Percutaneous Edge-to-Edge Mitral Valve Repair for Functional Mitral Regurgitation.

The presence and severity of functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) is associated with worse outcomes in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. Prior to the availability of percutaneous mitral valve repair, management for FMR has been limited to medical therapy, cardiac resynchronization therapy for a specific subset of patients and surgery which has yet to demonstrate mortality benefits. Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) of the mitral valve has emerged in the past decade as an invaluable member of the armamentarium against FMR with the 2 landmark randomized controlled trials providing deep insights on patient selection. In addition, TEER has spurred the rapid advancement in our understanding of FMR. This article seeks to provide an overview as well as our current understanding on the role of TEER in FMR.

Severe mitral regurgitation from Libman-Sacks endocarditis treated with MitraClip: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) valvulopathy can manifest as a spectrum of pathologies and treatment of severe valvular dysfunction thus far has been surgical. However, surgery in patients with SLE is frequently associated with high morbidity and mortality due to the presence of significant co-morbidities. CASE SUMMARY: We report the case of a 41-year-old woman with SLE and anti-phospholipid syndrome with extensive co-morbidities including lupus nephritis, pancytopaenia, cerebrovascular accident, and severe airway obstruction from ipsilateral lung collapse and bronchiectasis. She had severe mitral regurgitation (MR) from Libman-Sacks endocarditis and in recent months developed heart failure with progressive exertional dyspnoea from New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional Class from New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II to III. In addition, there was progressive left ventricular dilatation and reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction. In view of the high surgical risk, she underwent transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) of the mitral valve with the MitraClip system. At 1-month follow-up, she was back to NYHA functional Class II with mild MR. DISCUSSION: Our case demonstrates that in select patient with suitable anatomy, TEER is a potential treatment option for severe MR from SLE valvulopathy.

Risk factors for cardiovascular events among Asian patients without pre-existing cardiovascular disease on the renal transplant wait list.

INTRODUCTION: For suitable end-stage renal failure (ESRF) patients, renal transplantation gives better long term survival and quality of life as compared to dialysis. Prior to entry into the renal transplant wait list, potential candidates are screened for the presence of cardiovascular disease. However, the waiting time on the transplant list is long, and interval screening for cardiac fitness for surgery is not well defined. We aim to study the risk factors for the development of a cardiovascular event (CVE) and the time interval from recruitment to onset of a CVE that resulted in their removal from the transplant wait list. METHODS: A retrospective study of all patients registered under the cadaveric renal transplant waiting list in Singapore General Hospital (SGH) from 16th April 1987 to 31st October 2010. We identified patients who developed a CVE among this cohort. We compared the demographics and clinical characteristics of patients who experienced a CVE versus those who did not. Univariable and multivariable cox regression were performed to investigate the significant variables for the development of a CVE. The time to development of CVE was estimated using Kaplan Meier estimation and log-rank test was used to compare the time to CVE between those with diabetes mellitus and those without. RESULTS: 1265 patients were enrolled in this study. 273 patients dropped out of the wait list due to medical reasons or death, of which 38.8% were due to CVE. The mean and median time duration from recruitment into the waiting list to development of a CVE was 14.42 (95% CI 13.72 to 15.11) and 15.69 (95% CI 13.86 to 17.51) years respectively. For patients with diabetes mellitus, this was 8.22 (95% CI 6.30 to 10.14) and 8.16 (95% CI 4.95 to 11.36) years respectively. Factors associated with an increased risk of developing a CVE included male gender (adjusted HR 2.21, 95% CI 1.43 to 3.41, p<0.001), presence of diabetes mellitus (adjusted HR 5.13, 95% CI 2.85 to 9.24, p<0.001) and patients who were either not working or working part-time as compared to their full-time counterparts (adjusted HR 1.76, 95% CI 1.14 to 2.72, p=0.010). In addition, hazard ratio for CVE significantly increased with advancing age quartile (p<0.001 by log rank test for trend). CONCLUSION: A significant proportion of patients exited from the renal transplant wait list due to a CVE. Being male, age 37 years old or more, presence of diabetes mellitus and non-working or part-time workers as compared to full-time workers were found to increase the risk of developing a CVE during the wait period for transplantation. The presence of diabetes mellitus significantly shortened the time to development of a CVE.

Early outcome following emergency gastrectomy

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>Emergency gastrectomy has been shown to be associated with poor morbidity and mortality rates. The aims of this study were to review the outcomes of emergency gastrectomy in our institution and to determine any factors that were associated with worse perioperative outcomes.</p><p><b>MATERIALS AND METHODS</b>A retrospective review of all patients who underwent emergency gastrectomy for various indications from October 2003 to April 2009 was performed. All the complications were graded according to the classification proposed by Clavien and group.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Eighty-fi ve patients, median age 70 (range, 27 to 90 years), underwent emergency gastrectomy. The indications for the surgery included perforation, bleeding and obstruction in 45 (52.9%), 32 (37.6%) and 8 (9.4%) patients, respectively. The majority of the patients (n = 46, 54.1%) had an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score of 3. Partial or subtotal, and total gastrectomy were performed in 75 (88.2%) and 10 (11.8%) patients, respectively. Malignancy was the underlying pathology in 33 (38.8%) patients. The perioperative mortality rate was 21.2% (n = 18) with another 27 (31.8%) patients having severe complications. Twelve (14.1%) patients had a duodenal stump leak. The independent factors predicting worse perioperative complications included high ASA score and in perforation cases. Other factors such as malignancy, age and extent of surgery were not signifi cantly related. The presence of a duodenal stump leak was the only independent factor predicting mortality.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Emergency gastrectomy is associated with dismal morbidity and mortality rates. Patients with high ASA scores and perforations fared worse, and duodenal stump leak increases the risk of mortality.</p>