Valve surgery improved functional class and resulted in RV reverse remodelling with improved survival rates at 2 y compared with those not proceeding to operation. These data highlight the importance of close collaboration between NET clinicians, cardiology, and cardiothoracic surgery teams. Early referral can improve functional capacity but more research is needed to define the selection of appropriate candidates and randomized data are needed to define the effect of surgery on prognosis.

Early peak of NODAT in DCD graft recipients is a novel finding, occurring independently from known risk factors. Donor warm ischaemia and impact on insulin sensitivity should be further studied and could perhaps be associated with graft function.

BackgroundDiabetes and pre-diabetes are prevalent in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and relate to adverse outcomes. This study used HbA1c to screen for degrees of glucose intolerance amongst patients without known diabetes presenting with ACS.MethodsOver a 1-year period (June 2014–2015) consecutive patients admitted to a single centre cardiology unit with an initial diagnosis of ACS without prior diabetes diagnosis were electronically referred to our diabetes team. Patients were screened for the presence of diabetes by use of an initial HbA1c blood test on day 2 or 3 post admission. If abnormal (≥42 mmol/mol; ≥6.0%), patients were invited for a repeat HbA1c at 2 weeks, and if an intermediate result (42–47 mmol/mol; 6.0–6.4%), for an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 3 months. Patients were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes if the repeat HbA1c result was high (≥48 mmol/mol; ≥6.5%) or the OGTT at 3 months confirmed the diagnosis. Other data collected included baseline demographics, risk factors and any history of cardiovascular disease. All patients with ACS were stratified according to the diagnosis and subsequent management.ResultsWe screened 399 patients in total. The mean age was 65 ± 14 years, 268 (67%) were men, 290 (73%) were Caucasian, 95 (24%) were South Asian and 14 (4%) were Afro-Caribbean ethnicity. Of all patients, 57 (14.3%) were diagnosed as pre-diabetes and 43 (10.8%) newly diagnosed diabetes. During the study 28 (7%) patients could not be classified; 6 (1.5%) patients died during the study and 22 (5.5%) patients were missing either initial or repeat HbA1c and were subsequently lost to follow up. Of the baseline variables assessed, there were significantly more patients of South Asian ethnicity in the diabetes group compared to the normal group (42 vs 20%; p = 0.003). There was no difference in detection rates in patients with more severe ACS requiring percutaneous or cardiac surgical intervention.ConclusionsThe use of a simple HbA1c screening method in clinical practice can detect new onset diabetes in approximately 1 in 10 high-risk post ACS patients.

Background In patients with phaeochromocytomas or paragangliomas (PPGLs), 24-h urine collections for metanephrines (uMNs) are cumbersome. Objective To evaluate the diagnostic utility of ratios to creatinine of ‘spot’ uMNs. Methods Concentrations of uMNs and plasma metanephrines (pMNs) were measured by HPLC-mass-spectrometry. We retrospectively compared correlations of 24-h-urine output and ratio to creatinine in historical specimens and prospectively assessed 24-h and contemporaneous spot urines and, where possible, pMNs. Using trimmed log-transformed values, we derived reference intervals based on age and sex for spot urines. We used multiples of upper limit of normal (ULNs) to compare areas under curves (AUCs) for receiver-operator characteristic curves of individual, and sum and product of, components. Results In 3143 24-h-urine specimens on 2416 patients, the correlation coefficients between the ratios and outputs of metanephrine, normetanephrine and 3-methoxytyramine in 24-h urines were 0.983, 0.905 and 0.875, respectively. In 96 patients, the correlations between plasma concentrations, urine output and ratios in spot specimens were similar to those for raw output or ratios in 24-h specimens. Of the 160 patients with PPGLs, the CIs for AUCs for individual metabolites overlapped for all four types of measurement, as did those for the sum of the multiple ULNs although these were slightly higher (AUC for spot urine: 0.838 (0.529–1), plasma: 0.929 (0.874–0.984) and output: 0.858 (0.764–0.952)). Conclusions Ratios of fractionated metanephrines to creatinine in spot urine samples appear to have a similar diagnostic power to other measurements. The ease of spot urine collection may facilitate diagnosis and follow-up of PPGLs through improved patient compliance.