Utility of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T in patients receiving anthracycline chemotherapy.

Background: Anthracycline chemotherapy remains an integral part of the care for curative intent chemotherapy in breast cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients. Better tools need to be identified to predict cardiac complications of anthracycline chemotherapy.

Materials And Methods: We investigated the utility of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hscTnT), N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, cardiac troponin T and I, and creatine kinase (CK)-MB in cancer patients receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy, in order to determine whether baseline levels or changes in these biomarkers may help predict the onset of congestive heart failure.

Thrombolysis in submassive pulmonary embolism, prudent or puerile?

Pulmonary embolism (PE) remains one of the leading causes of cardiovascular mortality. The safety and efficacy of thrombolytic therapy using tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) for acute PE in clinical practice remain unclear. We describe a case of life-threatening submassive PE causing extreme refractory hypoxaemia, where thrombolysis was successfully administered.