Background Wellens’ syndrome is known to be associated with left anterior descending artery occlusion that could lead to an extensive anterior wall myocardial infarction. Thus, emergency cardiac catheterization is needed. However, during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it is recommended for hemodynamically stable acute coronary syndrome patients with COVID-19 infection to be treated conservatively in an isolated hospital ward. Case presentation We report an 85-year-old patient with chief complaints of typical, squeezing chest pain in the past 4 h. The patient had a high fever, dyspnea, sore throat, and fatigue for 3 days. He had previously come into contact with COVID-19 positive relatives. The patient was hemodynamically stable and pulmonary auscultation revealed coarse rales in the entire lung. Electrocardiography (ECG) evaluation during the pain episode showed non-specific ST-T changes in lead V2-V5. After sublingual nitrate was administered, ECG evaluation during the pain-free period revealed a biphasic T wave inversion in lead V2 and V3. Laboratory workup showed elevated cardiac marker and leucopenia with neutrophilia and lymphopenia. Rapid immunochromatographic test and initial severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) evaluation from nasopharyngeal swab showed negative results. However, radiographic evaluations suggest the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. While waiting for the second RT-PCR evaluation, the patient was diagnosed with Wellens’ syndrome with suspected COVID-19 infection. The patient was treated conservatively according to national guidelines and scheduled for elective cardiac catheterization. On the third day, the patient felt better and insisted on being discharged home. Ten days after discharged, the patient died of myocardial infarction. Conclusion Emergency cardiac catheterization should be done for patient with Wellens’ syndrome, regardless of the COVID-19 infection status.
Introduction: Ocular symptoms are uncommon manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Earlier study reported that dry eye, blurred vision, foreign body sensation, tearing, itching, conjunctival secretion, conjunctival congestion, ocular pain, and photophobia are among the ocular symptoms that could be found in COVID-19 patients. However, there are only a few reports available regarding corneal involvement in this disease. Here we report a case of keratoconjunctivitis as the only symptom of COVID-19 infection. Case description: A 27-year-old man who worked as an obstetrics and gynecology resident came to the outpatient clinic with the chief complaints of eye discomfort, foreign body sensation, conjunctival hyperemia, lacrimation, and photophobia in his right eye for the past 3 weeks. Fluorescence test showed a small corneal lesion. The patient was then diagnosed with keratoconjunctivitis. A week after the treatment, all symptoms were resolved. A month later, the patient came to the emergency room with the same eye complaints but with a more severe pain. The fluorescence test showed wider corneal lesion compared to last month. The result from the corneal swab is negative for bacterial or fungal infection, indicating a viral infection. Afterwards, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test from nasopharyngeal swab was performed and revealed that the patient was positive for COVID-19. Conclusions: This case report showed that keratoconjunctivitis may occur as the only manifestation of COVID-19 infection. Thus, patient presented with unexplainable eye symptoms should be evaluated for COVID-19 infection.
Background:This was a retrospective study conducted at a rural referral center in East Java, Indonesia, to evaluate the association between the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) on hospital admission and the incidence of new symptomatic heart failure (HF) within 6 months in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Material/Methods:The study population consisted of all ACS patients who were hospitalized between 1 January and 31 December 2018 at a non-percutaneous coronary intervention-capable secondary referral hospital and came for a routine follow-up until 6 months afterwards. The diagnosis of new symptomatic HF was based on International Classification of Diseases 10 th revision code I50.9. Results:From 126 hospitalized patients, 92 patients were included in the analysis. The incidence rate of new symptomatic HF at 6 months was 70.65%. High PLR upon initial admission was significantly associated with new symptomatic HF incidence (odds ratio=1.70, P<0.001). PLR was also able to discriminate new symptomatic HF incidence at 6 months with area under the curve of 0.83 (P=0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that PLR was an independent predictor for new symptomatic HF incidence (hazard ratio=4.5, P=0.001). Conclusions:In a rural center in Indonesia, the PLR was independently correlated with the onset of new symptomatic HF in patients with ACS 6 months after hospital admission. The PLR may be a supplementary biomarker for clinical outcomes in patients with ACS for use in resource-limited regions.
Background: To date, there is no reference for a 6-min walk test distance (6-MWD) immediately after cardiac surgery. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the determinants and to generate equations for prediction reference for 6-MWD in patients immediately after cardiac surgery.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of the 6-min walk test (6-MWT) prior to participation in the cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program of patients after coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) or valve surgery. The 6-MWT were carried out in a gymnasium prior to the CR program immediately after the cardiac surgery. Available demographic and clinical data of patients were analyzed to identify the clinical determinants of 6-MWD.Results: This study obtained and analyzed the data of 1,509 patients after CABG and 632 patients after valve surgery. The 6-MWD of all patients was 321.5 ± 73.2 m (60–577). The distance was longer in the valve surgery group than that of patients in the CABG group (327.75 ± 70.5 vs. 313.59 ± 75.8 m, p < 0.001). The determinants which significantly influence the 6-MWD in the CABG group were age, gender, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, and body height, whereas in the valve surgery group these were age, gender, and atrial fibrillation. The multivariable regression models generated two formulas using the identified clinical determinants for patients after CABG: 6-MWD (meter) = 212.57 + 30.47 (if male gender) − 1.62 (age in year) + 1.09 (body height in cm) − 12.68 (if with diabetes) − 28.36 (if with atrial fibrillation), and for patients after valve surgery with the formula: 6-MWD (meter) = 371.05 + 37.98 (if male gender) − 1.36 (age in years) − 10.61 (if atrial with fibrillation).Conclusion: This study identified several determinants for the 6-MWD and successively generated two reference equations for predicting 6-MWD in patients after CABG and valve surgery.
ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is one of the medical emergencies in cardiology with high morbidity and mortality rate which requires rapid response. In elderly patients, its presenting symptoms may be atypical which may cause the diagnosis of MI to be delayed or missed. Therefore, ST-segment elevation on ECG has become the main instrument for initial diagnosis. However, there are a variety of conditions mimicking the ECG changes of STEMI. We report a case of 70-year-old patient with acute peritonitis and pneumoperitoneum secondary to gastric perforation with dynamic ECG changes mimicking anteroseptal STEMI. After the surgery, the ECG dynamically reverted to normal. He was then discharged after 4 days without any remaining symptoms. Misinterpretation of ECG findings may lead to unnecessary aggressive intervention, costly management strategies and delay in appropriate treatment.
Rare disease Background: Pulmonary artery aneurysm (PAA) is a rare disease in cardiovascular system. This disease is difficult to diagnose and less often considered due to its non-specific clinical manifestations. Until now there are no clear guidelines about its optimal management because of the small number of reported cases. Case Report: We report a 56-year-old male with chief complain of atypical bilateral chest pain and shortness of breath. Initial electrocardiogram (ECG) and laboratory evaluation showed no sign of ischemic heart disease. After the patient was stabilized, he was evaluated using chest x-ray, transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), and multi slice computed tomography (MSCT). The patient was then diagnosed with PAA secondary to suspicion of pulmonary hypertension (PH) with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure. Conservative treatment was chosen because of the limited resources for surgery and patient's refusal to be referred. The treatment aims to lower the pulmonary artery pressure while monitoring the aneurysm. His 6-month follow-up evaluation showed an improvement in pulmonary artery pressure and persistent of the PAA without any increasement of the diameter. Conclusions: PAA is a rare disease that is difficult to diagnose because of its non-specific nature. Persistent atypical chest pain can be an early symptom of PAA, thus clinicans should be aware in a high-risk patient suffered persistent chest pain, despite normal ECG and laboratory findings. TTE and MSCT evaluation are reliable for diagnosing PH and PAA. With conservative treatment and routine follow-up, patient with PAA secondary to PH could be managed well.
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