Diastolic pressure above optimal is the most important predictor of subsequent hypertension in normotensive patients younger 50 years

Changes in trends and patterns of glycaemic control at Ghana's National Diabetes Management and Research Centre during the era of the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

Maintaining optimal glycaemic control (GC) delays the onset and progression of diabetes-related complications, especially microvascular complications. We aimed to establish the trend and pattern of GC, and its associated factors in persons living with diabetes (PLWD), and to examine the influence of COVID-19 on GC.

METHODS

A retrospective study involving secondary data from 2,593 patients' physical records from the National Diabetes Management and Research Centre (NDMRC) in Accra, extracted from 2015-2021. Growth rate of GC was assessed, and ordinal logistic and Poisson models weighted with Mahalanobis distance matching within propensity caliper were adopted to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on GC. Stata 16.1 was utilized and the significant value set as p≤0.05.

RESULTS

GC pattern indicated a steady deterioration ranging from 38.6% (95%CI = 34.5-42.9) in 2015 to 69.2% (95%CI = 63.5-74.4) in 2021. The overall growth from 2015-2021 was 8.7%. Being a woman and increasing diastolic pressure significantly increase the likelihood of poor glycaemic control (PGC) by 22% and 25%, respectively compared with their respective counterparts [aOR(95%CI = 1.01-1.46 and 1.25(1.10-1.41), respectively]; whilst lower age increased the risk of PGC throughout the years. We found that risk of PGC during the era of COVID-19 was approximately 1.57(95%CI = 1.08-2.30) times significant, whilst the adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) of PGC during the era of COVID-19 was approximately 64% significantly higher than the era without COVID-19 (aPR = 1.64, 95%CI = 1.10-2.43).

CONCLUSION

GC worsened from 2015-2021, especially during the COVID era. Younger age, uncontrolled blood pressure and/or being a woman were associated with PGC. The NDMRC and other centres that provide specialist healthcare in resource-limited settings, must determine the factors that militate against optimal service delivery in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, and implement measures that would improve resilience in provision of essential care in the face of shocks.

Baseline blood pressure and development of cardiotoxicity in patients treated with anthracyclines: A systematic review

Aims

Anthracyclines, a mainstay of cancer treatment, are associated with significant life-threatening cardiotoxicity. As cancer survivorship improves, there is a growing need to identify patients most at risk and strategies to mitigate anthracycline-associated cardiotoxicity. Elevated baseline blood pressure (bBP) is a possible risk factor for cardiotoxicity. The aim of this systematic review was to summarise the literature and evaluate relationships between bBP and anthracycline-associated cardiotoxicity.

Methods and results

Systematic searches were conducted, limited to English language but without restrictions on study type or country of origin. All studies fulfilled the PRISMA statement and relevant studies reviewed and narratively synthesised. A total of 1330 papers were screened, with 12 included in the qualitative synthesis. Eight papers indicated elevated bBP was associated with significantly higher risk of developing cardiotoxicity. Four papers noted significant relationships between left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) decline and elevated bBP. Of the four papers that failed to show an association, one noted increased risk of developing chronic heart failure. A relationship between baseline diastolic and systolic BP and anthracycline-associated cardiotoxicity is also noted.

Conclusions

This study indicates adult patients with elevated bBP have increased vulnerability to anthracycline-associated cardiotoxicity, with those with pre-hypertension or raised systolic versus diastolic pressure potentially an overlooked population. Recommendations for inclusion of bBP, incorporating individual systolic versus diastolic pressures, in cardio-oncology risk prediction models to guide clinical decision-making are thus warranted.

Diastolic blood pressure changes during episodes of autonomic dysreflexia

Objective: The current diagnostic criteria of autonomic dysreflexia (AD) is based solely on systolic blood pressure (SBP) increases from baseline without regard to changes in diastolic blood pressure (DBP). During urodynamics in persons with SCI at or above the sixth thoracic level (T6), we evaluated diastolic blood pressure (DBP) changes related with AD episodes.Design: Retrospective review of blood pressures recorded during urodynamics.Setting: Outpatient SCI urology program in a free standing rehabilitation center.Participants: Persons with spinal cord injury at or above the T6 level.Interventions: Urodynamic procedures performed between August 2018 to January 2019, as well as their prior testing for up to 10 years.Outcome Measures: Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were recorded during the procedure and episodes of AD defined as SBP >20 mmHg above baseline.Results: Seventy individuals accounting for 282 urodynamic tests were reviewed. AD occurred in 43.3% (122/282) of all urodynamics tests. The mean maximum SBP and DBP increase from baseline for those with AD were 35.5 ± 10.9 mmHg and 19.0±9.4 mmHg, respectively. There was a concomitant rise of DBP >10 mmHg with a SBP rise of >20 mmHg in 76.2% (93/122) of urodynamic tests. An elevation of DBP >10 mmHg was recorded in 23.8% (38/160) of urodynamics that did not have AD by the SBP definition.Conclusion: DBP increments of >10 mmHg with concurrent SBP increases of >20 mmHg occurs in the majority of AD episodes. Given the significance of cardiovascular complications in chronic SCI, further work is warranted to determine the significance of DBP elevations for defining AD.