Treatment with gentamicin-impregnated collagen sponges in reducing infection of implantable cardiac devices: 10-year analysis with propensity score matching.

Introduction And Objectives: The incidence of device infection has increased over time and is associated with increased mortality in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs). Gentamicin-impregnated collagen sponges (GICSs) are useful in preventing surgical site infection (SSI) in cardiac surgery. Nevertheless, to date, there is no evidence concerning their use in CIED procedures.

Matching Imaging and Remodulation Effects: Benefits of Cardiac Contractility Modulation Shown by Global Longitudinal Strain: A Case Report.

Cardiac Contractility Modulation (CCM) has been proposed for inpatients affected by heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), with relapsing HF symptoms. We present a case of a patient treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the setting of acute coronary syndrome without persistent ST-segment elevation, with the best medical therapy for decompensated HF. The patient refused the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), and to reduce the increasing number of hospitalizations for HF exacerbations, we proposed the use of the cardiac contractility modulation device.

A thymic hyperplasia-related reversible complete atrioventricular block: When compression is more important than compressor.

A 19-year-old patient presented for syncope with third-degree AV block (TDAVB) at ECG. A chest-CT showed a thymic mass that could be responsible for TDAVB due to extrinsic vagal nerve compression. Thymectomy led to complete AV block resolution.

Electrocardiographic modifications and cardiac involvement in COVID-19 patients: results from an Italian cohort.

Aim: The aim of this study was to detect predisposing CV risks factors and ECGs changes in COVID-19 patients.

Methods: The study population included 60 noncritically ill patients with COVID-19 pneumonia admitted to our hospital between 16 March and 11 May 2020. Electrographic changes, evaluated from ECGs acquired at admission and at 7 days after starting COVID-19 therapy, were analysed.

Lambl's excrescence in transcatheter aortic valve implantation: prevalence and risk of embolic events.

Background: The role of aortic valve Lambl's excrescence (LEs) in determining ischemic events has not been well clarified, but they can represent a potential embolic source during procedures with catheter/device manipulation through the aortic valve. Aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of LEs and the rate of embolism in patients with aortic valve stenosis scheduled for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Methods: Our population was divided into two groups, named LEs and no-LEs.

Every minute counts: in-hospital changes of left ventricular regional and global function in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

Aims: The aim of our study was to assess the effects of an early percutaneous coronary intervention on changes of in-hospital left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and wall motion score index (WMSI) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

Methods: The study population consisted of 324 consecutive patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention, divided into two groups, according to the first medical contact (FMC)-to-reperfusion time, respectively, 90 min or less (n = 173) and more than 90 min (n = 151). Moreover, we performed a sub-analysis in the group of patients who showed at discharge an improvement in the LVEF of at least 10%.

Multidimensional Prognostic Index (MPI) in elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Management of elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is challenging due to lack of knowledge about the link between fragility, outcomes and interventional procedures.

Aims: The aim of this study was to establish the prognostic role of the Multidimensional Prognostic Index (MPI) in elderly with AMI.

Methods: A total of 241 patients ≥ 65 years old with AMI were continuously enrolled in this prospective study and divided into three groups according to the MPI score.

Who Has Seen Patients With ST-Segment-Elevation Myocardial Infarction? First Results From Italian Real-World Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Background After the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak, social isolation measures were introduced to contain infection. Although there is currently a slowing down of the infection, a reduction of hospitalizations, especially for myocardial infarction, was observed. The aim of our study is to evaluate the impact of the infectious disease on ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) care during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, through the analysis of recent cases of patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention.

Structural arrangement of the cardiac collagen fibers of healthy and diabetic dogs.

The heart is composed by a specialized muscle, whose form and function are essentials for an adequate work and shows an amount of connective tissue which support and provide insertion for this muscle, whose collagen fibers are responsible for determination of tissue feature. Our objective was to identify the structural arrangement of the heart collagen fibers in dogs. The hearts of the dogs were submitted to the process of the controlled digestion with NaOH solution and observed by scanning electron microscope.

Morphological expression of angiogenesis in the mammalian ovary as seen by SEM of corrosion casts.

In the mammalian ovary, follicular and corpus luteum cycle is associated with intensive microvascular remodelling. The complex angiogenic dynamics are finely tuned by numerous regulatory factors acting as activators (up-regulators) or inhibitors (down-regulators) of angiogenesis. Alterations of such a tight modulation are involved in several pathologies, including infertility, polycystic ovarian syndrome, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and ovarian cancer.