Bleeding, stroke, and mortality risk of patients with septic shock receiving anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation.

Background: There are limited data on the effects of therapeutic anticoagulation (AC) on stroke and bleeding risk in patients with sepsis-induced atrial fibrillation (AF).

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of therapeutic AC on the development of inpatient strokes and significant bleeding in hospitalized patients with septic shock and AF.

Methods: This single-center, retrospective study examined 604 patients with septic shock and AF.

Severe hypocalcaemia mimicking acute coronary syndrome.

Hypocalcaemia is a common electrolyte deficiency that can be found in up to 28% of hospitalised patients. It may affect cardiac and smooth muscle tone, leading to ECG abnormalities and, in rare cases, coronary spasms and heart failure. This is a case of a pregnant woman in preterm labour who developed vasospastic angina and corrected QT interval (QTc) prolongation on ECG from severe hypocalcaemia, which likely occurred due to iatrogenic hypermagnesaemia.

Racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest within the United States: Now is the time for change.

This review highlights the current evidence on racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in cardiac arrest outcomes within the United States. Several studies demonstrate that patients from Black, Hispanic, or lower socioeconomic status backgrounds suffer the most from disparities at multiple levels of the resuscitation pathway, including in the provision of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, defibrillator usage, and postresuscitation therapies. These gaps in care may altogether lead to lower survival rates and worse neurological outcomes for these patients.

A novel disinfection protocol using ATP testing for lead garments in the electrophysiology lab.

Purpose: Electrophysiology procedures pose infection risk and require surgical room sterility. Currently, there is no universally approved protocol for disinfecting lead garments in the electrophysiology laboratory. This study explores the feasibility of using ATP testing to assess the microbial burden of lead aprons and evaluates the impact of a sanitary intervention.