Internal and emergency medicine
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Patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at increased risk of stroke and bleeding. Although direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) trials excluded patients with severe CKD, a growing portion of CKD patients have been starting DOACs and limited data from real-world outcome in this high-risk setting are available. The INSigHT registry included 632 consecutive NVAF patients that started apixaban (256 patients, 41%), dabigatran (245, 39%) and rivaroxaban (131, 20%) between 2012 and 2015. ⋯ In CKD patients, a significantly higher rate of thromboembolic events was observed in rivaroxaban (HR 6.3, 95% CI 1.1-38.1; p = 0.044). This real-world, non-insurance database registry shows remarkable 2-year safety and efficacy profile of DOACs even in patients with moderate to severe CKD. Head to head differences between DOACs are exploratory, hypothesis generating and warrant further investigation in larger studies.
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The European Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (EGPA) study group first gathered in Firenze in December 2018. The discussion was centred around the clinical and therapeutic needs in EGPA which still remain unmet. Indeed, EGPA is a puzzling and rare disease which shares clinical features with other anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAVs) and hypereosinophilic syndromes (HESs). ⋯ Thus, the aim of the meeting was to stimulate ongoing research, to promote collaborative European studies and to define the main issues on which future studies should be focused. Current fields of research on EGPA include potential serological biomarkers of disease activity and of specific organ involvement, possible links between different genetic variants and clinical phenotypes, and new therapeutic perspectives. Herein, we give an overview of the meeting with the goal to stimulate an international collaboration and new points of discussion.
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Observational Study
Prevalence and prognostic impact of left ventricular non-compaction in patients with thalassemia.
A high incidence of isolated left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) has been reported in previous studies on smaller cohorts of patients with thalassemia by cardiac MRI but the clinical impact of the finding is unknown. This prospective cohort study evaluates the prevalence and clinical implication of the finding. Prospective cohort study with enrollment of all consecutive cases with thalassemia referred for cardiac MRI from September 2007 to November 2014. ⋯ After a mean follow-up time was 5.1 years, no significant change of MR parameters was detected as well as no clinical adverse events. LVNC is relatively frequent in patients with thalassemia. However, it is not associated with a worsening of LV function and adverse events after a long-term follow-up.
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Strain echocardiography is able to detect subclinical ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunction. Prolonged survival to cystic fibrosis favors heart and vessel involvement. The purpose of the present study was to compare clinically stable adult patients affected by cystic fibrosis without overt pulmonary hypertension with controls to evaluate right ventricular (RV) systolic and diastolic function by means of strain and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), respectively. 22 adults affected by cystic fibrosis and 24 healthy volunteers matched for age and sex were enrolled. ⋯ Our study confirmed a RV subclinical systo-diastolic dysfunction in clinically stable patients affected by cystic fibrosis without overt pulmonary hypertension nor cardiovascular risk factors. This may be due to systemic inflammation and temporary recurrent pulmonary hypertension. We retain that RV 2D strain and TDI echocardiography could become an important tool in the follow-up of these patients.