Perfil do mal de pott em um serviço de referência sul-americano / The profile of pott's disease in a south american reference service / Perfil de la enfermedad de pott en un servicio de referencia sudamericano

ABSTRACT Objective: Tuberculosis (TB) represents one of the top ten causes of death in the world. Its insidious onset and nonspecific symptoms usually result in delayed diagnosis. The objective is to evaluate the characteristics of patients with tuberculous spondylodiscitis in follow-up at a South American reference hospital. Method: Retrospective evaluation of the medical records of patients of both sexes and between 0 and 80 years of age diagnosed with tuberculosis of the spine between 2009 and 2018. The variables were analyzed based on groups: epidemiological, clinical, laboratorial, microbiological, imaging tests and treatment. Results: Total of 26 cases, about 80.8% male, mean age 41.6 ± 22.46 years. Axial pain was the most prevalent symptom (84.6%), the VAS score was 6.85 ± 2.87. The mean time between symptom onset and diagnosis was 23.8 ± 24.1 weeks (4-96). The most affected region was the thoracic spine (50% of the cases). Most participants (61.4%) had no change in neurological function (Frankel D and E) at the beginning of treatment and after 6 months, and 84.5% improved. During treatment 34.6% required surgery and the main indication was isolated neurological deficit (55.5%). The most frequently performed procedure was decompression and arthrodesis (55.5%). The average time to cure was 12.0 ± 8.8 months (8-48). Conclusion: Disease with insidious onset, nonspecific symptoms, high frequency of negative microbiological tests in cases with the disease. A small number of the cases required surgical treatment and most of them achieved good neurological recovery. Level of evidence IV; Case series.

RESUMO Objetivo: A tuberculose (TB) é uma das dez principais causas de morte no mundo. O início insidioso e os sintomas inespecíficos geralmente resultam em atraso do diagnóstico. O objetivo é avaliar as características dos pacientes com espondilodiscite tuberculosa em acompanhamento, em um hospital de referência sul-americano. Método: Avaliação retrospectiva de dados de prontuários, diagnóstico de tuberculose da coluna vertebral entre 2009 e 2018, de ambos os sexos, entre 0 e 80 anos de idade. As variáveis foram analisadas com base em grupos: epidemiológicas, clínicas, laboratoriais, microbiológicas, exames de imagem e tratamento. Resultados: Total de 26 casos, cerca de 80,8% do sexo masculino, média de idade de 41,6 ± 22,46 anos. A dor axial foi o sintoma mais prevalente (84,6%), o escore da EVA foi de 6,85 ± 2,87. A média de tempo entre o início dos sintomas e o diagnóstico foi de 23,8 ± 24,1 semanas (4-96). A região mais acometida foi a coluna torácica (50% dos casos). A maioria (61,4%) dos participantes apresentou função neurológica inalterada (Frankel D e E) no início do tratamento e 6 meses depois, sendo que 84,5% obtiveram melhora. No tratamento, 34,6% necessitaram de cirurgia, e a principal indicação foi déficit neurológico isolado (55,5%). O procedimento mais realizado foi descompressão e artrodese (55,5%). O tempo médio até a cura foi de 12,0 ± 8,8 meses (8-48). Conclusão: Doença de início insidioso, sintomas inespecíficos, grande frequência de exames microbiológicos negativos em casos com a doença. A menor parte dos casos necessitou de tratamento cirúrgico e a maioria apresentou boa recuperação neurológica. Nível de evidência IV; Série de casos.

RESUMEN Objetivo: La tuberculosis (TB) es una de las diez principales causas de muerte en el mundo. El inicio insidioso y los síntomas inespecíficos generalmente resultan en atraso del diagnóstico. El objetivo es evaluar las características de los pacientes con espondilodiscitis tuberculosa en acompañamiento en un hospital de referencia sudamericano. Método: Evaluación retrospectiva de datos de historiales clínicos, diagnóstico de tuberculosis de la columna vertebral entre 2009 y 2018, de ambos sexos, entre 0 y 80 años de edad. Las variables fueron analizadas con base en grupos: epidemiológicas, clínicas, de laboratorio, microbiológicas, exámenes de imagen y tratamiento. Resultados: Total de 26 casos, cerca de 80,8% del sexo masculino, promedio de edad de 41,6 ± 22,46 años. El dolor axial fue el síntoma más prevalente (84,6%). El puntaje de la EVA fue de 6,85 ± 2,87. El promedio de tiempo entre el inicio de los síntomas y el diagnóstico fue de 23,8 ± 24,1 semanas (4-96). La región más acometida fue la columna torácica (50% de los casos). La mayoría (61,4%) de los participantes presentó función neurológica inalterada (Frankel D y E) al inicio del tratamiento y seis meses después, siendo que 84,5% obtuvo mejora. En el tratamiento, 34,6% precisó cirugía, y la principal indicación fue déficit neurológico aislado, (55,5%). El procedimiento más realizado fue descompresión y artrodesis (55,5%). El tiempo promedio hasta la cura fue de 12,0 ± 8,8 meses (8-48). Conclusión: Enfermedad de inicio insidioso, síntomas inespecíficos, alta frecuencia de exámenes microbiológicos negativos en casos con la enfermedad. La menor parte de los casos requirió tratamiento quirúrgico y la mayoría presentó buena recuperación neurológica. Nivel de evidencia IV; Serie de casos.

A validated risk model for 1-year mortality after primary prevention implantable cardioverter defibrillator placement.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine survival for patients with heart failure after an implantation of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) for primary prevention in the United States and to develop a simple model that would predict mortality risk. BACKGROUND: Clinical trials have found that patients with heart failure with a 1-year mortality risk near 20% may not benefit from an ICD. METHODS: We identified patients from the ICD Registry of the National Cardiovascular Disease Registries who underwent ICD implantation for primary prevention from 2007 to 2009. Two risk scores for mortality were developed in 2 cohorts: one limited to those with a B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) value and a second for all patients. The scores were obtained from derivation datasets and tested in a validation sets using logistic regression models and classification and regression trees. RESULTS: In a primary prevention population with BNP available (18,725) the 6 variables most predictive of 1-year mortality were age ≥75, BNP ≥700 pg/mL, chronic lung disease, dialysis, blood urea nitrogen ≥30 mg/dL, and systolic blood pressure <120 mmHg. Patients with zero risk factors had a 3.3% one-year mortality compared to a 66.7% one-year mortality for those with all 6 risk factors. Those with ≥3 risk factors (24.0% of the population) had a 25.8% one-year mortality. A second score using a larger cohort that did not consider BNP identified similar risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: A simple validated risk score can identify patients at high and low risk for death within a year after ICD placement. A large fraction of those currently implanted with an ICD in the United States have a high 1-year mortality and may not benefit from ICD therapy.

Does Age Influence Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Use and Outcome?

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to describe the use of CRT-D and its association with survival for older patients. BACKGROUND: Many patients who receive cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator (CRT-D) in practice are older than those included in clinical trials. METHODS: We identified patients undergoing ICD implantation in the National Cardiovascular Disease Registry (NCDR) ICD registry from 2006 to 2009, who also met clinical trial criteria for CRT, including left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤35%, QRS ≥120 ms, and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III or IV. NCDR registry data were linked to the social security death index to determine the primary outcome of time to death from any cause. We identified 70,854 patients from 1,187 facilities who met prior trial criteria for CRT-D. The mean age of the 58,147 patients receiving CRT-D was 69.4 years with 6.4% of patients age 85 or older. CRT use was 80% or higher among candidates in all age groups. Follow-up was available for 42,285 patients age ≥65 years at 12 months. RESULTS: Receipt of CRT-D was associated with better survival at 1 year (82.1% vs. 77.1%, respectively) and 4 years (54.0% vs. 46.2% , respectively) than in those receiving only an ICD (p < 0.001). The CRT association with improved survival was not different for different age groups (p = 0.86 for interaction). CONCLUSIONS: More than 80% of older patients undergoing ICD implantation who were candidates for a CRT-D received the combined device. Mortality in older patients undergoing ICD implantation was high but was lower for those receiving CRT-D.

Defibrillator implantations for primary prevention in the United States: Inappropriate care or inadequate documentation: Insights from the National Cardiovascular Data ICD Registry.

BACKGROUND: Prior studies have reported that more than 20% of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantations in the United States do not adhere to trial-based criteria. OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate the patient characteristics associated with not meeting the inclusion criteria of the clinical trials that have demonstrated the efficacy of primary prevention ICDs. METHODS: Using data from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry's ICD Registry, we identified patients who received ICDs for primary prevention from January 2006 to December 2008. We determined whether patients met the inclusion criteria of at least 1 of the 4 ICD primary prevention trials: Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial (MADIT), MADIT-II, Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT), and the Multicenter Unsustained Tachycardia Trial (MUSTT). RESULTS: Among 150,264 patients, 86% met criteria for an ICD implantation based on trial data. The proportion of patients who did not meet trial-based criteria increased as age decreased. In multivariate analysis, the significant predictors for not meeting trial criteria included prior cardiac transplantation (odds ratio [OR] 2.1), pediatric electrophysiology operator (OR 2.0), and high-grade atrioventricular conduction disease (OR 1.4). CONCLUSION: Among National Cardiovascular Data Registry registrants receiving first-time ICDs for primary prevention, the majority met trial-based criteria. Multivariate analyses suggested that many patients who did not meet the trial-based criteria may have had clinical circumstances that warranted ICD implantation. These findings caution against the use of trial-based indications to determine site quality metrics that could penalize sites that care for younger patients. The planned incorporation of appropriate use criteria into the ICD registry may better characterize patient- and site-level quality and performance.

Age differences in primary prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillator use in U.S. individuals.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the potentially inappropriate use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator ICDs in older U.S. adults. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: The National Cardiovascular Data ICD Registry. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-four thousand eight hundred five individuals in the National Cardiovascular Data's ICD Registry(™) who had received ICDs for primary prevention from January 2006 to December 2008. Individuals with a prior myocardial infarction and ejection fraction less than 30% were included. MEASUREMENTS: Mortality risk was categorized using the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation (MADIT) II risk-stratification system. Low-risk and very-high-risk individuals were considered potentially inappropriate recipients. RESULTS: Of 44,805 individuals, 67% (n = 29,893) were aged 65 and older, of whom 51% were aged 75 and older. A significant proportion of ICD recipients had a low risk of death (16%, n = 6,969) or very high risk of nonarrhythmic death (8%, n = 3,693). Potentially inappropriate ICD use was 10% in those aged 75 and older, much less than in younger groups (40%, <65; 21%, 65-74, P < .001). Although age was associated with a high risk of nonarrhythmic death, its influence was markedly attenuated after adjusting for comorbidities and timing of ICD implantation (odds ratio = 1.02, 95% confidence interval = 1.02-1.03, P < .001). CONCLUSION: Potentially inappropriate ICD use appears significantly less--and at modest rates--in older Americans than in younger age groups. Overall, almost one-quarter of individuals may have received ICDs inappropriately based on their risk of death. Physicians appear to be conservatively referring older adults and wisely deferring those with high comorbid burden.

Influence of age on perioperative complications among patients undergoing implantable cardioverter-defibrillators for primary prevention in the United States.

BACKGROUND- The majority of current implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) recipients are significantly older than those in the ICD trials. Data on periprocedural complications among the elderly are insufficient. We evaluated the influence of age on perioperative complications among primary prevention ICD recipients in the United States. METHODS AND RESULTS- Using the National Cardiovascular Data's ICD Registry, we identified 150 264 primary prevention patients who received ICDs from January 2006 to December 2008. The primary end point was any adverse event or in-hospital mortality. Secondary end points included major adverse events, minor adverse events, and length of stay. Of 150 264 patients, 61% (n=91 863) were 65 years and older. A higher proportion of patients ≥65 years had diabetes, congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, renal disease, and coronary artery disease. Approximately 3.4% of the entire cohort had any complication, including death, after ICD implant. Any adverse event or death occurred in 2.8% of patients under 65 years old; 3.1% of 65- to 69-year-olds; 3.5% of 70- to 74-year-olds; 3.9% of 75- to 79-year-olds, 4.5% of 80- to 84-year-olds; and 4.5% of patients 85 years and older. After adjustment for clinical covariates, multivariate analysis found an increased odds of any adverse event or death among 75- to 79-year-olds (1.14 [95% confidence interval, 1.03 to 1.25], 80-to 84-year-olds (1.22 [95% confidence interval, 1.10 to 1.36], and patients 85 years and older (1.15 [95% confidence interval, 1.01 to 1.32], compared with patients under 65 years old. CONCLUSIONS- Older patients had a modestly increased-but acceptably safe-risk of periprocedural complications and in-hospital mortality, driven mostly by increased comorbidity.

Characteristics and outcomes of very elderly patients after first hospitalization for heart failure.

BACKGROUND: The very elderly (age 80 years and older) with heart failure (HF) is a growing population that is rarely included in clinical trials. The aim of this investigation was to describe the characteristics and outcomes of very elderly patients after a first HF hospitalization. METHODS AND RESULTS: We identified very elderly patients (age 80 years and older) discharged with HF from the Veteran's Administration National Patient Care Database from 1999 to 2008. Outcomes of interest were death during index admission, 30-day and 1-year mortality, and 30-day all-cause and HF readmissions. We used generalized estimating equations to evaluate outcome differences between age groups within the very elderly cohort (ages 80 to 84, 85 to 89, and 90 and older), adjusting for comorbidities, demographics, and clustering by treatment facility. We identified 21 397 very elderly veterans with a first HF hospitalization during the study period. Thirty-day mortality decreased from 14% to 7% (both P<0.001) and 1-year mortality decreased from 49% to 27% (P<0.001). Although these improvements were most notable for patients age 90 and older (1-year mortality improved by 25.9%), the adjusted odds of death within 1 year were highest for the oldest veterans (odds ratio, 1.85; 95% confidence interval, 1.64 to 2.09, using the 80- to 85-year age group as reference). For all patients, 30-day all-cause readmissions remained largely unchanged and did not differ between age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality for very elderly HF patients has improved over time, but 30-day readmissions remain frequent. Future studies should identify interventions to reduce cardiac and noncardiac rehospitalization of very elderly HF patients.

The efficacy of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators in heart transplant recipients: results from a multicenter registry.

BACKGROUND: Sudden cardiac death among orthotopic heart transplant recipients is an important mechanism of death after cardiac transplantation. The role for implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) in this population is not well established. This study sought to determine whether ICDs are effective in preventing sudden cardiac death in high-risk heart transplant recipients. METHODS AND RESULTS: We retrospectively analyzed the records of all orthotopic heart transplant patients who had ICD implantation between January 1995 and December 2005 at 5 heart transplant centers. Thirty-six patients were considered high risk for sudden cardiac death. The mean age at orthotopic heart transplant was 44+/-14 years, the majority being male (n=29). The mean age at ICD implantation was 52+/-14 years, whereas the average time from orthotopic heart transplant to ICD implant was 8 years +/-6 years. The main indications for ICD implantation were severe allograft vasculopathy (n=12), unexplained syncope (n=9), history of cardiac arrest (n=8), and severe left ventricular dysfunction (n=7). Twenty-two shocks were delivered to 10 patients (28%), of whom 8 (80%) received 12 appropriate shocks for either rapid ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. The shocks were effective in terminating the ventricular arrhythmias in all cases. Three (8%) patients received 10 inappropriate shocks. Underlying allograft vasculopathy was present in 100% (8 of 8) of patients who received appropriate ICD therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Use of ICDs after heart transplantation may be appropriate in selected high-risk patients. Further studies are needed to establish an appropriate prevention strategy in this population.

Cardiac device infections complicated by erosion.

BACKGROUND: Implantation of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) can be complicated by infection and device erosion. It is unclear if the clinical features of patients who have device erosion differ from those without erosion. METHODS: We retrospectively examined the records of all patients referred for explantation of a pacemaker or defibrillator from January 2000 to May 2005. We examined demographic variables including age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) as well as clinical variables related to erosion and procedural variables. RESULTS: Seventy-two patients with infected pacemakers or ICDs were identified. Of these cases, 30 (42%) developed infection complicated by erosion, of which 8/28 (29%) were related to ICDs, and 22/44 (50%) were related to pacemakers. CONCLUSIONS: Device erosion was significantly associated with the presence of a non-systemic infection as opposed to cases without erosion. This finding may have implications in the timing of device re-implantation.