Hemodialysis ends with significant increase in P wave maximum duration and P wave dispersion, which might be responsible for the increased occurrence of atrial fibrillation in these groups of patients.

SummaryBackground: Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is associated with poor prognosis. Previous studies have shown good correlation between P-wave dispersion (Pd) and occurrence of PAF. However, Pd in patients with HCM for predicting PAF has not been studied.Hypothesis: The aim of the study was to determine whether Pd could identify patients with HCM who are likely to suffer from PAF.Methods: Twenty-two patients with HCM with a history of PAF (Group 1) and 26 patients with HCM without a history of PAF (Group 2) were studied. Maximum (Pmax) and minimum (Pmin) P-wave durations, as well as P-wave dispersion (Pd = Pmax ϪPmin) were calculated from 12-lead surface electrocardiograms (ECG).Results: P-wave dispersion was significantly different between the groups (Group 1: 55 ± 6 ms vs. Group 2: 37 ± 8 ms; p < 0.001), while Pmax (Group 1: 134 ± 11 ms vs. Group 2: 128 ± 13 ms; p = 0.06) and Pmin (Group 1: 78 ± 9 ms vs. Group 2: 81 ± 7 ms; p = 0.07) was not significantly different. Patients with a history of PAF had higher left atrial diameter than the patients without PAF (Group 1: 52 ± 8 mm vs. Group 2: 48 ± 10 mm; p = 0.02). A cut-off value of 46 ms for Pd had a sensitivity of 76% and a specificity of 82% in discriminating between patients with and without PAF.Conclusion: This study suggests that P-wave dispersion could identify patients with HCM who are likely to develop PAF.

Background: To date, no validated biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity have been established for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT). There is a need to develop simple and reliable noninvasive tests that can accurately identify patients with PE, even in small hospitals or clinics. The aim of this study was to investigate the value of mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW) for predicting occurrence of PE in patients with DVT. Methods: Records of acute DVT patients were reviewed retrospectively. Group 1 consisted of 50 patients with acute DVT and group 2 consisted of 50 patients with acute DVT who developed PE during follow-up. The control group consisted of patients with uncomplicated primary varicose veins of the lower limbs. Venous peripheral blood samples for measurement of MPV, PDW, and platelet count were drawn on admission, before the treatment, and at the time of PE diagnosis. Results: MPV and PDW levels at the time of PE diagnosis were higher in group 2 than group 1 (P,0.001 and P=0.026, respectively). Receiver operating characteristics analysis revealed that a 5.2% increase in admission PDW during follow-up provided 70% sensitivity and 82% specificity (area under the curve, 0.80), and a 6.6% increase in admission MPV during follow-up provided 74% sensitivity and 83% specificity (area under the curve, 0.84) for prediction of PE occurrence in patients with DVT. PDW and MPV levels at the time of PE diagnosis were found to be independent risk factors for the occurrence of PE in patients with DVT. Conclusion: Serial measurements of MPV and PDW, and percent change in MPV and PDW appears to be a useful marker for predicting occurrence of acute PE in patients with a first episode of acute proximal DVT.

Combined prophylactic therapy with amiodarone and MgSO(4) at the early postoperative period without a maintenance phase is an effective, simple, well-tolerated, and possibly cost-effective regimen to prevent POAF in normomagnesemic, high-risk patients.

Testosterone deprivation in hypogonadotropic hypogonadism attenuates J point, T wave peak, T wave area, and T wave descending time, but does not reach to the level of those in healthy women. Testosterone has no effect on QT interval in this group of age. Hormone replacement therapy of these patients will provide informative contribution.