Dynamic Changes in High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin I Are Associated with Dynamic Changes in Sum Absolute QRST Integral on Surface Electrocardiogram in Acute Decompensated Heart Failure.

BACKGROUND: A three-dimensional electrocardiographic (ECG) metric, the sum absolute QRST integral (SAI QRST), predicts ventricular arrhythmias in heart failure (HF) patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillator and mechanical response to cardiac resynchronization therapy. We hypothesized that there is an association between patient-specific changes in SAI QRST and myocardial injury as measured by high-sensitivity troponin I (hsTnI). METHODS: Sum absolute integral QRST on resting 12-lead ECG and hsTnI were measured simultaneously, every 3 hours, and during 12-hour observation period in a prospective cohort of emergency department patients (n = 398; mean age 57.8 ± 13.2 years; 54% female, 64% black), diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome (ACS, n = 28), acutely decompensated HF (acute decompensated heart failure, n = 35), cardiac non-ACS (n = 19), or noncardiac condition (n = 316). Random-effects linear regression analysis assessed the association of SAI QRST and myocardial injury, with adjustment for demographics (age, sex, race), prevalent cardiovascular disease (myocardial infarction, history of revascularization, stroke, and HF), risk factors (diabetes, smoking, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and cocaine use), and left bundle branch block. RESULTS: Within the entire cohort, SAI QRST decreased by 3 (95%CI -5 to -1) mV*ms every 3 hours. A 10-fold increase in hsTnI was associated with a 7.7 (0.6-14.9) mV*ms increase in SAI QRST. In the subgroup of acutely decompensated HF patients (n = 35), a 10-fold increase in hsTnI was associated with a 61.0 (5.9-116.1) mV*ms increase in SAI QRST. CONCLUSION: Patient-specific time-varying changes in the surface ECG scalar measure of global electrical heterogeneity, as measured by SAI QRST, and in myocardial injury as measured by hsTnI, are independently and directly associated with each other, likely reflecting a common underlying mechanism.

Molecular characterization of human group A rotavirus from stool samples in young children with diarrhea in Indonesia.

Detection and genotyping of group A rotavirus strains from stool samples in young children with diarrhea in Indonesia were examined using reverse transcription-nested multiplex PCR. Of 421 stool specimens, 257 samples was rotavirus positive. G1 type was the most common G-type (54%), followed by G2 (6%) and G9 (3%). P[8] was the most common P-type (39%), followed by P[6] (19%), P[4] (10%) and P[11] 1%. Eighteen percent of the samples had mixed G genotype infection and 5% had mixed P genotype infection. The prevalence of G-P combination type was genotype G1P[8] (24%), followed by G1P[6] (7%), G2P[4] (3%), and G1P[4] (2%). A total of 118 specimens could not be assigned as a G and/or P type suggesting the presence of new circulating genotypes in Indonesia.

Cases from the Osler Medical Service at Johns Hopkins University.

A 73-year-old man who had been receiving chronic anticoagulation treatment with warfarin for multiple prior strokes presented to the hospital because of several weeks of pain in his right calf. He also complained of several months of anorexia and weight loss of 20 lbs. On physical examination, he was thin and showed signs of temporal wasting. There was minimal pitting edema in the right leg, with a positive Homans' sign. Lower extremity Doppler ultrasound showed a popliteal thrombus. The morning after admission, he developed an acutely swollen, painful upper extremity and was found to have an occlusive clot in the left subclavian vein. Because these thrombi occurred in the setting of a therapeutic prothrombin time (international normalized ratio, 2.7) on warfarin, he was begun on treatment with intravenous heparin. What is the diagnosis?