Cardiac Complications Attributed to Hydroxychloroquine: A Systematic Review of the Literature Pre-COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: Hydroxychloroquine has been used for rheumatological diseases for many decades and is considered a safe medication. With the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been an increase in reports associating cardiotoxicity with hydroxychloroquine. It is unclear if the cardiotoxic profile of hydroxychloroquine is previously underreported in the literature or is it a manifestation of COVID-19 and therapeutic interventions. This manuscript evaluates the incidence of cardiotoxicity associated with hydroxychloroquine prior to the onset of COVID-19. METHODS: PubMED, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched for keywords derived from MeSH terms prior to April 9, 2020. Inclusion eligibility was based on appropriate reporting of cardiac conditions and study design. RESULTS: A total of 69 articles were identified (58 case reports, 11 case series). The majority (84%) of patients were female, with a median age of 49.2 (range 16-92) years. 15 of 185 patients with cardiotoxic events were in the setting of acute intentional overdose. In acute overdose, the median ingestion was 17,857 ± 14,873 mg. 2 of 15 patients died after acute intoxication. In patients with long-term hydroxychloroquine use (10.5 ± 8.9 years), new onset systolic heart failure occurred in 54 of 155 patients (35%) with median cumulative ingestion of 1,493,800 ± 995,517 mg. The majority of patients improved with the withdrawal of hydroxychloroquine and standard therapy. CONCLUSION: Millions of hydroxychloroquine doses are prescribed annually. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, cardiac complications attributed to hydroxychloroquine were uncommon. Further studies are needed to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the cardiovascular system to understand the presence or absence of potential medication interactions with hydroxychloroquine in this new pathophysiological state.

Balloon expandable transcatheter heart valves for native mitral valve disease with severe mitral annular calcification.

Patients with mitral annular calcification (MAC) have high surgical risk for mitral valve replacement due to associated comorbidities and technical challenges related to calcium burden, precluding surgery in many patients. Transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) with the compassionate use of balloon expandable aortic transcatheter heart valves has been used in this clinical scenario. The purpose of this review was to summarize the early experience including successes and failures reported. TMVR might evolve into an acceptable alternative for selected patients with severe MAC who are not candidates for conventional mitral valve surgery. However, this field is at a very early stage and the progress will be significantly slower than the development of transcatheter aortic valve replacement due to the complexity of the mitral valve anatomy and its pathology. Optimizing patient selection process by using multimodality imaging tools to accurately measure the mitral valve annulus and evaluate the risk of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction is essential to minimize complications. Strategies for treating and preventing left ventricular outflow tract obstruction are being tested. Similarly, carefully selecting candidates avoiding patients at the end of their disease process, might improve the overall outcomes.