Radial artery dilatation to improve access and lower complications during coronary angiography: the RADIAL trial.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to explore the use of prolonged occlusion flow-mediated dilatation (PO-FMD) to dilate the radial artery prior to cannulation to increase cannulation success, reduce puncture attempts and reduce access-site complications in transradial coronary angiography. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 1,156 patients undergoing transradial coronary angiography were randomised into PO-FMD and sham PO-FMD groups. PO-FMD was achieved by a 10-minute inflation of a blood pressure cuff on the arm to above systolic pressure, followed by deflation with resultant radial artery dilation. In the sham PO-FMD group the cuff was not inflated. Operators were blinded to the intervention. Five hundred and eighty (580) patients were randomised to the sham PO-FMD group and 576 to the PO-FMD group. Cannulation failure was reduced with PO-FMD, with cannulation failure rates of 2.7% in the PO-FMD group and 5.8% in the sham PO-FMD group (p=0.01).The number of puncture attempts was reduced with the use of PO-FMD, with a median of one attempt in the PO-FMD group and two in the sham PO-FMD group (p<0.001). Radial artery pulsation loss (RAPL) was reduced with PO-FMD, with 1.4% in the PO-FMD group and 3.8% in the sham PO-FMD group (p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: PO-FMD reduces cannulation failure rates, decreases puncture attempts, and decreases RAPL during transradial coronary angiography.

Myocardial injury in systemic lupus erythematosus according to cardiac magnetic resonance tissue characterization: clinical and echocardiographic features.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of myocardial injury (MInj) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) according to cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) criteria. To compare clinical and echocardiographic features of patients with and without MInj and identify predictors of myocardial tissue characteristics according to CMR. METHODS: SLE inpatients underwent CMR screening for MInj based on the Lake Louise Criteria (LLC). Tissue characteristics included inflammation (increased T2-weighted signal or early gadolinium enhancement ratio (EGEr)) and necrosis or fibrosis (late gadolinium enhancement (LGE)). Echocardiographic parameters included left (left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)) and right ventricular function (tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE)), global longitudinal strain (GLS), wall motion score (WMSi) and left ventricular internal diameter index (LVIDi). Variables were compared with regards to the presence/absence of CMR criteria. Logistic regression identified variables predictive of CMR tissue characteristics. RESULTS: A hundred and six SLE patients were screened of whom 49 patients were included. Fifty-seven patients were excluded due to intolerance of or contraindication to CMR (27/57 due to renal impairment). Twenty-three patients had CMR evidence of MInj, of which 60.9% was subclinical. Inflammation occurred in 16/23 and necrosis/fibrosis in 12/23 patients. Patients with any evidence of MInj were more frequently anti-dsDNA positive (p = 0.026) and patients fulfilling LLC for myocarditis had higher SLE disease activity (p = 0.022). The LVIDi (p = 0.005), LVEF (p = 0.005) and TAPSE (p = 0.011) were more abnormal in patients with an increased EGEr, whereas WMSi (p = 0.002) and GLS (0.020) were more impaired in patients with LGE. On multivariable logistic regression analyses, TAPSE predicted inflammation (OR: 0.045, p = 0.006, CI: 0.005-0.415) and GLS predicted necrosis/fibrosis (OR: 1.329, p = 0.031, CI: 1.026-1.722). A model including lymphocyte count, TAPSE and LVIDi predicted an increased EGEr on CMR (receiver operating characteristic-curve analyses: area under the curve: 0.901, p < 0.001, sensitivity: 88.9%, specificity: 76.3%). CONCLUSIONS: CMR evidence of MInj frequently occurs in SLE and is often subclinical. The utility of CMR in SLE is limited by a high exclusion rate, mainly due to renal involvement. Models including echocardiographic parameters (TAPSE, LVIDi and GLS) are predictive of CMR myocardial injury. Echocardiography can be used as a cost-effective screening tool with a high negative predictive value, in particular when CMR is contraindicated or unavailable.

Integrated positron emission tomography/computed tomography for evaluation of mediastinal lymph node staging of non-small-cell lung cancer in a tuberculosis-endemic area: A 5-year prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Integrated positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET-CT) is a well-validated modality for assessing mediastinal lymph node metastasis in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which determines management and predicts survival. Tuberculosis (TB) is known to lead to false-positive PET-CT findings. OBJECTIVES: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of PET-CT in identifying mediastinal lymph node involvement of NSCLC in a high TB-endemic area. METHODS: Patients who underwent both PET-CT and lymph node tissue sampling for the investigation of suspected NSCLC were prospectively included in this observational study. Results were analysed per patient and per lymph node stage. A post-hoc analysis was performed to test the validity of a maximum standardised uptake value (SUV-max) cut-off for lymph node positivity. RESULTS: PET-CT had a sensitivity of 92.6%, specificity of 48.6%, positive predictive value of 56.8% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 90.0% in the per-patient analysis. Diagnostic accuracy was 67.2%. Similar values were obtained in the per-lymph node stage analysis. TB was responsible for 21.1% of false-positive results. A SUVmax cut-off of 4.5 yielded an improvement in diagnostic accuracy from 64.0% to 84.7% compared with a cut-off of 2.5, but at the cost of decreasing the NPV from 90.6% to 83.5%. CONCLUSION: In a high TB-endemic area, PET-CT remains a valuable method for excluding mediastinal lymph node involvement in NSCLC. Patients with a negative PET-CT may proceed to definitive management without further invasive procedures. However, PET-CT-positive lymph nodes require pathological confirmation, and the possibility of TB must be considered.