Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have a favorable benefit-risk profile compared with vitamin K antagonists. However, the lack of specific reversal agents has made the management of some patients receiving long-term treatment with NOACs problematic in emergency situations such as major bleeding events or urgent procedures. Idarucizumab, a fully humanized Fab antibody fragment that binds specifically and with high affinity to dabigatran, was recently approved for use in adult patients treated with dabigatran when rapid reversal of its anticoagulant effect is required. Clinical experience with idarucizumab is currently limited. We report 11 real-life clinical cases in which idarucizumab was used after multidisciplinary consultation in a variety of emergency situations including severe postoperative bleeding, emergency high-bleeding-risk surgery (hip/spine surgery and neurosurgery), invasive diagnostic testing (lumbar puncture), intracranial bleeding (pre-pontine subarachnoid hemorrhage and lobar intracerebral hemorrhage) and thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator for acute ischemic stroke. This case series illustrates the role of idarucizumab in improving patient safety in rare emergency situations requiring rapid reversal of the anticoagulant effect of dabigatran, while highlighting the importance of information and education about the availability and appropriate use of this recently approved specific reversal agent.
It is now accepted that the mitral valve functions on the basis of a complex made up of the annulus, the leaflets, the tendinous cords and the papillary muscles. So as to work properly, these components must combine together in harmonious fashion. Despite the features of the arrangement of each component having been the focus of anatomical investigation for centuries, controversies still exist in their inter-relations and how best to describe them. To a large extent, the ongoing problems reflect the fact that, again for centuries, morphologists when describing the heart have ignored the rule that its components should be described as seen in the body during life. Failure to use attitudinally appropriate descriptions underscores a particular current issue, namely the influence of the so-called disjunction within the atrioventricular junction as a potential substrate for leaflet prolapse or malignant arrhythmias. With these difficulties in mind, we have reviewed how the components of the valvar complex can best be described when comparing direct images with those obtained using three-dimensional techniques now used for clinical imaging. We submit that these show that the skirt of leaflet tissue is best described as having aortic and mural components. When the hinge of the mural leaflet is assessed within the overall atrioventricular junction, the so-called disjunction is ubiquitous, but not always in the same place. We further suggest that its significance will best be determined when clinicians describe its presence using attitudinally appropriate terms.
Funding Acknowledgements
Type of funding sources: Public hospital(s). Main funding source(s): University Medical Centre Ljubljana Research Grant.
Introduction
Early cardiotoxicity of modern radiotherapy (RT) is not known.
Purpose
To study the early cardiotoxic effect of contemporary RT on myocardium with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in patients with breast cancer (BC).
Methods
Patients with in-situ ductal carcinoma of the breast, scheduled for RT were included. All patients had undergone surgical tumorectomy. Exclusion criteria were prior systemic chemotherapy, prior RT or known cardiac disease. Patients were treated with 3-dimensional conformal RT or intensity-modulated RT, left-sided BC patients were also scheduled for deep inspiration breath hold protocol, if feasible. Patients underwent CMR imaging prior to RT and within 2 weeks after RT. Left and right ventricular volumes and ejection fraction, global native and postcontrast T1 values and T2 values, prior to and after completion of RT were analyzed. All patients provided written informed consent.
Results
A total of 40 female patients (mean age 55 ± 7 years) were included, 22 with left-sided BC. The mean radiation dose was 42 Gy. CMR results are presented in Table 1. Left-sided BC patients had statistically significant increase in global T2 values. There were no significant differences in other studied parameters. No patient developed pericardial effusion and no patient had presence of late gadolinium enhancement at both exams.
Conclusion
Modern RT of left-sided BC is associated with increased T2 values, most likely representing myocardial edema, early after completion of RT.
Background
A number of studies suggest that acute myocardial ischaemia triggers a non-specific systemic inflammatory response of remote myocardium through the increase of plasma concentrations of acute-phase proteins, which causes myocardial oedema. As ticagrelor has been shown to significantly decrease the circulating levels of several pro-inflammatory cytokines in patients after acute myocardial infarction with ST elevation (STEMI), we sought to investigate a potential suppressive effect of ticagrelor over prasugrel on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) T1 and T2 values in remote myocardium.
Methods
Ninety patients presenting with acute STEMI were prospectively included and randomised to receive either ticagrelor or prasugrel maintenance treatment after successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). The patients underwent CMR 2–7 days after the PPCI. Studies were done on a 1.5 T clinical scanner, the protocol included long and short axis cine imaging, T1 mapping through the infarct core using a single breath-hold Shortened Modified Look-Locker Inversion Recovery (ShMOLLI), T2 mapping and late gadolinium enhancement imaging.
Results
After excluding 30 patients due to either missing images or insufficient quality of T1 or T2 maps, 60 patients were included in our analysis. Of those, 29 patients have been randomised to the ticagrelor arm and 31 patients to the prasugrel arm of the study. The mean age at inclusion was 61±10 years, 81.7% of included patients were men, the distribution was even between the two groups. There were no statistically significant differences between groups regarding past medical history and medication prior to the inclusion in the study.
CMR scans were performed 5.03±1.96 days after successful PPCI in the ticagrelor group, and 5.10±0.87 days in the prasugrel group.
Remote myocardium T1: The mean T1 value of the remote myocardium was 937±27 ms in the ticagrelor group and 936±23 ms in the prasugrel group, showing no statistical difference (p=0.85) between the groups receiving different P2Y12 inhibitor after PPCI.
Remote myocardium T2: The mean T2 value of the remote myocardium was 53.8±4.6 ms in the ticagrelor group and 53.6±4.7 ms in the prasugrel group, showing no statistical difference (p=0.86) between compared groups.
Both T1 and T2 values of the remote myocardium were above normal values published in literature.
Conclusion
In patients with STEMI after PPCI, ticagrelor maintenance therapy did not show superiority to prasugrel in preventing early remote myocardial inflammation as assessed by T1 and T2 mapping.
Additionally, findings support the premise of remote myocardial oedema following STEMI.
Funding Acknowledgement
Type of funding source: Other. Main funding source(s): Presented abstract is from a sub-study of the REDUCE-MVI study, which was conducted with financial support from Astra Zeneca through an unrestricted research grant. In addition, the study was financed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands by means of a PPP Allowance made available by the Top Sector Life Sciences & Health to stimulate public-private partnerships. The first author was awarded the ESC training grant in 2019; this research was conducted during the training for which the grant was awarded.
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