Native Valve Infective Endocarditis with Severe Regurgitation: What Matters Is Heart Failure.

Heart failure worsens the prognosis of patients with infective endocarditis (IE) and is mainly caused by severe valvular regurgitation. The aim of our investigation is to describe the clinical, epidemiological, microbiological, and echocardiographic characteristics of patients with native left-sided infective endocarditis (NLSIE) with severe valvular regurgitation; to describe the prognosis according to the therapeutic approach; and to determine the prognostic factors of in-hospital mortality. : We prospectively recruited all episodes of possible or definite NLSIE diagnosed at three tertiary hospitals between 2005 and 2022.

Ramipril After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Patients Without Reduced Ejection Fraction: The RASTAVI Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Patients with aortic stenosis may continue to have an increased risk of heart failure, arrhythmias, and death after successful transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Renin-angiotensin system inhibitors may be beneficial in this setting. We aimed to explore whether ramipril improves the outcomes of patients with aortic stenosis after transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Embolic Events in Infective Endocarditis: A Comprehensive Review.

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a life-threating entity with three main complications: heart failure (HF), uncontrolled infection (UI) and embolic events (EEs). HF and UI are the main indications of cardiac surgery and have been studied thoroughly. On the other hand, much more uncertainty surrounds EEs, which have an abrupt and somewhat unpredictable behaviour.

Design and biopharmaceutical preclinical characterisation of a new thermosensitive hydrogel for the removal of gastric polyps.

Background And Aims: Submucosal injection agents are widely used solutions in gastric polyp resection techniques. Currently, many different solutions are used in clinical practice, but most are not authorised for this use or are not biopharmaceutical characterised. The objective of this multidisciplinary work is to test the efficacy of a novel thermosensitive hydrogel designed specifically for this indication.

Pulmonary Vascular Remodeling and Prognosis in Patients Evaluated for Heart Transplantation: Insights from the OCTOPUS-CHF Study.

Objective: In patients with advanced heart failure, the intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) of subsegmental pulmonary artery measurements is correlated with right heart catheterization parameters. Our aim was to study the prognostic value of pulmonary OCT, right heart catheterization data, and the echocardiographic estimation of pulmonary pressure in patients studied for elective heart transplants.

Methods: This research is an observational, prospective, multicenter study involving 90 adults with a one-year follow-up.

Efficacy and safety of intermittent repeated levosimendan infusions in advanced heart failure patients: the LAICA study.

Aims: The aim of the LAICA study was to evaluate the long-term effectiveness and safety of intermittent levosimendan infusion in patients with advanced heart failure (AdHF).

Methods And Results: This was a multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of intermittent levosimendan 0.1 μg/kg/min as a continuous 24-h intravenous infusion administered once monthly for 1 year in patients with AdHF.

Endoscopic Pancreatic Drainage Improves Exocrine Pancreatic Function in Patients With Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer: A Double-Blind, Prospective, Randomized, Single-Center, Interventional Study.

Objectives: Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is a frequent and clinically relevant complication of pancreatic cancer probably secondary to pancreatic duct obstruction. We aimed at evaluating the impact of endoscopic pancreatic drainage on pancreatic function in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer.

Methods: A double-blind, prospective, randomized, single-center, interventional study was designed.

Usefulness of peripheral blood monocyte count to predict relapse in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a prospective longitudinal cohort study.

Background: monocytes play an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease but data are scarce regarding activity biomarkers, above all in patients under biologic therapies.

Objective: the aim of this study was to evaluate the value of monocyte measurements in predicting flares in inflammatory bowel disease patients under maintenance treatment with anti-TNF.

Methods: a prospective, observational cohort study was designed.

Impact of the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency on survival of patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer: a retrospective analysis.

Background: Malnutrition and weight loss are commonly observed in patients with pancreatic cancer and contribute to poor survival. Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI), which can be caused by ductal obstruction by a tumor, causes maldigestion and malabsorption of nutrients, thus contributing to malnutrition in these patients. In this study, we evaluated the effects of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) on survival in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer.

Prevalence of Malnutrition and Nutritional Characteristics of Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background And Aims: This study sought to determine the prevalence of malnutrition in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, to analyse the dietary beliefs and behaviours of these patients, to study their body composition, to evaluate their muscular strength and to identify the factors associated with malnutrition in these patients.

Methods: This was a prospective, multicentre study. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis patients from 30 Spanish centres, from the outpatient clinics, were included.

Interatrial block and atrial arrhythmias in centenarians: Prevalence, associations, and clinical implications.

Background: Data are lacking on the characteristics of atrial activity in centenarians, including interatrial block (IAB).

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of IAB and auricular arrhythmias in subjects older than 100 years and to elucidate their clinical implications.

Methods: We studied 80 centenarians (mean age 101.

Centenarians and their hearts: A prospective registry with comprehensive geriatric assessment, electrocardiogram, echocardiography, and follow-up.

Background: Data on the cardiac characteristics of centenarians are scarce. Our aim was to describe electrocardiogram (ECG) and echocardiography in a cohort of centenarians and to correlate them with clinical data.

Methods: We used prospective multicenter registry of 118 centenarians (28 men) with a mean age of 101.

Update for 2014 on clinical cardiology, geriatric cardiology, and heart failure and transplantation.

In the present article, we review publications from the previous year in the following 3 areas: clinical cardiology, geriatric cardiology, and heart failure and transplantation. Among the new developments in clinical cardiology are several contributions from Spanish groups on tricuspid and aortic regurgitation, developments in atrial fibrillation, syncope, and the clinical characteristics of heart disease, as well as various studies on familial heart disease and chronic ischemic heart disease. In geriatric cardiology, the most relevant studies published in 2014 involve heart failure, degenerative aortic stenosis, and data on atrial fibrillation in the geriatric population.

Rationale and design of a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled multicenter trial to study efficacy, security, and long term effects of intermittent repeated levosimendan administration in patients with advanced heart failure: LAICA study.

Background: Advanced heart failure (HF) is associated with high morbidity and mortality; it represents a major burden for the health system. Episodes of acute decompensation requiring frequent and prolonged hospitalizations account for most HF-related expenditure. Inotropic drugs are frequently used during hospitalization, but rarely in out-patients.