The 'qRBBB myocardial infarction': Unwrapping an old enigma.

This single-center, prospective, observational study was conducted at a tertiary-care center over a span of two years. Patients presenting with acute Anterior-Wall STEMI were included as a study population. The subgroups included qRBBB pattern on ECG and non-qRBBB group. Among 1128 patients included in the study, 100 (11.28 %) patients presented with qRBBB pattern. Increased risk of cardiogenic shock, increased hospital-stay, a higher Killip class on presentation, high incidence of recanalized IRA, remarkably depressed LVEF were significantly associated with qRBBB-MI, which is a menacing form of ACS that leads not only to a high mortality but also to a long-term morbidity.

Resolution of aortic regurgitation due to Venturi effect after device closure of ruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm.

We describe a case of a ruptured sinus of Valsalva with severe aortic regurgitation treated by transcatheter device closure. The regurgitation was purely due to leaflet entrapment because of the hemodynamic Venturi effect which was effectively treated.

Anomalous origin of coronary artery from the opposite aortic sinus of Valsalva-a single center experience with a therapeutic conundrum.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery anomalies are rare congenital abnormalities, most often found incidentally on conventional coronary angiography and CT angiography (CTA). CTA better delineates the origin and course of anomalous coronaries. Anomalous origin of coronary artery from the opposite aortic sinus of Valsalva (ACAOS) has a prevalence of 1% with a very few having an interarterial (malignant) course. There is limited literature, especially in the Indian population, dealing with this topic. METHODS: In this retrospective observational study, angiographic data of 8500 consecutive patients from June 2011 to December 2019 at a large tertiary care hospital in western India was analyzed. Patients diagnosed with ACAOS underwent CTA for delineation of the exact anatomy. Those with a non-malignant course with evidence of ischemia clinically or on stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), underwent PCI. Others with a non-malignant course were medically managed. Patients with malignant (interarterial) course were revascularized by coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in case of LCA involvement or positive MPI test. Asymptomatic patients with negative MPI were managed medically. Clinical follow-up over 12 months of patients undergoing PCI and those with a malignant course showed no major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). RESULTS: Of the 8500 patients studied, 74 (0.87%) had ACAOS. Of these, 51 (68.9%) patients had anomalous origin of right coronary artery (RCA) from the left aortic sinus, 21 (28.4%) had anomalous origin of the circumflex artery (Cx) from the right aortic sinus and two patients (2.7%) had an anomalous origin of the left main coronary artery (LCA) from the right aortic sinus. Interarterial course was found in five (6.7%) patients. Of these, four patients underwent CABG-one asymptomatic patient with LCA from right aortic sinus and three with positive MPI in anomalous RCA. All five patients with malignant course and ten patients who underwent PCI were free of MACE over 12 months' clinical follow up. CONCLUSIONS: ACAOS is a rare anomaly and if interarterial course is excluded, then PCI is feasible in selected cases with significant stenosis. Patients with malignant course with inducible ischemia or LCA involvement should undergo surgical revascularisation.

Enzymes for pharmaceutical and therapeutic applications.

Enzymes are highly efficient and selective biocatalysts, present in the living beings. They exist in enormous varieties in terms of the types of reactions catalyzed by them for instance oxidation-reduction, group transfers within the molecules or between the molecules, hydrolysis, isomerization, ligation, bond cleavage, and bond formation. Besides, enzyme based catalyses are performed with much higher fidelity, under mild reaction conditions and are highly efficient in terms of number of steps, giving them an edge over their chemical counter parts. The unique characteristics of enzymes makes them highly applicable fora number of chemical transformation reactions in pharmaceutical industries, such as group protection and deprotection, selective acylation and deacylation, selective hydrolysis, deracemization, kinetic resolution of racemic mixtures, esterification, transesterification, and many others. In this review, an overview of the enzymes, their production and their applications in pharmaceutical syntheses and enzyme therapies are presented with diagrams, reaction schemes and table for easy understanding of the readers.

Efficacy and safety of direct oral anticoagulants approved for cardiovascular indications: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have emerged as promising alternatives to vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) or venous thromboembolism (VTE). Few meta-analyses have included all DOACs that have received FDA approval for these cardiovascular indications, and their overall comparisons against VKAs have shortcomings in data and methods. We provide an updated overall assessment of the efficacy and safety of those DOACs at dosages currently approved for NVAF or VTE, in comparison with VKAs. METHODS: We used data from Phase 3 randomized trials that compared an FDA-approved DOAC with VKA for primary prevention of stroke in patients with NVAF or for treatment of acute VTE. RESULTS: Among trial participants with NVAF, DOAC recipients had a lower risk of stroke or systemic embolism [Pooled Odds Ratio (OR) 0.76, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) (0.68-0.84)], any stroke (0.80, 0.73-0.88), systemic embolism (0.56, 0.34-0.93), and total mortality (0.89, 0.84-0.95). Safety outcomes also showed a lower risk of fatal, major, and intracranial bleeding but higher risk for gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB). Patients with acute VTE randomized to DOACs had comparable risk of recurrent VTE and death (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.75-1.03), recurrent DVT (0.83, 0.66-1.05), recurrent non-fatal PE (0.97, 0.75-1.25), and total mortality (0.94, 0.79-1.12). Safety outcomes for DOACs showed a lower risk of major, fatal, and intracranial bleeding, but similar risk of GIB. CONCLUSIONS: Patients receiving DOACs for NVAF had predominantly superior efficacy and safety. Patients who were treated with DOACs for acute VTE had non-inferior efficacy, but an overall superior safety profile.

Modified transjugular approach for percutaneous atrial septal defect closure.

Femoral venous route is routinely used for percutaneous closure of atrial septal defects (ASDs). However, a situation may arise where transfemoral approach is not feasible. We describe a successful transjugular closure of a moderate-sized ASD in a 49-year-old symptomatic man with interrupted inferior vena cava, using a novel deployment technique, which helped in overcoming difficulties such as maintaining stable sheath position and minimizing risk of air embolism.

A rare endocrine cause of electrical storm - a case report.

Sheehan's syndrome, also called Simmond's syndrome, postpartum apoplexy, postpartum pituitary necrosis, and postpartum panhypopituitary syndrome, is the name given to postpartum hypopituitarism. The syndrome is caused by an infarction in the adenohypophysis, usually precipitated by massive uterine haemorrhage and hypovolemic shock during or after childbirth. Extensive destruction of pituitary cells results in varying degree of hypopituitarism. Acute loss of adenohypophysis function can be fatal without glucocorticoid and thyroid replacement therapy and survivors will require life time hormonal replacement therapy. Most cases present in the postpartum period with lactation failure or after months to years after the delivery. In many affected women, anterior pituitary dysfunction is not diagnosed for many years. Dyselectrolytemia is one of a common presentation in Sheehan's syndrome. Herein, we report a case of a 35-year old female with a history of obstetric hysterectomy 2 years ago in view of severe postpartum haemorrhage with history of failure of lactation and three episodes of syncope since last 1½ years and now presented with polymorphic ventricular tachycardia which required DC cardioversion. She was referred as a case of long QT syndrome. On investigating further, she had hypokalaemia secondary to hypopituitarism due to Sheehan's syndrome.

Decade-Long Trends (2001 to 2011) in the Use of Evidence-Based Medical Therapies at the Time of Hospital Discharge for Patients Surviving Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Optimization of medical therapy during discharge planning is vital for improving patient outcomes after hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, limited information is available about recent trends in the prescribing of evidence-based medical therapies in these patients, especially from a population-based perspective. We describe decade-long trends in the discharge prescribing of aspirin, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, ß blockers, and statins in hospital survivors of AMI. The study population consisted of 5,253 patients who were discharged from all 11 hospitals in central Massachusetts after AMI in 6 biennial periods from 2001 to 2011. Combination medical therapy (CMT) was defined as the prescription of all 4 cardiac medications at hospital discharge. The average age of this patient population was 69.2 years and 57.7% were men. Significant increases were observed in the use of CMT, from 25.6% in 2001 to 48.7% in 2011, with increases noted for each of the individual cardiac medications examined. Subgroup analysis also showed improvement in discharge prescriptions for P2Y12 inhibitors in patients who underwent a percutaneous coronary intervention. Presence of a do-not-resuscitate order, before co-morbidities, hospitalization for non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, admission to a nonteaching hospital, and failure to undergo cardiac catheterization or a percutaneous coronary intervention were associated with underuse of CMT. In conclusion, our study demonstrates encouraging trends in the prescribing of evidence-based medications at hospital discharge for AMI. However, certain patient subgroups continue to be at risk for underuse of CMT, suggesting the need for strategies to enhance compliance with current practice guidelines.

Echocardiographic parameters in clinical responders to surgical pericardiectomy - A single center experience with chronic constrictive pericarditis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic constrictive pericarditis (CCP) is the end result of chronic inflammation of the pericardium. Developing countries continue to face a significant burden of CCP secondary to tuberculous pericarditis. Surgical pericardiectomy offers potential cure. However, there is paucity of echocardiography data in post-pericardiectomy patients vis-a-vis their clinical status. We studied the changes in multiple echocardiographic parameters in these patients before and after pericardiectomy. METHODS: Twenty-three patients (14 men, 9 women) who underwent pericardiectomy for CCP in the last 5 years (from January 2009 to December 2014) were subjected to detailed clinical and echocardiographic evaluation during the study period (between June 2013 and December 2014). Patients with residual symptoms of NYHA class II and below were considered as 'responders'. The data thus obtained were compared to the pre-operative parameters. RESULTS: After pericardiectomy, the incidence of vena caval congestion decreased from 100% to 15% (p<0.001). There was significant reduction in the mean left atrial size from 39.33±10.52mm to 34.45±10.08mm (p<0.001) and also the ratio of left atrium to aortic annulus from 1.93 to 1.69 (p<0.001) among 'responders' to pericardiectomy. Septal bounce was observed to persist in 5 (25%) patients after pericardiectomy. There was significant respiratory variation of 39.23±15.11% in the mitral E velocity before pericardiectomy. After pericardiectomy, this variation reduced to 14.43±7.76% (p<0.001). There was also significant reduction in the respiratory variation in tricuspid E velocities from 31.33±18.81% to 17.35±16.26% (p<0.001). After pericardiectomy, the mean ratio of mitral annular velocities, medial e': lateral e', reduced from 1.08 to 0.87 (p<0.03). The phenomenon of 'annulus reversus' was found to persist in 6 'responders', thereby reflecting a 50% reduction in its incidence after pericardiectomy (p<0.001). The ratio of mitral E to medial e' (E/e') increased from 4.21±1.35 before pericardiectomy to 6.91±2.62 after pericardiectomy (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Among clinical responders to surgical pericardiectomy, echocardiographic assessment revealed a significant reduction in vena caval congestion, LA size, ratio of LA to aortic annulus, septal bounce, respiratory variation in mitral and tricuspid E velocities, mitral annular medial e' and the phenomenon of annulus reversus. Also, there was a significant rise in minimum tricuspid and mitral E velocities and the E/e' ratio.

Decade-Long Trends (2001-2011) in the Incidence and Hospital Death Rates Associated with the In-Hospital Development of Cardiogenic Shock after Acute Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND: Limited information is available about relatively contemporary trends in the incidence and hospital case-fatality rates of cardiogenic shock in patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction. The purpose of this population-based study was to describe decade long trends (2001-2011) in the incidence and hospital case-fatality rates for patients who developed cardiogenic shock during hospitalization for an acute myocardial infarction. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study population consisted of 5686 residents of central Massachusetts hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction at all 11 medical centers in the Worcester, MA, metropolitan area during 6 biennial periods between 2001 and 2011, who did not have cardiogenic shock at the time of hospital presentation. On average, 3.7% of these patients developed cardiogenic shock during their acute hospitalization with nonsignificant and inconsistent trends noted over time in both crude (3.7% in 2001/2003; 4.5% in 2005/2007; 2.7% in 2009/2011; P=0.19) and multivariable adjusted analyses. The overall in-hospital case-fatality rate for patients who developed cardiogenic shock was 41.4%. The crude and multivariable adjusted odds of dying after cardiogenic shock declined during the most recent study years (47.1% dying in 2001/2003, 42.0% dying in 2005/2007, and 28.6% dying in 2009/2011). Increases in the use of evidence-based cardiac medications, and interventional procedures paralleled the increasing hospital survival trends. CONCLUSIONS: We found suggestions of a decline in the death, but not incidence, rates of cardiogenic shock over time. These encouraging trends in hospital survival are likely because of advances in the early recognition and aggressive management of patients who develop cardiogenic shock.

Molecular characterization of nucleoprotein gene of rabies virus from Maharashtra, India.

CONTEXT: Rabies poses a serious public health concern in developing countries such as India. AIMS: The study focuses on molecular diagnosis of street rabies virus (RABV) from human clinical specimens received from Maharashtra, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nucleoprotein gene from eight (of total 20 suspected samples) rabies cases that tested positive for rabies antigen using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were sequenced. RESULTS: Sequence analysis using basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) and multiple sequence alignment (MSA) and phylogenetic analysis showed similarity to previously reported sequences from India and those of Arctic lineages. CONCLUSIONS: The circulating RABV strains in Maharashtra, India show genetic relatedness to RABV strains reported from Indo-Arctic lineages and India-South and Japan.

Myriad manifestations of Williams syndrome.

4 months male child presented with failure to thrive. On general examination child had normal O2 saturation with characteristic elfin facies. Further evaluation of the patient showed major manifestations of Williams syndrome in form of supravalvar aortic stenosis, branched pulmonary artery stenosis along with cardiomyopathy. Although the entity is known, this article shows comprehensive diagnostic workup with the aid of multimodality imaging techniques. The genetic diagnosis of Williams syndrome was confirmed using fluroscent in situ hybridisation techniques (FISH). In this patient most of the manifestations of elastin vasculopathy were noted in the form of involvement of ascending aorta, pulmonary arteries and myocardium. We also want to emphasis the importance of echocardiography in newborn patients with dysmorphic facies as Williams syndrome can be easily missed in neonatal period.