It is unknown whether angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) have a positive, neutral, or negative effect on clinical outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).OBJECTIVE To determine whether discontinuation compared with continuation of ACEIs or ARBs changed the number of days alive and out of the hospital through 30 days. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSA randomized clinical trial of 659 patients hospitalized in Brazil with mild to moderate COVID-19 who were taking ACEIs or ARBs prior to hospitalization

Background Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) expression may increase due to upregulation in patients using angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). Because renin-angiotensin system blockers increase levels of ACE2, a protein that facilitates coronavirus entry into cells, there is concern that these drugs could increase the risk of developing a severe and fatal form of COVID-19. The impact of discontinuing ACEI and ARBs in patients with COVID-19 remains uncertain. Design BRACE CORONA is a pragmatic, multicenter, randomized, phase IV, clinical trial that aims to enroll around 500 participants at 34 sites in Brazil. Participants will be identified from an ongoing national registry of suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19. Eligible patients using renin-angiotensin system blockers (ACEI/ARBs) with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 will be randomized to a strategy of continued ACEI/ARB treatment versus temporary discontinuation for 30 days. The primary outcome is the median days alive and out of the hospital at 30 days. Secondary outcomes include progression of COVID-19 disease, all-cause mortality, death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, stroke, transient ischemic attack, new or worsening heart failure, myocarditis, pericarditis, arrhythmias, thromboembolic events, hypertensive crisis, respiratory failure, hemodynamic decompensation, sepsis, renal failure, and troponin, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), Nterminal-proBNP, and D-dimer levels. Summary BRACE CORONA will evaluate whether the strategy of continued ACEI/ARB therapy compared with temporary discontinuation of these drugs impacts clinical outcomes among patients with COVID-19.

BackgroundThe classification or index of heart failure severity in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was proposed by Killip and Kimball aiming at assessing the risk of in-hospital death and the potential benefit of specific management of care provided in Coronary Care Units (CCU) during the decade of 60.ObjectiveTo validate the risk stratification of Killip classification in the long-term mortality and compare the prognostic value in patients with non-ST-segment elevation MI (NSTEMI) relative to patients with ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI), in the era of reperfusion and modern antithrombotic therapies.MethodsWe evaluated 1906 patients with documented AMI and admitted to the CCU, from 1995 to 2011, with a mean follow-up of 05 years to assess total mortality. Kaplan-Meier (KM) curves were developed for comparison between survival distributions according to Killip class and NSTEMI versus STEMI. Cox proportional regression models were developed to determine the independent association between Killip class and mortality, with sensitivity analyses based on type of AMI. Results: The proportions of deaths and the KM survival distributions were significantly different across Killip class >1 (p <0.001) and with a similar pattern between patients with NSTEMI and STEMI. Cox models identified the Killip classification as a significant, sustained, consistent predictor and independent of relevant covariables (Wald χ2 16.5 [p = 0.001], NSTEMI) and (Wald χ2 11.9 [p = 0.008], STEMI).ConclusionThe Killip and Kimball classification performs relevant prognostic role in mortality at mean follow-up of 05 years post-AMI, with a similar pattern between NSTEMI and STEMI patients.

The oral treatment with graded doses of Equisentum arvense L. was not able to produce hepatic changes. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the chronic hepatotoxicity of Equisentum arvense L. in rats.

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Relatamos o caso de um paciente de 61 anos, masculino, internado com objetivo de exérese de massa pulmonar para estudo anatomopatológico. O paciente apresentara anteriormente um quadro de febre, tosse seca e dor torácica, associado à presença de massas pulmonares detectadas por radiografia de tórax, tendo sido submetido em duas ocasiões (1976 e 1981) a toracotomia para a investigação diagnóstica, sem diagnóstico anatomopatológico conclusivo. A TC de tórax revelou volumosas massas com áreas de calcificação em ambos os campos pulmonares. O material do estudo anatomopatológico foi compatível com granuloma hialinizante de pulmão. No pós-operatório, o paciente apresentou vários episódios de broncoespasmo que foram revertidos com medicação sintomática. Foi mantido com prednisona na dose de 40 mg/dia com boa evolução clínica até o envio deste relato.

Cardiovascular comorbidities and immune-response dysregulation are associated with COVID-19 severity. We aimed to explore the key immune cell profile and understand its association with disease progression in 156 patients with hypertension that were hospitalized due to COVID-19. The primary outcome was progression to severe disease. The probability of progression to severe disease was estimated using a logistic regression model that included clinical variables and immune cell subsets associated with the primary outcome. Obesity; diabetes; oxygen saturation; lung involvement on computed tomography (CT) examination; the C-reactive protein concentration; total lymphocyte count; proportions of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells; CD4/CD8 ratio; CD8+ HLA-DR MFI; and CD8+ NKG2A MFI on admission were all associated with progression to severe COVID-19. This study demonstrated that increased CD8+ NKG2A MFI at hospital admission, in combination with some clinical variables, is associated with a high risk of COVID-19 progression in hypertensive patients. These findings reinforce the hypothesis of the functional exhaustion of T cells with the increased expression of NKG2A in patients with severe COVID-19, elucidating how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection may break down the innate antiviral immune response at an early stage of the disease, with future potential therapeutic implications.

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