Techniques for Identifying a Patent Foramen Ovale: Transthoracic Echocardiography, Transesophageal Echocardiography, Transcranial Doppler, Right Heart Catheterization.

Noninvasive and invasive imaging modalities play important roles for the detection of patent foramen ovale (PFO). Transthoracic echocardiography or transcranial Doppler bubble study can be used for initial noninvasive PFO screening. For diagnostic confirmation, transesophageal echocardiography bubble study can be utilized, a semiinvasive confirmatory test that can directly visualize a PFO.

Safety and efficacy of direct oral anticoagulants in comparison to warfarin in obese patients with atrial fibrillation: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Aim: Obesity affects nearly 650 million adults worldwide, and the prevalence is steadily rising. This condition has significant adverse effects on cardiovascular health, increasing the risk of hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation (AF). While anticoagulation for obese patients with AF is a well-established therapy for the prevention of thromboembolism, the safety and efficacy of different anticoagulants in this specific population are not well explored.

A Case of Fastidious Mycobacterium chelonae-Causative Cellulitis: Clinical Manifestations of a Rare Bacterial Infection.

Cellulitis is rarely caused by the organism (). In this case report, we detail the clinical course of a 43-year-old female with persistent cellulitis in her right lower extremity despite intensive empiric therapy. The patient was formally diagnosed with -causative cellulitis after an extensive workup including a prolonged hospital stay involving surgical biopsy and a delayed result of an acid-fast bacilli stain.

Temporal Trends for Patients Hospitalized With Atrial Fibrillation in the United States: An Analysis From the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) Database 2011-2018.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) has historically been a growing burden on the global public health system. Previously, literature on the trends associated with AF-related hospitalizations has been published. However, there seems to be a gap in up-to-date information, notably within the last decade.

Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction due topolycythemia vera.

Polycythemia vera is a rare hematological disorder that can cause heart failure with reduced ejection fraction from chronic micro-vascular ischemia. Appropriately recognizing the underlying cause of cardiomyopathy is essential to decrease morbidity and mortality. Patients can present with elevated troponin level and have patent epicardial coronary arteries on coronary angiogram, hence presenting a diagnostic challenge for health care professionals.

Recurrent deep venous thromboses in a patient with adult-onset Still's disease.

Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is a rare inflammatory disorder affecting just over one in a million people. Due to its rarity, understanding of its pathophysiology and the spectrum of its clinical associations are limited. Improved case identification and creation of patient registries have begun to reveal sporadic reports of deep venous thromboses associated with AOSD.

Proposal for Updated Nomenclature and Classification of Potential Causative Mechanism in Patent Foramen Ovale-Associated Stroke.

Importance: Recent epidemiologic and therapeutic advances have transformed understanding of the role of and therapeutic approach to patent foramen ovale (PFO) in ischemic stroke. Patent foramen ovale is likely responsible for approximately 5% of all ischemic strokes and 10% of those occurring in young and middle-aged adults.

Observations: Randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that, to prevent recurrent ischemic stroke in patients with PFO and an otherwise-cryptogenic index ischemic stroke, PFO closure is superior to antiplatelet medical therapy alone; these trials have provided some evidence that, among medical therapy options, anticoagulants may be more effective than antiplatelet agents.

Revascularization strategies for patients with myocardial infarction and multi-vessel disease: A critical appraisal of the current evidence.

Approximately half of patients presenting with myocardial infarction are found to have non-infarct related multi-vessel severe coronary artery disease. Various observational studies and randomized controlled trials have been conducted to assess if revascularization of non-infarct related artery is associated with better clinical outcomes. In this review, the authors discuss the various revascularization strategies in patients with multi-vessel disease who present with myocardial infarction.

Patent Foramen Ovale and Hypoxemia.

Patent foramen ovale (PFO), an embryonic remnant of the fetal circulation, is present in 20-25% of adults. Although recent observational studies and clinical trials have established the link between PFO-mediated right-to-left shunting with cryptogenic stroke and migraine with aura, the role of a PFO in exacerbating hypoxemic medical conditions (ie, sleep apnea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary hypertension, platypnea-orthodeoxia, pulmonary arteriovenous malformation, high-altitude pulmonary edema, and exercise desaturation) remains less understood. PFO-mediated hypoxemia occurs when deoxygenated venous blood from the right atrium enters and mixes with oxygenated arterial blood in the left atrium.

Cryptogenic Stroke and Patent Foramen Ovale.

Nearly one-half of patients with cryptogenic stroke have a patent foramen ovale (PFO). The dilemma of whether to close these PFOs percutaneously, in an effort to reduce the risk of recurrent paradoxical embolism, has been a matter of ongoing debate for more than a decade. Early randomized clinical trials failed to demonstrate a significant benefit of percutaneous PFO closure for secondary prevention of cryptogenic stroke in an intention-to-treat analysis.

Transcranial Doppler: Does Addition of Blood to Agitated Saline Affect Sensitivity for Detecting Cardiac Right-to-Left Shunt?

Background: Transcranial Doppler (TCD) with agitated saline has been shown to be an alternative for the detection of right-to-left shunts (RLS) with similar diagnostic accuracies as transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). It is hypothesized that the addition of blood to agitated saline increases the sensitivity of TCD for the detection of RLS. The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine whether agitated saline with blood increases the sensitivity of TCD for the detection of RLS compared to agitated saline alone and other contrast agents.

Thrombocytopaenia as a Prognostic Indicator in Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction.

Background: Studies suggest that thrombocytopaenia is associated with a higher mortality in several diseases. Little is known about the effect of low platelet count on mortality in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic value of thrombocytopaenia in these patients by assessing all-cause mortality.

Accuracy of conventional transthoracic echocardiography for the diagnosis of intracardiac right-to-left shunt: a meta-analysis of prospective studies.

Background: Paradoxical embolization through a right-to-left shunt (RLS), often from a patent foramen ovale (PFO), has been associated with cryptogenic stroke. While transesophageal echo (TEE) bubble study is the current standard reference for diagnosing PFO, transthoracic echo (TTE) remains the most commonly used screening test for RLS due to its noninvasiveness and easy availability. The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine the accuracy of TTE compared to TEE as the reference.

Defining incidence, risk factors, and impact on survival of central line-associated blood stream infections following hematopoietic cell transplantation in acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome.

Central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSI) commonly complicate the care of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (HCT). We developed a modified CLABSI (MCLABSI) definition that attempts to exclude pathogens usually acquired because of disruption of mucosal barriers during the vulnerable neutropenic period following HCT that are generally included under the original definition (OCLABSI). We conducted a retrospective study of all AML and MDS patients undergoing HCT between August 2009 and December 2011 at the Cleveland Clinic (N = 73), identifying both OCLABSI and MCLABSI incidence.