[Sodium balance and peritoneal ultrafiltration in refractory heart failure].

About 5% of patients with heart failure (HF) reach the end-stage of disease, becoming refractory to therapy. The clinical course of end-stage HF is characterized by repeated hospitalizations, severe symptoms, and poor quality of life. Peritoneal ultrafiltration (PUF), removing water and sodium (Na+), can benefit patients with end-stage HF. However, effects on fluid and electrolyte removal have not been fully characterized. In this pilot study in patients with chronic HF and moderate chronic renal failure, we evaluated the effects of water and sodium removal through PUF on ventricular remodeling, re-hospitalization, and quality of life. Patients with end-stage HF (NYHA class IV, ≥3 HF hospitalization/year despite optimal therapy), not eligible for heart transplantation underwent peritoneal catheter positioning and began a single-day exchange with icodextrin at night (n=6), or 1-2 daily exchanges with hypertonic solution (3.86%) for 2 hours with 1.5-2 L fill volume (n=3). At baseline, average ultrafiltration was 500±200 ml with icodextrin, and 700±100 ml with hypertonic solution. Peritoneal excretion of Na+ was greater with icodextrin (68±4 mEq/exchange) compared to hypertonic solution (45±19 mEq/exchange). After a median 12-month follow-up, rehospitalizations decreased, while NYHA class and quality of life (by Minnesota Living with HF questionnaire), improved. In end-stage HF patients, PUF reduced re-hospitalization and improved quality of life. It can be an additional treatment to control volume and sodium balance.

Spondylodiscitis in hemodialysis patients: a new emerging disease? Data from an Italian Center.

Hemodialysis (HD) patients are at high risk for infectious complications such as spondylodiscitis. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the cases of infective spondylodiscitis occurred between May 2005 and October 2019 among HD patients at our center. In 14 years, there were 9 cases (mean age 69±12 years). The main comorbidities found were diabetes mellitus (55.6% of patients), hypertension (55.6%), bone diseases (22.2%), cancer (11.1%) and rheumatoid arthritis treated with steroids (11.1%). The clinical onset included back pain (100% of cases), fever (55.6%), neurological deficits (33.4%), leukocytosis (55.6%) and elevated CRP level (88.9%). Most cases were diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (66.7%) with more frequent involvement of lumbar region (77.8%). Blood cultures were positive in five patients (mostly for S. aureus); three of them used catheters as vascular access and, in two cases, their removal was necessary. The mean time interval between the onset of symptoms and the diagnosis was 34±42 days. All patients received antibiotic treatment for a mean duration of 6 weeks; most cases were initially treated with vancomycin or teicoplanin plus ciprofloxacin. Most patients (77.8%) recovered after a mean of 3.5 months; one patient had a relapse after 2 years and one patient had long-term neurologic sequelae. Infective spondylodiscitis in HD must be suspected in the presence of back pain, even in the absence of fever or traditional risk factors. An early diagnosis could improve the outcome. Close monitoring of vascular access, disinfection procedures and aseptic techniques are important to avoid this complication.

Case report: the thoracoscopic surgery in peritoneal-pleural leakage. A valid therapeutic strategy.

Pleuro-peritoneal leakage is an uncommon complication of peritoneal dialysis (PD). In this study, we report the case of a male patient (age 83), treated with PD (daytime single-exchange). In October 2019, hospitalization was necessary due to dyspnoea and a reduction of peritoneal ultrafiltration. A right pleural leakage resulted at chest x-ray. A regression of the pleural leakage was immediately observed after interrupting PD. It was then performed a pleuro-peritoneal CT scan at baseline, followed by a second scan performed 4 hours after the injection of 2 L of isotonic solution with 100ml of contrast medium, which evidenced a pleuro-peritoneal communication. It was then decided to perform a video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), that showed no evidence of diaphragm communication. It was then executed a pleurodesis using sterile talcum. The patient was released on the 3rd day, with a conservative therapy and a low-protein diet. After 2 weeks a new pleuro-peritoneal CT scan with contrast medium was executed. This time the scan evidenced the absence of contrast medium in the thoracic cavity. The patient then resumed PD therapy, with 3 daily exchanges with isotonic solution (volume 1.5 L), showing no complications. Concerning the treatment of pleuro-peritoneal leakage, VATS allows both the patch-repairing of diaphragmatic flaws and the instillation of chemical agents. In our case, VATS allowed the chemical pleurodesis which in turn enabled, in just 2 weeks of conservative treatment, the resuming of PD. In conclusion, this methodology is a valid option in the treatment of pleuro-peritoneal leakage in PD patients.

Threatening drug-drug interaction in a kidney transplant patient with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

During the novel coronavirus pandemic, organ transplant recipients represent a frail susceptible category due to long-term immunosuppressive therapy. For this reason, clinical manifestations may differ from general population and different treatment approaches may be needed. We present the case of a 36-year-old kidney-transplanted woman affected by Senior-Loken syndrome diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia after a contact with her positive mother. Initial symptoms were fatigue, dry cough, and coryza; she never had fever nor oxygen supplementation. Hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir were started, and the antiviral drug was replaced with darunavir/cobicistat after 2 days for diarrhea. Immunosuppressant levels were closely monitored, and we observed very high tacrolimus trough levels despite initial dose reduction. The patient was left with steroid therapy alone. The peculiarity of clinical presentation and the management difficulties represent the flagship of our case report. We stress the need for guidelines in transplant recipients with COVID-19 infection with particular regard to the management of therapy.

Effects of smoking in patients treated with cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Smoking is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in cardiac patients. However, data on the prognostic impact of smoking in heart failure (HF) patients on cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator (CRT-D) are absent. We investigated the effects of smoking on all-cause mortality and on a composite endpoint (all-cause death/appropriate device therapy), appropriate and inappropriate device therapy, in 649 patients with HF who underwent CRT-D between January 2003 and October 2011 in 6 Centers (4 in Italy and 2 in USA). 68 patients were current smokers, 396 previous-smokers (patients who had smoked in the past but who had quit before the CRT-D implant), and 185 had never smoked. The risk of each endpoint by smoking status was evaluated with both Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional-hazard analysis. After adjusting for age, left ventricular ejection fraction, QRS width and ischemic etiology, both current and previous smoking were independent predictors of all-cause death [HR = 5.07 (95 % CI 2.68-9.58), p < 0.001 and HR = 2.43 (95 % CI 1.38-4.29), p = 0.002, respectively) and of composite endpoint [HR = 1.63 (1.04-2.56); p = 0.033 and HR = 1.46 (1.04-2.04) p = 0.027]. In addition, current smokers had a significantly higher rate of inappropriate device therapy compared to never smokers [HR = 21.74 (4.53-104.25), p = 0.005]. Our study indicates that in patients with HF who received a CRT-D device, current and previous smoking increase the event rate per person-time of death and of appropriate and inappropriate ICD therapy more than other known negative prognostic factors such as age, left ventricular dysfunction, prolonged QRS duration and ischemic etiology.