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Journal of Clinical Medicine Jun 2024Rest and stress echocardiography (SE) play a fundamental role in the evaluation of aortic valve stenosis (AS). According to the current guidelines for the... (Review)
Review
Rest and stress echocardiography (SE) play a fundamental role in the evaluation of aortic valve stenosis (AS). According to the current guidelines for the echocardiographic evaluation of patients with aortic stenosis, four broad categories can be defined: high-gradient AS (mean gradient ≥ 40 mmHg, peak velocity ≥ 4 m/s, aortic valve area (AVA) ≤ 1 cm or indexed AVA ≤ 0.6 cm/m); low-flow, low-gradient AS with reduced ejection fraction (mean gradient < 40 mmHg, AVA ≤ 1 cm, left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) < 50%, stroke volume index (Svi) ≤ 35 mL/m); low-flow, low-gradient AS with preserved ejection fraction (mean gradient < 40 mmHg, AVA ≤ 1 cm, LVEF ≥ 50%, SVi ≤ 35 mL/m); and normal-flow, low-gradient AS with preserved ejection fraction (mean gradient < 40 mmHg, AVA ≤ 1 cm, indexed AVA ≤ 0.6 cm/m, LVEF ≥ 50%, SVi > 35 mL/m). Aortic valve replacement (AVR) is indicated with the onset of symptoms development or LVEF reduction. However, there is often mismatch between resting transthoracic echocardiography findings and patient's symptoms. In these discordant cases, SE and CT calcium scoring are among the indicated methods to guide the management decision making. Additionally, due to the increasing evidence that in asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis an early AVR instead of conservative treatment is associated with better outcomes, SE can help identify those that would benefit from an early AVR by revealing markers of poor prognosis. Low-flow, low-gradient AS represents a challenge both in diagnosis and in therapeutic management. Low-dose dobutamine SE is the recommended method to distinguish true-severe from pseudo-severe stenosis and assess the existence of flow (contractile) reserve to appropriately guide the need for intervention in these patients.
PubMed: 38930024
DOI: 10.3390/jcm13123495 -
The Journal of Veterinary Medical... Jun 2024Laparoscopic ovariectomy under general anesthesia was planned in a 10-year-old, 146 kg, apparently healthy female African lion (Panthera leo). The lion was immobilized...
Laparoscopic ovariectomy under general anesthesia was planned in a 10-year-old, 146 kg, apparently healthy female African lion (Panthera leo). The lion was immobilized via intramuscular darts containing midazolam (0.033 mg/kg), medetomidine (50 µg/kg) and ketamine (2.5 mg/kg), and intubated using an endotracheal tube (16 mm internal diameter). The anesthesia was maintained using sevoflurane (0.9-2.1% end-tidal concentration), in combination with remifentanil (0.1 µg/kg/min) and ketamine (11 µg/kg/min) at a constant rate infusion (CRI), with Hartmann's solution (5 mL/kg/hr). Surgery was conducted with stable vital signs, but hypotension (mean arterial blood pressure 55 mmHg) developed, requiring dobutamine treatment. The hypotension was effectively controlled by adjusting dobutamine from 5 µg/kg/min to 0.2 to 0.3 µg/kg/min. This case suggests possibilities that dosages in this range can be clinically useful for peri-anesthetic hypotension in lions.
PubMed: 38925983
DOI: 10.1292/jvms.23-0436 -
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine 2024Left ventricular (LV) wall motion assessment is an important adjunct in addition to perfusion defects in assessing ischemic changes. This study aims to investigate the...
BACKGROUND
Left ventricular (LV) wall motion assessment is an important adjunct in addition to perfusion defects in assessing ischemic changes. This study aims to investigate the feasibility and utility of performing feature tracking (FT) in pediatric patients with coronary anomalies undergoing dobutamine stress CMR to assess wall motion abnormalities (WMA) and perfusion defects.
METHOD
This is a retrospective study where 10 patients with an inducible first-pass perfusion (FPP) defect and 10 without were selected. Global LV circumferential strain/strain rate (GCS/GCSR) was measured at rest and at peak stress (systole and diastole) using a commercially available feature tracking software. Peak GCS and GCSR were compared to indexed wall motion score (WMSI) between groups with and without FPP defect and in subjects with and without WMA.
RESULTS
The median age of patients was 13.5 years (Q1, 11 years; Q3, 15 years). Five subjects had qualitatively WMA at peak stress. A moderate correlation of GCS with WMSI at peak stress (0.48, = 0.026) and a significant difference between GCS at rest and stress in patients with no inducible WMA ( = 0.007) were seen. No significant difference was noted in GCS between rest and stress in patients with WMA ( = 0.13). There was a larger absolute GCS/GCSR at peak stress in subjects with no inducible FPP defect or WMA.
CONCLUSION
Smaller absolute GCS and a lack of significant change in GCS at peak stress in those with inducible WMA or perfusion defect are suggestive of compromised LV deformation in subjects with inducible WMA. Given these findings, GCS derived from CMR-FT may be used to objectively assess WMA in pediatric patients undergoing stress CMR.
PubMed: 38919544
DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2024.1380630 -
Medicine Jun 2024To evaluate the cardiac index and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) events between isolated coronary artery ectasia (CAE) and control groups over 1 year period... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
To evaluate the cardiac index and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) events between isolated coronary artery ectasia (CAE) and control groups over 1 year period from diagnosis. A total of 18 patients who were diagnosed with isolated CAE in the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University from December 2020 to December 2021 were included in CAE group. About 36 patients with non-obstructive coronary artery lesions were included in the control group. All patients in 2 groups completed dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) during hospitalization. The chamber size, wall thickness, left ventricular ejection fraction, and left ventricular diastolic function indicators (including E/A ratio, e', and E/e' ratio) were measured. MACE and all-cause death were measured during follow-up after discharge. Interventricular septum thickness (IVSd), left ventricular posterior wall (LVPW) thickness in diastole and E/e' in CAE group were significantly higher than control group (P < .05). No significant differences were found in prognosis including angina, myocardial ischemia (MI), patient readmission and cardiovascular death (P > .05). In CAE group, coronary angiography showed dilation of left anterior descending (LAD) in 1 case, left circumflex (LCX) in 3 cases and right coronary artery (RCA) in 14 cases. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that BMI and IVSd were independent risk factors for CAE. IVSd, LVPW thickness in diastole and E/e' in CAE group were significantly higher than control group. BMI and IVSd were independent risk factors for isolated CAE, and had a good predictive value for isolated CAE.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Middle Aged; Risk Factors; Dilatation, Pathologic; Aged; Coronary Artery Disease; Coronary Vessels; Coronary Angiography; Prognosis; Echocardiography, Stress
PubMed: 38847735
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000038413 -
British Journal of Anaesthesia May 2024It is unclear whether optimising intraoperative cardiac index can reduce postoperative complications. We tested the hypothesis that maintaining optimised postinduction...
Cardiac index-guided therapy to maintain optimised postinduction cardiac index in high-risk patients having major open abdominal surgery: the multicentre randomised iPEGASUS trial.
BACKGROUND
It is unclear whether optimising intraoperative cardiac index can reduce postoperative complications. We tested the hypothesis that maintaining optimised postinduction cardiac index during and for the first 8 h after surgery reduces the incidence of a composite outcome of complications within 28 days after surgery compared with routine care in high-risk patients having elective major open abdominal surgery.
METHODS
In three German and two Spanish centres, high-risk patients having elective major open abdominal surgery were randomised to cardiac index-guided therapy to maintain optimised postinduction cardiac index (cardiac index at which pulse pressure variation was <12%) during and for the first 8 h after surgery using intravenous fluids and dobutamine or to routine care. The primary outcome was the incidence of a composite outcome of moderate or severe complications within 28 days after surgery.
RESULTS
We analysed 318 of 380 enrolled subjects. The composite primary outcome occurred in 84 of 152 subjects (55%) assigned to cardiac index-guided therapy and in 77 of 166 subjects (46%) assigned to routine care (odds ratio: 1.87, 95% confidence interval: 1.03-3.39, P=0.038). Per-protocol analyses confirmed the results of the primary outcome analysis.
CONCLUSIONS
Maintaining optimised postinduction cardiac index during and for the first 8 h after surgery did not reduce, and possibly increased, the incidence of a composite outcome of complications within 28 days after surgery compared with routine care in high-risk patients having elective major open abdominal surgery. Clinicians should not strive to maintain optimised postinduction cardiac index during and after surgery in expectation of reducing complications.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION
NCT03021525.
PubMed: 38797635
DOI: 10.1016/j.bja.2024.03.040 -
JACC. Cardiovascular Imaging May 2024In patients with low-gradient aortic stenosis (AS) and low transvalvular flow, dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) is recommended to determine AS severity, whereas...
BACKGROUND
In patients with low-gradient aortic stenosis (AS) and low transvalvular flow, dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) is recommended to determine AS severity, whereas the degree of aortic valve calcification (AVC) supposedly correlates with AS severity according to current European and American guidelines.
OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between AVC and AS severity as determined using echocardiography and DSE in patients with aortic valve area <1 cm and peak aortic valve velocity <4.0 m/s.
METHODS
All patients underwent DSE to determine AS severity and multislice computed tomography to quantify AVC. Receiver-operating characteristics curve analysis was used to assess the diagnostic value of AVC for AS severity grading as determined using echocardiography and DSE in men and women.
RESULTS
A total of 214 patients were included. Median age was 78 years (25th-75th percentile: 71-84 years) and 25% were women. Left ventricular ejection fraction was reduced (<50%) in 197 (92.1%) patients. Severe AS was diagnosed in 106 patients (49.5%). Moderate AS was diagnosed in 108 patients (50.5%; in 77 based on resting transthoracic echocardiography, in 31 confirmed using DSE). AVC score was high (≥2,000 for men or ≥1,200 for women) in 47 (44.3%) patients with severe AS and in 47 (43.5%) patients with moderate AS. AVC sensitivity was 44.3%, specificity was 56.5%, and positive and negative predictive values for severe AS were 50.0% and 50.8%, respectively. Area under the receiver-operating characteristics curve was 0.508 for men and 0.524 for women.
CONCLUSIONS
Multi-slice computed tomography-derived AVC scores showed poor discrimination between grades of AS severity using DSE and cannot replace DSE in the diagnostic work-up of low-gradient severe AS.
PubMed: 38795109
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2024.03.014 -
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) Apr 2024The key objective in the hemodynamic treatment of septic shock is the optimization of tissue perfusion and oxygenation. This is usually achieved by the utilization of... (Review)
Review
The key objective in the hemodynamic treatment of septic shock is the optimization of tissue perfusion and oxygenation. This is usually achieved by the utilization of fluids, vasopressors, and inotropes. Dobutamine is the inotrope most commonly recommended and used for this purpose. Despite the fact that dobutamine was introduced almost half a century ago in the treatment of septic shock, and there is widespread use of the drug, several aspects of its pharmacodynamics remain poorly understood. In normal subjects, dobutamine increases contractility and lacks a direct effect on vascular tone. This results in augmented cardiac output and blood pressure, with reflex reduction in systemic vascular resistance. In septic shock, some experimental and clinical research suggest beneficial effects on systemic and regional perfusion. Nevertheless, other studies found heterogeneous and unpredictable effects with frequent side effects. In this narrative review, we discuss the pharmacodynamic characteristics of dobutamine and its physiologic actions in different settings, with special reference to septic shock. We discuss studies showing that dobutamine frequently induces tachycardia and vasodilation, without positive actions on contractility. Since untoward effects are often found and therapeutic benefits are occasional, its profile of efficacy and safety seems low. Therefore, we recommend that the use of dobutamine in septic shock should be cautious. Before a final decision about its prescription, efficacy, and tolerance should be evaluated throughout a short period with narrow monitoring of its wanted and side effects.
Topics: Humans; Cardiac Output; Cardiotonic Agents; Dobutamine; Hemodynamics; Shock, Septic; Animals
PubMed: 38792934
DOI: 10.3390/medicina60050751 -
Biomedicines May 2024Hypovolemic shock is a circulatory failure, due to a loss in the effective circulating blood volume, that causes tissue hypoperfusion and hypoxia. This condition...
Hypovolemic shock is a circulatory failure, due to a loss in the effective circulating blood volume, that causes tissue hypoperfusion and hypoxia. This condition stimulates reactive oxygen species (ROS) and pro-inflammatory cytokine production in different organs and also in the central nervous system (CNS). Levosimendan, a cardioprotective inodilator, and dobutamine, a β1-adrenergic agonist, are commonly used for the treatment of hypovolemic shock, thanks to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. For this reason, we aimed at investigating levosimendan and dobutamine's neuroprotective effects in an "in vitro" model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation. Human microglial cells (HMC3) were challenged with LPS (0.1 µg/mL) to induce an inflammatory phenotype and then treated with levosimendan (10 µM) or dobutamine (50 µM) for 24 h. Levosimendan and dobutamine significantly reduced the ROS levels and markedly increased Nrf2 and HO-1 protein expression in LPS-challenged cells. Levosimendan and dobutamine also decreased p-NF-κB expression and turned off the NLRP3 inflammasome together with its downstream signals, caspase-1 and IL-1β. Moreover, a reduction in TNF-α and IL-6 expression and an increase in IL-10 levels in LPS-stimulated HMC3 cells was observed following treatment. In conclusion, levosimendan and dobutamine attenuated LPS-induced neuroinflammation through NF-κB pathway inhibition and NLRP3 inflammasome activation via Nrf2/HO-1 signalling, suggesting that these drugs could represent a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of neuroinflammation consequent to hypovolemic shock.
PubMed: 38790971
DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12051009 -
Children (Basel, Switzerland) May 2024Twins resulting from a complicated monochorionic (MC) twin pregnancy are at risk for postnatal evolution of pulmonary hypertension (PH) and cardiac dysfunction (CD)....
OBJECTIVES
Twins resulting from a complicated monochorionic (MC) twin pregnancy are at risk for postnatal evolution of pulmonary hypertension (PH) and cardiac dysfunction (CD). Both pathologies are important contributors to short- and long-term morbidity in these infants. The aim of the present retrospective single-center cohort study was to evaluate the need for vasoactive treatment for PH and CD in these neonates.
METHODOLOGY
In-born neonates following a complicated MC twin pregnancy admitted to the department of neonatology of the University Children's Hospital Bonn (UKB) between October 2019 and December 2023 were screened for study inclusion. Finally, 70 neonates were included in the final analysis, with 37 neonates subclassified as recipient twins (group A) and 33 neonates as donor twins (group B).
RESULTS
The overall PH incidence at day of life (DOL) 1 was 17% and decreased to 6% at DOL 7 ( = 0.013), with no PH findings at DOL 28. The overall incidence of CD was 56% at DOL 1 and decreased strongly until DOL 7 (10%, = 0.015), with no diagnosis of CD at DOL 28. The use of dobutamine, norepinephrine, and vasopressin at DOL 1 until DOL 7 did not differ between the subgroups, whereas the dosing of milrinone was significantly higher in Group B at DOL 1 ( = 0.043). Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) was used in 16% of the cohort, and a levosimendan therapy was administered in 34% of the neonates. One-third of the cohort was treated with oral beta blockers, and in 10%, an intravenous beta blockade (landiolol) was administered. The maximum levosimendan vasoactive-inotropic score (LVIS) increased from DOL 1 (12.4 [3/27]) to DOL 2 (14.6 [1/68], = 0.777), with a significant decrease thereafter as measured at DOL 7 (9.5 [2/30], = 0.011).
CONCLUSION
Early PH and CD are frequent diagnoses in neonates following a complicated MC twin pregnancy, and an individualized vasoactive treatment strategy is required in the management of these infants.
PubMed: 38790543
DOI: 10.3390/children11050548 -
Oxford Medical Case Reports May 2024A 60-year-old gentleman who presented with features of end-organ hypoperfusion despite initial hypertension was promptly diagnosed with cardiogenic shock following...
A 60-year-old gentleman who presented with features of end-organ hypoperfusion despite initial hypertension was promptly diagnosed with cardiogenic shock following evidence of hyperlactatemia on biochemistry and left ventricular global hypokinesis with severe mitral regurgitation on transthoracic echocardiogram. He responded well to dobutamine and later underwent definitive surgical mitral valve replacement.
PubMed: 38784776
DOI: 10.1093/omcr/omae018