ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) is an inflammatory condition that can present with heart failure (HF). Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is known to improve clinical outcomes for patients with left bundle branch block in the general HF population. However, data about the outcomes of CRT in CS is limited. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed/Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from inception to February 2024 to identify studies that reported clinical outcomes following the use of CRT in patients with CS. Data for outcomes was extracted, pooled, and analyzed. OpenMetaAnalyst was used for pooling untransformed proportions along with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Five studies with a total of 176 CS patients who received CRT were included. The pooled incidence for all-cause mortality was 7.6% (95% CI: -3% to 18%), for HF-related hospitalizations 23.2% (95% CI: 2% to 43%), and for major adverse cerebral and cardiovascular events 27% (95% CI: 8% to 45%) after a mean follow-up of 60.1 (±48.7) months. The pooled left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 34.28% (95% CI: 29.88% to 38.68%) demonstrating an improvement of 3.75% in LVEF from baseline LVEF of 30.58% (95% CI: 24.68% to 36.48%). The mean New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class was 2.16 (95% CI: 1.47 to 2.84) after CRT as compared to the baseline mean NYHA of 2.58 (95% CI: 2.29 to 2.86). CONCLUSION: Although improvements were observed in LVEF and mean NYHA, mortality was high in CS patients with CRT.
ABSTRACT
Parathyroid carcinoma is very rare in pregnancy. Clinical features are similar to primary hyperparathyroidism. A 38-year-old pregnant woman had repeated hospital admissions for palpitations, headaches, dizziness and polydipsia. Blood investigations showed severe hypercalcaemia with raised parathyroid hormone and 24-hour ECG showed ventricular bigeminy and premature ventricular contractions. Neck ultrasound showed a lesion in the right thyroid lobe. Consequently, she underwent an en bloc resection of the right parathyroid and thyroid lobe at 23 weeks gestation. Histology results confirmed parathyroid cancer. This case highlights the complexities of identifying hypercalcaemia in pregnancy due to the overlapping features with common disorders of pregnancy. Early recognition and timely surgical management can prevent maternal and fetal complications. Also, the case demonstrates the value of interprofessional collaboration between different specialities in providing quality care and improving outcomes. An abridged version of this case was presented at European Congress of Endocrinology 2021.
