Predictors of persistent fever among patients with suspected infective endocarditis: think outside the box.

Background: Fever is common in infective endocarditis (IE), yet little is known about fever duration in such patients. We aim to identify predictors of persistent fever in patients with suspected IE.

Methods: This study was conducted at the Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland, from January 2014 to June 2023.

Diagnostic Performance of AI-enabled Plaque Quantification from Coronary CT Angiography Compared with Intravascular Ultrasound.

Purpose To assess the diagnostic performance of a coronary CT angiography (CCTA) artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled tool (AI-QCPA; HeartFlow) to quantify plaque volume, as compared with intravascular US (IVUS). Materials and Methods A retrospective subanalysis of a single-center prospective registry study was conducted in participants with ST-elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention of the culprit vessel. Participants with greater than 50% stenosis in nonculprit vessels underwent CCTA, invasive coronary angiography, and IVUS of nonculprit lesion(s) between 2 and 40 days after primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Multi-Modality Imaging to Detect Ischemic and Valvular Heart Disease in Adult Cancer Patients.

Thanks to impressive advances in the field of oncology over the last 30 years, there has been a significant rise in cancer survivors. Nowadays, cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in this patient population. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major problem due to shared risk factors, an aging population and in many cases induced and/or accelerated atherosclerosis by antitumoral treatment during and even decades after the end of cancer therapy.

Routine Imaging or Symptomatic Follow-Up After Resection of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma.

Importance: International guidelines lack consistency in their recommendations regarding routine imaging in the follow-up after pancreatic resection for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Consequently, follow-up strategies differ between centers worldwide.

Objective: To compare clinical outcomes, including recurrence-focused treatment and survival, in patients with PDAC recurrence who received symptomatic follow-up or routine imaging after pancreatic resection in international centers affiliated with the European-African Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (E-AHPBA).

Pulsus Alternans in Critical Aortic Stenosis: When the Left Ventricle Is Failing.

A 58-year-old man presented with worsening dyspnea. Electrocardiogram showed variation in T-wave amplitude occurring every other beat. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a severe aortic stenosis with beat-to-beat variation in stroke volume, suggestive of pulsus alternans.

Usefulness of FFR-CT to exclude haemodynamically significant lesions in high-risk NSTE-ACS.

Background: Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and fractional flow reserve (FFR) derived from CCTA (FFR-CT) may provide a means of reducing unnecessary invasive coronary angiography (ICA) in patients with suspected non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS).

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity of FFR-CT and CCTA to rule out significant lesions in high-risk NSTE-ACS patients, using ICA with invasive FFR as the gold standard.

Methods: High-risk NSTE-ACS patients admitted to 4 European centres were enrolled in this single-arm, prospective core lab-adjudicated study.

Intramyocardial fatty infiltration lesion in sporadic inclusion body myositis: a case report.

Sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM), the most common inflammatory muscle disorder in adults over 50 years, is often misdiagnosed due to its gradual onset and its common but unspecific muscle weakness in older adults. Diagnosis relies on clinical, radiological, and pathological features. Cardiac involvement is rare, prompting this case description and a comprehensive literature analysis.

Energy Loss Index and Dimensionless Index Outperform Direct Valve Planimetry in Low-Gradient Aortic Stenosis.

Among patients with suspected severe aortic stenosis (AS), discordance between effective orifice area (EOA) and transvalvular gradients is frequent and requires a multiparametric workup including flow assessment and calcium-scoring to confirm true severe AS. The aim of this study was to assess direct planimetry, energy loss index (Eli) and dimensionless index (DI) as stand-alone parameters to identify non-severe AS in discordant cases. In this prospective cohort study, we included consecutive AS patients > 70 years with EOA < 1.

Head-to-Head Comparison and Temporal Trends of Cardiac MRI Recommendations in ESC versus ACC/AHA Guidelines: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Purpose To provide a comprehensive head-to-head comparison and temporal analysis of cardiac MRI indications between the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines to identify areas of consensus and divergence. Materials and Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted. ESC and ACC/AHA guidelines published until May 2023 were systematically screened for recommendations related to cardiac MRI.

Evaluation of the HANDOC Score and the 2023 International Society of Cardiovascular Infectious Diseases and European Society of Cardiology Duke Clinical Criteria for the Diagnosis of Infective Endocarditis Among Patients With Streptococcal Bacteremia.

Background: Streptococci are a common cause of infective endocarditis (IE). We aimed to evaluate the performance of the HANDOC score to identify patients at high risk for IE and the Duke clinical criteria of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC; 2015 and 2023 versions) and the 2023 version from the International Society of Cardiovascular Infectious Diseases (ISCVID) in diagnosing IE among patients with streptococcal bacteremia.

Methods: This retrospective study included adult patients with streptococcal bacteremia hospitalized at Lausanne University Hospital.

Outcomes and Safety of Transcaval Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: The transcaval (TCv) vascular approach is increasingly used in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in patients unsuitable for the gold-standard transfemoral approach. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and clinical outcomes associated with TCv-TAVR.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted by searching PubMed/Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for all articles assessing the TCv approach published through December 2023.

Association of persistent positive blood cultures and infective endocarditis: A cohort study among patients with suspected infective endocarditis.

Objectives: To ascertain whether infective endocarditis (IE) was associated with persistent bacteraemia/candidaemia among patients with suspected IE.

Methods: This study included bacteraemic/candidaemic adult patients with echocardiography and follow-up blood cultures. Persistent bacteraemia/candidaemia was defined as continued positive blood cultures with the same microorganism for 48 h or more after antibiotic treatment initiation.

Prevention of esophageal lesions during atrial fibrillation catheter ablation using esophageal temperature monitoring: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: The use of esophageal temperature monitoring (ETM) for the prevention of esophageal injury during atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation is often advocated. However, evidence supporting its use is scarce and controversial. We therefore aimed to review the evidence assessing the efficacy of ETM for the prevention of esophageal injury.

[Cardiovascular risk evaluation using the coronary artery calcium score].

The coronary artery calcium score (CAC-score) using imaging is a cardiovascular screening tool that can be used in adults with no known cardiovascular disease and no symptoms suggestive of a cardiovascular pathology. It involves calculating the amount of calcification in the coronary arteries on a low-dose, non-injected chest CT-scan. A positive score above 0 is associated with more cardiovascular events.

Eyes Wide Shut: A Cohort Study Questioning the Role of Fundoscopy in Infective Endocarditis Diagnosis.

In this retrospective/prospective study, we assessed the role of fundoscopy in 711 episodes with suspected infective endocarditis (IE); 238 (33%) had IE. Ocular embolic events (retinal emboli or chorioretinitis/endophthalmitis) and Roth spots were found in 37 (5%) and 34 (5%) episodes, respectively, but had no impact on IE diagnosis.