Combined atrial fibrillation ablation and left atrial appendage occlusion procedure in the United States: a propensity score matched analysis from 2016-2019 national readmission database.

AIMS: The safety and feasibility of combining percutaneous catheter ablation (CA) for atrial fibrillation with left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) as a single procedure in the USA have not been investigated. We analyzed the US National Readmission Database (NRD) to investigate the incidence of combined LAAO + CA and compare major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) with matched LAAO-only and CA-only patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this retrospective study from NRD data, we identified patients undergoing combined LAAO and CA procedures on the same day in the USA from 2016 to 2019. A 1:1 propensity score match was performed to identify patients undergoing LAAO-only and CA-only procedures. The number of LAAO + CA procedures increased from 28 (2016) to 119 (2019). LAAO + CA patients (n = 375, mean age 74 ± 9.2 years, 53.4% were males) had non-significant higher MACE (8.1%) when compared with LAAO-only (n = 407, 5.3%) or CA-only patients (n = 406, 7.4%), which was primarily driven by higher rate of pericardial effusion (4.3%). All-cause 30-day readmission rates among LAAO + CA patients (10.7%) were similar when compared with LAAO-only (12.7%) or CA-only (17.5%) patients. The most frequent primary reason for readmissions among LAAO + CA and LAAO-only cohorts was heart failure (24.6 and 31.5%, respectively), while among the CA-only cohort, it was paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (25.7%). CONCLUSION: We report an 63% annual growth (from 28 procedures) in combined LAAO and CA procedures in the USA. There were no significant difference in MACE and all-cause 30-day readmission rates among LAAO + CA patients compared with matched LAAO-only or CA-only patients.

Impact of Active and Historical Cancers on the Management and Outcomes of Acute Myocardial Infarction Complicating Cardiogenic Shock.

BACKGROUND: There are limited data on the outcomes of acute myocardial infarction-cardiogenic shock (AMI-CS) in patients with concomitant cancer. METHODS: A retrospective cohort of adult AMI-CS admissions was identified from the National Inpatient Sample (2000-2017) and stratified by active cancer, historical cancer, and no cancer. Outcomes of interest included in-hospital mortality, use of coronary angiography, use of percutaneous coronary intervention, do-not-resuscitate status, palliative care use, hospitalization costs, and hospital length of stay. RESULTS: Of the 557,974 AMI-CS admissions during this 18-year period, active and historical cancers were noted in 14,826 (2.6%) and 27,073 (4.8%), respectively. From 2000 to 2017, there was a decline in active cancers (adjusted odds ratio, 0.70 [95% CI, 0.63-0.79]; P < .001) and an increase in historical cancer (adjusted odds ratio, 2.06 [95% CI, 1.89-2.25]; P < .001). Compared with patients with no cancer, patients with active and historical cancer received less-frequent coronary angiography (57%, 67%, and 70%, respectively) and percutaneous coronary intervention (40%, 47%, and 49%%, respectively) and had higher do-not-resuscitate status (13%, 15%, 7%%, respectively) and palliative care use (12%, 10%, 6%%, respectively) (P < .001). Compared with those without cancer, higher in-hospital mortality was found in admissions with active cancer (45.9% vs 37.0%; adjusted odds ratio, 1.29 [95% CI, 1.24-1.34]; P < .001) but not historical cancer (40.1% vs 37.0%; adjusted odds ratio, 1.01 [95% CI, 0.98-1.04]; P = .39). AMI-CS admissions with cancer had a shorter hospitalization duration and lower costs (all P < .001). CONCLUSION: Concomitant cancer was associated with less use of guideline-directed procedures. Active, but not historical, cancer was associated with higher mortality in patients with AMI-CS.

Outcomes and predictors of readmission after implantation of a percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion device in the United States: A propensity score-matched analysis from The National Readmission Database.

BACKGROUND: Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) devices have become a favorable alternative option among nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with long-term contraindication to anticoagulation. Real-world experience with postprocedural readmission rates and predictors of readmission in LAAO patients is limited. OBJECTIVE: To assess all-cause 30-day readmission rate and predictors of readmission after LAAO procedure in the United States. METHOD: This retrospective observational study included all AF patients undergoing percutaneous LAAO procedures in the United States from January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2017, in the National Readmission Database. The primary outcome measure was all-cause 30-day readmission. A propensity score-matched analysis compared outcomes with a non-LAAO AF cohort. RESULT: Among 14 024 LAAO procedures (age: 76 ± 8 years; 60.5% males), 9.4% were readmitted within 30-days and, 0.2% died during their index hospitalization. The most frequent primary diagnosis during readmission among LAAO was gastrointestinal bleeding (12%). The incidence of LAAO procedures increased by 102%. In the multivariate model, gender and CHA2 DS2 -VASc failed to predict readmission. Age 55-64 years had lower odds (adjusted odds ratios [aOR]: 0.41; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.18-0.94), while drug abuse (aOR: 4.1; 95% CI: 1.34-12.54), and deficiency anemia (aOR: 1.88; 95% CI: 1.12-3.18) had higher odds of readmission. In propensity-matched cohort, compared to non-LAAO AF, LAAO patients had lower 30-day readmission (9.4% vs. 10.98%, p = .002) and all-cause in-hospital mortality (0.19% vs. 0.57%, p < .001). CONCLUSION: The readmission rate following the LAAO procedure is substantial (approximately 10%), and largely attributable to gastrointestinal bleeding. Factors such as drug abuse and anemia must be explored further to minimize readmission risk.

Overall survival based on oncologist density in the United States: A retrospective cohort study.

Medically underserved areas (MUA) or health professional shortage areas (HPSA) designations are based on primary care health services availability. These designations are used in recruiting international medical graduates (IMGs) trained in primary care or subspecialty (e.g., oncology) to areas of need. Whether the MUA/HPSA designation correlates with Oncologist Density (OD) and supports IMG oncologists' recruitment to areas of need is unknown. We evaluated the concordance of OD with the designation of MUAs/HPSAs and evaluated the impact of OD and MUA/HPSA status on overall survival. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with hematological malignancies or metastatic solid tumors in 2011 from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. SEER was linked to the American Medical Association Masterfile to calculate OD, defined as the number of oncologists per 100,000 population at the county level. We calculated the proportion of counties with MUA or HPSA designation for each OD category. Overall survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared between the OD category using a log-rank test. We identified 68,699 adult patients with hematologic malignancies or metastatic solid cancers in 609 counties. The proportion of MUA/HPSA designation was similar across counties categorized by OD (93.2%, 95.4%, 90.3%, and 91.7% in counties with <2.9, 2.9-6.5, 6.5-8.4 and >8.4 oncologists per 100K population, p = 0.7). Patients' median survival in counties with the lowest OD was significantly lower compared to counties with the highest OD (8 vs. 11 months, p<0.0001). The difference remained statistically significant in multivariate and subgroup analysis. MUA/HPSA status was not associated with survival (HR 1.03, 95%CI 0.97-1.09, p = 0.3). MUA/HPSA designation based on primary care services is not concordant with OD. Patients in counties with lower OD correlated with inferior survival. Federal programs designed to recruit physicians in high-need areas should consider the availability of health care services beyond primary care.

Thirty-day readmissions due to Venous thromboembolism in patients discharged with syncope.

A recent study found that approximately 1 in every 6 patients hospitalized for the 1st episode of syncope had an underlying pulmonary embolism (PE). As current guidelines do not strongly emphasize evaluation for PE in the workup of syncope, we hypothesize that there might be a higher rate of 30-day readmission due to untreated venous thromboembolism (VTE). The objective of this study is to measure the 30-day readmission rate due to VTE and identify predictors of 30-day readmission with VTE among syncope patients. We identified patients admitted with syncope with ICD9 diagnoses code 780.2 in the Nationwide Readmission Database (NRD-2013), Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). The 30-day readmission rate was calculated using methods described by HCUP. Logistic-regression was used to identify predictors of 30-day readmission with VTE. Discharge weights provided by HCUP were used to generate national estimates. In 2013, NRD included 207,339 eligible patients admitted with syncope. The prevalence rates of PE and DVT were 1.1% and 1.4%, respectively. At least one syncope associated condition was present in 60.9% of the patients. Among the patients who were not diagnosed with VTE during index admission for syncope (N = 188,015), 30-day readmission rate with VTE was 0.5% (0.2% with PE and 0.4% with DVT). In conclusion, low prevalence of VTE in patients with syncope and extremely low 30-day readmission rate with VTE argues against missed diagnoses of VTE in index admission for syncope. These results warrant further studies to determine clinical impact of work up for PE in syncope patients without risk factors.

Impact of Change in 2010 American Heart Association Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Guidelines on Survival After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in the United States: An Analysis From 2006 to 2015.

BACKGROUND: In October 2010, the American Heart Association/Emergency Cardiovascular Care updated cardiopulmonary resuscitation guidelines. Its impact on the survival rate among out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients (OHCA) is not well studied. We sought to assess the survival trends in OHCA patients before and after the introduction of the 2010 American Heart Association cardiopulmonary resuscitation guidelines in the United States. METHODS: A retrospective observational study from the National Emergency Department (ED) Sample was designed to identify patients presenting to the ED primarily after an OHCA in the United States between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2015. The main outcome studied was the change in trends of ED survival and survival-to-discharge rates before and after guideline modification. RESULTS: Among 1 282 520 patients presenting to the ED after OHCA (mean [SD] age, 65.8 [17.2] years; 62% men), ED survival rate (23%) and survival-to-discharge rate (16%) trends showed significant improvement after implementation of the 2010 American Heart Association cardiopulmonary resuscitation guidelines, 1.25% ([95% CI, 0.72%-1.78%] P=0.001) and 0.89% ([95% CI, 0.35%-1.43%] P=0.006), respectively. Notably, among patients with nonshockable rhythm (change in ED survival rate trend, 1.3% [95% CI, 0.89%-1.74%]; P<0.001 and survival-to-discharge trend, 0.94% [95% CI, 0.42%-1.47%]; P=0.004). Among patients admitted to the presenting hospital (n=145 592), 46% were discharged alive, of which 49% were discharged home. Significant decrease in discharge to home was noted (-1.7% [95% CI, -3.18% to -0.22%]; P=0.03), while a significant increase in neurological complication (0.17% [95% CI, 0.06%-0.28%]; P=0.007) was noted with the guideline modification. CONCLUSIONS: The change in 2010 American Heart Association cardiopulmonary resuscitation guidelines was associated with only slight improvement in ED survival and survival-to-discharge trends among US OHCA patients and only 1 in 6 OHCA patients survival to discharge.

Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy: Understanding the Pathophysiology of Selective Left Ventricular Involvement.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TCM) has gained global recognition as a unique cardiovascular disease that mimics acute myocardial infarction. Since its initial description, more than three decades ago, we have significantly advanced our understanding of diagnosing, treating, and prognosticating this reversible cardiovascular phenomenon. However, the pathophysiological explanation behind its selective involvement of the left ventricle (LV), predominantly the LV apex in poorly understood. In this brief review on differential distribution of the adrenergic nerve (AN) and cholinergic nerve (CN) in the normal human heart, we try to extrapolate an idea of poor CN distribution in the LV apex as an associated factor augmenting microcirculatory dysfunction due to an unopposed AN activity from the catecholamine surge, as a plausible explanation for this characteristic phenomenon.

Influence of comorbidity on survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the United States.

AIM: Association between survival rate and Elixhauser Comorbidity Index (ECI) among individuals suffering an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the United States (US). METHODS: We utilized the US National Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) dataset to retrospectively identify individuals experiencing OHCA between January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2015; using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision-Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) and Tenth Revision-Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) codes. Logistic regression analysis with twenty-nine ECIs as predictor variables were performed to compute for odds ratio (OR), after controlling for age and gender. Linear regression analysis performed to assess survival trend after clustering based on ECI. We also assessed the association of ECI with survival rate after stratifying patients based on cardiac rhythm (shockable versus non-shockable). RESULTS: We identified 1,282,520 (16.4%, survived-to-discharge) weighted observations presenting primarily after OHCA in the US during the study period. Annual percentage change (APC) in survival rate among OHCA patients with no ECI and those with >3 ECI was -1.53% (95% CI: -1.98% to -1.09%, Ptrend < 0.001) and 1.2% (95% CI: 0.69%-1.7%, Ptrend = 0.001), respectively. Adjusted OR for ECI was 1.31 (95% CI: 1.3-1.31, P < 0.001). Percentage change in the survival rate among shockable and non-shockable rhythm was 5.6% (95% CI: -3.9% to 15.13%, Ptrend = 0.127) and 1.04% (95% CI: 0.01%-2.07%, Ptrend = 0.05), respectively, with a unit increase in ECI. CONCLUSION: In the US, OHCA patients with higher ECI have greater survival-to-discharge rate, demonstrating "comorbidity paradox".

Trends and Predictors of 30-day Readmission Among Patients Hospitalized with Infective Endocarditis in the United States.

Background The incidence and 30-day readmission rates of patients with infective endocarditis (IE) are not fully determined. We used the United States Nationwide Readmission Database (NRD) to assess national trends and predictors of 30-day readmission. Methods We queried the NRD from 2010 to 2014 and identified patients with index hospitalizations primarily for IE. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify predictors of 30-day readmission. Results A total of 48,500 patients (mean age 58 ± 19 years; 38% women; 6.4% died during index hospitalization) were admitted for IE. There was an annual decrease in hospitalization rates by 1.5%. With an exception for 2014, subsequent 30-day readmission rates remained relatively unchanged. All-cause 30-day readmission occurred in 25.4% of patients, 21.8% of which were due to acute or subacute bacterial endocarditis. Leaving against medical advice (odds ratio (OR): 3.46, 95% CI: 3.12 - 3.84; P <0.001), history of drug abuse and a cardiac implantable electronic device in situ (OR: 2.17, 95% CI: 1.53 - 3.08; P <0.001), fungal IE (OR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.28 - 1.76; P < 0.001), and uninsured patients (OR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.12 - 1.74, P <0.001) were the strongest independent predictors of 30-day readmission. Readmission cost ($58 million annually) accounted for 14% of the total hospitalization cost. Conclusions The annual incidence of IE in the US decreased slightly from 2010 to 2014, but the 30-day readmission rates remained relatively unchanged. Addressing modifiable predictors of readmission may reduce the financial burden of IE on health care.

Trends of Inpatient Venous Thromboembolism in United States Before and After the Surgeon General's Call to Action.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States (US). The increasing rates of VTE in the US resulted in the surgeon general issuing a call to action to reduce VTE in 2008. The objective of our study was to analyze the national trends of inpatient VTE in the US from 2004 to 2013 (5 years before and after 2008). We used the dataset National Inpatient Sample, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project and measured trends of inpatient VTE by annual % change using joinpoint regression software. From 2004 to 2013 the National Inpatient Sample contained data on 78 million hospitalizations (weighted n = 385 million). In these 1.6 million had a diagnosis of VTE (2.0%, weighted n = 7.7 million) including 1.2 million with deep venous thrombosis (DVT) (1.53%, weighted n = 5.9 million) and 588,878 with pulmonary embolism (PE) (0.74%, weighted n = 2.8 million). Joinpoint regression analysis showed that rates of DVT and PE are increasing consistently from 2004 to 2013(1.27% to 1.80% for DVT and 0.52% to 0.92% for PE). The increasing rates of DVT and PE were consistent in all subgroups except few exceptions. In conclusion inpatient VTE rates continue to rise even after 5 years from the surgeon general's a call to action except in certain high-risk patients. Further research is needed to curb the VTE in patients especially among those perceived to be at lower risk of VTE.

Bullous Variant of Sweet's Syndrome as a Consequence of Radioiodine Contrast Exposure.

Bullous variant of Sweet's syndrome (SS) is a rare form of SS, which clinically presents as bullous hemorrhagic rash and demonstrates dermal neutrophilic infiltrates with segregation of dermo-epidermal junction histopathologically. We present a case of a 73-year-old patient, who initially developed a hypersensitivity reaction on exposure to a radiocontrast agent and subsequently developed blistering rashes, which were established to be from bullous SS after exclusion of other possible diagnoses. Contrast media are utilized commonly in the current era of medicine and SS is rarely identified as an adverse event from it. Bullous variant particularly presents aggressively, which when recognized early responds to steroid use with clinical recovery.