The American journal of cardiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Short-term, high-dose Atorvastatin pretreatment to prevent contrast-induced nephropathy in patients with acute coronary syndromes undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (from the ARMYDA-CIN [atorvastatin for reduction of myocardial damage during angioplasty--contrast-induced nephropathy] trial.
Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) impairs clinical outcome in patients undergoing angiographic procedures. The aim of this study was to investigate whether short-term high-dose atorvastatin load decreases the incidence of CIN after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Statin-naive patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing PCI (n = 241) randomly received atorvastatin (80 mg 12 hours before intervention with another 40-mg preprocedure dose, n = 120) or placebo (n = 121). ⋯ Prevention of CIN with atorvastatin was paralleled by a shorter hospital stay (p = 0.007). In conclusion, short-term pretreatment with high-dose atorvastatin load prevents CIN and shortens hospital stay in patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing PCI; anti-inflammatory effects may be involved in this renal protection. These results lend further support to early use of high-dose statins as adjuvant pharmacologic therapy before percutaneous coronary revascularization.
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The present project investigated whether cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) of aortic arch anomalies can be performed successfully in infants <6 months of age without the use of cardiac anesthesia or deep sedation. We performed a retrospective review of infants ≤6 months old from 2005 to 2009 who underwent either CMR or computed tomography angiography to investigate aortic arch abnormalities. The CMR procedure used a "feed and swaddle" protocol without deep sedation or cardiac anesthesia. ⋯ The radiation dose was 1.41 ± 1.03 mSv. In conclusion, CMR evaluation of aortic arch anomalies in children <6 months old can be successfully completed quickly using a feed and swaddle approach with high diagnostic accuracy. This protocol avoids the risks of sedation, as well as the radiation associated with computed tomography angiography.