Objectives The incidence of patients with refractory angina (RA) is increasing. Medical therapy for RA is limited and prognosis is poor. Experimental data suggest that the use of Extracorporeal shockwave myocardial revascularization (ESMR) may contribute to angiogenesis and improve symptoms of angina in patients with RA. Purpose of our study is to determine the efficacy of cardiac shock wave therapy (ESMR) in the management of patients with nonrevascolarized coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods We performed a prospective cohort study to examine the efficacy of ESMR applcation in patients with RA despite optimal medical therapy, not suitable for further PCI or CABG. Characteristics such as angina class scores (CCS class score), nitroglycerin consumption and hospitalization rate among cases (patients with RA who received ESMR) and controls (patients with RA who did not receive ESMR) were compared at baseline and 6 months after ESMR therapy. In patients receiveing d ESMR the effect of on cardiac perfusion was assessed. Results There were 43 patients in the case group and 29 patients in the control group. The mean age of the patients was 70 ± 9.5 years in the case group and 71 ± 5.3 years in the control group. Other characteristics (diabetes, coronary artery bypass graft, percutaneus coronary intervention, baseline CCS class score) were similar in both groups. There was a significant improvement in CCS class score (1.33 ± 0.57 in cases and 1.92 ± 0.69 in controls; p = 0.0002), nitroglycerin consumption (20% in case cases, and 44.8% in controls; P < 0.03) and hospitalization rate significantly reduced (13.9% in case cases, and 37.9% in controls; P < 0.03). The patients who received ESMR, there was a significantly improvement in myocardial perfusion after 6 months with a 33% relative reduction of summed stress score (SSS) (p = 0.002). Conclusion This case control study demonstrates the beneficial effect of ESMR therapy on cardiac symptoms, myocardial perfusion and reduced hospitalization in patients with refractory angina. Ther current study supports a role for ESMR as a non-invasive therapuetic option for patients with RA.

Background and Purpose: Acute ischemic stroke and large vessel occlusion can be concurrent with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Outcomes after mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for large vessel occlusion in patients with COVID-19 are substantially unknown. Our aim was to study early outcomes after MT in patients with COVID-19. Methods: Multicenter, European, cohort study involving 34 stroke centers in France, Italy, Spain, and Belgium. Data were collected between March 1, 2020 and May 5, 2020. Consecutive laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases with large vessel occlusion, who were treated with MT, were included. Primary investigated outcome: 30-day mortality. Secondary outcomes: early neurological improvement (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale improvement ≥8 points or 24 hours National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale 0–1), successful reperfusion (modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction grade ≥2b), and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage. Results: We evaluated 93 patients with COVID-19 with large vessel occlusion who underwent MT (median age, 71 years [interquartile range, 59–79]; 63 men [67.7%]). Median pretreatment National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography score were 17 (interquartile range, 11–21) and 8 (interquartile range, 7–9), respectively. Anterior circulation acute ischemic stroke represented 93.5% of cases. The rate modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction 2b to 3 was 79.6% (74 patients [95% CI, 71.3–87.8]). Thirty-day mortality was 29% (27 patients [95% CI, 20–39.4]). Early neurological improvement was 19.5% (17 patients [95% CI, 11.8–29.5]), and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was 5.4% (5 patients [95% CI, 1.7–12.1]). Patients who died at 30 days exhibited significantly lower lymphocyte count, higher levels of aspartate, and LDH (lactate dehydrogenase). After adjustment for age, initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography score, and successful reperfusion, these biological markers remained associated with increased odds of 30-day mortality (adjusted odds ratio of 2.70 [95% CI, 1.21–5.98] per SD-log decrease in lymphocyte count, 2.66 [95% CI, 1.22–5.77] per SD-log increase in aspartate, and 4.30 [95% CI, 1.43–12.91] per SD-log increase in LDH). Conclusions: The 29% rate of 30-day mortality after MT among patients with COVID-19 is not negligible. Abnormalities of lymphocyte count, LDH and aspartate may depict a patient’s profiles with poorer outcomes after MT. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT04406090.

BackgroundDepression screening in the cardiovascular disease (CVD) care setting is under-performed, also because the issue of the optimal screening tools cut-off is still open. We analysed which HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) total score cut-off value shows the best properties in two groups of 357 Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) and 260 Chronic Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) hospitalized patients. MethodsA Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve was plotted for both groups using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) as the criterion. Accuracy, positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values were computed for different cut-off scores. ResultsThe ROC curves confirmed the excellent/very good accuracy of the HADS in both groups, with an area under the curve of .911 for the ACS and .893 for the CAD patients. The cut-off of 14 showed the best compromise between high sensitivity and good specificity in both groups, with high negative predicted values (95.5% and 92.4%, respectively). ConclusionUsing a cut-off value of 14, the HADS could be considered a good screening tool to identify hospitalized CAD and ACS patients requiring a more accurate depression assessment, in order to promptly plan the most appropriate treatment strategies and prevent the negative effects of depression in CVD patients.3

Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) is a benign tumor of the nasal cavity that predominantly affects young boys. Surgical removal remains the gold standard for the management of this disease. Preoperative intra-arterial embolization (PIAE) is useful for reductions in intraoperative blood loss and surgical complications. In our series of 79 patients who underwent preoperative embolization from 1999 to 2020, demographics, procedural aspects, surgical management and follow-up outcome were analyzed. Embolization was performed in a similar fashion for all patients, with a superselective microcatheterization of external carotid artery (ECA) feeders and an injection of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles, followed, in some cases, by the deployment of coils . Procedural success was reached in 100% of cases, with no complications such as bleeding or thromboembolic occlusion, and surgical intraoperative blood loss was significantly decreased. In conclusion, PIAE is a safe and effective technique in JNA treatment, minimizing intraoperative bleeding.

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