Systemic anticoagulation is a standard of care in adult patients supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to prevent circuit thrombosis and subsequent thromboembolic events. Unfractionated heparin has long been considered the anticoagulant of choice, but emerging evidence reports successful ECMO runs with direct thrombin inhibitors. This retrospective study sought to determine whether bivalirudin offers distinct clinical benefits as the anticoagulant of choice in ECMO. Primary end points included thrombotic events during the initial 96 hours of anticoagulation, over the course of their entire ECMO run, and at any time during the admission, as well as in-hospital and 30-day mortality. Secondary end points included percent time within therapeutic range for each anticoagulant, neurologic events, vascular complications, and bleeding. Compared with patients receiving heparin, patients receiving bivalirudin show similar rates of thrombotic events across the three time points (17.9% vs. 9.1%; p = 0.47, 21.4% vs. 11.4%; p = 0.41, and 25% vs. 22.7%; p = 1.00, respectively). In-hospital (32.1% vs. 36.4%; p = 0.91) and 30-day mortality (32.1% vs. 36.4%; p = 0.91) were no different. Similarly, no differences were observed in percent time within therapeutic range (83.0% vs. 87.7%, p = 0.34), neurological events (7.1% vs. 11.4%, p = 0.99), vascular complications (57.1% vs. 38.6%, p = 0.20), or major (25.0% vs. 45.5%, p = 0.13) and minor (25.0% vs. 22.7%, p = 1.00) bleeding. These results suggest that bivalirudin is a viable alternative to heparin for anticoagulation in ECMO but may not offer a clinically significant advantage as the anticoagulant of choice.
Sacubitril/valsartan significantly improved morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic HFrEF but will require careful application to "real-world" populations of HFrEF.
Volume management in acute decompensated and chronic heart failure (HF) remains a significant challenge. Although progress has been made in the development of mortality-reducing neurohormonal regimens in the reduced ejection fraction population, no clinical trial has yet demonstrated anything more than symptomatic relief or biomarker reduction with pharmacotherapeutic volume-based interventions made in the acutely decompensated individual or those with evolving outpatient congestion. As the number of patients with HF continues to grow, in addition to HF-related hospitalizations, identifying therapies that have the potential to aid in diuresis more safely and efficaciously is paramount to decreasing inpatient length of stay and preventing unnecessary admissions. More recently, a significant amount of research has been dedicated to the use of vasopressin antagonists, specifically tolvaptan, as adjunctive therapy to loop and thiazide diuretics. Although these agents do not seem to have a pervasive role in fluid management in the acute decompensated and chronic HF populations, they are effective tools to have available for specific clinical situations. This review summarizes the literature surrounding the use of tolvaptan for volume management in congestive HF, as well as offering practical guidance for use of this agent.
Lacosamide is a new-generation antiepileptic drug (AED) most commonly used adjunctively in the setting of partial-onset seizures refractory to traditional therapy. We describe the first case report, to our knowledge, of a patient who developed recurrent, sustained ventricular tachycardia with multiple administrations of lacosamide in an acute setting. A 70-year-old woman with a history significant for valvular heart disease was admitted to the inpatient cardiology service for worsening heart failure. On hospital day 7, she received a bioprosthetic aortic valve. Prior to surgery and immediately after, the patient's electrocardiogram (ECG) was normal. After developing multiple generalized tonic-clonic seizures refractory to levetiracetam, fosphenytoin, and valproic acid, the decision was made to initiate lacosamide. Two hours following the second lacosamide dose, the patient developed a wide complex QRS that transitioned into sustained ventricular tachycardia requiring electrical cardioversion. Sustained ventricular tachycardia occurred again, just hours after the third dose of lacosamide was given. Following cessation of lacosamide, the patient's QRS interval normalized and has since had no documented episodes of ventricular tachycardia. Clinicians should be aware of the potential for life-threatening rhythmic disturbances in patients initiated on lacosamide and the need for vigilant ECG, electrolyte, and drug-drug monitoring.
As we continue to fight against the current coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, healthcare professionals across the globe are trying to answer questions surrounding how to best help patients with the up-to-date available science while awaiting the development of new therapies and mass vaccination. Since early in the pandemic, studies indicated a heightened risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in COVID-19 infected patients. There have been differing expert opinions about how to assess pretest probability of VTE in this patient population. This has been partly due to the high prevalence of respiratory failure in this patient population and the use of D-dimer as a prognostic test which is also frequently elevated in patients with COVID-19 in absence of VTE. Some experts have argued for an approach similar to usual care with testing if clinical suspicion is high enough. Some have argued for more routine screening at different points of care. Others have even suggested empiric therapeutic anti-coagulation in moderate to severely ill COVID-19 patients. In the following article, we review and summarize the most current literature in hopes of assisting clinicians in decision making and guidance for when to be concerned for VTE in COVID-19 patients. We also discuss research gaps and share pathways currently being used within our institution.
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