J Formos Med Assoc
-
Hip fractures are a significant health concern, especially in the elderly. Hemiarthroplasty has been the preferred treatment for displaced femoral neck fractures. The use of ceramic femoral heads has recently become popular due to their claimed durability. This study aimed to determine long-term outcomes associated with different implant choices in hemiarthroplasty. ⋯ This study found ceramic implant had lower postoperative complications and medical complication rates than metal head implant in hip hemiarthroplasty, but there was no difference in the revision rates between the two heads.
-
Background There is a lack of consensus regarding the optimal imaging time points and imaging techniques between planar and/or single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) acquisitions for technetium-99 m pyrophosphate (99mTc-PYP) cardiac scintigraphy. The aim of this study was to investigate correlations between planar and SPECT/CT images and between 1-h and 3-h imaging time points. Methods We retrospectively analyzed consecutive patients with clinically suspected transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy who underwent 99mTc-PYP scintigraphy from November 1, 2019 to November 30, 2022. ⋯ There were significant differences in visual grading scores between planar and SPECT/CT imaging at both time points, with cases being scored higher on planar imaging than on SPECT/CT imaging (81/97 cases for 1-h imaging, and 50/97 cases for 3-h imaging) (p < 0.001). Conclusion Simplified 1-h SPECT/CT imaging with visual score and selective use of 3-h SPECT/CT imaging may be an efficient protocol and may reduce the potential for over-scoring and equivocal interpretation. Further validation in larger and more diverse populations is needed.
-
RNA interference therapeutics reduce transthyretin production; however, their effect on hereditary transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CA) remains unclear. We aimed to investigate alterations in technetium-99 m (99mTc)-pyrophosphate (PYP) single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) outcomes in patients receiving patisiran or vutrisiran. ⋯ Our results demonstrated a significant decrease in volumetric H/L ratio in hereditary ATTR-CA patients receiving RNA interference therapeutics.
-
The effect of exact classes of lipid-lowering drugs (LLDs) on preventing major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and poor renal outcomes is not well characterized in the chronic kidney disease (CKD) population. ⋯ In patients with non-dialysis CKD, there is sufficient evidence to show that rosuvastatin and atorvastatin were statistically significantly more effective and preferable in reducing the risk of MACE and increasing the mean eGFR compared with the control group.