Introduction The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) has caused a pandemic. Many studies have shown that several laboratory parameters are related to disease severity and mortality in SARS‐CoV‐2 cases. This meta‐analysis aimed to determine the relationship of a prognostic factor, D‐dimer, with disease severity, need for intensive care unit (ICU) care, and mortality in SARS‐CoV‐2 patients. Methods A systematic search for all observational studies and trials involving adult patients with SARS‐CoV‐2 that had any data related to D‐dimer on admission was conducted using PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, ProQuest, and MedRxiv databases. We performed random‐effects inverse‐variance weighting analysis using mean difference (MD) of D‐dimer values for outcomes such as disease severity, mortality, and need for ICU care. Results A total of 29 studies (4,328 patients) were included in this meta‐analysis, which revealed a higher mean of D‐dimer levels on admission in severe patients than in nonsevere patients (MD = 0.95, [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.61‐1.28], P < .05; I2 = 90%). The nonsurvivor group had a higher pooled MD of D‐dimer values on admission (MD = 5.54 [95% CI: 3.40‐7.67], P < .05; I2 = 90%). Patients who needed ICU admission had insignificantly higher D‐dimer values than patients who did not need ICU admission (MD = 0.29, [95% CI: −0.05 to 0.63], P = .10; I2 = 71%). Conclusion Elevated D‐dimer levels on admission were associated with an increased risk of disease severity and mortality in patients with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.

VIE could be used as a complementary tool to conventional CT visualizations for the analysis of luminal changes and assessment of disease extent caused by the coronary plaques.

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 is a systemic infection with a significant impact on coagulation which manifests in thromboembolism. There is an unknown relationship of which coagulation profile parameter at presentation has an association with poor outcome in COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: This meta-analysis aimed to determine the relationship between fibrinogen and FDP with poor outcome in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: A systematic search of all observational studies or trials involving adult patients with COVID-19 that had any data fibrinogen or FDP on admission was carried out using the PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, ProQuest, and MedRxiv databases. We assessed the methodological quality assessment using the NIH Quality Assessment Tool. We performed random-effects inverse-variance weighting analysis using mean difference (MD). RESULTS: A total of 17 studies (1,654 patients) were included in this meta-analysis. It revealed a higher mean of fibrinogen levels on admission in patients with severe case compared to those with non-severe case (MD = 0.69, [95% CI: 0.44 to 0.94], p <  0.05; I2 = 72%, p <  0.05). Non-survivor group had a pooled higher mean difference of fibrinogen values on admission (MD = 0.48 [95% CI: 0.13 to 0.83], p <  0.05; I2 = 38%, p = 0.18). Higher FDP on admission was found in poor outcome (composite of severity, critically ill, and mortality) compared to good outcome (4 studies, MD = 4.84 [95% CI: 0.75 to 8.93], p <  0.05; I2 = 86%, p <  0.05). CONCLUSION: Elevated fibrinogen and FDP level on admission were associated with an increase risk of poor outcome in COVID-19 patients.

Purpose. A previous meta-analysis has conducted nonrandomized trials for mechanochemical ablation (MOCA). Since medium-term follow-up data from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are becoming available, we chose to perform a meta-analysis of RCTs to assess the efficacy and safety of MOCA for saphenous vein insufficiency. Methods. A systematic search of all RCTs comparing the anatomical success of MOCA for saphenous vein insufficiency to thermal ablation was performed using the PubMed and Cochrane Library databases. We employed the Mantel-Haenszel random-effects meta-analysis of outcomes using RevMan 5.3. Results. Four studies (615 patients) were included in this meta-analysis. The MOCA group had 93.4% and 84.5%, whereas the thermal ablation group had 95.8% and 94.8% of anatomical success rate at 1 month (short-term) and a period of more than 6 months but less than 1-year follow-up (mid-term), respectively. According to intention-to-treat analysis, there were similar anatomical successes in MOCA and thermal ablation groups at the short-term follow-up (low-quality evidence; relative risk RR=0.98 (95% CI, 0.94–1.03); P=0.44; I2=53%). The estimated effect of MOCA on anatomical success showed a statistically significant reduction at the mid-term follow-up (moderate-quality evidence; RR=0.89 (95% CI, 0.84–0.95); P=0.0002; I2=0%). MOCA had fewer incidence of nerve injury, deep vein thrombosis, and skin burns compared to the thermal ablation procedure (low-quality evidence; RR=0.33 (95% CI, 0.09–1.28); P=0.11; I2=0%). Conclusion. MOCA offered fewer major complications but lesser anatomical success at the period of more than 6 months but less than 1-year follow-up than thermal ablation. Trial Registration. This trial is registered with UMIN Clinical Trial Registry (UMIN ID 000036727).

Takayasu arteritis (TA) is a rare chronic granulomatous inflammation of the aorta or its branches and is prevalent all around the world. It causes stenosis of large arteries and ischaemic damage to target organs. There is usually a delay in recognising TA because of the rarity and unfamiliarity with the disease, unspecific early symptoms and lack of diagnostic equipment for early diagnosis. In this report, we present a case of an 18-year-old woman from Pasuruan, East Java, Indonesia, with recurrent fever, headache, claudication of extremities and postprandial abdominal pain. She was diagnosed clinically with suspicion of TA and was sent to a tertiary hospital to confirm the diagnosis. Arteriography revealed that the patient had narrowing of the thoracic and abdominal aorta until the level of the aortic bifurcation. The patient was started on high-dose corticosteroid, cyclosporine A and diltiazem. The patient then showed improvement in her symptoms.

Coronary artery diseases (CAD), also known as coronary heart disease (CHD), are the world’s leading cause of death. The basis of coronary artery disease is the narrowing of the heart coronary artery lumen due to atherosclerosis. The use of electronic cigarettes has increased significantly over the years. However, harmful effects of electronic cigarettes are still not firm. The aim of this article is to review the impact of electronic cigarette and its role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis from recent studies. The results showed that several chemical compounds, such as nicotine, propylene glycol, particulate matters, heavy metals, and flavorings, in electronic cigarette induce atherosclerosis with each molecular mechanism that lead to atherosclerosis progression by formation of ROS, endothelial dysfunction, and inflammation. Further research is still needed to determine the exact mechanism and provide more clinical evidence.

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The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic with a high mortality rate. There has been emerging evidence regarding the presence of thrombosis in patients with severe COVID-19 infection. In addition, prognosis of COVID patients, once they are complicated with DVT or fatal pulmonary emboli, will also significantly decline. Hence, understanding the pathomechanism and prompt treatment of thromboembolism is important in improving the outcome in COVID-19 patients. Prophylaxis anticoagulant was proposed for all hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The aim of this article is to review the current literature regarding pathomechanism, risk assessment, diagnosis, and management of VTE.