Publications

The association between active smoking and wound healing in critical limb ischemia (CLI) is unknown. Our objective was to examine in a retrospective cohort study whether active smoking is associated with higher incomplete wound healing rates in patients with CLI undergoing endovascular interventions. Smoking status was assessed at the time of the intervention, comparing active to no active smoking, and also during follow-up visits at 6 and 9 months. Cox regression analysis was conducted to compare the incomplete wound healing rates of the two groups during follow-up. A total of 264 patients (active smokers: n = 41) were included. Active smoking was associated with higher rates of incomplete wound healing in the 6-month univariate Cox regression analysis (hazard ratio (HR) for incomplete wound healing: 4.54; 95% CI: 1.41-14.28; p = 0.012). The 6-month Kaplan-Meier (KM) estimates for incomplete wound healing were 91.1% for the active smoking group versus 66% for the non-current smoking group. Active smoking was also associated with higher rates of incomplete wound healing in the 9-month univariable (HR for incomplete wound healing: 2.32; 95% CI: 1.11-4.76; p = 0.026) and multivariable analysis (HR for incomplete wound healing: 9.09; 95% CI: 1.06-100.0; p = 0.044). The 9-month KM estimates for incomplete wound healing were 75% in the active smoking group versus 54% in the non-active smoking group. In conclusion, active smoking status at the time of intervention in patients with CLI is associated with higher rates of incomplete wound healing during both 6- and 9-month follow-up.

INTRODUCTION: Substantial heterogeneity exists in reperfusion strategies for patients with ST-segment myocardial infarction (STEMI) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We sought to compare outcomes associated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) and non-primary percutaneous coronary intervention (nPPCI) reperfusion strategies in patients with STEMI in Kerala, India.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients with STEMI (n = 8665) from the Acute Coronary Syndrome Quality Improvement in Kerala (ACS QUIK) randomized trial receiving either PPCI (n = 6623) or nPPCI (n = 2042). nPPCI included all PCI strategies implemented when PPCI was not available including all post-fibrinolysis PCI strategies and PCI without fibrinolysis. Clinical outcomes among patients undergoing PPCI and nPPCI were compared after propensity-score matching. The main outcomes were the rates of in-hospital and 30-day major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), defined as the composite of death, reinfarction, stroke, and major bleeding.

RESULTS: In the propensity-score matched cohort (n = 1266 in each group), nPPCI had longer symptom onset to hospital arrival time (347.5 vs. 195.0 minutes, p < 0.001), door to balloon time (108 minutes vs. 75 minutes, p < 0.001), and were less likely to receive a coronary stent (89.4% vs. 95%, p < 0.001), including drug-eluting stents (89.5% vs. 94.4%, p < 0.001). There were no clinically meaningful differences in discharge medical therapy. However, patients treated with nPPCI were less commonly referred for cardiac rehabilitation (20.2% vs. 24.2%; p = 0.019). In-hospital (3.6% vs. 3.3%, p = 0.74%) and 30-day (4.4% vs. 4.6%, p = 0.77) MACE did not differ between nPPCI and PPCI matched groups.

CONCLUSION: In a large, contemporary population of STEMI patients from a LMIC, patients treated with a nPPCI reperfusion strategy had comparable short- and intermediate-term outcomes compared to PPCI despite differences in hospital presentation time and coronary stent use. These findings are reassuring but highlight the need for continued quality improvement in the delivery of STEMI care in resource-limited settings.

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have worsened clinical outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention; however, limited evidence exists in patients undergoing peripheral vascular intervention (PVI).

PURPOSE: We aimed to assess the effect of CKD on outcomes following PVI for symptomatic peripheral artery disease.

METHODS: Using patients from the LIBERTY 360 study, we compared the rates of 30 day and 1 year major adverse vascular events (MAVE), a composite of all-cause mortality, major amputation, and target vessel/lesion revascularization, between patients with and without CKD (estimated glomular filtration rate less than 60) following PVI. Multivariable adjustment was performed to assess for independent association between CKD and outcomes.

RESULTS: Among 1189 patients enrolled, 378 patients (31.8%) had CKD. At 1 year, patients with CKD had higher rates of MAVE (34.6% vs 25.6%), all-cause mortality (11.9% vs 5.5%), and major amputation (5.9% vs 2.6%) when compared with patients without CKD (all P < .05). After adjustment, patients with CKD had higher risks of 1-year MAVE (HR 1.30, 95% CI 1.04-1.64; P = .023) and all-cause mortality (HR 1.88, 95% CI 1.22-2.91; P = .005) when compared with patients without CKD. There was no statistically significant difference in risk of major amputations (HR 1.70, 95% CI 0.91-3.17; P = .094).

CONCLUSIONS: Despite high procedural success and low amputation rates, patients with CKD remain at greater risk for MAVE and all-cause mortality after PVI. Further research is needed to determine treatment strategies to mitigate substantial mortality risk in this vulnerable population.

BACKGROUND: Optimal management of acute pulmonary embolism requires expertise offered by multiple subspecialties. As such, pulmonary embolism response teams (PERTs) have increased in prevalence, but the institutional consequences of a PERT are unclear.

METHODS: We compared all patients that presented to our institution with an acute pulmonary embolism in the 3 years prior to and 3 years after the formation of our PERT. The primary outcome was in-hospital pulmonary embolism-related mortality before and after the formation of the PERT. Sub-analyses were performed among patients with elevated-risk pulmonary embolism.

RESULTS: Between August 2012 and August 2018, 2042 patients were hospitalized at our institution with acute pulmonary embolism, 884 (41.3%) pre-PERT implementation and 1158 (56.7%) post-PERT implementation, of which 165 (14.2%) were evaluated by the PERT. There was no difference in pulmonary embolism-related mortality between the two time periods (2.6% pre-PERT implementation vs 2.9% post-PERT implementation, P = .89). There was increased risk stratification assessment by measurement of cardiac biomarkers and echocardiograms post-PERT implementation. Overall utilization of advanced therapy was similar between groups (5.4% pre-PERT implementation vs 5.4% post-PERT implementation, P = 1.0), with decreased use of systemic thrombolysis (3.8% pre-PERT implementation vs 2.1% post-PERT implementation, P = 0.02) and increased catheter-directed therapy (1.3% pre-PERT implementation vs 3.3% post-PERT implementation, P = 0.05) post-PERT implementation. Inferior vena cava filter use decreased after PERT implementation (10.7% pre-PERT implementation vs 6.9% post-PERT implementation, P = 0.002). Findings were similar when analyzing elevated-risk patients.

CONCLUSION: Pulmonary embolism response teams may increase risk stratification assessment and alter application of advanced therapies, but a mortality benefit was not identified.

AIMS: Pregnancy is a known risk factor for arterial dissection, which can result in significant morbidity and mortality in the peripartum period. However, little is known about the risk factors, timing, distribution, and outcomes of arterial dissections associated with pregnancy.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We included all women ≥12 years of age with hospitalizations associated with pregnancy and/or delivery in the Nationwide Readmissions Database between 2010 and 2015. The primary outcome was any dissection during pregnancy, delivery, or the postpartum period (42-days post-delivery). Secondary outcomes included timing of dissection, location of dissection, and in-hospital mortality. Among 18 151  897 pregnant patients, 993 (0.005%) patients were diagnosed with a pregnancy-related dissection. Risk factors included older age (32.8 vs. 28.0 years), multiple gestation (3.6% vs. 1.9%), gestational diabetes (14.3% vs. 0.2%), gestational hypertension (6.0% vs. 0.6%), and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia (2.7% vs. 0.4%), in addition to traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Of the 993 patients with dissection, 150 (15.1%) dissections occurred in the antepartum period, 232 (23.4%) were diagnosed during the admission for delivery, and 611 (61.5%) were diagnosed in the postpartum period. The most common locations for dissections were coronary (38.2%), vertebral (22.9%), aortic (19.8%), and carotid (19.5%). In-hospital mortality was 3.7% among pregnant patients with a dissection vs. <0.001% in patients without a dissection. Deaths were isolated to patients with an aortic (8.6%), coronary (4.2%), or supra-aortic (<2.5%) dissection.

CONCLUSION: Arterial dissections occurred in 5.5/100 000 hospitalized pregnant or postpartum women, most frequently in the postpartum period, and were associated with high mortality risk. The coronary arteries were most commonly involved. Pregnancy-related dissections were associated with traditional risk factors, as well as pregnancy-specific conditions.

While the presence of gender disparities in cardiovascular disease have been described, there is a paucity of data regarding the impact of sex in acute pulmonary embolism (PE). We identified all patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital with acute PE between August 1, 2012 through July 1, 2018. We stratified the presenting characteristics, management, and outcomes between women and men. Of the 2031 patients admitted with acute PE, 1081 (53.2%) were women. Women were more likely to present with dyspnea (59.8% vs 52.0%, p < 0.001) and less likely to present with hemoptysis (1.9% vs 4.0%, p = 0.01). Women were older (63.8 ± 17.4 years vs 62.3 ± 15.0 years, p = 0.04), but had lower rates of myocardial infarction, liver disease, smoking history, and prior DVT. PE severity was similar between women and men (massive: 4.9% vs 3.6%; submassive: 43.9% vs 41.8%; p = 0.19), yet women were more likely to present with normal right ventricular size on a surface echocardiogram (63.2% vs 54.8%, p = 0.01). In unadjusted analyses, women were less likely to survive to discharge (92.4% vs 94.7%, p = 0.04), but after adjustment, there was no sex-based survival difference. There were no sex differences in the PE-related diagnostic studies performed, use of advanced therapies, or short-term outcomes, before and after adjustment (p > 0.05 for all). In this large PE cohort from a tertiary care institution, women had different comorbidity profiles and PE presentations compared with men. Despite these differences, there were no sex disparities in PE management or outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine sex specific differences in the invasive treatment of symptomatic peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) between member states participating in the VASCUNET and International Consortium of Vascular Registries.

METHODS: Data on open surgical revascularisation and peripheral vascular intervention (PVI) of symptomatic PAOD from 2010 to 2017 were collected from population based administrative and registry data from 11 countries. Differences in age, sex, indication, and invasive treatment modality were analysed.

RESULTS: Data from 11 countries covering 671 million inhabitants and 1 164 497 hospitalisations (40% women, mean age 72 years, 49% with intermittent claudication, 54% treated with PVI) in Europe (including Russia), North America, Australia, and New Zealand were included. Patient selection and treatment modality varied widely for the proportion of female patients (23% in Portugal and 46% in Sweden), the proportion of patients with claudication (6% in Italy and 69% in Russia), patients' mean age (70 years in the USA and 76 years in Italy), the proportion of octogenarians (8% in Russia and 33% in Sweden), and the proportion of PVI (24% in Russia and 88% in Italy). Numerous differences between females and males were observed in regard to patient age (72 vs. 70 years), the proportion of octogenarians (28% vs. 15%), proportion of patients with claudication (45% vs. 51%), proportion of PVI (57% vs. 51%), and length of hospital stay (7 days vs. 6 days).

CONCLUSION: Remarkable differences regarding the proportion of peripheral vascular interventions, patients with claudication, and octogenarians were seen across countries and sexes. Future studies should address the underlying reasons for this, including the impact of national societal guidelines, reimbursement, and differences in health maintenance.

BACKGROUND: Visual imagery has been shown to improve adherence to health messages but has scarcely been investigated in sun protection campaigns.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of pictorial- and textual-based sun protective messages in a largely Hispanic population.

METHODS: One hundred and forty-five participants received standard of care (SOC) as defined as sun protective counseling and were then randomized to receive either (a) images of sun damage, (b) a textual pamphlet about sun damage, or (c) no further messages. Analysis-of-variance tests for repeated measures were used to estimate the effects of the different stimuli on participants' knowledge and intention to sun protect.

RESULTS: All stimulus groups demonstrated an improvement in perceived effectiveness of sun protective habits (p < 0.05). However, pictorial and textual stimuli were both more effective than SOC in improving intentions to sun protect (p < 0.05), but there was no differential effect between the two.

CONCLUSIONS: Both pictorial and textual stimuli were more effective than SOC in improving intentions to sun protect, but there was no differential effect between the two.