Effect of the Prognostic Nutrition Index on Long-Term Outcomes in Unprotected Left Main Coronary Artery Revascularization.

Objective    The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) is a practical, applicable, prognostic scoring system. However, its clinical significance in unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has not yet been clarified. This study aimed to examine the relationship between malnutrition as assessed by PNI and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in ULMCA patients undergoing PCI.Material and methods    185 patients who were hospitalized in our clinic underwent coronary angiography, had a critical LMCA lesion, and underwent angiography-guided PCI were included. The study population was divided into tertiles based on the PNI values. A high PNI (n=142) was defined as a value in the third tertile (≥ 34.0), and a low PNI (n=43) was defined as a value in the lower 2 tertiles (< 34.0). The primary endpoint was MACE.Results    MACE and mortality rates in the low PNI group were significantly higher compared to the high PNI group (51 % vs. 30 %, p=0.009; 44 % vs. 20 %, p=0.002, respectively). High PNI (HR:1.902; 95 % CI:1.112-3.254; p=0.019), previous stroke (HR:3.025; 95 % CI:1.038-8.810; p=0.042) and SYNTAX score (HR:1.028; 95 % CI:1.004-1.057, p=0.023) were independent predictors of MACE in the multivariable cox regression analyzes.Conclusions    In patients undergoing ULMCA PCI, nutritional status can be considered an indicator of MACE rates by evaluating the PNI score. This index can be used for risk classification.

A new trend to reduce adverse events in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation: cusp overlap technique: a cross sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is currently the treatment of choice for the majority of patients at moderate or high surgical risk. However, some complications occur frequently with this procedure. In this study, we aimed to assess whether the cusp-overlap view (COP) technique may be associated with a reduced incidence of some of these complications compared with the classical three-cusp view (TCV) technique. METHODS: In this single-center, retrospective study we investigated; technical success, postprocedural permanent pacemaker implantation (PPMI), new-onset stroke, pericardial tamponade, arrhythmia development, acute renal failure, major bleeding, major vascular complications, procedure-related coronary obstruction, new-onset left bundle branch block (LBBB), paravalvular leak, peri-procedural myocardial infarction (MI), day of hospitalization, death, and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) were determined as the clinical endpoints. RESULTS: A total of 281 consecutive patients who met the study criteria and underwent elective or emergency transfemoral TAVI using the self-expandable CoreValve Evolut valve were included. 176 consecutive patients implanted with the classical TCV technique and 105 consecutive patients implanted with the COP technique were compared. Compared with the TCV group, patients in the COP group had lower PPMI (3.8% vs. 10.8%, p = 0.039), in-hospital mortality (1.9% vs. 8.5%, p = 0.018), and 1-year death (4.8% versus 18.8%, p = 0.001), and MACCE rates (12.4% vs 31.3%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The COP technique may help to reduce the conduction disturbances, PPMI requirement and complication rates that may develop following TAVI. In addition, it is an interesting result that it reduces mortality and MACCE rates in long-term follow-ups.

Oral Anticoagulant Use and Long-Term Follow-Up Results in Patients with Non-valvular Atrial Fibrillation in Turkey AFTER-2 Study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of oral anticoagulant drugs and time in therapeutic range in patients receiving warfarin in addition to the epi-demiological trial of non-valvular atrial fibrillation previously conducted in Turkey (The Atrial Fibrillation: Epidemiological Registry trial). Furthermore, the prevalence of major adverse events and mortality rates of the patients were evaluated during the long-term follow-up period. METHODS: We created a national data registry for non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients, reflecting all geographic regions by population density. In that context, the study included all consecutive atrial fibrillation patients older than 18 years of age who were admitted to the cardiology outpatient clinic except for patients those with prosthetic heart valvesand rheumatic mitral valve stenosis. RESULTS: This study included 2592 patients from 35 different centers. The mean age was 68.7 ± 11.1 years, and 55.5% of the patients were female. The most common comorbid diseases were chronic kidney disease (69%) and hypertension (65.5%). The time in ther- apeutic range rate in the general population was 40%, and the mortality rate at 5-year follow-up was 29.4%. CONCLUSION: The Atrial Fibrillation: Epidemiological Registry 2 study showed higher use of anticoagulant in non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients than in previous national stud-ies. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that most of the non-valvular atrial fibrilla- tion patients are in the high-risk group and the time in therapeutic range rates are still low in Turkey. As a result, this is a significant reason for switching from warfarin to non-K vitamin-dependent new oral anticoagulant treatments.

A comparison of postoperative complications following cardiac implantable electronic device procedures in patients treated with antithrombotic drugs.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of postoperative complications following cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) procedures in patients treated with antithrombotic drugs has not been studied sufficiently. Here we present a comparison of complications after CIED implantations. METHODS: Using an observational study design, the study included 1807 patients with a taking antiplatelet drugs (n: 1601), nonvitamin K anticoagulants (NOAC) (n: 136), and warfarin (n: 70) undergoing CIED surgery. Primary endpoint was accepted as cumulative events including composite of clinically significant hematoma (CSH), pericardial effusion or tamponade, pneumothorax, and infection related to device system. Secondary outcomes included each compenent of cumulative events. Multivariable analysis was performed to identify predictors of cumulative events. RESULTS: The overall cumulative event rate was 3.7% (67 of 1807). Cumulative events occured 3.1% (50 of 1601) in the antiplatelet, 5.1% (7 of 136) NOAC, and 14.3% (10 of 70) warfarin groups (p < 0.001). CSH occurred in 2 of 70 patients (2.9%) in the warfarin group, as compared with 5 of 1601 (0.3%) in the antiplatelet group (p: 0.032). However, no significant differences were found between NOAC and warfarin groups in terms of CSH (0.7% vs. 2.9% respectively, p: 0.267). Warfarin treatment was an independent predictor of cumulative events and increased 2.9-fold the risk of cumulative events. Major surgical complications were rare and did not differ significantly between the study groups. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence and severity of complications may be lower in patients treated with periprocedurally antiplatelet or NOAC therapy when compared with warfarin therapy. Further randomized control studies are required to confirm our findings.