Identifying acute myocardial infarction in ventricular-paced patients: The effectiveness of modified Sgarbossa criteria.

Screening for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in patients with ventricular pacemakers (VP) is a diagnostic challenge. We report a case where application of the Modified Sgarbossa criteria (mSC) would have immediately identified AMI in a patient with a VP and merited strong advocacy for emergent cardiac catheterization. A 94-year-old male with VP presented to the emergency department (ED) after he had burning sensation in his chest. Initial ECG demonstrated >5 mm of discordant ST elevation in leads III and aVF which gave him 2 points per original Sgarbossa Criteria (oSC) and not meeting criteria for activation for cardiac catheterization. An ECG at three and a half hours after arrival demonstrated a dynamic change with new V2 concordant depression. At this point, the concordant depression (3 points) and excessive discordance (2 points) gave him a total of 5 points, which then met the oSC for activation of cardiac catheterization (≥ 3 points). Troponin I value (ng/mL) at 0/2/4 h after ED arrival are 0.02, 0.08 and 4.33 respectively. Pain never recurred after single nitroglycerine (NTG) tablet upon arrival. He was urgently taken for catheterization and had acute right coronary artery (RCA) culprit lesion and discharged on hospital day 4. This case report highlighted the benefits of applying mSC to patients with VP, which to authors knowledge remains unvalidated. A significant benefit of mSC is that they are unweighted, thus any positive criteria is suggestive of AMI. While the first EKG yielded an oSC score <3, applying the unweighted mSC to the EKG revealed ≤-0.25 ST/S ratio discordant changes in leads III, aVF, I and aVL would have merited strong advocacy for emergent cardiac catherization.

The Case of Flecainide Toxicity: What to Look for and How to Treat.

BACKGROUND: Flecainide is a class Ic antidysrhythmic agent used to prevent and treat both ventricular and supraventricular tachycardias, including atrial fibrillation, atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia, and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Flecainide can cause serious side effects, including cardiac arrest, dysrhythmias, and heart failure. Despite its growing use, the presenting signs and symptoms of flecainide toxicity are not familiar to most clinicians. In particular, our patient's particular presentation of acute kidney injury (AKI) resulting in flecainide accumulation is high risk for missed diagnosis in the emergency department. CASE REPORT: A 58-year-old woman presented with altered mental status and hypoxia that was later found to be secondary to sepsis. Medical history was notable for atrial fibrillation, for which she was on flecainide. Laboratory results were notable for hypokalemia and an AKI. Her wide complex tachycardia on admission was ultimately attributed to flecainide toxicity in the setting of AKI. Six days after presentation, it was found that her flecainide level was in the toxic range at 2.02 µg/mL (normal range 0.20-1.00 µg/mL, toxic >1.50 µg/mL). WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Flecainide intoxication is rare but serious due to the potential for cardiogenic shock. Its diagnosis can be difficult, as the flecainide serum level may take days to result. This case demonstrates the necessity of keeping flecainide toxicity on the physician's differential for patients who are taking the drug, as well as what electrocardiogram findings suggest it as the etiology. Treatment can be lifesaving if initiated promptly.