1,721,014 research outputs found
Effect of intermediate/high versus low dose heparin on the thromboembolic and hemorrhagic risk of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients in the emergency department
Full text linkBACKGROUND: The optimal prophylactic dose of heparin in patients with coronavirus-associated disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the emergency department (ED) is debated. This study aimed to analyze different thromboprophylaxis approaches in unvaccinated COVID-19 patients admitted to ED without initial venous thromboembolism. METHODS: Retrospectively, the effect of intermediate/high versus low dose heparin treatment was evaluated from December 2020 to July 2021 in a tertiary Academic Hospital in northeast Italy. The primary outcome comprised arterial or venous thromboembolism or all-cause death within 30 days. Secondary outcomes comprised each single primary outcome component or major hemorrhagic event. Cox regression was used to determine predictors of the primary outcome and propensity score weights to balance the effect of heparin treatment on all outcomes. RESULTS: Data of 144 consecutive patients (age 70 ± 13, 33% females) were included in the study. High-dose prophylactic heparin was used in 69%, intermediate in 15%, and low in 17% of patients. The primary outcome occurred in 48 patients. Independent predictors of the primary outcome were COVID-19 severity (hazards ratio (HR) 1.96, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05–3.65, p = 0.035) and D-dimer levels (HR each log ng/dl 1.38, 95% CI 1.04–1.84, p = 0.026). Intermediate/high dose heparin did not affect the risk of the primary outcome compared with the low dose (weighted HR 1.39, 95% CI 0.75–2.56, p = 0.292). Intermediate/high heparin increased the risk of major hemorrhagic events (weighted HR 5.92, 95% CI 1.09–32, p = 0.039). CONCLUSIONS: In unvaccinated COVID-19 patients admitted to ED, prophylaxis with heparin at the intermediate/high dose did not reduce primary outcome compared with the low dose but increased the risk of major hemorrhagic events
‘Help yourself, so the (circadian) rhythms help you’:Chronobiological insights to promote physical and mental health
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Decreased fibrinolytic activity is associated with carotid artery stiffening in arterial hypertension
Full text linkBackground: A prothrombotic state is associated with the presence and severity of organ damage in hypertensive patients. In these patients, evidence of subclinical carotid functional changes anticipates major cardiovascular events. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of hemostatic markers with carotid artery stiffness in hypertension. Materials and Methods: In 116 untreated essential hypertensive patients recruited at a referral center in the University of Udine, we assessed common carotid artery stiffness by B-mode ultrasonography and measured plasma fibrinogen, D-dimer, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), and homocysteine by the currently available methods. For statistical reasons, the patients were divided according to the median value of each index of carotid stiffness, and continuous variables were further analyzed by univariate correlation and stepwise multivariate regression analysis. Results: PAI-1 levels were significantly higher in patients with low coefficient of distensibility (P = 0.018) and high Young's elastic modulus (P = 0.012), whereas no association of fibrinogen, D-dimer, and homocysteine levels was observed with carotid coefficient of distensibility, Young's elastic modulus, and β-stiffness. On univariate analysis, Young's elastic modulus was significantly and positively correlated with PAI-1 levels (r = 0.286, P= 0.002), a correlation that on multivariate regression resulted to be independent of other confounders (β = 0.289, P= 0.028). Conclusion: An independent association of plasma PAI-1 levels with carotid artery stiffness suggests a possible contribution of decreased fibrinolytic activity to the early functional abnormalities of arterial vessels in hypertensive patients. This contribution might be relevant for subsequent development of hypertension-related cardiovascular complications
Functioning or Non-Functioning Adrenal Adenoma? Probably, Just a Matter of Time
No full textWe present a 44-year-old female with an adrenal adenoma characterized by late autonomous secretion of aldosterone. The patient was admitted at our Hypertension Unit for a resistant form of severe hypertension with target organ damage and a history of adrenal non-functioning adenoma. Seven years before admission, the patient was evaluated for a mild normokalemic hypertension associated with accessional headache and a diagnosis of essential hypertension and left adrenal incidentaloma was made. After few years of well-controlled hypertension, blood pressure levels worsened and a significant cardiac remodeling and a second grade retinopathy appeared despite of the increased number of antihypertensive drugs. Hormone tests were then repeated and showed an elevated aldosterone to renin ratio with normal cortisol and catecholamines. Primary aldosteronism was confirmed by the lack of suppression of aldosterone levels after an intravenous saline loading test. Computerized tomography scanning confirmed the left adrenal adenoma that was increased respect to the previous evaluation. Successful adrenalectomy was performed, which resulted in a decrease of blood pressure and no need of antihypertensive drugs. This case-report confirms the need for an accurate diagnostic work-up for primary aldosteronism and a strict follow-up of patients with mild hypertension and apparently non-functioning adrenal adenoma
Functioning or Non-Functioning Adrenal Adenoma? Probably, Just a Matter of Time
No full textWe present a 44-year-old female with an adrenal adenoma characterized by late autonomous secretion of aldosterone. The patient was admitted at our Hypertension Unit for a resistant form of severe hypertension with target organ damage and a history of adrenal non-functioning adenoma. Seven years before admission, the patient was evaluated for a mild normokalemic hypertension associated with accessional headache and a diagnosis of essential hypertension and left adrenal incidentaloma was made. After few years of well-controlled hypertension, blood pressure levels worsened and a significant cardiac remodeling and a second grade retinopathy appeared despite of the increased number of antihypertensive drugs. Hormone tests were then repeated and showed an elevated aldosterone to renin ratio with normal cortisol and catecholamines. Primary aldosteronism was confirmed by the lack of suppression of aldosterone levels after an intravenous saline loading test. Computerized tomography scanning confirmed the left adrenal adenoma that was increased respect to the previous evaluation. Successful adrenalectomy was performed, which resulted in a decrease of blood pressure and no need of antihypertensive drugs. This case-report confirms the need for an accurate diagnostic work-up for primary aldosteronism and a strict follow-up of patients with mild hypertension and apparently non-functioning adrenal adenoma
Impact of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on vascular function and blood pressure: relevance for cardiovascular outcomes
No full textAims: To overview the effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on blood vessels and blood pressure and their relevance for cardiovascular prevention.
Data synthesis: The importance of omega-3 PUFA for the cardiovascular system has come under the spotlight during the last decades. These fatty acids are present in variable amounts in cell membranes of mammal species and their content affects a variety of cellular functions. Evidence obtained in animal and human studies suggest that omega-3 PUFA affect many steps of the atherosclerotic process. In blood vessels, omega-3 PUFA improve endothelial function, promote vasodilatation via relaxation of smooth muscle cells, exert antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and antithrombotic actions, delay development of plaques and increase their stability, and decrease wall stiffening. Omega-3 PUFA might affect blood pressure and studies conducted with ambulatory monitoring suggest that supplementation with these fatty acids decreases average 24-hour levels. This effect on blood pressure is related with pretreatment membrane content of omega-3 PUFA and this might explain some inconsistencies among intervention trials. Meta-analyses indicate that omega-3 PUFA have a mild but significant blood pressure lowering effect. While encouraging results were initially obtained with use of omega-3 PUFA supplements in secondary prevention trials, meta-analyses have not confirmed the ability of these fatty acids to decrease the risk of coronary heart and cerebrovascular disease.
Conclusions: Omega-3 PUFA are associated with significant improvement of vascular function and lowering of blood pressure. However, the evidence currently supporting a role of these fatty acids in cardiovascular prevention is weak and needs further investigation
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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