Urinary cGMP (Cyclic Guanosine Monophosphate)/BNP (B-Type Natriuretic Peptide) Ratio, Sacubitril/Valsartan, and Outcomes in Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction: An Analysis of the PARADIGM-HF Trial.

Background: The ratio of ucGMP (urinary cyclic guanosine monophosphate) to BNP (B-type natriuretic peptide) is thought to reflect the responsiveness of tissues to natriuretic peptides.

Methods: We examined the relationship between ucGMP/BNP ratio and clinical outcomes, the effect of sacubitril/valsartan, compared with enalapril, on the ucGMP/BNP ratio, and the efficacy of sacubitril/valsartan on clinical outcomes according to baseline ucGMP/BNP ratio in PARADIGM-HF trial (Prospective Comparison of ARNI With ACEI to Determine Impact on Global Mortality and Morbidity in Heart Failure). ucGMP/BNP ratio was available at baseline (N=2031), 1 month (N=1959), and 8 months after randomization (N=1746).

Follow the Lead: The Challenges of Cardiogenic Shock in Device-Related Infective Endocarditis.

We present the challenging case of a young man with congenital heart disease who survived severe device-related infective endocarditis and new pulmonary hypertension. He required prolonged mechanical circulatory support and had multiple significant complications. His case posed a management dilemma that was successfully resolved by effective multidisciplinary, tertiary center care.

Back to basics: a rare and aggressive case of endocarditis.

We present the case of a 25-year-old with a history of bicuspid aortic valve and ascending aortopathy who was successfully treated for infective endocarditis (IE) due to . His clinical course was complicated by a large aortic root abscess not initially visualised on transthoracic echocardiography or computerised tomography. The cardinal feature of progressive prolongation of the PR interval on serial electrocardiograms was the only sign associated with clinical deterioration and was the trigger for rapid investigation and urgent management.

Consideration of pulmonary thromboembolism in paediatric patients presenting to the emergency department with abdominal pain.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a recognised complication of lower limb trauma in adult patients and classically presents with cardiopulmonary symptoms. However, the risk of VTE and its presenting signs and symptoms are less well documented in the paediatric population. We report the case of a child who presented to our emergency department with abdominal pain 2 weeks after lower limb fracture, who was subsequently found to have a pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE).

Neutrophil extracellular traps are associated with disease severity and microbiota diversity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) have been observed in the airway in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but their clinical and pathophysiologic implications have not been defined.

Objective: We sought to determine whether NETs are associated with disease severity in patients with COPD and how they are associated with microbiota composition and airway neutrophil function.

Methods: NET protein complexes (DNA-elastase and histone-elastase complexes), cell-free DNA, and neutrophil biomarkers were quantified in soluble sputum and serum from patients with COPD during periods of disease stability and during exacerbations and compared with clinical measures of disease severity and the sputum microbiome.