Native Aortic Valve Endocarditis Complicated by Splenic Infarction and Giant Mitral-Aortic Intervalvular Fibrosa Pseudoaneurysm-A Case Report and Brief Review of the Literature.

BACKGROUND: Pseudoaneurysm of the mitral-aortic intervalvular fibrosa (P-MAIVF) is an unusual complication related to various injuries or conditions which involve the mitro-aortic region; it communicates with the left ventricular outflow tract and is associated with a high-risk of redoubtable complications or sudden death. The cerebral and splenic localizations are frequently seen as manifestations of systemic embolism in infective endocarditis. Currently, there are no specific recommendations related to the diagnosis, management, treatment, or further evolution of patients with P-MAIVF and concomitant splenic infarction. This paper presents the case of a 43-year-old Caucasian woman with a late diagnosis of mixed bicuspid aortic valve disease, affected by an under-detected and undertreated episode of infective endocarditis leading to asymptomatic P-MAIVF. Prime clinical and imagistic diagnosis of splenic infarction indicated further extended investigations were required to clarify the source of embolism. METHODS: Integrated multimodality imaging techniques confirmed the unexpected diagnosis of P-MAIVF. RESULTS: The case had a fatal outcome following an uncomplicated yet laborious cardiac surgery. Patient death was attributed to a malignant ventricular arrhythmia. CONCLUSION: The present case raises awareness by highlighting an unexplained and unexpected splenic infarction association with P-MAIVF as a result of infective endocarditis related to mixed bicuspid aortic valve disease.

Clinical Risk Factors for Gastroduodenal Ulcer in Romanian Low-Dose Aspirin Consumers.

Background. Aspirin use for cardiovascular or cancer prevention is limited due to its gastrointestinal side effects. Objective. Our prospective, observational case-control study aims to identify the predictive factors for ulcers in low-dose aspirin consumers (75-325 mg/day). Methods. The study included patients who underwent an upper digestive endoscopy and took low-dose aspirin treatment. Results. We recruited 51 patients with ulcer (ulcer group) and 108 patients with no mucosal lesions (control group). In univariate analysis, factors significantly associated with ulcers were male gender (p = 0.001), anticoagulants (p = 0.029), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (p = 0.013), heart failure (p = 0.007), liver (p = 0.011) or cerebrovascular disease (p = 0.004), diabetes mellitus (p = 0.043), ulcer history (p = 0.044), and alcohol consumption (p = 0.018), but not Helicobacter pylori infection (p = 0.2). According to our multivariate regression analysis results, history of peptic ulcer (OR 3.07, 95% CI 1.06-8.86), cotreatment with NSAIDs (OR 8, 95% CI 2.09-30.58) or anticoagulants (OR 4.85, 95% CI 1.33-17.68), male gender (OR 5.2, 95% CI 1.77-15.34), and stroke (OR 7.27, 95% CI 1.40-37.74) remained predictors for ulcer on endoscopy. Conclusions. Concomitant use of NSAIDs or anticoagulants, comorbidities (cerebrovascular disease), and male gender are the most important independent risk factors for ulcer on endoscopy in low-dose aspirin consumers, in a population with a high prevalence of H. pylori infection.