Therapy with losartan compared to irbesartan was performed in a Chinese sample of hypertensive patients with elevated serum uric acid (SUA) levels. After 1 week of screening and a 2 week single-blinded placebo baseline period, patients were treated for 4 weeks with losartan 50 mg or irbesartan 150 mg. After 4 weeks, patients with SiDBPo90 mmHg and SiSBPo140 mmHg continued the same dose regimen for another 4 weeks. If blood pressure was not controlled after 4 weeks of treatment, the dose of either regimen was doubled to losartan 100 mg and irbesartan 300 mg. There were 351 patients randomized (176 to losartan and 175 to irbesartan), and of these, 325 patients completed the study (162 in the losartan group and 163 in the irbesartan group). At baseline, the median SUA level in the losartan group was 422 and 420 lmol/l in the irbesartan group. At 8 weeks of therapy, SUA decreased by 63 lmol/l in the losartan group compared to 12 lmol/l in the irbesartan group (Po0.0001). Blood pressure declined comparably in both groups from 151/92 mmHg at baseline to 137/83 and 135/83 (losartan and irbesartan, respectively, NS). No severe AEs were found for either treatment group. Therapy with losartan decreased SUA levels significantly more than irbesartan in Chinese patients with hypertension and elevated SUA levels, demonstrating the unique uricosuric effect of this ARB in this ethnic group.

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Pulmonary artery sarcoma (PAS) is a rare and devastating disease. The diagnosis is often delayed, and optimal treatment remains unclear. The aim of this study is to report our experience in the surgical management of this disease. Between 2000 and 2018, 17 patients underwent operations for PAS at our center. The medical records were retrospectively reviewed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, operative findings, the postoperative outcomes, and the long-term results. The mean age at operation was 46.0 ± 12.4 years (range, 26–79 years), and eight (47.1%) patients were male. Six patients underwent tumor resection alone, whereas the other 11 patients received pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA). There were two perioperative deaths. Follow-up was completed for all patients with a mean duration of 23.5 ± 17.6 months (1–52 months). For all 17 patients, the median postoperative survival was 36 months, and estimated cumulative survival rates at 1, 2, 3, and 4 years were 60.0%, 51.4%, 42.9%, and 21.4%, respectively. The mean survival was 37.0 months after PEA and 14.6 months after tumor resection only ( p = 0.046). Patients who had no pulmonary hypertension (PH) postoperatively were associated with improved median survival (48 vs. 5 months, p = 0.023). In conclusion, PAS is often mistaken for chronic pulmonary thromboembolism. The prognosis of this very infrequent disease remains poor. Early detection is essential for prompt and best surgical approach, superior to tumor resection alone, and PEA surgery with PH relieved can provide better chance of survival.

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Both TLV and PLV improved oxygenation and reduced pulmonary inflammatory reaction in piglets after CPB, whereas TLV is more effective than PLV.

BackgroundPost-infarction left ventricular (LV) pseudoaneurysm is a rare mechanical complication of myocardial infarction that carries a substantial risk of sudden rupture. The purpose of this study was to compare the surgical results of post-infarction LV pseudoaneurysm with those of conservative treatment.MethodsFrom 2016 to 2021, 22 patients were hospitalized for LV pseudoaneurysm, including 17 cases (77.3%) caused by myocardial infarction. Of the 17 patients, 10 (58.8%) underwent surgical repair, while seven (41.2%) were treated medically. The clinical course, echocardiograph data, and surgical outcomes were analyzed. Survival rates of the surgical and conservative groups were compared.ResultsThere were no perioperative deaths. Intra-aortic balloon pumping support was required in two (20%) patients. No follow-up mortality was observed in the surgical group and at the last follow-up, all the patients were classified as New York Heart Association class I–II. In the conservative group, there was one (14.3%) hospital death and two (28.6%) additional deaths during follow-up. A significant difference was found in survival between the two groups (P = 0.024).ConclusionsSurgical repair of post-infarction LV pseudoaneurysm can be performed with good results, while conservative treatment carries a significant risk of sudden death. Surgical repair is indicated for every patient diagnosed, even those with a small pseudoaneurysm without symptoms.

Background: The definitive treatment for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA), which has good longterm outcomes. However, after surgery, a quarter of the patients still have residual pulmonary hypertension (RPH). In pulmonary hemodynamics, there are no unified criteria for RPH, even though the level may affect long-term survival.Methods: Between March 1997 and December 2021, 253 CTEPH patients were treated at our center with PEA. Patients were evaluated retrospectively and classified into early (1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014) and late (2015-2021) groups. The clinical characteristics and perioperative outcomes of the two groups were compared, and risk factor analysis for RPH and long-term survival for all cases was performed.Results: There was no statistically significant difference in demographics between the two groups. However, the Early Group had a significantly higher rate of perioperative death (9.8% vs. 1.2%, p = .001), RPH (48.8% vs. 14.0%, p < .001), and reperfusion pulmonary edema (18.3% vs. 2.9%, p < .001). The median follow-up time was 66.0 months, and overall survival rates at 5, 10, 15, and 18 years after PEA were 91.2%, 83.9%, 64.5%, and 46.0%, respectively. Age and postoperative systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) were independently related to long-term outcomes in the multivariate Cox analyses. Patients with postoperative sPAP less than 46 mm Hg had a higher chance of survival. Conclusions: PEA improved CTEPH hemodynamics immediately and had a positive effect on long-term survival. Patients with postoperative sPAP ≥ 46 mm Hg indicate clinically significant RPH and have a lower long-term survival rate.

Background Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a rare and life-threatening condition with poor prognosis in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) is the optimal surgical option for CTEPH. Objectives This retrospective cohort study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and risk of PTE in patients with APS-associated CTEPH. Methods Consecutive patients with APS-associated CTEPH diagnosed between January 2012 and September 2017 at Peking Union Medical College Hospital were retrospectively evaluated. Demographics, clinical manifestations, antiphospholipid antibody (aPL) profiles, and pulmonary arterial hypertension–targeted medications were collected. Deterioration of cardiac function and death were chosen as the endpoints, in order to assess the effect of PTE on short-term and long-term prognoses (evaluated by the change of cardiac function after treatment and cardiac deterioration or death in the follow-up, respectively). Results A total of 20 patients with APS-associated CTEPH were enrolled, and eight patients underwent PTE. Chi-square test (p = 0.01) and Kaplan–Meier curves (log rank test, p = 0.04) showed that there were statistically significant differences in both short-term and long-term prognoses between patients with and without PTE. Conclusion These results provide strong evidence that PTE is a curative resolution in patients with APS-associated CTEPH. Following a full specialized and multidisciplinary risk-benefit evaluation to limit the risk of thrombosis or bleeding and to manage possible thrombocytopenia, PTE is at least a temporal curative resolution for CTEPH complicated with APS.