Stent-graft exclusion of multiple symptomatic coronary artery fistulae

Coronary artery fistulae may be congenital or acquired abnormalities in which blood is shunted into a cardiac chamber, great vessel, or other structure, bypassing the myocardial capillary network. Patients with coronary artery fistulae may present with dyspnea, congestive heart failure, angina, endocarditis, arrhythmias, or myocardial infarction. Symptomatic patients must be treated in order to prevent such complications as sudden death or myocardial infarction. Surgery is the gold standard for closure of these lesions; however, an increasing number of reports have shown that percutaneous closure may be a safe and effective alternative. We report the successful percutaneous exclusion of multiple coronary artery-to-pulmonary artery fistulae by means of several balloon-expandable stent-grafts in a patient who had a history of coronary artery bypass surgery and symptoms of congestive heart failure.

Homocysteine, vitamin B12 and folate levels in premature coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND

Hyperhomocysteinemia is known as an independent risk factor of atherosclerosis, but the probable role of hyperhomocysteinemia in premature Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is not well studied. The aim of this study was to assess the role of hyperhomocysteinemia, folate and Vitamin B12 deficiency in the development of premature CAD.

METHODS

We performed an analytical case-control study on 294 individuals under 45 years (225 males and 69 females) who were admitted for selective coronary angiography to two centers in Tehran.

RESULTS

After considering the exclusion criteria, a total number of 225 individuals were enrolled of which 43.1% had CAD. The mean age of participants was 39.9 +/- 4.3 years (40.1 +/- 4.2 years in males and 39.4 +/- 4.8 years in females). Compared to the control group, the level of homocysteine measured in the plasma of the male participants was significantly high (14.9 +/- 1.2 versus 20.3 +/- 1.9 micromol/lit, P = 0.01). However there was no significant difference in homocysteine level of females with and without CAD (11.8 +/- 1.3 versus 11.5 +/- 1.1 micromol/lit, P = 0.87). Mean plasma level of folic acid and vitamin B12 in the study group were 6.3 +/- 0.2 and 282.5 +/- 9.1 respectively. Based on these findings, 10.7% of the study group had folate deficiency while 26.6% had Vitamin B12 deficiency. Logistic regression analysis for evaluating independent CAD risk factors showed hyperhomocysteinemia as an independent risk factor for premature CAD in males (OR = 2.54 0.95% CI 1.23 to 5.22, P = 0.01). Study for the underlying causes of hyperhomocysteinemia showed that male gender and Vitamin B12 deficiency had significant influence on incidence of hyperhomocysteinemia.

CONCLUSION

We may conclude that hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent risk factor for CAD in young patients (below 45 years old)--especially in men--and vitamin B12 deficiency is a preventable cause of hyperhomocysteinemia.

A novel scoring system for identifying high-risk patients undergoing carotid stenting

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE

In patients with severe concurrent coronary and carotid artery disease, two different treatment strategies may be used: simultaneous endarterectomy and coronary bypass surgery, and carotid stenting with delayed coronary bypass surgery after a few weeks. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of carotid stenting with delayed coronary bypass surgery after a few weeks in patients referred to Tehran Heart Center, Tehran, Iran and to determine the independent predictors that may be used to identify the appropriate treatment plan for such patients.

METHODS

This prospective study was performed from December 2003 through October 2004. Symptomatic patients with >60% stenosis and asymptomatic patients with >80% stenosis were included in this study. The risks and benefits of carotid stenting were explained. Patients were excluded from the study if any of the following was applicable: age > or =85 years, history of a major stroke within the last week, pregnancy, intracranial tumor or arteriovenous malformation, severely disabled as a result of stroke or dementia, and intracranial stenosis that exceeded the severity of the extracranial stenosis. Thirty consecutive patients who underwent carotid stenting were enrolled in this study.

RESULTS

The mean +/- SD age of patients was 66.3 +/- 8 years. The procedural success rate was 96.7%. During a mean +/- SD follow-up period of 5.6 +/- 3.2 months, 4 (17%) deaths occurred; none of which were attributed to a neurologic causes. Moreover, 1 (3%) patient developed a minor nonfatal stroke with transient cognitive disorder. Most of patients (80%) with major complications acquired a score of > or =26.

CONCLUSION

To reduce the rate of carotid stenting complications in high-risk patients with heart disease, to optimize the patient selections, and to determine the best treatment strategy, based on the clinical and lesion characteristics of patients, we proposed a new scoring system.

Asymptomatic bacteriuria in type 2 Iranian diabetic women: a cross sectional study

Background

The risk of developing infection in diabetic patients is higher and urinary tract is the most common site for infection. Serious complications of urinary infection occur more commonly in diabetic patients. To study the prevalence and associates of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) in women with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Iranian population, this study was conducted.

Methods

Between February 10, 2004 and October 15, 2004; 202 nonpregnant diabetic (type 2) women (range: 31 to 78 years old) with no abnormalities of the urinary tract system were included in this clinic based study. We defined ASB as the presence of at least 10⁵ colony-forming units/ml of 1 or 2 bacterial species, in two separated cultures of clean-voided midstream urine. All the participants were free from any symptoms of urinary tract infection (UTI). Associates for developing bacteriuria was assessed and compared in participants with and without bacteriuria.

Results

In this study, the prevalence of ASB was 10.9% among diabetic women. E. coli was the most prevalent microorganism responsible for positive urine culture. Most of the isolated microorganisms were resistant to Co-trimoxazole, Nalidixic acid and Ciprofloxacin. Pyuria (P < 0.001) and glucosuria (P < 0.05) had a meaningful relationship with bacteriuria but no association was evident between age (P < 0.45), duration of diabetes (P < 0.09), macroalbuminuria (P < 0.10) and HbA_1c level (P < 0.75), and the presence of ASB.

Conclusion

The prevalence of ASB is higher in women with type 2 diabetes, for which pyuria and glucosuria can be considered as associates. Routine urine culture can be recommended for diabetic women even when there is no urinary symptom.

Correlation between ABO blood groups, major risk factors, and coronary artery disease

To investigate a possible association of ABO blood groups with coronary artery disease in well-documented patients, we designed a cross-sectional study of 2026 patients, known case of coronary artery disease in angiography, who underwent coronary artery bypass graft at Tehran Heart Center, with regard to coronary artery disease major risk factors as well as ABO blood groups. Analysis did not show any significant difference between the frequency of ABO blood groups in coronary artery disease patients compared to the Iranian general population. In addition, frequency of cardiac risk factors was similar in coronary artery disease patients with different blood groups. Therefore, these finding suggest that there is no correlation between various ABO blood groups and development of coronary artery disease. Moreover, the prevalence of major risk factors was equal in patients with different blood groups, and blood groups had no impact on development of premature coronary artery disease in individual subjects.