Biomarkers Correspond with Echocardiographic Phenotypes in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction: A Secondary Analysis of the RELAX Trial.

Background: Little is known about the relationship between structural phenotypes in in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and cardiac biomarkers. We used cluster analysis to identify cardiac structural phenotypes and their relationships to biomarkers in HFpEF. Methods and results: Latent class analysis (LCA) was applied to echocardiographic data including left atrial enlargement (LAE), diastolic dysfunction (DD), E/e', EF≤55%, and right ventricular dysfunction from 216 patients enrolled in the RELAX trial. Three structural phenotypes were identified. Phenotype A had the most grade II DD. Phenotype B had the most grade III DD, worst LAE, elevated E/e' and right ventricular dysfunction. Phenotype C had the least DD and moderate LAE. Phenotypes B and C had prevalent atrial fibrillation (AF). Phenotype B patients had increased carboxy-terminal telopeptide of collagen type I (CITP), cystatin-c (CYSTC), endothelin-1 (ET1), NT-proBNP, and high-sensitivity troponin I (TNI). Type A had the next highest CITP and CYSTC levels while Type C had next highest NT-proBNP. Conclusions: Structural HFpEF phenotypes demonstrated different characteristics including cardiac biomarkers. These findings may help explain phenotype-specific differences in natural history and prognosis, and they may represent phenotype-specific pathophysiology that could be amenable to targeted therapy.

The Impact of Standardized Infectious Diseases Consultation on Postsplenectomy Care and Outcomes.

Background: Patients who receive splenectomy are at risk for overwhelming postsplenectomy infection (OPSI). Guidelines recommend that adult asplenic patients receive a complement of vaccinations, education on the risks of OPSI, and on-demand antibiotics. However, prior literature suggests that a majority of patients who have had a splenectomy receive incomplete asplenic patient care and thus remain at increased risk. This study assessed the impact of standardized involvement of infectious diseases (ID) providers on asplenic patient care outcomes in patients undergoing splenectomy. Methods: A quasi-experimental study design compared a prospective cohort of patients undergoing splenectomy from August 2017 to June 2021 who received standardized ID involvement in care of the asplenic patient with a historic control cohort of patients undergoing splenectomy at the same institution from January 2010 through July 2017 who did not. There were 11 components of asplenic patient care defined as primary outcomes. Secondary outcomes included the occurrence of OPSI, death, and death from OPSI. Results: Fifty patients were included in the prospective intervention cohort and 128 in the historic control cohort. There were significant improvements in 9 of the 11 primary outcomes in the intervention arm as compared with the historic controls. Survival analysis showed no statistically significant difference in the incidence of OPSI-free survival between the groups (P = .056), though there was a trend toward improvement in the prospective intervention arm. Conclusions: Standardized involvement of an ID provider in the care of patients undergoing splenectomy improves asplenic patient care outcomes. Routine involvement of ID in this setting may be warranted.

Mortality risk in chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIMS: This study aimed to estimate the annual mortality risk and its determinants in chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy. METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a systematic search in MEDLINE, Web of Science Core Collection, Embase, Cochrane Library, and LILACS. Longitudinal studies published between 1 January 1946 and 24 October 2018 were included. A random-effects meta-analysis using the death rate over the mean follow-up period in years was used to obtain pooled estimated annual mortality rates. Main outcomes were defined as all-cause mortality, including cardiovascular, non-cardiovascular, heart failure, stroke, and sudden cardiac deaths. A total of 5005 studies were screened for eligibility. A total of 52 longitudinal studies for chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy including 9569 patients and 2250 deaths were selected. The meta-analysis revealed an annual all-cause mortality rate of 7.9% [95% confidence interval (CI): 6.3-10.1; I2  = 97.74%; T2  = 0.70] among patients with chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy. The pooled estimated annual cardiovascular death rate was 6.3% (95% CI: 4.9-8.0; I2  = 96.32%; T2  = 0.52). The annual mortality rates for heart failure, sudden death, and stroke were 3.5%, 2.6%, and 0.4%, respectively. Meta-regression showed that low left ventricular ejection fraction (coefficient = -0.04; 95% CI: -0.07, -0.02; P = 0.001) was associated with an increased mortality risk. Subgroup analysis based on American Heart Association (AHA) classification revealed pooled estimate rates of 4.8%, 8.7%, 13.9%, and 22.4% (P < 0.001) for B1/B2, B2/C, C, and C/D stages of cardiomyopathy, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The annual mortality risk in chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy is substantial and primarily attributable to cardiovascular causes. This risk significantly increases in patients with low left ventricular ejection fraction and those classified as AHA stages C and C/D.

Experiences with Diagnosis and Treatment of Chagas Disease at a United States Teaching Hospital-Clinical Features of Patients with Positive Screening Serologic Testing.

Chagas disease (CD) is the third most common parasitic infection globally and can cause cardiac and gastrointestinal complications. Around 300,000 carriers of CD live in the U.S., with about 3000 of those in Colorado. We described our experience in diagnosing CD at a Colorado teaching hospital to revise screening eligibility criteria. From 2006 to 2020, we reviewed Trypanosoma cruzi (TC) IgG serology results for 1156 patients in our institution. We identified 23 patients (1.99%) who had a positive test. A total of 14/23 (60%) of positive serologies never had confirmatory testing, and 7 of them were lost to follow up. Confirmatory testing, performed in 9 patients, resulted in being positive in 3. One additional case of CD was identified by positive tissue pathology. All four confirmed cases were among patients born in Latin America. While most of the testing for CD at our institution is part of the pretransplant screening, no confirmed cases of CD derived from this strategy. Exposure risk in this population is not always documented, and initial positive results from screening are not always confirmed. The lack of standardized screening protocols for CD in our institution contributes to underdiagnosis locally and in health systems nationwide. Given a large number of individuals in the U.S. with chronic CD, improved screening is warranted.

Diagnostic Utility of a Ferritin-to-Procalcitonin Ratio to Differentiate Patients With COVID-19 From Those With Bacterial Pneumonia: A Multicenter Study.

BACKGROUND: There is an urgent need for accurate, rapid, inexpensive biomarkers that can differentiate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from bacterial pneumonia. We assess the role of the ferritin-to-procalcitonin (F/P) ratio to classify pneumonia cases into those due to COVID-19 vs those due to bacterial pathogens. METHODS: This multicenter case-control study compared patients with COVID-19 with those with bacterial pneumonia, admitted between March 1 and May 31, 2020. Patients with COVID-19 and bacterial pneumonia co-infection were excluded. The F/P in patients with COVID-19 vs with bacterial pneumonia were compared. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis determined the sensitivity and specificity of various cutoff F/P values for COVID-19 vs bacterial pneumonia. RESULTS: A total of 242 COVID-19 pneumonia cases and 34 bacterial pneumonia controls were included. Patients with COVID-19 pneumonia had a lower mean age (57.1 vs 64.4 years; P = .02) and a higher body mass index (30.74 vs 27.15 kg/m2; P = .02) compared with patients with bacterial pneumonia. Cases and controls had a similar proportion of women (47% vs 53%; P = .5), and COVID-19 patients had a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (32.6% vs 12%; P = .01). The median F/P was significantly higher in patients with COVID-19 (4037.5) compared with the F/P in bacterial pneumonia (802; P < .001). An F/P ≥877, used to diagnose COVID-19, resulted in a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 56%, with a positive predictive value of 93.2% and a likelihood ratio of 1.92. In multivariable analyses, an F/P ≥877 was associated with greater odds of identifying a COVID-19 case (odds ratio, 11.27; 95% CI, 4-31.2; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: An F/P ≥877 increases the likelihood of COVID-19 pneumonia compared with bacterial pneumonia.

Diagnostic utility of a Ferritin-to-Procalcitonin Ratio to differentiate patients with COVID-19 from those with Bacterial Pneumonia: A multicenter study.

IMPORTANCE: There is a need to develop tools to differentiate COVID-19 from bacterial pneumonia at the time of clinical presentation before diagnostic testing is available. OBJECTIVE: To determine if the Ferritin-to-Procalcitonin ratio (F/P) can be used to differentiate COVID-19 from bacterial pneumonia. DESIGN: This case-control study compared patients with either COVID-19 or bacterial pneumonia, admitted between March 1 and May 31, 2020. Patients with COVID-19 and bacterial pneumonia co-infection were excluded. SETTING: A multicenter study conducted at three hospitals that included UCHealth and Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in the United States, and Yichang Central People's Hospital in China. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 242 cases with COVID-19 infection and 34 controls with bacterial pneumonia. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The F/P in patients with COVID-19 or with bacterial pneumonia were compared. Receiver operating characteristic analysis determined the sensitivity and specificity of various cut-off F/P values for the diagnosis of COVID-19 versus bacterial pneumonia. RESULTS: Patients with COVID-19 pneumonia had a lower mean age (57.11 vs 64.4 years, p=0.02) and a higher BMI (30.74 vs 27.15 kg/m 2 , p=0.02) compared to patients with bacterial pneumonia. Cases and controls had a similar proportion of women (47% vs 53%, p=0.5) and COVID-19 patients had a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (32.6% vs 12%, p=0.01). The median F/P was significantly higher in patients with COVID-19 (4037.5) compared to the F/P in bacterial pneumonia (802, p<0.001). An F/P ≥ 877 used to diagnose COVID-19 resulted in a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 56%, with a positive predictive value of 93.2%, and a likelihood ratio of 1.92. In multivariable analyses, an F/P ≥ 877 was associated with greater odds of identifying a COVID-19 case (OR: 11.27, CI: 4-31.2, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: An F/P ≥ 877 increases the likelihood of COVID-19 pneumonia compared to bacterial pneumonia. Further research is needed to determine if obtaining ferritin and procalcitonin simultaneously at the time of clinical presentation has improved diagnostic value. Additional questions include whether an increased F/P and/or serial F/P associates with COVID-19 disease severity or outcomes.

Draft Genome Sequence of Exiguobacterium sp. Strain BMC-KP, an Environmental Isolate from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

Exiguobacterium sp. strain BMC-KP was isolated as part of a student environmental sampling project at Bryn Mawr College, PA. Sequencing of bacterial DNA assembled a 3.32-Mb draft genome. Analysis suggests the presence of genes for tolerance to cold and toxic metals, broad carbohydrate metabolism, and genes derived from phage.