Steroid exposure, acute coronary syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease: insights into the inflammatory milieu

Acute Coronary Syndromes and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: The Gut-Heart Connection

(1) Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) induces a process of systemic inflammation, sharing common ground with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Growing evidence points towards a possible association between IBD and an increased risk of ACS, yet the topic is still inconclusive. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review aiming to clarify these gaps in the evidence. (2) Methods: We conducted a systematic search on EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and PubMed, identifying observational studies published prior to November 2020. The diagnosis of IBD was confirmed via histopathology or codes. Full articles that fulfilled our criteria were included. Quality assessment was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS). (3) Results: We included twenty observational studies with a total population of ~132 million subjects. Fifteen studies reported a significant association between ACS and IBD, while the remaining five studies reported no increase in ACS risk in IBD patients. (4) Conclusions: ACS risk in IBD patients is related to hospitalizations, acute active flares, periods of active disease, and complications, with a risk reduction during remission. Interestingly, a general increase in ACS risk was reported in younger IBD patients. The role of corticosteroids and oral contraceptive pills in increasing the ACS risk of IBD patients should be investigated.

Epidemiology and Clinical Outcomes of Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease Presenting With Acute Coronary Syndrome

BACKGROUND

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with an increased acute coronary syndrome (ACS) risk. Data are limited regarding the epidemiology and outcomes of ACS in patients with IBD.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort analysis of patients with IBD admitted for ACS in the U.S. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample for 2005 to 2015 was conducted. We analyzed trends in IBD-ACS admissions and mortality, differences in risk profiles, management strategies, and in-hospital mortality between IBD-ACS and non-IBD ACS and between ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn disease (CD).

RESULTS

We studied 6,872,415 non-IBD ACS and 24,220 IBD-ACS hospitalizations (53% with CD). During the study period, the number of hospitalizations for IBD-ACS increased, particularly those related to CD. Compared with non-IBD ACS, patients with IBD-ACS had a lower prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and similar rates of coronary angiography and revascularization. The in-hospital mortality rate was lower with IBD-ACS (3.9%) compared with non-IBD ACS (5.3%; odds ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.69-0.96; P = 0.011) and was stable between 2005 and 2015. Risk factors, ACS management strategies, and mortality were similar between CD and UC. Coagulopathy, weight loss, and gastrointestinal bleeding were more frequent in IBD-ACS and were strong independent predictors of mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Hospitalizations for ACS in patients with IBD increased in recent years but death rates were stable. The ACS-related risk profiles and mortality were modestly favorable with IBD-ACS than with non-IBD ACS and were similar between CD and UC. Complications more frequently associated with IBD were strongly associated with mortality. These findings indicate that aggressive management of IBD and ACS comorbidities is required to improve outcomes.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Acute Coronary Syndromes: From Pathogenesis to the Fine Line Between Bleeding and Ischemic Risk

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a pathological condition that first involves the gastrointestinal wall but can also trigger a systemic inflammatory state and thus extraintestinal manifestations. Systemic inflammation is probably secondary to the passage of bacterial products into the bloodstream because of altered intestinal permeability and the consequent release of proinflammatory mediators. Inflammation, through several diverse pathophysiological pathways, determines both a procoagulative state and systemic endothelial dysfunction, which are both deemed to be responsible for venous and arterial thromboembolic adverse events. The management of systemic thrombotic complications is particularly challenging in this category of patients, who also present a high bleeding risk; what is more, both bleeding and thrombotic risks peak during the active phases of the disease. The literature suggests that treating physicians have been, so far, more heavily influenced by concerns about bleeding than by the thrombotic risk. Despite the absence of data provided by large cohorts or randomized studies, the high risk of arterial and venous atherothrombosis in patients with IBD seems unquestionable. Moreover, several reports suggest that when arterial thromboembolism involves the coronary vessels, causing acute coronary syndromes, ischemic complications from antithrombotic drug undertreatment are frequent and severe. This review aims to shed light on the tricky balance between the ischemic and hemorrhagic risks of patients with IBD and to highlight how difficult it is for clinicians to define a tailored therapy based on a case-by-case, careful, and unprejudiced clinical evaluation.

Clinical activity is an independent risk factor of ischemic heart and cerebrovascular arterial disease in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Background and aims

In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the impact of established cardiovascular risk factors and disease-related factors on the risk of acute arterial events is still unclear. We aimed to identify risk factors of acute arterial events in patients with IBD.

Methods

All consecutive patients followed at Saint-Antoine Hospital between 1996 and 2015 with subsequent occurrence of acute arterial events (acute coronary syndrome or ischemic stroke) were identified. Traditional cardiovascular risk factors, treatment exposure, systemic inflammation (mean serum CRP level greater than or equal to 5 mg/L) and IBD clinical activity were assessed. A nested case-control study was performed including cases and controls without arterial ischemic event, matched on age, gender, and disease extent.

Results

A total of 30 patients (median age at acute vascular event occurrence: 42 years (interquartile range: 25–59)) developed acute coronary syndrome (n = 22) or ischemic stroke (n = 8). In univariate analysis, clinical disease activity and the persistence of systemic inflammation, diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypertension were significantly associated with an increased risk of acute arterial events. Neither protective nor aggravating effects associated with treatment exposure were identified. In multivariate analysis, the presence of diabetes (Odds ratio (OR): 14.5, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1–184.7) and clinical disease activity (OR: 10.4, 95% CI: 2.1–49.9) remained significantly associated with the risk of acute arterial event.

Conclusion

Disease activity may have an independent impact on the risk of acute arterial events in patients with IBD. These findings may highlight new potential benefits of optimizing anti-inflammatory treatment in patients with persisting clinical activity.

Acute myocardial infarction in a young woman with ulcerative colitis: A case report and literature review

RATIONALE

Myocardial infarction due to nonatherosclerotic coronary thrombosis in young woman with ulcerative colitis is rare.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 23-year-old Chinese woman with a 3-year history of ulcerative colitis was admitted to the coronary care unit due to prolonged chest pain.

DIAGNOSES

Myocardial infarction due to nonatherosclerotic coronary thrombosis was diagnosed in this young woman.

LESSONS

Coronary artery thrombosis in ulcerative colitis is a serious condition and can occur in the young population.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Potential Risk Factor for Coronary Artery Disease

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a higher incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) compared with the general population. Left main coronary artery (LMCA) thrombosis constitutes a very rare but catastrophic manifestation of acute coronary syndrome. Case reports describing young patients with IBD and LMCA thrombosis are scarce. Most importantly, patients with a positive family history of thrombotic events and those with significant genetic or acquired risk factors such as the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, advanced age, immobilization, pregnancy, oral contraceptive use, obesity, diabetes, and cigarette smoking may have a higher risk of thrombosis among those with active IBD. We describe a 28-year-old man who was admitted for coronary angiography (CA) due to ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. He had a recent exacerbation of ulcerative colitis. The patient was a smoker without a family history of CAD. Proximal total occlusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery and left circumflex (LCX) artery with massive thrombus was shown on CA, whereas a normal dominant right coronary artery delivered collaterals to the LAD artery.

Hospitalizations for Acute Myocardial Infarction Are Decreased Among Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Using a Nationwide Inpatient Database

BACKGROUND

Questions remain regarding the true prevalence of cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction (MI) among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), we aimed to compare the proportion of hospitalizations for acute MI among patients with IBD with that of the general population.

METHODS

This study used data from years 2000 to 2011 in Nationwide Inpatient Sample, the largest publicly available all-payer inpatient database in the United States. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification discharge codes were used to identify adult patients with discharge diagnoses of IBD (ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease), acute MI, and multiple comorbid risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The independent effect of a diagnosis of IBD on risk of acute MI was examined using a multivariable logistic regression model controlling for multiple confounders. Data were analyzed using SAS survey procedures and weighted to reflect national estimates.

RESULTS

We identified 567,438 hospitalizations among patients with IBD and 78,121,000 hospitalizations among the general population. Patients with IBD were less likely to be hospitalized for acute MI than patients in the general population (1.3% versus 3.1%, P < 0.001). In adjusted analyses, the odds of hospitalization for acute MI among patients with IBD were decreased when compared with the general population (odds ratio, 0.51; 95% confidence interval, 0.50-0.52).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite prior reports of a potentially increased risk of acute MI among patients with IBD, in a nationwide inpatient database, lower rates of acute MI were demonstrated in the IBD population when compared with the general population.

Effect of the Diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease on Risk-Adjusted Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction, Congestive Heart Failure and Pneumonia

Introduction

Measurement of mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), congestive heart failure (CHF) and pneumonia (PN) is a high priority since these are common reasons for hospitalization. However, mortality in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that are hospitalized for these common medical conditions is unknown.

Methods

A retrospective review of the 2005–2011 National Inpatient Sample (NIS), (approximately a 20% sample of discharges from community hospitals) was performed. A dataset for all patients with ICD-9-CM codes for primary diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, pneumonia or congestive heart failure with a co-diagnosis of IBD, Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC). 1:3 propensity score matching between patients with co-diagnosed disease vs. controls was performed. Continuous variables were compared between IBD and controls. Categorical variables were reported as frequency (percentage) and analyzed by Chi-square tests or Fisher’s exact test for co-diagnosed disease vs. control comparisons. Propensity scores were computed through multivariable logistic regression accounting for demographic and hospital factors. In-hospital mortality between the groups was compared.

Results

Patients with IBD, CD and UC had improved survival after AMI compared to controls. 94/2280 (4.1%) of patients with IBD and AMI died, compared to 251/5460 (5.5%) of controls, p = 0.01. This represents a 25% improved survival in IBD patients that were hospitalized with AMI. There was a 34% improved survival in patients with CD and AMI. There was a trend toward worsening survival in patients with IBD and CHF. Patients with CD and PN had improved survival compared to controls. 87/3362 (2.59%) patients with CD and PN died, compared to 428/10076 (4.25%) of controls, p < .0001. This represents a 39% improved survival in patients with CD that are hospitalized for PN.

Conclusion

IBD confers a survival benefit for patients hospitalized with AMI. A diagnosis of CD benefits survival in patients that are hospitalized with PN.

Do orthopaedic trauma patients develop higher rates of cardiac complications? An analysis of 56,000 patients

PURPOSE

Less than 5 % of orthopaedic patients develop postoperative cardiac complications; however, there are little data suggesting which orthopaedic patients are at greatest risk. In an era where emerging reimbursement models place an emphasis on quality, reducing complications through perioperative planning will be of paramount importance for orthopaedic surgeons. The purpose of this study was to determine whether orthopaedic trauma patients are at greater risk for postoperative cardiac complications and to reveal which factors are most predictive of these complications.

METHODS

All orthopaedic patients were identified in the 2006-2013 ACS-NSQIP database. Cardiac complications were defined as cardiac arrests or myocardial infarctions within 30 days following surgery. Chi squared analysis determined differences in cardiac complication rates between trauma and non-trauma patients. Bivariate analysis incorporating over 40 patient/surgical characteristics determined significant associations between patient characteristics and cardiac complications. These factors were incorporated into a multivariate regression model to identify predictive risk factors for cardiac complications.

RESULTS

The presence of a traumatic injury resulted in greater odds of developing cardiac complications (OR: 1.645, p < 0.001). The cardiac complication rate in the trauma group was 1.3 % compared to 0.3 % in the non-trauma group (p < 0.001). For trauma patients, ventilator use (OR: 27.354, p = 0.004), recent transfusion (OR: 19.780, p = 0.001), and history of coma (OR: 17.922, p = 0.020) were most predictive of cardiac complications.

CONCLUSION

Orthopaedic trauma patients are more likely to develop cardiac complications than non-trauma patients. To reduce cardiac complications, orthopaedic traumatologists should be aware of patient risk factors including ventilator use, blood transfusion, and history of coma.

Marine Diterpenoids as Potential Anti-Inflammatory Agents

The inflammatory response is a highly regulated process, and its dysregulation can lead to the establishment of chronic inflammation and, in some cases, to death. Inflammation is the cause of several diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases, multiple sclerosis, and asthma. The search for agents inhibiting inflammation is a great challenge as the inflammatory response plays an important role in the defense of the host to infections. Marine invertebrates are exceptional sources of new natural products, and among those diterpenoids secondary metabolites exhibit notable anti-inflammatory properties. Novel anti-inflammatory diterpenoids, exclusively produced by marine organisms, have been identified and synthetic molecules based on those structures have been obtained. The anti-inflammatory activity of marine diterpenoids has been attributed to the inhibition of Nuclear Factor-κB activation and to the modulation of arachidonic acid metabolism. However, more research is necessary to describe the mechanisms of action of these secondary metabolites. This review is a compilation of marine diterpenoids, mainly isolated from corals, which have been described as potential anti-inflammatory molecules.