Mahmoud Farouk Elmahdy

Value of duplex scanning in differentiating embolic from thrombotic arterial occlusion in acute limb ischemia

BACKGROUND Management of acute limb ischemia (ALI) is largely based on the etiology of arterial occlusion (embolic vs. thrombotic). To our knowledge, the ability of duplex scanning to differentiate embolic from thrombotic occlusion has not been previously reported. PURPOSE To determine the ability of duplex scanning to differentiate embolic from thrombotic acute arterial occlusion. METHODS We prospectively recruited 97 patients (50.3 ± 19.7 years; 55% males) with 107 nontraumatic ALI in native arteries. All patients underwent surgical revascularization. Preoperative duplex scan detected arterial occlusion in the following arteries: iliac (11), femoral (38), popliteal (38), infrapopliteal (3), subclavian (3), axillary (1), brachial (9), and forearm arteries (4). We measured the arterial diameters at the site of occlusion (d(occl)) and at the corresponding contralateral healthy side (d(CONTRA)). The difference (Δ) between the two diameters was calculated as d(OCCL)-d(CONTRA). Duplex scan was also used to assess the state of the arterial wall whether healthy or atherosclerotic and the presence of calcification or collaterals. According to surgical findings, limbs were classified into embolic (E group=55 limbs) and thrombotic (T group=52 limbs) groups. RESULTS Both groups were comparable regarding age, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, atrial fibrillation, and time of presentation. The status of arterial wall at the site of occlusion and presence of calcification or collaterals were all similar in both groups. Δ in the E group was 0.95 ± 0.92 mm vs. -0.13 ± 1.02 mm in the T group (P<.001). A value of ≥ 0.5 mm for Δ had 85% sensitivity and 76% specificity for the diagnosis of embolic occlusion (CI 0.72-0.90, P<.001), whereas a value of less than -0.5 mm for Δ had 85% sensitivity and 76% specificity for thrombotic occlusion (CI 0.72-0.90, P<.001). CONCLUSION In acute arterial occlusion, ≥ 0.5 mm dilatation or diminution in the occluded artery diameter is a useful duplex sign for diagnosing embolic or thrombotic occlusion, respectively.

Comparison Between Ultrasound-Guided Compression and Para-Aneurysmal Saline Injection in the Treatment of Postcatheterization Femoral Artery Pseudoaneurysms

Management of postcatheterization femoral artery pseudoaneurysm (FAP) is problematic. Ultrasound-guided compression (UGC) is painful and cumbersome. Thrombin injection is costly and may cause thromboembolism. Ultrasound-guided para-aneurysmal saline injection (PASI) has been described but was never compared against other treatment methods of FAP. We aimed at comparing the success rate and complications of PASI versus UGC. We randomly assigned 80 patients with postcatheterization FAPs to either UGC (40 patients) or PASI (40 patients). We compared the 2 procedures regarding successful obliteration of the FAP, incidence of vasovagal attacks, procedure time, discontinuation of antiplatelet and/or anticoagulants, and the Doppler waveform in the ipsilateral pedal arteries at the end of the procedure. There was no significant difference between patients in both groups regarding clinical and vascular duplex data. The mean durations of UGC and PASI procedures were 58.14 ± 28.45 and 30.33 ± 8.56 minutes, respectively (p = 0.045). Vasovagal attacks were reported in 10 (25%) and 2 patients (5%) treated with UGC and PASI, respectively (p = 0.05). All patients in both groups had triphasic Doppler waveform in the infrapopliteal arteries before and after the procedure. The primary and final success rates were 75%, 92.5%, 87.5%, and 95% for UGC and PASI, respectively (p = 0.43). In successfully treated patients, there was no reperfusion of the FAP in the follow-up studies (days 1 and 7) in both groups. In conclusion, ultrasound-guided PASI is an effective method for the treatment of FAP. Compared with UGC, PASI is faster, less likely to cause vasovagal reactions, and can be more convenient to patients and physicians.

Validation of Noninvasive Measurement of Cardiac Output Using Inert Gas Rebreathing in a Cohort of Patients With Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection FractionCLINICAL PERSPECTIVE

Background— Cardiac output (CO) is a key indicator of cardiac function in patients with heart failure. No completely accurate method is available for measuring CO in all patients. The objective of this study was to validate CO measurement using the inert gas rebreathing (IGR) method against other noninvasive and invasive methods of CO quantification in a cohort of patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. Methods and Results— The study included 97 patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (age 42±15.5 years; 64 patients (65.9%) had idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and 21 patients (21.6%) had ischemic heart disease). Median left ventricle ejection fraction was 24% (10%–36%). Patients with atrial fibrillation were excluded. CO was measured using 4 methods (IGR, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, cardiac catheterization, and echocardiography) and indexed to body surface area (cardiac index [CI]). All studies were performed within 48 hours. Median CI measured by IGR was 1.75, by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was 1.82, by cardiac catheterization was 1.65, and by echo was 1.7 L·min−1·m−2. There were significant modest linear correlations between IGR-derived CI and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging–derived CI (r=0.7; P<0.001), as well as cardiac catheterization–derived CI (r=0.6; P<0.001). Using Bland–Altman analysis, the agreement between the IGR method and the other methods was as good as the agreement between any 2 other methods with each other. Conclusions— The IGR method is a simple, accurate, and reproducible noninvasive method for quantification of CO in patients with advanced heart failure. The prognostic value of this simple measurement needs to be studied prospectively.

Comparison of Safety and Effectiveness Between Right Versus Left Radial Arterial Access in Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Acute ST Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND Transradial approach (TRA) is now considered the standard of care in many centres for elective and primary percutaneous intervention (PCI). The use of the radial approach in ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients has been associated with a significant reduction in major adverse cardiac events. However, it is still unclear if the side of radial access (right vs. left) has impact on safety and effectiveness of TRA in primary PCI. So this study was conducted to compare the safety, feasibility, and outcomes of right radial access (RRA) vs. left radial access (LRA) in the setting of primary PCI. METHODS We retrospectively analysed the data of 400 consecutive patients presenting to our institution with STEMI for whom primary PCIs were performed via RRA and LRA. RESULTS Mean age of the whole studied population was 57±12.8 years, with male predominance (77.2%). There were 202 cases in the RRA group and 198 in the LRA group, with no significant difference in demographics and clinical characteristics for patients included in both groups. There was no significant difference in procedure success rate (97.5% for RRA vs. 98.4% for LRA; P=0.77). In addition, no significant difference between both approaches was observed in the contrast volume, number of catheters, fluoroscopy time (FT), needle-to-balloon time, post-procedure vascular complications, in hospital reinfarction, stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or death. CONCLUSION Right radial access and LRA are equally safe and effective in the setting of primary PCI. Both approaches have a high success rate and comparable needle-to-balloon time.

Long-Term Primary Patency Rate After Nitinol Self-Expandable Stents Implantation in Long, Totally Occluded Femoropopliteal (TASC II C & D) Lesions

BACKGROUND Endovascular therapy for long femoropopliteal lesions using percutaneous transluminal balloon angioplasty or first-generation of peripheral stents has been associated with unacceptable one-year restenosis rates. However, with recent advances in equipment and techniques, a better primary patency rate is expected. This study was conducted to detect the long-term primary patency rate of nitinol self-expandable stents implanted in long, totally occluded femoropopliteal lesions TransAtlantic Inter-Society Census (TASC II type C & D), and determine the predictors of reocclusion or restenosis in the stented segments. METHODS The demographics, clinical, anatomical, and procedural data of 213 patients with 240 de novo totally occluded femoropopliteal (TASC II type C & D) lesions treated with nitinol self-expandable stents were retrospectively analysed. Of these limbs, 159 (66.2%) presented with intermittent claudication, while 81 (33.8%) presented with critical limb ischaemia. The mean-time of follow-up was 36±22.6 months, (range: 6.3-106.2 months). Outcomes evaluated were, primary patency rate and predictors of reocclusion or restenosis in the stented segments. RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 70.9±9.3 years, with male gender 66.2%. Mean pre-procedural ABI was 0.45±0.53. One-hundred-and-seventy-five (73%) lesions were TASC II type C, while 65 (27%) were type D lesions. The mean length of the lesions was 17.9±11.3mm. Procedure related complications occurred in 10 (4.1%) limbs. There was no periprocedural mortality. Reocclusion and restenosis were detected during follow-up in 45 and 30 limbs respectively, and all were re-treated by endovascular approach. None of the patients required major amputation. Primary patency rates were 81.4±1.1%, 77.7±1.9% and 74.4±2.8% at 12, 24, and 36 months respectively. Male gender, severe calcification, and TASC II D lesion were independent predictors for reocclusion, while predictors of restenosis were DM, smoking and TASC II D lesions. CONCLUSIONS Treatment of long, totally occluded femoropopliteal (TASC II C & D) lesions with nitinol self-expandable stents is safe and is associated with highly acceptable long-term primary patency rates.

Closure of a large pulmonary arterio-venous fistula with Amplatzer vascular plug I

A 55-year-old female patient, with a long-standing history of rheumatic mitral valve disease and atrial fibrillation, complains of shortness of breath and decreased effort tolerance, despite being compliant to medical treatment. On presentation, the patient was cyanotic (bluish discolouration of finger tips, lips, and tongue) with warm periphery and no clubbing; her …

Impact of fractional flow reserve on decision-making in daily clinical practice: A single center experience in Egypt

Background Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is the reference standard for the assessment of the functional significance of coronary artery stenoses, but remains underutilized. Our aims were to study whether FFR changed the decision for treatment of intermediate coronary lesions and to assess the clinical outcome in the deferred and intervention groups. Methods In this retrospective study, coronary angiograms of patients with moderately stenotic lesions (40–70%) for which FFR was performed were re-analyzed by three experienced interventional cardiologists (blinded to FFR results) to determine its angiographic significance and whether to defer or perform an intervention. Results We revised 156 equivocal lesions of 151 patients. The clinical presentation were stable angina (65.6%) and acute coronary syndrome in (34.4%). All reviewers had concordant agreement to do PCI in 59 (37.8%) lesions based on angiographic assessment. Interestingly 23 (39%) of these lesions were functionally non-significant by FFR. The reviewers agreed to defer 97 (62.2%) lesions, however, 32 (33%) of these lesions were functionally significant by FFR and necessitated PCI. MACE were similar in both groups (1.5% vs 2.4%, p = 1.0). Conclusion Mismatches between visually- and FFR- estimated significance of intermediate coronary stenosis are frequently encountered across a wide spectrum of clinical presentations. FFR leads to a change in decision for coronary intervention. The clinical and cost implications of such changes-in areas with limited resources- needs further evaluation.

Role of vascular ultrasound scanning in repeated trans-radial coronary artery intervention (prospective randomized study)

We aimed to detect if pre‐procedure vascular ultrasound scanning (VUS) of radial arteries (RAs) can increase the radial access success (RAS) rate and/or reduce the vascular access time (VAT), by guiding the choice of the proper access site for repeated trans‐radial interventions (TRIs).

TASTE: One-year follow-up results

[first paragraph of article] Using thrombus aspiration devices during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the setting of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a highly debatable issue. In 2013, after the announcement of the Thrombus Aspiration in ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Scandinavia trial (TASTE) short term outcomes, more confusion was added to this hot topic. The main, but not only, concern about TASTE was the short-term follow-up period of just 30 days. So, can the one-year follow-up results help in solving this debate?

Atypical site and size of atrial myxoma.

A 60-year-old female patient started to complain since two months of low grade fever of unknown origin associated with anorexia, generalized malaise and weight loss. On presentation, the patient’s central venous pressure was elevated with systolic collapse; cardiac examination revealed pansystolic murmur over the lower end of the sternum associated with mid-diastolic short murmur with no other remarkable findings in clinical examination. No abnormalities were detected in the chest X-ray and electrocardiogram showed normal sinus rhythm with no other specific changes.