Staph Vaccine Fails in Cardiothoracic Surgery Patients Staphyloccocus aureus wound infections and bacteremia commonly complicate cardiothoracic surgery, even with meticulous attention to infection prevention. Staph mediastinitis, a deep infection of the surgical wound, is particularly feared and lethal. Vance Fowler et al randomized 8,031 people undergoing sternotomy to receive the V710 vaccine against S. aureus, [... read more]
image: Wikimedia Inferior Vena Cava Filters: What’s the Harm? Do inferior vena cava filters actually create more harm than health? That’s the provocative question being posed by authors and editorialists in JAMA Internal Medicine. Inferior vena cava filters are frequently placed after a pulmonary embolism (PE) or deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in patients with a [... read more]
FDA Warns of Sudden Cardiac Death Risk from Azithromycin Last summer, PulmCCM reported on a New England Journal paper suggesting an increased risk of sudden cardiac death in patients taking even a short 5-day course of azithromycin. Yesterday, the FDA expressed its official concern in a Drug Safety Communication and statement to the press on [... read more]
Ultrafiltration No Better Than Diuresis for CHF Exacerbations by Blair Westerly, MD Cardiorenal syndrome — simultaneous heart failure and renal failure — is a frequently encountered problem in people with acute decompensated heart failure. Treatment with diuretics for congestive heart failure exacerbations is standard care, but diuretics may at times worsen renal function. Venovenous ultrafiltration [... read more]
Intubation for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest May Harm, Not Help by Blair Westerly, MD Out of hospital cardiac arrest is a major public-health problem, and despite advances in care, survival is still low. Improved survival has been associated with early CPR, rapid defibrillation, and integrated post cardiac arrest care, but pre-hospital “advanced airway management” (i.e., intubation [... read more]
Pulmonary Hypertension 2013 Update/Review Part 2 of 2: Treatment of PH by Brett Ley, MD There are 3 classes of pulmonary vasodilator drugs: phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE-5 inhibitors, e.g. sildenafil, tadalafil), endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs, e.g. bosentan, ambrisentan), and prostacyclins (epoprostenol, iloprost, treprostinil). Because the large trials have focused on PAH, currently only WHO group 1 [... read more]
Pulmonary Hypertension 2013 Update/Review Part 1 of 2: Classification and Diagnosis by Brett Ley, MD Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is defined simply as a mean pulmonary artery pressure of 25 mmHg or greater. However, this entity encompasses a heterogeneous group of patients and underlying etiologies where accurate diagnosis, correct physiologic classification, and careful evaluation for right heart dysfunction are essential [... read more]
In Most Patients with Pulmonary Embolism, Central Clot is Worse than Peripheral by Brett Ley, MD Pulmonary embolism (PE) presents with a wide range of clinical severity and course. Management decisions (level of care, length of observation, and aggressive therapies such as thrombolysis) are generally based on a patient’s risk of a poor outcome. Guidelines recommend risk [... read more]
Continuing Selective Beta Blockers Safe During COPD Exacerbations by Blair Westerly, MD Many COPD patients also have congestive heart failure or ischemic heart disease, two conditions where beta blocker therapy improves survival, but it has consistently been underutilized. The fear physicians have of instituting beta blockers in COPD is mostly secondary to the theoretical concern [... read more]
(image: Rxhealthdrugs.com) People taking 5 days of azithromycin had a very small absolute increased risk of death, especially due to cardiovascular causes, compared to people taking amoxicillin, in a retrospective cohort review by Wayne Ray, Katherine Murray, and C. Michael Stein published in the May 17 New England Journal of Medicine. Erythromycin and clarithromycin (the other [... read more]
(image: InPharm) Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) was noninferior to standard treatment (heparin and warfarin) in preventing recurrent VTE in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE), in the large EINSTEIN-PE randomized trial published in the April 5 New England Journal of Medicine. A once-daily oral factor Xa inhibitor that has already been demonstrated to be noninferior for treatment [... read more]
(image: Rex Parker) Among people with unprovoked deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE), 1 in 5 will experience another DVT or PE within 2 years after stopping anticoagulation with warfarin (Coumadin). For this reason, the ACCP’s recommendations for treatment of unprovoked proximal DVT or PE suggest consideration of an “indefinite” period of anticoagulation [... read more]
The American Association of Blood Blanks (AABB) announced upcoming new guidelines in the March online Annals of Internal Medicine, recommending against transfusion for adults and children with stable illness and hemoglobin levels above 7-8 g/dL. They made it a 1A recommendation (strong recommendation with high quality evidence). Jeffrey Carson et al reviewed literature from 1950 to 2011 and [... read more]
Supraventricular Tachycardia, Initial Diagnosis and Treatment When supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) causes symptoms, it requires immediate medical attention. Although many physicians believe that the precise type of SVT must be identified before providing treatment, this is not true: treatment can often be started safely and effectively without knowing the exact SVT, by tailoring it to the [... read more]
Contrast-induced nephropathy (kidney damage) is a serious problem that can occur after many medical tests and procedures, but coronary angiography (cardiac catheterization) is the main culprit. People with pre-existing renal disease are most susceptible to contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) — about 1 in 8 of them develop a “bump” in creatinine of >0.5 mg/dL after cardiac [... read more]
Acute Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) of the Arm: from the ACCP Guidelines, 9th Ed. The ACCP published its 9th edition of their clinical practice guidelines for prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in February 2012, and we’re summarizing the 801-page long document by topic. (See also the other sections of the 9th edition ACCP recommendations.) Here we review the section on [... read more]
Acute Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) of the Leg: Initial Anticoagulant Therapy from the ACCP Guidelines, 9th Ed. The ACCP‘s 9th edition of their clinical practice guidelines for prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) were published in February 2012, and we’re summarizing the 801-page long document piece by piece. (See also the other sections of the 9th edition ACCP recommendations.) Here [... read more]
Anemia in the ICU: 2012 Review (More 2012 Topic Updates) This document will be updated periodically to incorporate new research findings. To suggest an article for inclusion, please comment below. SUMMARY: Anemia is almost inevitable during many episodes of critical illness, and has been associated with worsened outcomes and prognosis. However, the preponderance of evidence suggests that correcting anemia [... read more]
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) might be the perfect disease to describe the American health care system. The condition is overwhelmingly due to our over-indulgence and under-activity; its expensive diagnosis (polysomnography) and best treatment (CPAP) help physicians and device manufacturers prosper while consternating those who pay (the government and insurance companies), who then threaten to cut off [... read more]
Superior Vena Cava Syndrome: A Cancer-Related Medical Emergency (More PulmCCM Topic Updates) Multiple cancers are expected to rise in prevalence in the U.S. over the coming decades, and so is the risk for cancer-related medical emergencies. For a few, superior vena cava syndrome (SVC syndrome) will be the first manifestation of their cancer. It’s important [... read more]