Intraoperative Corticosteroids and Pacemaker Implantation After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has revolutionized the treatment of aortic stenosis. However, conduction disturbances leading to pacemaker implantation remain a common complication, increasing morbidity and mortality in these patients. Hence, measures to lower its incidence should be taken, and corticosteroid therapy could be effective by reducing inflammation caused by direct mechanical trauma to the conduction system. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Centro Hospitalar de Vila Nova de Gaia/Espinho, analyzing the medical records of patients with native severe aortic stenosis who underwent transfemoral TAVR in 2022. The Chi-square test was used to compare the rate of pacemaker implantation in patients who received corticosteroids with patients who didn't. The statistical significance was considered for a p-value <0.05. RESULTS: A total of 341 patients were included in this study. Monitored anesthesia care was the preferred anesthetic technique (99.1%). Sixty-three point three percent (63.3%) of patients received corticosteroids at the beginning of the procedure. Corticosteroid administration did not significantly affect the incidence of permanent pacemaker implantation (p=0.277), vascular complications on the access site (p=0.765), or in-hospital mortality (p=0.909). Male gender, 1st-degree atrioventricular block, and right branch block were the only identified predictors of permanent pacemaker implantation after transfemoral TAVR (p=0.041 <0.001 and <0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Corticosteroid administration at the beginning of TAVR doesn't seem to influence the incidence of permanent pacemaker implantation, which can suggest that other factors play a more important role in the development of conduction disturbances leading to pacemaker implantation.

Right single coronary artery as an incidental finding in Takotsubo syndrome and acute heart failure: Case report and review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: Single coronary artery (SCA) with no associated congenital heart disease is a rare congenital anomaly. Most cases are asymptomatic and incidental findings, but SCA can cause ischemia, congestive heart failure, and sudden cardiac death (SCD). CASE REPORT: A 44-year-old woman presented with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy and cardiogenic shock. Selective cannulation of the left coronary artery (LCA) was not possible on coronary angiography (CA); an SCA was revealed arising from the right sinus, continuing distally as the circumflex artery and thereafter as the left anterior descending artery. Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) confirmed left main atresia and no coronary stenosis. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed diffuse myocardial edema and no perfusion defects. The patient's clinical course was favorable under conservative management. DISCUSSION: Our paper describes an incidental finding of right SCA. We report a Lipton type R-I, in which a dominant right SCA supplies the entire myocardium. It is the rarest SCA presentation, with an incidence of 0.0008%; only 15 cases have been reported in the literature, all of which were studied by CA. Of these 15, one had SCD, five angina, one ventricular arrhythmia and one complicated acute coronary syndrome. CCTA confirmed the diagnosis in seven patients, MRI in one and transesophageal echocardiography in another. Nine patients had coronary lesions. Two underwent coronary artery bypass grafting, one percutaneous intervention and 11 conservative treatment. CONCLUSION: Right SCA with congenital absence of the LCA is one of the rarest coronary artery anomalies. In a significant percentage of patients it is associated with ischemia and can be life-threatening. CCTA and MRI are the modalities of choice for diagnosis and risk stratification.

Meningeal haemorrhage secondary to cerebrospinal fluid drainage during thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has shown lower mortality compared with open surgical repair (OSR). However, the risk of spinal cord ischaemia (SCI) remains similar than OSR. As a prophylactic measure to reduce the risk of SCI, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage has been widely used in OSR. In TEVAR, the utility of this adjunct is still controversial. We report a case of a 56-year-old man referred for TEVAR for a descending thoracic aneurysm that previously underwent an abdominal aneurysmectomy with aortobifemoral bypass graft. On the day before, a lumbar cerebrospinal drain was placed prophylactically. Forty-eight hours after the procedure, meningeal symptoms without neurological deficits developed. Clinical investigation revealed meningeal haemorrhage. Therapy with nimodipine was initiated with symptomatic relief. Evidence from randomized controlled trials supporting the role of CSF drainage in TEVAR is still lacking. We discuss the current recommendations, potential benefits and risks and cautions associated with CSF drainage in TEVAR.

Value of fractional flow reserve in the management of patients with moderate coronary stenosis.

INTRODUCTION: A considerable number of patients present a single intermediate lesion (>40% and <70%) in one coronary artery on coronary angiography, with no clear evidence that the lesion is responsible for the patient's symptoms. Fractional flow reserve is a method of evaluating the functional importance of stenosis, a value of <0.75 indicating hemodynamically significant lesions. The aim of this study is to determine the safety of non-revascularization of an angiographically moderate and hemodynamically non-significant lesion. METHODS: Fractional flow reserve (FFR) was evaluated in 87 patients over a period of 34 months. Retrospective analysis and follow-up were conducted of patients referred for coronary angiography, without acute coronary syndrome, who presented an angiographically moderate lesion of a single epicardial coronary artery with an FFR of 0.75, and in whom intervention was deferred. RESULTS: We found 21 patients with a mean age of 66 years, 66.7% male. All patients presented vascular risk factors, 14 with prior cardiovascular events. Before coronary angiography 7 patients were asymptomatic, 7 had atypical symptoms and 7 presented CCS class 2 angina. Among these patients, 16 performed a non-invasive stress test, which was positive in 11 patients and inconclusive or doubtful in the others. Angiographically most of the lesions were located in the left anterior descending artery (12 patients). In the 19 +/- 12-month follow-up, 16 patients were asymptomatic and the others maintained the same symptoms. There was no change in the amount of antianginal drugs prescribed. No cardiac events occurred. CONCLUSION: FFR is a useful tool when clinical symptoms and non-invasive tests are inconclusive in the presence of moderate stenosis in a coronary artery. In our group of patients, the decision to defer intervention based on an FFR of 0.75 was found to be safe and associated with absence of clinical events.

Atrial septal closure in adults: surgery versus amplatzer--comparison of results.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy, safety and morbidity of surgical versus percutaneous atrial septal defect (ASD) closure. POPULATION AND METHODS: We studied all cases of ASD closure (surgical or percutaneous) performed in our hospital during the last 5 years. We analyzed the clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of both groups and compared the success rate of the procedure, events, days of hospital stay and evolution during the 1st year. RESULTS: 63 patients (pts) with ostium secundum ASD were treated in our hospital in the last 5 years; 25 (60% female) underwent surgery (A) while 38 (68% female) underwent percutaneous closure with an Amplatzer device (B); mean age was 38 (13-67) and 40 years (15-72), respectively. Dyspnea and fatigue were the most frequent symptoms in both groups (57% A; 29% B), while the most frequent signs were fixed splitting of S2 (78% A; 88% B) and systolic murmur at the left sternal border (82% A; 87% B). Previous ECG presented incomplete right bundle branch block in 63% of both groups. The size of the ASDs, as well as Qp:Qs, were greater in the surgical group: 24.6 (5-50) vs. 18.97 mm and 3.1 (1.5-6.5) vs. 2.7 (1.2-5.2) respectively. Right cardiac chambers were enlarged in 92% of pts in A vs. 84% in B. Paradoxical interventricular septal motion (PSM) was present in 78% of pts in A and 67% in B. The success rate (100%) was similar in both groups but immediate minor events were more frequent in A (28 vs. 13%). Duration of hospital stay was longer in A: 5.4 days (3-9) vs. 1.5 days (1-4). Normalization of right cardiac chamber diameter was faster in B: 73% in the 1st control echocardiogram (at 0-64 days, mean 29) vs. 60% in A, performed at a later stage (45-455 days after the procedure, mean 155). At the time of reassessment PSM was still present in all the pts of group A and in only 10% of B (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The success rate of ASD closure is 100% with both procedures and complications are rare. The percutaneous technique, however, permits a shorter hospital stay, involves less morbidity, and, despite sample limitations, seems to be associated with faster anatomical recovery. Therefore, in our opinion, surgical treatment should be reserved for those cases in which closure with an Amplatzer device is not technically or anatomically possible.