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Most of the published data relate to classical forms of rheumatic diseases (RD) and information on rare inflammatory disorders such as Behçet’s syndrome (BS) and familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is limited. We studied the frequency of side effects and disease flares after COVID-19 vaccination with either Pfizer/BioNTech or Sinovac/CoronaVac in 256 patients with BS, 247 with FMF, and 601 with RD. Telephone interviews were conducted using a questionnaire survey in a cross-sectional design in patients with BS, FMF, and RD followed by a single university hospital. Study participants were vaccinated either with CoronaVac (BS:109, FMF: 90, and RD: 343,) or BioNTech (BS: 147, FMF: 157 and RD: 258). The majority have received double dose (BS: 94.9%, FMF 92.3% and RD: 86.2%). BioNTech ensured a significantly better efficacy than CoronaVac against COVID-19 in all patient groups (BS: 1.4% vs 10.1%; FMF: 3.2% vs 12.2%, RD:2.7% vs 6.4%). Those with at least one adverse event (AE) were significantly more frequent among those vaccinated with BioNTech than those with CoronaVac (BS: 86.4% vs 45%; FMF: 83.4% vs 53.3%; and RD: 83.3% vs 45.5%). The majority of AEs were mild to moderate and transient and this was true for either vaccine. There were also AEs that required medical attention in all study groups following CoronaVac (BS: 5.5%, FMF: 3.3%, and RD:2.9%) or BioNTech (BS: 5.4%, FMF: 1.9%, and RD: 4.7%). The main causes for medical assistance were disease flare and cardiovascular events. Patients with BS (16.0%) and FMF (17.4%) were found to flare significantly more frequently when compared to those with RD (6.0%) ( p < 0.001). This was true for either vaccine. BS patients reported mainly skin-mucosa lesions; there were however, 11 (4.3%) who developed major organ attack such as uveitis, thrombosis or stroke. Flare in FMF patients were associated mainly with acute serositis with or without fever. Arthralgia/arthritis or inflammatory back pain were observed mainly in the RD group. Our study demonstrates that BS and FMF patients vaccinated with either CoronaVac or BioNTech demonstrated similar AE profile and frequency compared to RD patients. AEs that required physician consultation or hospitalization occurred in all study groups after either CoronaVac or BioNTech. Increased frequency of flares in BS and FMF compared to that seen in RD might reflect defects in innate immunity and deserves further investigation. Caution should be required when monitoring these patients after vaccination.

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Objective:Coronary artery disease (CAD), which develops from complex interactions between genetic and enviromental factors, is a leading cause of death worldwide. Based on genome-wide association studies (GWAS), the chromosomal region 9p21 has been identified as the most relevant locus presenting a strong association with CAD in different populations. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of two SNPs on chromosome 9p21 on susceptibility to CAD and the effect of these SNPs along with cardiovascular risk factors on the severity of CAD in the Turkish population.Methods:This study had an observational case-control design. We genotyped 460 subjects, aged 30-65 years, to investigate the association of 2 SNPs (rs1333049, rs2383207) on chromosome 9p21 and CAD risk in Turkish population. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to analyze the 2 SNPs in CAD patients and healthy controls. The genotype and allelic variations of these SNPs with the severity of CAD was also assessed using semi-quantitative methods such as the Gensini score. Student’s t test and multiple regression analysis were used for statistical analysis.Results:The SNPs rs1333049 and rs2383207 were found to be associated with CAD with an adjusted OR of 1.81 (95% Cl 1.05-3.12) and 2.12 (95% CI 1.19-4.10) respectively. After adjustment of CAD risk factors such as smoking, family history of CAD and diabetes, the homozygous AA genotype for rs2383207 increased the CAD risk with an OR 3.69. Also a very strong association was found between rs1333049 and rs2383207 and Gensini scores representing the severity of CAD (p<0.001).Conclusion:The rs2383207 and rs1333049 SNPs on 9p21 chromosome were significantly associated with the risk and severity of CAD in the Turkish population.

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This study was performed to evaluate the relationship between the CHA2DS2-VASc score and no-reflow (NR) phenomena in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). A total number of 428 consecutive patients with NSTEMI were assessed for this study. Patients were divided into 2 groups, those with NR, NR(+) (n=84), and those without NR, NR(-) (n=307), according to their post-PCI, no-reflow status. The CHA2DS2-VASc score was significantly higher in the NR(+) group compared to the NR(-) (3.48 ± 1.19 vs 1.81 ± 0.82, P < 0.001). After a multivariate regression analysis, a higher CHA2DS2-VASc score (OR: 6.52, 95% CI: 3.51–12.14, P < 0.001), hs-Troponin (OR: 1.077, 95% CI: 1.056–1.099, P< 0.001) and TTG (OR: 1.563, 95% CI: 1.134–2.154, P=0.006) were independent predictors of NR. CHA2DS2-VASc score is associated with higher risk of no-reflow in patients with NSTEMI undergoing PCI.

Background Although previous studies reported frequent premature atrial contractions(fPACs) increased the risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes, especially atrial fibrillation(AF), there is a substantial inconsistency between reports concerning the definition of fPAC. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between fPAC and cardiovascular outcomes, especially AF. We further searched for a cutoff value of fPAC for prediction of AF. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the ambulatory 24‐hr Holter monitoring records and 392 patients included. Frequent PAC was defined as more than 720 PAC/24 hr as used for frequent ventricular premature beats. Patients’ baseline characteristics, echocardiographic variables and medical history were recorded. Results There were 189 patients with fPAC and 203 patients without fPAC. Patients with fPAC had more comorbidities in terms of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure. CHA2DS2‐VaSc was higher in patients with fPAC. Mean follow‐up duration was 31 months, and the number of patients with new‐onset AF during follow‐up was significantly higher in fPAC group (22% vs. 5%, p < .001). fPAC was significantly and independently associated with new‐onset AF and predicted AF with a cutoff value of 3,459 PAC/24 hr, and the risk of AF was 11‐fold higher than those with <3,000 PAC/24 hr. In addition, an increased CHA2DS2‐VaSc score was also associated with new‐onset atrial fibrillation. Conclusion In our study, we have demonstrated that fPAC is significantly associated with new‐onset AF, and this association is the strongest among those patients who have more than 3,000 PAC in 24 hr.

Introduction Two‐dimensional (2D) speckle‐tracking echocardiographic (STE) imaging is frequently performed in the assessment of cardiovascular diseases. We aim to investigate the role of the global and territorial longitudinal strain (GLS and TLS) values assessed via 2D STE imaging to detect significant coronary artery disease (CAD) in non‐ST‐segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients without wall‐motion abnormalities. Methods This study enrolled 150 patients with the diagnosis of NSTEMI. Patients who had typical chest pain with unstable angina characteristics within the last 24 hours were 18–80 years of age and had a typical rise and/or fall of cardiac biomarkers were included. Myocardial functions were assessed via myocardial deformation analyses of 2D STE images. Results The mean age of the CAD group was 52.91 ± 9.11, vs 50.31 ± 8.32 in the control group. In the CAD group, 56 patients were male (65%), whereas 21 were male (60%) in control group. GLS and TLS assessments demonstrated a statistically significant difference between CAD and control groups, with GLS values of −16.27 ± 1.91 and −18.74 ± 1.93 (P < 0.001), TLS‐LAD values of −15.67 ± 1.83 and −18.54 ± 1.97 (P < 0.001), TLS‐RCA values of −17.04 ± 1.81 and −19.20 ± 1.86 (P < 0.001), and TLS‐Cx values of −17.40 ± 2.08 and −18.34 ± 2.18 (P = 0.028), respectively. Correlation analyses revealed that as high‐sensitivity troponin (hsTnT) values increased, GLS decreased significantly, and further, an increase in severity of CAD resulted in decreased TLS‐LAD, ‐CX and ‐RCA (TLS‐LAD: P < 0.001, r = −0.743; TLS‐CX: P < 0.001, r = −0.449; TLS‐RCA: P < 0.001, r = −0.737). Multivariate analyses indicated that GLS and GRACE ACS risk scores are independent predictors of CAD in patients with NSTEMI (GLS: OR = 0.514, P < 0.001; GRACE score: OR = 0.938, P = 0.007). Conclusions Global longitudinal strain (GLS) assessed with 2D STE is a promising, easy to perform and quick imaging method to predict CAD in patients with NSTEMI.