Disorders of potassium homeostasis can potentiate the already elevated risk of arrhythmia in heart failure. Heart failure patients have a high prevalence of chronic kidney disease, which further heightens the risk of hyperkalemia, especially when renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors are used. Acute treatment for hyperkalemia may not be tolerated in the long term. Recent data for patiromer and sodium zirconium cyclosilicate, used to treat and prevent high serum potassium levels on a more chronic basis, have sparked interest in the treatment of hyperkalemia, as well as the potential use of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors in patients who were previously unable to take these drugs or tolerated only low doses. This review discusses the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and outcomes of hyperkalemia in heart failure; provides an overview of traditional and novel ways to approach management of hyperkalemia; and discusses the need for further research to optimally treat heart failure.
Diverticular fistula should no longer be considered a contraindication for laparoscopic colectomy. These cases are more complex, as evidenced by the longer operating times and higher conversion rates when compared with resections for uncomplicated recurrent diverticulitis. Although the length of hospital stay was longer for patients who underwent laparoscopic colectomy for diverticular fistula, those whose operations were completed laparoscopically had the same outcome as patients with uncomplicated disease. We anticipate that minimally invasive surgery will become the standard of care for colovesical fistula, as it now is for uncomplicated diverticular disease.
Esophageal cancer continues to be a lethal disease with the majority of patients presenting at an advanced stage. The incidence of adenocarcinoma is rising. Although Barrett's esophagus has been well characterized, specific pathways to the development of adenocarcinoma remain undefined. Current treatments for locoregional esophageal cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination of these modalities. Optimal surgical treatment strategies include appropriate patient selection, accurate staging and risk assessment, selection of an appropriate surgical approach, and the use of multimodality treatment. This article provides an update on the myriad of options for managing esophageal cancer and outlines the surgical technique for minimally invasive esophagectomy used at our center.
Hyperkalemia can be a life-threatening disorder, especially for at-risk patients with heart failure, chronic kidney disease, with diabetes, and patients on certain drugs like renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system antagonists and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists. There are limited therapeutic options available for hyperkalemia, and they have narrow effectiveness because of their unfavorable side effects profile in long-term and high cost utilization requiring inpatient care. Patiromersorbitex calcium and sodium zirconium cyclosilicate are novel potassium-lowering compounds for the treatment and prevention of hyperkalemia in at-risk population. These therapeutic agents have shown encouraging results in early phase II and phase III clinical trials. However, there is need to further study their efficacy and safety in heart failure population in order to establish their clinical use. The focus of this chapter will be to promote better understanding of potassium homeostasis in heart failure patients and the mechanistic overview of novel drugs, with emphasis on heart failure population.
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