may be advantageous if fluid is to be administered. Thus, the effect of the fluid itself can be relatively masked.

Evaluation of the Relationship Between Diabetic Retinopathy and the Development of Left Atrial Stiffness in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: Based on several studies, atrial remodeling results in an increase in left atrial (LA) stiffness, which is indicative of a worsened reservoir function. A typical microvascular consequence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is diabetic retinopathy. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the factors that might be related to LA stiffness in DM patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: There were 200 DM patients in the study population. The LA stiffness value of 0.33 led to the division of the patients into 2 groups. According to these groups, the parameters to predict the development of the LA stiffness were investigated. RESULTS: The patient population's median age was 54.7 ± 9.4 years, and of them, 105 (52.5% of the population) were men. Retinopathy was substantially linked with LA stiffness. Interventricular septum thickness (B coefficient: 0.261, 95% CI 0.128; 0.394; P < .001), mitral annular plane systolic excursion (B coefficient: -0.350, 95% CI -0.489; -0.2212; P < 0.001), and retinopathy (B coefficient: 0.644, 95% CI 0.307; 0.983; P < .001) were identified as independent predictors of the progression of LA stiffness by the linear regression model. CONCLUSION: The results of the current investigation demonstrated a correlation between higher LA stiffness values and the presence of diabetic retinopathy in diabetic patients.

Effect of different priming fluids on extravascular lung water, cell integrity and oxidative stress in cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.

BACKGROUND: Discussions continue on the ideal priming fluid in adult cardiac surgery. The purpose of this prospective study was to evaluate the effects of different types of priming fluids on extravascular lung water, cell integrity and oxidative stress status. METHODS: Thirty elective coronary artery bypass surgery patients were randomised prospectively into two groups. The first group received colloid priming fluid, while the second group received crystalloid priming fluid. Extravascular lung water index, advanced oxidative protein products, total thiol, free haemoglobin, ischaemic modified albumin and sialic acid levels were measured. Moreover, intra-operative and postoperative outcomes were reviewed. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the groups with regard to extravascular lung water index, oxidative stress parameters or cell integrity (p > 0.05). Similarly, no significant differences were observed between the patients with regard to intra-operative and postoperative outcomes (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The presumed superiority of colloidal priming for cardiopulmonary bypass could not be confirmed in our study.

Intra-renal microcirculatory alterations on non-traumatic hemorrhagic shock induced acute kidney injury in pigs.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is frequently seen in patients with hemorrhagic shock due to hypotension, tissue hypoxia, and inflammation despite adequate resuscitation. There is a lack of information concerning the alteration of renal microcirculation and perfusion during shock and resuscitation. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible role of renal microcirculatory alterations on development of renal dysfunction in a pig model of non-traumatic hemorrhagic shock (HS) induced AKI.Fully instrumented female pigs were divided into the two groups as Control (n = 6) and HS (n = 11). HS was achieved by withdrawing blood until mean arterial pressure (MAP) reached around 50 mmHg. After an hour cessation period, fluid resuscitation with balanced crystalloid was started for the duration of 1 h. The systemic and renal hemodynamics, renal microcirculatory perfusion (contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS)) and the sublingual microcirculation were measured.CEUS peak enhancement was significantly increased in HS during shock, early-, and late resuscitation indicating perfusion defects in the renal cortex (p < 0.05 vs. baseline, BL) despite a stable renal blood flow (RBF) and urine output. Following normalization of systemic hemodynamics, we observed persistent hypoxia (high lactate) and high red blood cell (RBC) velocity just after initiation of resuscitation resulting in further endothelial and renal damage as shown by increased plasma sialic acid (p < 0.05 vs. BL) and NGAL levels. We also showed that total vessel density (TVD) and functional capillary density (FCD) were depleted during resuscitation (p < 0.05).In this study, we showed that the correction of systemic hemodynamic variables may not be accompanied with the improvement of renal cortical perfusion, intra-renal blood volume and renal damage following fluid resuscitation. We suggest that the measurement of renal injury biomarkers, systemic and renal microcirculation can be used for guiding to the optimization of fluid therapies.

Manipulation of Nitric Oxide Levels via a Modified Hydroxyethyl Starch Molecule.

INTRODUCTION: Although the improving effect of nitric oxide (NO) donors has experimentally been demonstrated in shock, there are still no NO donor medications clinically available. Thiol-nitrosothiol-hydroxyethyl starch (S-NO-HES) is a novel molecule consisting of NO coupled to a thiolated derivative of hydroxyethyl starch (HES). It was aimed to assess the ability of S-NO-HES to serve as an NO donor under a variety of in vitro simulated physiologic conditions, which might be the first step to qualify this molecule as a novel type of NO donor-fluid. METHODS: We studied the effect of temperature on NO-releasing properties of S-NO-HES in blood, at 34°C, 37°C, and 41°C. Ascorbic acid (Asc) and amylase were also tested in a medium environment. In addition, we evaluated the activity of S-NO-HES in the isolated aortic ring and Langendorff-perfused heart setup. RESULTS: The NO release property of S-NO-HES was found at any temperature. Asc led to a significant increase in the production of NO compared to S-NO-HES incubation (P < 0.05). The addition of amylase together with Asc to the medium further increased the release of NO (P < 0.05). S-NO-HES exerted significant vasodilatory effects on phenylephrine precontracted aortic rings that were dose-dependent (P < 0.01). Furthermore, S-NO-HES significantly increased the heart rate and additionally reduced the duration of the cardiac action potential, as indicated by a reduction of QTc-B values (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated for the first time that the S-NO-HES molecule exhibited its NO-releasing effects. The effectiveness of this new NO donor to substitute NO deficiency under septic conditions or in other indications needs to be studied.

Role of Systemic Immune-Inflammatory Index in Predicting the Development of In-Hospital Malignant Ventricular Arrhythmia in Patients With ST-Elevated Myocardial Infarction.

Many complications can be observed after ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The systemic immune-inflammatory index (SII) is a sensitive indicator of the inflammatory state, and this parameter may also be associated with cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we investigated the relationship between malignant ventricular arrhythmias (MVA) development and SII in STEMI patients. A total of 1708 STEMI patients were included in the study. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the development of MVA, and predictors of MVA development were investigated. After the PSM analysis, the mean age of 158 patients was 61.6 years, and 68.4% were male. In the univariate analysis, neutrophil count, SII, C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin, and CRP/albumin ratio (CAR) were associated with the development of MVA; while in the regression analysis, CAR and SII was found to be independent predictors of the development of MVA. In this study, we demonstrated that SII is a better independent predictor than other inflammatory parameters for predicting the development of MVA. This index may be useful in clinical use.

Protective effects of safranal on kidney tissue in a rat model of distant ischemia-reperfusion injury with infrarenal aortic occlusion.

Background/aim: Ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury to a part of the body can cause damage to distant organs such as the kidney and heart. This study investigated the protective effects of safranal against IR-induced renal injury. Materials and methods: Used in this study were 24 Wistar Albino male rats, which were divided into 3 equal and randomised groups. The sham group underwent laparotomy only. In the IR group, the infrarenal aorta was clamped for 1 h, and then reperfused for 2 h. In the IR-safranal group, safranal was administered 30 min before the procedure and IR injury was induced in the same way as in the IR group. After the procedure, blood and tissue samples were collected from the rats for biochemical and histopathological analyses. Antioxidant capacity and proinflammatory cytokine analyses were performed on the blood samples. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining was performed to determine the number of cells undergoing apoptosis in the kidney tissue. Results: The estimated glomerular filtration rate, an indicator of renal function, was lower in the IR group (p1 = 0.024 vs. p3 = 0.041, respectively) compared to the other groups, while creatinine levels were higher in the IR group compared to the other groups (p1 = 0.032 vs. p2 = 0.044, respectively). The blood urea nitrogen level was higher in the IR group than in the other groups (p1 = 0.001vs p2 = 0.035, respectively). The total antioxidant and total oxidant status, indicating tissue oxidative stress, did not differ between groups (p = 0.914 vs. p = 0.184, respectively). Among the proinflammatory cytokines, the interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) and IL-6 levels were significantly higher in the IR group (p = 0.034 vs. p = 0.001, respectively), but the tumour necrosis factor-α (p = 0.19), and interferon-γ (p = 0.311) levels did not differ between groups. Histopathological examination showed significantly less damage to glomerular and tubular cells in the IR-safranal group (p < 0.001). The number of TUNEL-positive cells was higher in the IR group compared to the other groups (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Safranal may have protective effects against kidney damage caused by distant ischemia-reperfusion injury.

A new era: Speckle tracking echocardiography and cardiomyopathies.

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) is a heterogeneous inherited disorder affecting the skeletal muscle and frequently also involve the heart and in LGMD; development of dilated cardiomyopathy is common and usually the predominant feature. Arrhythmias and conduction disease can be associated with the development of cardiomyopathy.

A rare cause of dyspnea: Primary large B cell lymphoma causes giant cardiac mass.

Cardiac lymphoma (CL) is a rare and life-threatening clinical condition. Most cases are diagnosed late period. Although the definitive diagnosis is made by biopsy, a biopsy could not be performed in most cardiac masses due to the high mortality rate and therefore the exact incidence is not known. In this case report, we present a case of giant CL filling both the pericardial area and right heart cavities and treated with surgical resection in a previously healthy male patient who presented with symptoms of heart failure.

The Relationships Between Chocolate Consumption and Endothelial Dysfunction in Patients with Heart Failure.

OBJECTIVE: Dietary recommendations, in addition to medications, have recently become important in the treatment of heart failure. Our study aimed to show the positive effects of both milk chocolate and dark chocolate on heart failure through endothelial functions. METHODS: Twenty patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction were included in the study. In this randomized, crossover study, some of the patients consumed milk chocolate and some consumed dark chocolate. We recorded the patients' 6-minute walking tests, flow- mediated dilatation values, plasma catechin, epicatechin, and N-terminal pro-brain natri- uretic peptide values before and after chocolate consumption. After 2 weeks, their chocolate consumption was changed. The same parameters were measured again. RESULTS: A significant decrease was observed in N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide values after consumption of both milk chocolate (356 ± 54.2 and 310 ± 72.1 pg/mL; P = .007) and dark chocolate (341 ± 57 and 301 ± 60.1 pg/mL;P=.028). Flow-mediated dilation values increased after dark chocolate consumption (8.9 ± 3% and 14 ± 4.5%; P = .019). CONCLUSION: Chocolate consumption acutely decreases N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic pep- tide values in heart failure. Dark chocolate consumption also seems to improve endothelial functions by increasing flow-mediated dilation values.

Relationship Between Blood Lipid Levels and Mortality in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients.

People with comorbid conditions are at increased risk of developing severe/fatal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to investigate the relationship between lipid levels and mortality in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 infection. In this retrospective study, we collected the details of 5274 COVID-19 patients who were diagnosed using the polymerase chain reaction and/or computed tomography and were hospitalized between March and November 2020. Patients (n = 4118) whose blood lipid levels were checked within the first 24 h after hospitalization were included in the study. Multivariable cox proportional hazards regression was used to assess the relationship between lipid variables such as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides (TG) and death. There was a statistically significant association between LDL-C, HDL-C, and TG levels and the risk of death (P =.002, <.001, and .035, respectively). Low and high LDL-C, low HDL-C, and high TG levels were negatively associated with COVID-19-related mortality. Blood lipid levels may be useful predictors of mortality in COVID-19 patients.

Association between previous anticoagulant use and mortality among hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Although COVID-19 disease primarily affects the respiratory system, it has been seen in many studies that it causes thromboembolic (TE) events in many tissues and organs. So that, to prevent TE can reduce mortality and morbidity. In this context, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between the previous use of warfarin or other new direct oral anticoagulants (OAC) and mortality in patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of COVID-19 before hospitalization. A total of 5575 patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 were hospitalized and started treatment between March 21 and November 30, 2020 were included in the study. The primary outcome was in-hospital all-cause mortality. A retrospective cohort study design was planned. Patients were followed up until death or censoring on November 30, 2020. The candidate predictors for primary outcome should be clinically and biologically plausible, and their relationships with all-cause death should be demonstrated in previous studies. We considered all candidate predictors included in the model in accordance with these principles. The main candidate predictor was previous OAC use. The primary analysis method was to compare the time to deaths of patients using and not using previous OAC by a multivariable Cox proportional hazard model (CPHM). In the CPHM, previous OAC use was found to be associated with a significantly lower mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio 0.62, 95% CI 0.42-0.92, p = 0.030). In hospitalized COVID-19 patients, in patients who previously used anticoagulantswas associated with lower risk of in-hospital death than in those who did not.

Retrograde autologous priming method reduces plasma free hemoglobin level in aortic surgery.

Background: Although conventional cardiopulmonary bypass (cCPB) is still the most widely used method in open heart surgery, methods such as retrograde autologous priming (RAP) are increasingly popular in terms of limiting hemodilution. Our hypothesis is that the use of the RAP method in aortic surgery may result in a limitation of hemodilution and a decrease in fHb levels. For this purpose, plasma free hemoglobin (fHb) levels were investigated in adult open aortic arch repair with axillary artery cannulation patients using cCPB and rRAP methods. Materials and Methods: In this study, a total of 36 patients undergoing aortic surgery using rRAP and standard cCPB were investigated. Measurements were performed at five time points: After induction of anesthesia, 5th minute of CPB, 10th minute of antegrade cerebral perfusion, 30th minute after declamping of aorta, and at sternum closure. Besides hemodynamic variables, arterial blood gas analysis and postoperative variables, patients were assessed for fHb levels. Results: The rRAP group had a significantly lower increase in fHb levels in T3, T4, and T5 time points, when compared to the cCPB group (p = 0.002, 0.047, 0.009, respectively). There was no significant difference between the rRAP and cCPB groups in other intraoperative, and postoperative variables. Also, it was observed that rRAP did not make a difference in terms of blood and blood product transfusion. Conclusion: In this study, in patients undergoing aortic surgery, a reduction in the increase of fHb was observed with the rRAP method which is a simple procedure that does not require high cost or advanced technology.

Effects of short-term hyperoxic ventilation on lung, kidney, heart, and liver in a rat model: A biochemical evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Despite studies on the adverse effects of hyperoxia, its use is still recommended by the World Health Organization. The aim of this study was to test the possible harmful effects of hyperoxia on the lung, kidney, heart, and liver in a rat mechanical ventilation model. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into two groups (n=6/group): Normoxic (FiO2: 0.3) or hyperoxic (FiO2: 1.0) ventilation for 4 h. The injury was evaluated in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), blood, lung, liver, kidney, and heart was evaluated in terms of cell surface integrity, extracellular matrix (sialic acid, syndecan-1), osmotic stress (free hemoglobin), and redox homeostasis-lipid peroxidaation (malondialdehyde). BAL and wet/dry weight ratio were also evaluated for cellular permeability. RESULTS: Four hours of hyperoxic ventilation did not lead to significant changes in (1) sialic acid, syndecan-1, (2) malondialdehyde levels and wet/dry weight ratio in liver, kidney, heart, and lung compared to normoxic ventilation. CONCLUSION: Mechanical ventilation with hyperoxia seems to have almost similar effects compared to ventilation with normoxia. However, the long term effect of hyperoxia should be evaluated.

Are surgical and non-operating room intervention safe in the COVID-19 pandemic? A retrospective study.

Little is known about the impact of COVID-19 on the outcomes of patients undergoing surgery and intervention. This study was conducted between 20 March and 20 May 2020 in six hospitals in Istanbul, and aimed to investigate the effects of surgery and intervention on COVID-19 disease progression, intensive care (ICU) need, mortality and virus transmission to patients and healthcare workers. Patients were examined in three groups: group I underwent emergency surgery, group II had an emergency non-operating room intervention, and group III received inpatient COVID-19 treatment but did not have surgery or undergo intervention. Mortality rates, mechanical ventilation needs and rates of admission to the ICU were compared between the three groups. During this period, patient and healthcare worker transmissions were recorded. In total, 1273 surgical, 476 non-operating room intervention patients and 1884 COVID-19 inpatients were examined. The rate of ICU requirement among patients who had surgery was nearly twice that for inpatients and intervention patients, but there was no difference in mortality between the groups. The overall mortality rates were 2.3% in surgical patients, 3.3% in intervention patients and 3% in inpatients. COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction positivity among hospital workers was 2.4%. Only 3.3% of infected frontline healthcare workers were anaesthesiologists. No deaths occurred among infected healthcare workers. We conclude that emergency surgery and non-operating room interventions during the pandemic period do not increase postoperative mortality and can be performed with low transmission rates.