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IntroductionOur aim was to determine the characteristics of patients presenting with syncope at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.MethodsA review of medical records was conducted retrospectively at the Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. Patients aged 16 and above, admitted from January 2000 to December 2005 with the diagnosis of syncope made by the attending physician were included.ResultsA total of 269 patients were included (75% males, mean age: 57.4 years). Neurogenic (vasovagal) syncope was the most common cause (47%), followed by cardiogenic syncope (18%) and orthostatic syncope (9%). A total of 24% were discharged undiagnosed. Twenty patients (7.4%) did not have any prodrome. Common prodromal symptoms included dizziness (61%), sweating (25%), palpitations (19%), nausea/vomiting (19%) and visual symptoms (17%). The distribution of symptoms according to cause of syncope revealed only breathlessness to be significantly associated with cardiogenic syncope (p = 0.002). Most patients with cardiogenic syncope were aged above 40 (98%, p < 0.001), had coronary artery disease (72%, p < 0.001) and abnormal electrocardiogram at presentation (92%, p < 0.001).ConclusionDespite differences in burden of diseases, our findings were similar to those of published syncope literature. Further studies are needed to develop a protocol to expedite the evaluation and limit the work-up and admission in low-risk patients.

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Optical coherence tomography (OCT) provides excellent image resolution, however OCT optimal acquisition is essential but could be challenging owing to several factors. We sought to assess the quality of OCT pullbacks and identify the causes of suboptimal image acquisition. We evaluated 784 (404 pre-PCI; 380 post-PCI) coronary pullbacks from an anonymized OCT database from our Cardiovascular Imaging Core Laboratory. Imaging of the region-of-interest (ROI-lesion or stented segment plus references) was incomplete in 16.1% pullbacks, caused by pullback starting too proximal (63.7%), inappropriate pullback length (17.1%) and pullback starting too distal (11.4%). The quality of image acquisition was excellent in 36.3% pullbacks; whereas 4% pullbacks were unanalyzable. Pullback quality was most commonly affected by poor blood displacement from inadequate contrast volume (27.4%) or flow (25.6%), followed by artifacts (24.1%). Acquisition mode was 'High-Resolution' (54 mm) in 74.4% and 'Survey' (75 mm) in 25.6% of cases. The 54 mm mode was associated with incomplete ROI imaging (p = 0.020) and inadequate contrast volume (p = 0.035). We observed a substantial frequency of suboptimal image acquisition and identified its causes, most of which can be addressed with minor modifications during the procedure, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

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Introduction: We present a case of spontaneous retroperitoneal bleed that presented as back pain until it required multiple transfusions. Case presentation: A 66-year-old gentleman with past medical history of only dyslipidemia, presented with chest pain and was found to have an anterior wall ST-elevation myocardial infarction. He underwent stenting to proximal LAD and was found to be in cardiogenic shock with elevated biventricular filling pressures and ejection fraction of 5-10%. IABP was inserted, which had to be upgraded to axillary Impella 5.5 the next day, and LVAD workup was initiated. He gradually improved with decreasing Impella needs when he started complaining of back pain 5 days into his admission. At the same time, his Impella requirements started to go up. He went on to develop sweating, pallor & hemodynamic compromise. Since he was on anticoagulation due to Impella, a CT scan was obtained, which showed a spontaneous left-sided retroperitoneal bleed (F1) (IABP had been on the right side) and drop in hemoglobin from 15.8 mg/dl on admission to 7.2 mg/dl. He went on to develop hemorrhagic shock requiring massive blood product transfusion with subsequent vessel embolization by interventional radiology. Afterwards, he continued to improve, and Impella was eventually removed. Later in the course, he had another drop in hemoglobin & was taken back for CT, which showed expanding retroperitoneal hematoma (F2). Hematology team was consulted due to 2 spontaneous bleeds; however, no underlying bleeding disorder was suspected. He stabilized; was weaned off of Impella and, was subsequently discharged on milrinone infusion. Conclusions: We conclude that providers highly suspect retroperitoneal bleeds in the proper clinical setting for optimum patient care.

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