Okay Abaci

Long-Term Follow-Up of Patients at High Risk for Nephropathy After Contrast Exposure

Contrast medium-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is associated with morbidity and mortality, but the long-term outcomes of patients who do not develop CI-AKI remain unknown. We assessed clinical end points during long-term follow-up in patients at high risk for nephropathy who did not develop CI-AKI. Patients (n = 135) with impaired renal function (estimated glomerular filtration rate: 30-60 mL/min/1.73 m2) were divided into 2 groups according to contrast media (CM) exposure. The primary end point of this study was a composite outcome measure of death or renal failure requiring dialysis. Multivariate analyses identified CM exposure to be independently associated with major adverse long-term outcomes (hazard ratio: 2.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.34-6.52; P = .018). Even when CM exposure does not cause CI-AKI in patients with impaired renal function, in the long term, primary end points occur more frequently in patients exposed to CM than in those with no CM exposure.

The Relationship Between Chronic Kidney Disease and SYNTAX Score

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death. We evaluated the association between CKD and severity of coronary artery stenosis by calculating SYNTAX Score in patients with left main coronary artery and/or 3-vessel coronary artery disease. Coronary angiograms of 217 patients were assessed. Chronic kidney disease was staged using the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR, mL/min per 1.73 m2) prior to coronary angiography. Patients were divided into 5 groups according to the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcome Quality Initiative (NKF KDOQI) Clinical Practice Guidelines (14). Patients with eGFR >90 mL/min per 1.73 m2 (group 1), patients with eGFR 60 to 89 mL/min per 1.73 m2 (group 2), patients with eGFR 30 to 59 mL/min per 1.73 m2 (group 3), patients with eGFR >15 to < 30 per 1.73 m2 and dialysis patients with eGFR < 15 per 1.73 m2 were combined as group 4. The risk of significant lesion complexity increased progressively with decreasing kidney function (P = .001). Estimated glomerular filtration rate was a strong predictor of higher SYNTAX Score.

Impact of Rosuvastatin on Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury in Patients at High Risk for Nephropathy Undergoing Elective Angiography

Although statins have been shown to prevent contrast-induced acute kidney injury in patients with acute coronary syndromes, the benefit of statins is not known for patients at high risk for nephropathy who undergo elective coronary angiography. Two hundred twenty consecutive statin-naive patients with chronic kidney disease (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/min/1.73 m(2)) who underwent elective coronary or peripheral angiography were randomly assigned to receive rosuvastatin (40 mg on admission, followed by 20 mg/day; n = 110) or no statin treatment (control group, n = 110). Contrast-induced acute kidney injury was defined by an absolute increase in serum creatinine of ≥0.5 mg/dl or a relative increase of ≥25% measured 48 or 72 hours after the procedure. Contrast-induced acute kidney injury occurred in 15 patients (7.2%), 9 (8.5%) in the control group and 6 (5.8%) in the rosuvastatin group (p = 0.44). The incidences of adverse cardiovascular and renal events (death, dialysis, myocardial infarction, stroke, or persistent renal damage) were similar between the two groups at follow-up. In conclusion, rosuvastatin did not reduce the risk for contrast-induced acute kidney injury or other clinically relevant outcomes in at-risk patients who underwent coronary and peripheral vascular angiography.

Chronic Kidney Disease as a Predictor of Coronary Lesion Morphology

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the main cause of death in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We investigated whether CKD stage affected coronary lesion morphology in patients with established CAD. Coronary angiograms of 264 patients were evaluated. Chronic kidney disease was staged using the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) from the serum creatinine prior to coronary angiography. Patients were divided into 3 groups: dialysis or severe decrease in GFR <30 mL/min per 1.73 m2 (group 1; n = 60), patients with moderate kidney failure (group 2; n = 116), and patients with normal renal function or mild decrease in GFR (group 3; n = 88). The likelihood of CAD and lesion complexity increased with decreasing eGFR (P = .001). Patients with CKD also had more significant CAD. The risk of significant coronary obstruction and lesion complexity increased progressively with decreasing eGFR. The eGFR may predict lesion complexity among patients with CKD undergoing coronary angiography.

Relationship Between Increased Serum Resistin Level and Severity of Coronary Artery Disease

Resistin, which is derived from the gene of RSTN, belongs to a family of cysteine-rich secretory proteins called resistin-like molecules (RELMs). Increased serum resistin levels are associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) and the risk of cardiovascular death. Patients (n = 214) with an initial diagnosis of stable angina pectoris, unstable angina pectoris, and myocardial infarction without ST-segment elevation and referred to catheter laboratory for coronary angiography were enrolled in the study. We aimed to investigate the relationship between increased serum resistin level and CAD. The severity of CAD was calculated by the Gensini scoring system. In conclusion, we established a significant correlation between serum resistin levels and CAD (P = .010). Also, serum resistin levels correlated with the Gensini score that represents the severity of CAD angiographically (P = .010).

Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury Is Associated With Long-Term Adverse Events in Patients With Acute Coronary syndrome

Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is associated with increased mortality, morbidity, and prolonged hospitalization. Patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have a 3-fold higher risk of developing CI-AKI. The aim of our study was to evaluate the predictors of CI-AKI and long-term prognosis in patients with ACS who developed CI-AKI (1083 patients were enrolled). Contrast-induced acute kidney injury was defined as an increase of ≥0.5 mg/dL and/or an increase of ≥25% of pre-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to post-PCI serum creatinine levels within 48 to 72 hours after the procedure. Primary end point was defined as all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, and cerebrovascular event at long-term follow-up (36 ± 12 months). Contrast-induced acute kidney injury occurred in 178 (16.4%) of the 1083 patients. The primary end points were significantly high in patients with ACS who developed CI-AKI (P < .001). The occurrence of CI-AKI was identified as an independent predictor of primary end point. Risk of CI-AKI development was more frequently seen in patients with ACS. Also, patients who developed CI-AKI have worse prognosis at long-term follow-up. Additional preventive treatment strategies need to be developed in this group of patients.

Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Predicts Contrast-Induced Nephropathy in Patients With Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome.

We assessed the relation between platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) on admission and contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS). A total of 488 patients with NSTE-ACS who underwent urgent coronary angiography were enrolled. Levels of PLR and creatinine were measured before angiography and at 72 hours after angiography. Patients were divided into 2 groups, namely, the CIN group, 80 patients (16.3%; age 65.3 ± 12.5years; 66.7% men) and the non-CIN group, 408 patients (83.7%; age 61.2 ± 12.3 years; 72.5% men). Patients in the CIN group had significantly higher PLR than those in the non-CIN group (152.9 ± 99.6 vs 120.4 ± 66.1, P < .001). In logistic regression analysis, PLR (odds ratio [OR] 1.004, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.001-1.007, P = .02), diabetes mellitus (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.02-2.98, P = .03), and ST-segment depression on admission electrocardiogram (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.00-2.81, P = .04) were independent predictors of CIN. The PLR was an independent predictor of CIN after angiography in patients with NSTE-ACS.

The role of media on statin adherence

Fig. 1. Percentage of days covered by statin from 2011 to 2013. Statins have been reported to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events after coronary stenting and current guidelines recommend the routine use of statins in this population. But, about half of patients discontinue statin therapy within the first year, and adherence decreases during follow-up period [1,2]. Medication adherence is a complex problem that is affected by many factors, including perceptions and understanding of the disease burden. Specific factors identified include low socioeconomic status, high medication costs, lack of transportation and poor understanding of medication instructions [3]. In addition, media coverage of health facts may also have an impact on beliefs, and behaviors related to health. Niederdeppe et al. [4] reported that exposure to statin advertisements increased the diagnosis of hypercholesterolemia and use of statins. However in recent years, statins were frequently criticized in Turkish media and most of them were also presented in a negative fashion in globalmedia. Our goalwas to analyze the effects of media on statin adherence. We retrospectively analyzed the statin adherence of 908 percutaneous coronary intervention patients whom were prescribed a statin before 2011 at our institute and had continuous insurance coverage to determine statin adherence. We used the pharmacy-based proportion of days covered (PDC)method to quantify statin adherence. To quantify the effects of media, we made a search on Google. We searched the word “cholesterol drugs” on Turkish pages from “news” section for 2011 to 2014 individually.

Relationship between serum endothelin-1 level and spontaneous reperfusion in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

AimSpontaneous reperfusion (SR) was associated with better clinical outcomes and lower incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a potent endothelium-derived vasoconstrictor peptide and elevated systemic ET-1 levels predict a poor prognosis in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We aimed to investigate the relationship between systemic ET-1 plasma levels and SR in a group of STEMI patients treated with a primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods and resultsWe measured ET-1 levels acutely (within the first 6 h) in 33 STEMI patients with SR and 45 STEMI patients with non-SR presenting with their first STEMI who underwent primary PCI. Blood samples for ET-1 plasma level measurement were drawn after vascular puncture before angiography in the catheterization laboratory from the peripheral vein.The mean age of the patients was 56.1±13.3 years in the SR group and 57.4±11.4 years in the non-SR group. The circulating level of ET-1 was considerably higher in the non-SR patients than in the SR patients (0.81±0.2, 1.0±0.3, P=0.004). On multivariable logistic regression analysis, the ET-1 level was the only significant predictor of SR (P=0.01).The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the ET-1 level at admission is an indicator of SR, with an area under the curve of 0.62. ConclusionThis study shows that in patients admitted with ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction, ET-1 plasma levels are related to angiographic SR before primary PCI.

Percutaneous coronary intervention vs. optimal medical therapy – the other side of the coin: medication adherence

Although many studies have examined medication adherence in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), no prospective trial has compared medication adherence between patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or with optimal medical therapy (OMT) in real life. This study sought to compare the adherence to evidence‐based secondary preventive medications in patients with documented CAD treated with PCI and OMT, or OMT alone.