Prednisolone and Mycobacterium indicus pranii in tuberculous pericarditis.

Background: Tuberculous pericarditis is associated with high morbidity and mortality even if antituberculosis therapy is administered. We evaluated the effects of adjunctive glucocorticoid therapy and Mycobacterium indicus pranii immunotherapy in patients with tuberculous pericarditis.

Methods: Using a 2-by-2 factorial design, we randomly assigned 1400 adults with definite or probable tuberculous pericarditis to either prednisolone or placebo for 6 weeks and to either M.

Rationale and design of the Investigation of the Management of Pericarditis (IMPI) trial: a 2 × 2 factorial randomized double-blind multicenter trial of adjunctive prednisolone and Mycobacterium w immunotherapy in tuberculous pericarditis.

Background: In spite of antituberculosis chemotherapy, tuberculous (TB) pericarditis causes death or disability in nearly half of those affected. Attenuation of the inflammatory response in TB pericarditis may improve outcome by reducing cardiac tamponade and pericardial constriction, but there is uncertainty as to whether adjunctive immunomodulation with corticosteroids and Mycobacterium w (M. w) can safely reduce mortality and morbidity.

STELLIUM 1: First-in-man follow-up evaluation of bioabsorbable polymer-coated paclitaxel-eluting stent.

Background: Durable polymers used for first-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) potentially contribute to persistent inflammation and late DES thrombosis. The vascular response to the Stellium stent, which is coated with an absorbable polymer for slow release of low-dose paclitaxel, was evaluated in the present study.

Methods And Results: The 37 patients with stable angina were implanted with 47 Stellium stents.

Mortality in patients treated for tuberculous pericarditis in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: To determine the mortality rate and its predictors in patients with a presumptive diagnosis of tuberculous pericarditis in sub-Saharan Africa.

Design: Between 1 March 2004 and 31 October 2004, we enrolled 185 consecutive patients with presumed tuberculous pericarditis from 15 referral hospitals in Cameroon, Nigeria and South Africa, and observed them during the 6-month course of antituberculosis treatment for the major outcome of mortality. This was an observational study, with the diagnosis and management of each patient left at the discretion of the attending physician.

Clinical characteristics and initial management of patients with tuberculous pericarditis in the HIV era: the Investigation of the Management of Pericarditis in Africa (IMPI Africa) registry.

Background: The incidence of tuberculous pericarditis has increased in Africa as a result of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic. However, the effect of HIV co-infection on clinical features and prognosis in tuberculous pericarditis is not well characterised. We have used baseline data of the Investigation of the Management of Pericarditis in Africa (IMPI Africa) registry to assess the impact of HIV co-infection on clinical presentation, diagnostic evaluation, and treatment of patients with suspected tuberculous pericarditis in sub-Saharan Africa.