Changes in Peripheral Blood Eosinophil Counts and Risk of Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis Onset after Initiation of Dupilumab Administration in Adult Patients with Asthma.

Background: The purpose of this study is to clarify the changes in peripheral blood eosinophil (PBE) counts and eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) onset in patients with asthma who were treated with dupilumab in clinical practice.

Methods: The primary outcome of this study is to determine the onset of EGPA in patients whose PBE counts continued to rise within 6 months of dupilumab initiation (rising group) and in patients whose PBE counts peaked and subsequently declined within 6 months (peaked and declined group). As a secondary outcome, the incidence of developing EGPA in patients with PBE counts greater than 1500 cells/μL at 3 or 6 months after dupilumab administration is investigated.

Impact of atrial remodeling on the outcome of radiofrequency catheter ablation of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Background:  Both the left atrial volume index (LAVI) and estimated total atrial conduction time measured using tissue Doppler imaging of the atria (PA-TDI duration) are echocardiographic parameters reflecting atrial remodeling. We investigated their prognostic value for atrial tachyarrhythmia (AF/AT) recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF).

Methods And Results:  We analyzed the data for 100 consecutive patients with drug-refractory PAF who underwent RFCA.

Long-term outcome and preprocedural predictors of atrial tachyarrhythmia recurrence following pulmonary vein antrum isolation-based catheter ablation in patients with non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Background: Although various empiric adjunctive ablation techniques are widely performed with pulmonary vein antrum isolation (PVAI) to enhance the procedural efficacy of catheter ablation in non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (NPAF) patients, they are not required in all NPAF patients.

Methods And Results: Eighty consecutive NPAF patients refractory to antiarrhythmic drugs underwent a PVAI-based ablation. Structural heart disease was present in 40% of patients and systolic dysfunction in 21%.

Risk stratification of patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes by assessing global longitudinal strain.

Noninvasive detection of left main/three-vessel diseases (LM/3VD) among patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTEACS) has been difficult using echocardiography. However, two-dimensional (2D) strain/strain-rate analysis is more sensitive in quantitatively assessing contractile abnormality. Accordingly, we aimed to clarify the usefulness of 2D strain/strain-rate analysis for risk stratification of NSTEACS.

Differences in hemodynamic responses between intravenous carperitide and nicorandil in patients with acute heart failure syndromes.

While recent guidelines for the treatment of acute heart failure syndromes (AHFS) recommend pharmacotherapy with vasodilators in patients without excessively low blood pressure (BP), few reports have compared the relative efficiency of vasodilators on hemodynamics in AHFS patients. The present study aimed to assess the differences in hemodynamic responses between intravenous carperitide and nicorandil in patients with AHFS. Thirty-eight consecutive patients were assigned to receive 48-h continuous infusion of carperitide (n = 19; 0.

Time-dependent variation in coronary flow velocity reserve induced by adenosine triphosphate: comparison to low-dose dipyridamole.

Background: Measuring the coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE) has been widely performed using adenosine. Although adenosine infusion is known to induce transient variation of hyperemia, the timing to measure the CFVR has not been well addressed. Therefore, we aimed to clarify the difference between the peak CFVR and at 2 min following adenosine triphosphate (ATP) infusion compared to the CFVR after low-dose dipyridamole infusion.

Efficacy of paclitaxel-eluting stent implantation in hemodialysis patients.

Hemodialysis patients were recognized as a high-risk group for restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention in the era of the bare-metal stent. Recently, sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) have reduced restenosis and target lesion revascularization (TLR); however, it has been reported that their efficacy in hemodialysis patients is limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) improved angiographic outcomes of hemodialysis patients compared with SES.