Vitamin K supplementation and arterial calcification in dialysis: results of the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled RenaKvit trial.

Background: Arterial calcification is associated with cardiovascular mortality in dialysis patients. Active matrix Gla protein (MGP) is a vitamin K-dependent inhibitor of arterial calcification. Elevated plasma concentrations of inactive MGP, i.

Two-dimensional global longitudinal strain is superior to left ventricular ejection fraction in prediction of outcome in patients with left-sided infective endocarditis.

Background: Impaired cardiac function is the main predictor of poor outcome in infective endocarditis (IE). Global longitudinal strain (GLS) derived from two-dimensional strain echocardiography has proven superior in prediction of long-term outcome as compared to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in valvular disease and heart failure in general. Whether measurements of cardiac deformation can predict survival in patients with IE has not previously been investigated.

[Extravasation of contrast following coronary angiography can be misinterpretated as subarachnoid haemorrhage].

Brain parenchymal extravasation of contrast has been described after infusion of larger amounts of iodinated X-ray contrast agent. We describe a case in which a patient after infusion of 500 ml iomeprole 350 mg/ml developed neurological symptoms and a subsequent cerebral computed tomography (CT) scan was interpreted as subarachnoid haemorrhage. The patient was fully recovered within 48 hours, and a follow-up CT scan 26 hours later showed no signs of haemorrhage.

Once versus twice daily gentamicin dosing for infective endocarditis: a randomized clinical trial.

Objectives: The aim of this randomized study was to investigate the effects of once versus twice daily gentamicin dosing on renal function and measures of infectious disease in a population with infective endocarditis (IE).

Methods: Seventy-one IE patients needing gentamicin treatment according to guidelines were randomized to either once (n = 37) or twice daily (n = 34) doses of gentamicin. Kidney function (glomerular filtration rate, GFR) was measured with an isotope method ((51)Cr-EDTA) at the beginning of treatment and at discharge.

Prevalence of infective endocarditis in patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia: the value of screening with echocardiography.

Aims: Staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis (IE) is a critical medical condition associated with a high morbidity and mortality. In the present study, we prospectively evaluated the importance of screening with echocardiography in an unselected S. aureus bacteraemia (SAB) population.

Infective endocarditis: long-term reversibility of kidney function impairment. A 1-y post-discharge follow-up study.

The aim of this study was to quantify the long-term reversibility of kidney function decrease occurring during hospitalization and treatment for infective endocarditis (IE). A prospective observational cohort study was performed at a tertiary university hospital in Copenhagen from October 2002 through May 2008; 223 consecutive IE patients were included. Forty patients died in hospital and 38 within 1 y of discharge.

The impact of cardiac surgery in native valve infective endocarditis: can euroSCORE guide patient selection?

Background: Decision making regarding surgical intervention in native valve endocarditis (NVE) is often complex and surgery is withheld in a number of patients either because medical treatment is considered the best treatment or because the risk of operation is considered too high. The objective of this study was to investigate the outcome of surgical treatment and to validate the ability of euroSCORE to predict operative mortality in NVE patients.

Methods: Prospective cohort study including 323 consecutive NVE patients.

Major cerebral events in Staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis: is anticoagulant therapy safe?

Objectives: To study the impact of anticoagulation on major cerebral events in patients with left-sided Staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis (IE).

Methods: A prospective cohort study; the use of anticoagulation and the relation to major cerebral events was evaluated separately at onset of admission and during hospitalization.

Results: Overall, 70 out of 175 patients (40%; 95% CI: 33-47%) experienced major cerebral events during the course of the disease, cerebral ischaemic stroke occured in 59 patients (34%; 95% CI: 27-41%), cerebral infection in 23 patients (14%; 95% CI: 9-19%), and cerebral haemorrhage in 5 patients (3%; 95% CI: 0.

In infectious endocarditis patients mortality is highly related to kidney function at time of diagnosis: a prospective observational cohort study of 231 cases.

Background: Infective endocarditis is a serious disease with a high mortality even with optimal treatment and care. A number of complicating conditions are known to be of importance for the outcome. But only few data are available in IE patients on the independent prognostic value of kidney function at the time of admittance.

One-year mortality in coagulase-negative Staphylococcus and Staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis.

The aim of this study was to investigate in-hospital mortality and 12-month mortality in patients with coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) compared to Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infective endocarditis (IE). We used a prospective cohort study of 66 consecutive CoNS and 170 S.

Functional effects of KCNE3 mutation and its role in the development of Brugada syndrome.

Introduction: The Brugada Syndrome (BrS), an inherited syndrome associated with a high incidence of sudden cardiac arrest, has been linked to mutations in four different genes leading to a loss of function in sodium and calcium channel activity. Although the transient outward current (I(to)) is thought to play a prominent role in the expression of the syndrome, mutations in I(to)-related genes have not been identified as yet.

Methods And Results: One hundred and five probands with BrS were screened for ion channel gene mutations using single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) electrophoresis and direct sequencing.

Severity of gentamicin's nephrotoxic effect on patients with infective endocarditis: a prospective observational cohort study of 373 patients.

Background: Gentamicin is often used to treat infective endocarditis (IE). Gentamicin is highly effective, but its applicability is reduced by its nephrotoxic effect. The aim of this study was to quantify the nephrotoxic effect of gentamicin and the association between the nephrotoxic effect and mortality in patients with IE.

The ischemic electrocardiogram: a harbinger for ischemic heart disease independent of the blood pressure level. The Copenhagen City Heart Study.

Information is limited on the co-existence and prognostic association of the ischemic electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood pressure. Prospectively collected data sets from 28,118 examinations in the Copenhagen City Heart Study were analyzed for cardiac morbidity and mortality for a 5.9-year follow-up.