The importance of defining the age-specific TREC/KREC levels for detection of various inborn errors of immunity in pediatric and adult patients.

This study aimed to establish physiological TREC/KREC values in a healthy population of different ages to create cut-offs and analyze pediatric patients with various inborn errors of immunity. Dry blood spots and DNA samples purified from whole blood were used for TREC/KREC quantification using real-time PCR. Observed difference (p < 0.

The Burden of Short-term Major Adverse Cardiac Events and its Determinants after Emergency Percutaneous Coronary Revascularization: A Prospective Follow-up Study.

Objectives: Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains recommended reperfusion therapy for patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction. This study aimed to evaluate the short-term major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and their determinants among patients who underwent primary PCI at a tertiary care cardiac center of Karachi, Pakistan.

Methods: A cohort of patients who underwent primary PCI were followed for the MACE.

Persistent Left Superior Vena Cava: A Rare Finding for the Internists.

A case of a South Asian quinquagenarian gentleman is reported, who was admitted with septic shock and displayed a TYPE II persistent left superior vena cava (PLSVC) after insertion of a central venous catheter, diagnosed on the basis of chest X-ray findings and dilated coronary sinus on transthoracic echocardiography. As the patient was in septic shock, the central venous catheter was retained and vasopressor therapy was instituted with careful hemodynamic monitoring. No immediate or delayed complications attributable to the catheter were observed.

A Prospective Observational Study Comparing the Efficacy and Safety of Duloxetine and Pregabalin in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathic Pain.

Background and aims Peripheral neuropathy is a frequent complication of long-standing diabetes mellitus that adversely affects the quality of life. Pregabalin (anticonvulsant) and duloxetine (antidepressant) are often prescribed for diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain. This study aimed to determine and compare the efficacy and safety of pregabalin and duloxetine in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain.

Factors Responsible for Prehospital Delay in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome in Bangladesh.

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains a cause of high morbidity and mortality among adults, despite advances in treatment. Treatment modality and outcomes of ACS mainly depend on the time yielded since the onset of symptoms. Prehospital delay is the time between the onset of myocardial ischemia/infarction symptoms and arrival at the hospital, where either pharmacological or interventional revascularization is available.

Prognostic Implications of Fractional Flow Reserve After Coronary Stenting: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Importance: Fractional flow reserve (FFR) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is generally considered to reflect residual disease. Yet the clinical relevance of post-PCI FFR after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation remains unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical relevance of post-PCI FFR measurement after DES implantation.

Supervised exercise training in patients with lower extremity peripheral artery disease.

The optimal first line management of patients with symptomatic chronic lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) includes secondary prevention of cardiovascular risk factors, pharmacological treatment, and supervised exercise therapy (SET). SET programs have shown to be effective in improving walking performance, functional performance, and quality of life. However, despite a large body of evidence, and despite national and international guidelines recommending SET as first line therapy, SET remains largely underused in patients with chronic PAD.

Rivaroxaban in Rheumatic Heart Disease-Associated Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Testing of factor Xa inhibitors for the prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with rheumatic heart disease-associated atrial fibrillation has been limited.

Methods: We enrolled patients with atrial fibrillation and echocardiographically documented rheumatic heart disease who had any of the following: a CHADSVASc score of at least 2 (on a scale from 0 to 9, with higher scores indicating a higher risk of stroke), a mitral-valve area of no more than 2 cm, left atrial spontaneous echo contrast, or left atrial thrombus. Patients were randomly assigned to receive standard doses of rivaroxaban or dose-adjusted vitamin K antagonist.

Frequency, Risk Factors, and Outcome of Definite Stent Thrombosis: A Single-Center Experience.

Introduction Stent thrombosis (ST) is a serious and potentially life-threatening complication of primary or complex high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Multiple factors are said to precipitate ST, related to the patient's clinical comorbidities, lesion characteristics, operative technique, and post-procedural care. The older-generation stents were thought to be involved in early ST.

Successful removal of the largest reported intrathoracic lipoma with bilateral extension: a case report.

Background: Unlike subcutaneous lipomas, thoracic cavity lipomas are extremely rare and can develop to be quite large without causing any symptoms. However, managing massive lipoma that involves both chest cavities is usually challenging, especially when considering the approach for excision.

Case: We report our experience of surgical management of a case of a 46-year-old male with huge intrathoracic lipoma that extends bilaterally and is known to be the largest of such kind.

Efficacy and Safety of Colchicine in Prevention of Secondary Cardiovascular Outcomes Among Patients With Coronary Vessel Disease: A Meta-Analysis.

Coronary vessel disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that impacts the blood vessels and heart and is one of the leading causes of disability and death. CVD includes cerebrovascular disease and coronary heart disease, both illnesses of the vessels transporting the oxygenated blood to the brain or heart. Colchicine is an inexpensive and old drug with strong anti-inflammatory effects.

A Young Lady With Myopericarditis: An Unusual Presentation of COVID-19 Infection.

Fever, sore throat, cough, and shortness of breath are the characteristic clinical manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As the epidemic spreads, it is evident that the infection can affect not only the lungs but also other organs. By attaching to the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 receptor (ACE-2), the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) induces lung injury.

CHA DS -VASc score, a simple clinical tool for early prediction of no-reflow phenomenon in patients undergoing emergency percutaneous coronary revascularization.

Slow flow/no reflow (SF/NR) phenomenon during emergency percutaneous revascularization is a feared complication associated with increased risk of adverse outcomes. CHA DS -VASc score has been proposed for the risk stratification but a very limited evidences are available regarding the accuracy of this system. Therefore, we conducted this study to assess the predictive value of CHA DS -VASc score for predicting SF/NR phenomenon during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Women leaders in Cardiology. Contemporary profile of the WHO European region.

Aims: Women's participation is steadily growing in medical schools, but they are still not sufficiently represented in cardiology, particularly in cardiology leadership positions. We present the contemporary distribution of women leaders in cardiology departments in the World Health Organization European region.

Methods And Results: Between August and December 2020, we applied purposive sampling to collect data and analyse gender distribution of heads of cardiology department in university/third level hospitals in 23 countries: Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the UK.

Assessment of Depression and Anxiety Among Admitted People With Heart Disease Conditions: A Cross-Sectional Hospital-Based Study in a Bangladeshi Population During the COVID-19.

Objective: Depression and anxiety are widespread and chronic among patients with heart disease. We wanted to determine the proportion of heart patients with depression and anxiety levels as well as factors contributing toward depression and anxiety among hospitalized heart disease patients in Dhaka, Bangladesh during the COVID-19 era.

Methods: The study comprised a total of 384 participants with a confirmed heart disease diagnosis.

Predictors of mortality after atrial correction of transposition of the great arteries.

Objectives: To determine the long-term and transplantation-free survival of all patients after atrial correction of transposition of the great arteries (TGA) in the Czech and Slovak republics, including its preoperative and perioperative determinants.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of all 454 consecutive patients after atrial correction of TGA was performed. Of these, 126 (27.

Baseline clinical characteristics of heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction enrolled in the BUDAPEST-CRT Upgrade trial.

Aims: The BUDAPEST-CRT Upgrade study is the first prospective, randomized, multicentre clinical trial investigating the outcomes after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) upgrade in heart failure (HF) patients with intermittent or permanent right ventricular (RV) pacing with wide paced QRS. This report describes the baseline clinical characteristics of the enrolled patients and compares them to cohorts from previous milestone CRT studies.

Methods And Results: This international multicentre randomized controlled trial investigates 360 patients having a pacemaker (PM) or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) device for at least 6 months prior to enrolment, reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF ≤35%), HF symptoms (New York Heart Association [NYHA] functional class II-IVa), wide paced QRS (>150 ms), and ≥20% of RV pacing burden without having a native left bundle branch block.

Study of streptococcal antibody (anti-streptolysin O) among healthy children in Bangladesh.

Objectives: The standard reference value of anti-streptolysin O (ASO) titre for diagnosing acute rheumatic fever (RF) in children is yet to be determined in Bangladesh. We aimed to measure the upper limit of the normal (ULN) of ASO titre among healthy children to determine the cut-off value for the diagnosis of RF in Bangladesh.

Methods: A total of 400 healthy children aged 5-15 years with no history of fever, sore throat and impetigo during the last 8 weeks of the study were enrolled.

Safety and Feasibility of Trans Radial Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Approach in Elderly Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Coronary catheterization is usually performed using the transfemoral approach but trans-radial has been increasingly used as an alternative to transfemoral approach due to less vascular complications, earlier ambulation time and improved patient comfort. The aim of the study was to compare the safety and feasibility of trans-radial and transfemoral PCI in the elderly ACS patients. This prospective observational study was conducted in the NICVD, Dhaka from October 2017 to September 2018.

Association of Diastolic Dysfunction with Angiographic Severity of Coronary Artery Disease in patients with Non-ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

In recent years, diastolic dysfunction is an evolving context. Presence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) indicates a poor prognosis in patients with an ACS and chronic coronary artery diseases. This study evaluated the association of LVDD and angiographic severity of CAD in patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI).

Association of Aortic Valve Sclerosis with Angiographic Severity of Coronary Artery Disease in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome, Aged ≤65 Years.

Aortic valve sclerosis (AVS) represents a degenerative process that progresses with advancing age. The study was intended to find out the association between aortic valve sclerosis and the severity of CAD in patient's age ≤65 years with acute coronary syndrome. This cross-sectional analytical study was carried out in the department of cardiology, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Dhaka, Bangladesh during a period of October 2017 to September 2018.

Indications, Complications, and Outcomes of Cardiac Surgery After Heart Transplantation: Results From the Cash Study.

Background: Allograft pathologies, such as valvular, coronary artery, or aortic disease, may occur early and late after cardiac transplantation. Cardiac surgery after heart transplantation (CASH) may be an option to improve quality of life and allograft function and prolong survival. Experience with CASH, however, has been limited to single-center reports.

Incidence of Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment (RRD) in a Tertiary Care Center of Pakistan.

Background Regardless of the advancements in ophthalmology, rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) remains a substantial issue for physicians. The present study assessed the incidence of RRD among our population. Methodology A cross-sectional study was performed at the Layton Rehmatullah Benevolent Trust (LRBT) between June 2020 and May 2021.

Left Ventricular Functional Remodeling after Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: Improvement in left ventricular (LV) function after revascularization is an important determinant of long-term prognosis in a patient with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, data on the changes of LV function after revascularization are scarce in our population. Hence, this study was conducted to evaluate the changes in LV function and dimensions by echocardiography at 3 and 6 months after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).