Same-Day Discharge After Elective Percutaneous Transcatheter Cardiovascular Interventions.

Percutaneous transcatheter interventions have evolved as standard therapies for a variety of cardiovascular diseases, from revascularization for atherosclerotic vascular lesions to the treatment of structural cardiac diseases. Concomitant technological innovations, procedural advancements, and operator experience have contributed to effective therapies with low complication rates, making early hospital discharge safe and common. Same-day discharge presents numerous potential benefits for patients, providers, and health care systems. There are several key elements that are shared across the spectrum of interventional cardiology procedures to create a successful same-day discharge pathway. These include appropriate patient and procedure selection, close postprocedural observation, predischarge assessments specific for each type of procedure, and the existence of a patient support system beyond hospital discharge. This review provides the rationale, available data, and a framework for same-day discharge across the spectrum of coronary, peripheral, and structural cardiovascular interventions.

Successful Endovascular Treatment of an Anastomotic Pseudoaneurysm in the Ascending Aorta.

We present a case of a 72-year-old-male with an ascending aortic anastomotic pseudoaneurysm following Dacron graft repair of an iatrogenic ascending aortic dissection that occurred during an open mitral valve repair, which was successfully treated with endovascular graft placement. In conclusion, this uncommon finding demonstrates a complex pathology and additional clinical examples of the versatility of endovascular stent grafts within the ascending aorta.

Intravascular Lithotripsy for the Treatment of Severely Calcified Coronary Artery Disease: A DISRUPT CAD III Intravascular Ultrasound Substudy.

BACKGROUND: Coronary intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) has emerged as a novel technique for the treatment of severely calcified coronary lesions. We evaluated the mechanism and efficacy of IVL in facilitating optimal stent implantation in heavily calcified coronary lesions using intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). METHODS: Forty-six patients were initially enrolled as a part of the Disrupt CAD III study. Of these, 33 had pre-IVL, 24 had post-IVL, and 44 had post-stent IVUS evaluation. The final analysis was performed on 18 patients who had IVUS images interpretable at all three intervals. The primary endpoint was increase in minimum lumen area (MLA) from pre-IVL to post-IVL treatment to post-stenting. RESULTS: Pre-IVL, MLA was 2.75 ± 0.84 mm2, percent area stenosis was 67.22 % ± 20.95 % with maximum calcium angle of 266.90° ± 78.30°, confirming severely calcified lesions. After IVL, MLA increased to 4.06 ± 1.41 mm2 (p = 0.0003), percent area stenosis decreased to 54.80 % ± 25.71 % (p = 0.0009), and maximum calcium angle decreased to 239.40° ± 76.73° (p = 0.003). There was a further increase in MLA to 6.84 ± 2.18 mm2 (p < 0.0001) and decrease in percent area stenosis to 30.33 % ± 35.08 % (p < 0.0001) post-stenting with minimum stent area of 6.99 ± 2.14 mm2. The success rate of stent delivery, implantation, and post-stent dilation was 100 % post-IVL. CONCLUSION: In this first study evaluating the mechanism of IVL using IVUS, the primary endpoint of increase in MLA from pre-IVL to post-IVL treatment to post-stenting was successfully achieved. Our study showed that the use of IVL-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention is associated with improved vessel compliance, facilitating optimal stent implantation in de novo severely calcified lesions.

Endovascular repair of a traumatic inferior vena cava injury after exploratory laparotomy.

The incidence of traumatic inferior vena cava (IVC) injury is infrequent but is associated with high mortality. No clear and current society-based guidelines are available to dictate the role of endovascular therapy. In the present case report, we have described a unique clinical presentation of a patient in extremis after emergent exploratory laparotomy who had experienced an IVC injury that could not be controlled with open surgery. The IVC injury was treated with an endovascular approach with a Gore TAG endograft (W.L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff, AZ). We have reported a technique for successful treatment of a complex IVC injury, with the aim of adding to the current body of literature supporting the use of endovascular approaches.

Pharmacomechanical Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis With the Bashir Endovascular Catheter for Acute Pulmonary Embolism: The RESCUE Study.

BACKGROUND: Catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) has been associated with rapid recovery of right ventricular (RV) function. The Bashir catheter was developed for enhanced thrombolysis in large vessels such as the pulmonary arteries (PAs) with lower doses of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tPA infused using a pharmacomechanical (PM) CDT device called the Bashir endovascular catheter in patients with intermediate-risk acute pulmonary embolism (PE). METHODS: Patients with symptoms of acute PE with computed tomographic evidence of RV dilatation were enrolled. The Bashir catheter was used to deliver 7 mg tPA into each PA over 5 hours. The primary efficacy endpoint was the core laboratory-assessed change in computed tomographic angiography-derived RV/left ventricular (LV) diameter ratio at 48 hours, and the primary safety endpoint was serious adverse events (SAEs) including major bleeding at 72 hours. RESULTS: At 18 U.S. sites, 109 patients were enrolled. The median device placement time was 15 minutes. At 48 hours after PM-CDT, the RV/LV diameter ratio decreased by 0.56 (33.3%; P < 0.0001). PA obstruction as measured by the refined modified Miller index was reduced by 35.9% (P < 0.0001). One patient (0.92%) had 2 SAEs: a retroperitoneal bleed (procedure related) and iliac vein thrombosis (device related). Two other procedure-related SAEs were epistaxis and non-access site hematoma with anemia. CONCLUSIONS: PM-CDT with the Bashir endovascular catheter is associated with a significant reduction in RV/LV diameter ratio and a very low rate of adverse events or major bleeding in patients with intermediate-risk acute PE. The notable finding was a significant reduction in PA obstruction with low-dose tPA. (Recombinant tPA by Endovascular Administration for the Treatment of Submassive PE Using CDT for the Reduction of Thrombus Burden [RESCUE]; NCT04248868).

Steep rise in drug use-associated infective endocarditis in West Virginia: Characteristics and healthcare utilization.

INTRODUCTION: Life-threatening infections such as infective endocarditis (IE) are increasing simultaneously with the injection drug use epidemic in West Virginia (WV). We utilized a newly developed, statewide database to describe epidemiologic characteristics and healthcare utilization among patients with (DU-IE) and without (non-DU-IE) drug use-associated IE in WV over five years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective, observational study, incorporating manual review of electronic medical records, included all patients aged 18-90 years who had their first admission for IE in any of the four university-affiliated referral hospitals in WV during 2014-2018. IE was identified using ICD-10-CM codes and confirmed by chart review. Demographics, clinical characteristics, and healthcare utilization were compared between patients with DU-IE and non-DU-IE using Chi-square/Fisher's exact test or Wilcoxon rank sum test. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted with discharge against medical advice/in-hospital mortality vs. discharge alive as the outcome variable and drug use as the predictor variable. RESULTS: Overall 780 unique patients had confirmed first IE admission, with a six-fold increase during study period (p = .004). Most patients (70.9%) had used drugs before hospital admission, primarily by injection. Compared to patients with non-DU-IE, patients with DU-IE were significantly younger (median age: 33.9 vs. 64.1 years; p < .001); were hospitalized longer (median: 25.5 vs. 15 days; p < .001); had a higher proportion of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates (42.7% vs. 29.9%; p < .001), psychiatric disorders (51.2% vs. 17.3%; p < .001), cardiac surgeries (42.9% vs. 26.6%; p < .001), and discharges against medical advice (19.9% vs. 1.4%; p < .001). Multivariable regression analysis showed drug use was an independent predictor of the combined outcome of discharge against medical advice/in-hospital mortality (OR: 2.99; 95% CI: 1.67-5.64). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This multisite study reveals a 681% increase in IE admissions in WV over five years primarily attributable to injection drug use, underscoring the urgent need for both prevention efforts and specialized strategies to improve outcomes.

Sex Differences in Characteristics of Patients with Infective Endocarditis: A Multicenter Study.

Infectious diseases like infective endocarditis (IE) may manifest or progress differently between sexes. This study sought to identify the differences in demographic and clinical characteristics among male and female patients with IE. Data were obtained from a newly developed registry comprising all adult patients with first IE admission at the four major tertiary cardiovascular centers in West Virginia, USA during 2014−2018. Patient characteristics were compared between males and females using Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Wilcoxon rank-sum test. A secondary analysis was restricted to IE patients with drug use only. Among 780 unique patients (390 males, 390 females), significantly more women (a) were younger than males (median age 34.9 vs. 41.4, p < 0.001); (b) reported drug use (77.7% vs. 64.1%, p < 0.001); (c) had tricuspid valve endocarditis (46.4% vs. 30.8%, p < 0.001); and (d) were discharged against medical advice (20% vs. 9.5%, p < 0.001). These differences persisted even within the subgroup of patients with drug use-associated IE. In a state with one of the highest incidences of drug use and overdose deaths, the significantly higher incident IE cases in younger women and higher proportion of women leaving treatment against medical advice are striking. Differential characteristics between male and female patients are important to inform strategies for specialized treatment and care.

Association Between Myocarditis and Mortality in COVID-19 Patients in a Large Registry.

OBJECTIVE: To present a large registry data assessing the association between myocarditis and mortality in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The researchers identified adult patients aged 18 to 90 years of age with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnosis in the TriNetX (COVID-19 research network) database between January 20, 2020, and December 9, 2020. These patients were then divided into groups of those who had a positive myocarditis diagnosis and those who did not. The researchers compared all-cause mortality between propensity-matched pairs of patients in both groups. RESULTS: A total of 259,352 patients with COVID-19 diagnosis were included in the study. Of those patients, 383 (0.2%) had myocarditis diagnosis, whereas 258,969 (99.8%) did not have myocarditis diagnosis during their hospital stay. Patients were predominantly male in the myocarditis group (59.0% vs 45.0%, P<0.001). As to the propensity-matched cohorts, 383 of 383 were matched, and the all-cause mortality was 13.4 % vs 4.2% (P<0.001) at 30 days. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was also statistically significant (P<0.001) at 30 days. CONCLUSION: In a large multinational database of COVID-19 patients, we observed an association between myocarditis diagnosis and increased mortality. Further prospective studies are recommended to further assess myocarditis outcomes in COVID-19 patients and treatment options.

Stroke Incidence and Outcome Disparity in Rural Regions of Southern West Virginia.

INTRODUCTION: West Virginia has the highest incidence of obesity, smoking, and diabetes within the United States, placing its population at higher risk of stroke. In addition to these endemic risk factors, Appalachia faces various socioeconomic and health care access challenges that could negatively impact stroke incidence and outcomes. At present, there are limited data regarding geographic variables on stroke outcomes in rural Appalachia. We set out to quantify Appalachian geographic patterns of stroke incidence and outcomes. METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of all patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of stroke in West Virginia's largest tertiary hospital. During the study (2000-2018), 14,488 patients were analyzed, with an emphasis on those who died from stroke (n = 1022). We first used institutional ICD-9/10 data alongside demographics information and chart reviews to evaluate disease patterns while also exploring emerging hot spot pattern changes over time; we then exploited an emerging time series analysis using temporal trends to assess differing instances of stroke occurrence regionally with hot spots defined as higher than expected incidences of stroke and stroke death. RESULTS: Data analysis revealed several hot spots of increasing stroke and mortality rates, many of which achieved statistically significant variance compared to expected norms (P = 0.001). Moreover, this study revealed high-risk zones in rural West Virginia wherein the incidence and mortality rates of stroke are suggestively higher and less resistance to economic change than urban centers. CONCLUSIONS: Stroke incidence and mortality were found to be higher than expected in many areas of rural West Virginia. The higher stroke risk populations correlate with area that may be impacted by socioeconomic factors and limited access to primary care. These high-risk areas may therefore benefit from investments in infrastructure, patient education, and unrestricted primary care.

Outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Versus Optimal Medical Treatment for Chronic Total Occlusion: A Comprehensive Meta-analysis.

The presence of concurrent chronic total occlusion (CTO) is a strong predictor for both short-term and long-term mortality. Successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of CTO has been associated with clinical benefit. We sought to perform a meta-analysis comparing CTO-PCI versus optimal medical therapy. PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, Google scholar and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for studies published from 2006 to 2019. A total of 16 studies, with 11,314 patients were included. We analyzed data on mortality, cardiac deaths, myocardial re-infarction, major adverse cardiac events, stroke, and repeat CTO-PCI using random-effects models. The odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were computed and P < 0.05 was considered as a level of significance. Compared with medical therapy alone, CTO-PCI was associated with lower mortality (OR: 0.45, CI: 0.32-0.63, P < 0.00001) and cardiac deaths (OR: 0.58, CI: 0.38-0.89, P = 0.01). These results were primarily driven by observational studies with no difference observed in randomized controlled trials. There was no significant difference in the incidence of major adverse cardiac events (OR: 0.71, CI: 0.48-1.05, P = 0.54), myocardial re-infarction (OR: 0.71, CI: 0.48-1.05, P = 0.54), stroke (OR: 0.61, CI: 0.32-1.17, P = 0.14, and repeat PCI (OR: 1.28, CI: 0.91-1.78, P = 0.16). This meta-analysis shows lower long-term mortality and cardiac deaths in CTO-PCI group as compared to OMT driven by observational studies with no difference observed in randomized controlled trials. Further randomized trials are needed to confirm these findings and evaluate long term results.