Impact of acetylsalicylic acid on primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases: A meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Numerous studies have investigated use of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) for prevention of cardiovascular deaths. The vast majority of the work in this area has focused on secondary prevention. However, underuse of ASA still remains a major issue. Fewer studies have investigated the impact of ASA on primary prevention of cardiovascular death. A meta-analysis of individual participant data from six randomized studies, published in 2009, showed decrease in serious vascular events but at the cost of causing increased bleeding and hemorrhagic stroke. Recent studies have raised a number of key questions regarding the benefits and risks of using ASA for primary prevention.

From a stone to rupture: calyceal rupture secondary to obstructive uropathy.

Renal collecting system rupture is a rare manifestation of obstructive uropathy. The majority of cases are attributed to ureteric calculi and extrinsic ureteric compression. The optimal diagnostic image is contrast-enhanced CT scan with delayed phase protocol. Management is usually conservative and generally depends on the etiology, urinomas size, and the presence or absence of kidney failure or infections.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae-associated Fuchs syndrome.

Fuchs syndrome is a milder form of the Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) spectrum with only mucosal involvement which can be triggered by Mycoplasma pneumonia (MP) infection. Treatment should be directed toward supportive care including ocular and mucous membrane care, fluids and nutritional support, and pain control. In addition, antibiotic and immunomodulatory treatments are discussed for this entity.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided biliary drainage versus percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage after failed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography: a meta-analysis.

The failure rate of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography for biliary cannulation is approximately 6%-7% in cases of obstructive jaundice. Percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) is the procedure of choice in such cases. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided biliary drainage (EGBD) is a novel technique that allows biliary drainage by echoendoscopy and fluoroscopy using a stent from the biliary tree to the gastrointestinal tract. Information in PubMed, Scopus, clinicaltrials.gov and Cochrane review were analyzed to obtain studies comparing EGBD and PTBD. Six studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Technical (odds ratio (OR): 0.34; confidence interval (CI) 0.10-1.14; p=0.05) and clinical (OR: 1.48; CI 0.46-4.79; p=0.51) success rates were not statistically significant between the EGBD and PTBD groups. Mild adverse events were nonsignificantly different (OR: 0.36; CI 0.10-1.24; p=0.11) but not the moderate-to-severe adverse events (OR: 0.16; CI 0.08-0.32; p≤0.00001) and total adverse events (OR: 0.34; CI 0.20-0.59; p≤0.0001). EGBD is equally effective but safer than PTBD.

Drug-eluting stent placement versus coronary artery bypass surgery for unprotected left main coronary artery disease: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is the standard of care for treating left main coronary lesions. However, recently published randomized controlled trials (RCT) have shown conflicting results. We sought to compare clinical outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stent placement to CABG using a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. METHODS: A systemic search of Pubmed, Scopus, Cochrane library, and Clinicaltrials.gov was performed for randomized controlled trials comparing PCI with CABG in patients with left main stenosis. Data were analyzed using random effect models and Mantel-Haenszel methods. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiovascular and cerebral events (MACCE). The secondary outcomes were myocardial infarction, stroke, cardiac, and all-cause mortality. A subgroup analysis based on SYNTAX score was also performed. RESULTS: A total of 4595 patients (2297 in the PCI group and 2298 in the CABG group) from five RCTs were included in the analysis. There were significant differences in MACCE (odds ratio [OR] 1.36, confidence interval [CI] 95%, 1.18-1.58, p-value: < 0.0001) and repeat revascularization (OR 1.85, CI 95%, 1.53-2.23, p-value: < 0.00001) favoring CABG. There were no significant differences in the incidence of myocardial infarction, stroke, or cardiac and all-cause mortality. Based on SYNTAX score, CABG was superior in terms of MACCE only in the subgroup with SYNTAX score of 33 or more. CONCLUSIONS: CABG results in fewer MACCE and need for repeat revascularization than PCI in patients with unprotected left main disease.

Impact of cyclosporine A use in the prevention of reperfusion injury in acute myocardial infarction: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Reperfusion injury is an important limiting factor associated with revascularization in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Various therapies have been tried in an attempt to prevent reperfusion injury, but the search has been elusive. The role of cyclosporine A (CsA) in the prevention of reperfusion injury in AMI is still not clear. The objective of this study was to find out whether CsA is beneficial in reducing reperfusion injury in acute ST elevation myocardial infarction. METHODS: We performed a systematic search of Pubmed, Scopus, clinicaltrial.gov, and Cochrane Database for randomized control trials (RCT) measuring the effect of CsA in AMI compared to a placebo. The Mantel-Haenszel method and random effect model were used to analyze the data. A total of 1,566 patients (776 in the CsA group and 790 in the placebo group), who participated in 5 RCTs were included in our meta-analysis. RESULTS: We did not find any significant differences between the CsA and placebo groups in terms of all-cause death (odds ratio [OR] 1.21, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.78-1.87) and cardiovascular death (OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.66-2.49). Similarly, we did not find any significant differences in terms of cardiogenic shock, recurrent ischemia and myocardial infarction, heart failure and echocardiographic outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Cyclosporine A is not helpful in preventing reperfusion injury in AMI.