Cardiac tamponade due to perforation of a Roseomonas mucosa pyogenic hepatic abscess as initial presentation of hepatoid carcinoma.

Hepatic abscesses can rarely cause pericardial disease by erosion into the pericardial space and present with haemodynamic instability due cardiac tamponade. While rare, these dramatic presentations are more often due to amoebic abscesses than bacterial abscesses. Importantly, a cause must be found for any cryptogenic hepatic abscess regardless of presentation, as there is a high association with underlying malignancy. We report a previously healthy man in his 30s who presented with cardiac tamponade from perforation of a Roseomonas mucosa pyogenic hepatic abscess into the pericardium in the absence of bacteremia and biliary disease. One year later, he was found to have diffusely metastatic hepatoid carcinoma.

The BRASH syndrome, a synergistic arrhythmia phenomenon.

BRASH syndrome is a relatively novel clinical entity with profound bradycardia secondary to simultaneous metabolic derangement and drug toxicity. The syndrome is a clinical pentad of bradycardia, acute kidney injury, use of atrioventricular nodal blocking agents, shock, and hyperkalemia. It is widely underrecognized with selectively few reports, mainly in the elderly population. We present a 43-year-old woman on two oral atrioventricular blocking agents who presented with 1 week of increasing lethargy with rapid deterioration into cardiac arrest with subsequent shock postresuscitation. She was found to have hyperkalemia, metabolic acidosis, and acute kidney injury on arrival. Her initial electrocardiogram was remarkable for sinus arrest and junctional bradycardia. She was treated with a temporary pacemaker, renal replacement therapy, and potassium-lowering agents, with subsequent improvement resulting in conversion to normal sinus rhythm.

The Sinking Heart: A case of left anterior descending artery intervention complicated by perforation and cardiac tamponade.

Coronary interventions are one of the most commonly performed procedures in interventional medicine. They have provided a life-prolonging and -saving solution, but are not without their own complications. These, although rare, do occur and are important to recognize in order to promptly and efficiently provide a solution to prevent catastrophic consequences to the patient. We present a 70-year-old male with a past medical history significant for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and myasthenia gravis; who presented to the hospital with substernal, pressure-like chest pain with associated nausea and diaphoresis. He was found to have ST segment elevations in anterolateral leads, prompting catherization lab activation revealing left anterior descending (LAD) artery stenosis. Percutaneous intervention via balloon dilation and stent placement was performed with periprocedural mid-intervention hemodynamic collapse occurring. Subsequent left ventricular (LV) angiography was performed revealing preserved LV function without perforation - however a rim of contrast was noted surrounding the LV. Thus, hemodynamic collapse was recognized as result of cardiac tamponade with pericardial drain emergently inserted resulting in hemodynamic recovery. Our case aims to present a case of vascular perforation with the uniqueness in our diagnostic approach via fluoroscopic imaging.

Butane-induced acute global myocardial ischemia without coronary artery pathology.

The case report describes a case of acute myocardial ischemia precipitated by propane butane inhalation. The dependency of this substance around the world is still moderate but is increasing due to the easy availability of the substance and the facility with which the effects can be concealed. The toxicity of the substance is significant; affecting the heart, the brain and the liver. The most common outcome is sudden death. In this article, we describe a survivor after an episode of acute poisoning and his interesting cardiac pathology.

Comparison of outcomes in ST-segment depression and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients treated with emergency PCI: data from a multicentre registry.

BACKGROUND: Traditionally, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been described as either STEMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction) or non-STEMI myocardial infarction. This classification is historically related to the use of thrombolytic therapy, which is effective in STEMI. The current era of widespread use of coronary angiography (CAG), usually followed by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) puts this classification system into question. OBJECTIVES: To compare the outcomes of patients with STEMI and ST-depression myocardial infarction (STDMI) who were treated with emergency PCI. METHODS: This multicentre registry enrolled a total of 6 602 consecutive patients with AMI. Patients were divided into the following subgroups: STEMI (n = 3446), STDMI (n = 907), left bundle branch block (LBBB) AMI (n = 241), right bundle branch block (RBBB) AMI (n = 338) and other electrocardiographic (ECG) AMI (n = 1670). Baseline and angiographic characteristics were studied, and revascularisation therapies and in-hospital mortality were analysed. RESULTS: Acute heart failure was present in 29.5% of the STDMI vs 27.4% of the STEMI patients (p < 0.001). STDMI patients had more extensive coronary atherosclerosis than patients with STEMI (three-vessel disease: 53.1 vs 30%, p < 0.001). The left main coronary artery was an infract-related artery (IRA) in 6.0% of STDMI vs 1.1% of STEMI patients (p < 0.001). TIMI flow 0-1 was found in 35.0% of STDMI vs 66.0% of STEMI patients (p < 0.001). Primary PCI was performed in 88.1% of STEMI (with a success rate of 90.8%) vs 61.8% of STDMI patients (with a success rate of 94.5%) (p = 0.012 for PCI success rates). In-hospital mortality was not significantly different (STDMI 6.3 vs STEMI 5.4%, p = 0.330). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that similar strategies (emergency CAG with PCI whenever feasible) should be applied to both these types of AMI.

Decrease in acute coronary syndrome mortality in Pleven district: implementation of scientific evidence into everyday practice.

Cardiovascular mortality in Bulgaria has increased for the last 25 years, contrary to the rest of the EU countries. One of the reasons is high in-hospital mortality due to acute myocardial infarction. The Bulgarian Cardiac Institute has established a modern cardiac hospital with a catheterization laboratory (cathlab) in the Medical University in Pleven, which helps it decrease acute coronary syndrome (ACS) mortality, taking all the necessary steps according to the guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

The misuse of clinical paths as an instrument for funding inpatient care in Bulgaria.

Clinical paths in Bulgaria are used not as a method for quality assessment, but as an instrument to fund hospitals. Their use and incompleteness cause limited access of all Bulgarian citizens to the international treatment guidelines. That way quality of treatment worsens and mortality increases. The Bulgarian system of regulated medical guidelines by all therapeutic and surgical lines still suffers many deficiencies. The National Health Insurance Fund should use the system of clinical paths for quality control as well.