Suguru Nishigoori

The prognostic impact of uric acid in patients with severely decompensated acute heart failure

BACKGROUND The serum level of uric acid (UA) is a well-known prognostic factor for heart failure (HF) patients. However, the prognostic impact of hyperuricemia and the factors that induce hyperuricemia in acute HF (AHF) patients are not well understood. METHODS AND RESULTS Eight hundred eighty-nine AHF patients were enrolled in this study. The patients were assigned into a low UA group (UA≤7.0mg/dl, n=495) or a high UA group (UA>7.0mg/dl, n=394) according to their UA level on admission. A Kaplan-Meier curve showed that the survival rate of the low UA group was significantly higher than that of the high UA group. A multivariate Cox regression model identified that a high UA level (HR: 1.192, 95%CI 1.112-1.277) was an independent predictor of 180-day mortality. A multivariate logistic regression model for a high serum UA level on admission indicated that chronic kidney disease (CKD) (OR: 2.030, 95%CI: 1.298-3.176, p=0.002) and the administration of loop diuretics before admission (OR: 1.556, 95%CI: 1.010-2.397, p=0.045) were independent factors. The prognosis, including all-cause death and HF events, was significantly poorer among patients who had a high UA level who had previously used loop diuretics and among CKD patients with a high UA level than among other patients. CONCLUSIONS The serum UA level was an independent predictor in patients who were hospitalized during an emergent situation for AHF. An elevated serum UA level on admission was associated with the presence of CKD and the use of loop diuretics. These factors were also associated with adverse outcomes in hyperuricemic patients with AHF.

The prognostic impact of gender in patients with acute heart failure - An evaluation of the age of female patients with severely decompensated acute heart failure.

BACKGROUND The gender differences in the prognosis of Asian patients with acute heart failure (AHF) remain to be elucidated. METHODS AND RESULTS One thousand fifty AHF patients were enrolled. The patients were assigned to a female group (n=354) and a male group (n=696). A Kaplan-Meier curve showed that the cardiovascular survival rate of the female group was significantly lower than that of the male group (p=0.005). A multivariate Cox regression model identified female gender [hazard ratio (HR): 1.381, 95% CI: 1.018-1.872] as an independent predictor of 730-day cardiovascular death. In subgroup analysis by age, in patients over 79 years, female gender significantly increased the cardiovascular death (HR: 1.715, 95% CI: 1.088-2.074, p<0.001) with a significant interaction (p-value for interaction<0.001). The prognosis, including cardiovascular death, was significantly poorer among elderly female patients (≥79 years) than among elderly male patients (p=0.019). The multivariate Cox regression model identified female gender as an independent predictor of 730-day cardiovascular death in patients who were older than 79 years of age (HR, 1.943; 95% CI, 1.192-3.167). CONCLUSIONS Female gender was associated with poor prognosis in AHF patients. In particular, old age (≥79 years) was associated with adverse outcomes in female patients with AHF.

Features and Outcomes of Patients with Calcified Nodules at Culprit Lesions of Acute Coronary Syndrome: An Optical Coherence Tomography Study

Objectives: We sought to clarify clinical features and outcomes related to calcified nodules (CN) compared with plaque rupture (PR) and plaque erosion (PE) detected by optical coherence tomography (OCT) at the culprit lesions in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods: Based on OCT findings for culprit lesion plaque morphologies, ACS patients with analyzable OCT images (n = 362) were classified as CN, PR, PE, and other. Results: The prevalence of CN, PR, and PE was 6% (n = 21), 45% (n = 163), and 41% (n = 149), respectively. Patients with CN were older (median 71 vs. 65 years, p = 0.03) and more diabetic (71 vs. 35%, p = 0.002) than those without CN. In OCT findings, the distal reference lumen cross-sectional area (median 4.2 vs. 5.2 mm2, p = 0.048) and the postintervention minimum lumen cross-sectional area (median 4.5 vs. 5.3 mm2, p = 0.04) were smaller in lesions with CN than in those without. Kaplan-Meier estimate survival curves showed that the 500-day survival without target lesion revascularization (TLR) was lower (p = 0.011) for patients with CN (72.9%) than for those with PR (89.3%) or PE (94.8%). Conclusions: ACS patients with CN at the culprit lesion had more TLR compared to those with PR or PE.

Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 as a Marker for Plaque Rupture and a Predictor of Adverse Clinical Outcome in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome: An Optical Coherence Tomography Study

Objectives: The present study sought to clarify the relationship between matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) levels and plaque morphology demonstrated by optical coherence tomography (OCT), and to examine their prognostic impacts in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods: MMP-9 levels were measured for patients with ACS (n = 249). Among 249 patients, 120 with evaluable OCT images were categorized into patients with ruptured plaques (n = 65) and those with nonruptured plaques (n = 55) on the basis of culprit lesion plaque morphology demonstrated by OCT. Results: MMP-9 levels on admission were significantly higher in the rupture group than in the nonrupture group (p = 0.029). Although creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) on admission was comparable between the groups, peak CK-MB was higher in the rupture group than in the nonrupture group (p < 0.001). By receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the optimal cut-off value of MMP-9 to detect ruptured plaques was 65.5 ng/ml (p = 0.029). There was a nonstatistically significant trend toward increased cardiac death at 2 years (5.9 vs. 1.0%, p = 0.059) in patients with high MMP-9 (≥65.5 ng/ml) compared to those with low MMP-9 (<65.5 ng/ml). Conclusions: MMP-9 can differentiate ACS with ruptured plaques from nonruptured plaques, and MMP-9 may be a valuable predictor of long-term cardiac mortality in patients with ACS reflecting plaque rupture.

Social determinants are crucial factors in the long-term prognosis of severely decompensated acute heart failure in patients over 75 years of age

BACKGROUND The association between social factors and the long-term prognosis of acute heart failure (AHF) remains unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS One thousand fifty-one AHF patients were screened, and 915 were enrolled. Four hundred forty-two AHF patients ≥75 years of age (the elderly cohort) were also included in a sub-analysis. Participants who fulfilled one of the three marital status-, offspring-, and living status-related criteria were considered socially vulnerable. On this basis they were classified into the socially vulnerable (n=396) and non-socially vulnerable (n=519) groups in the overall cohort, and the socially vulnerable (n=219) and non-socially vulnerable (n=223) groups in the elderly cohort. Kaplan-Meier curves showed that the survival rate of the socially vulnerable group was significantly poorer than that of the non-socially vulnerable group in the overall (p=0.049) and elderly (p=0.004) cohorts. A multivariate Cox regression model revealed that social vulnerability was an independent predictor of 1000-day mortality in the overall [hazard ratio (HR): 1.340, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.003-1.043, p=0.048] and elderly cohort (HR: 1.531, 95% CI: 1.027-2.280, p=0.036). Regarding the components of social vulnerability, the marital status was an independent factor in the elderly cohort (HR: 1.500, 95% CI 1.043-2.157, p=0.029). CONCLUSION Social vulnerability was independently associated with long-term outcomes in AHF patients, especially in the elderly cohort. Organization of the social structure of AHF patients might be able to improve their prognosis.

Worsening renal function definition is insufficient for evaluating acute renal failure in acute heart failure: WRF and AKI in AHF

Whether or not the definition of a worsening renal function (WRF) is adequate for the evaluation of acute renal failure in patients with acute heart failure is unclear.

Clinical Usefulness of Urinary Liver Fatty Acid-Binding Protein Excretion for Predicting Acute Kidney Injury during the First 7 Days and the Short-Term Prognosis in Acute Heart Failure Patients with Non-Chronic Kidney Disease

Background: The clinical significance of urinary liver fatty acid-binding protein (u-LFABP) in acute heart failure (AHF) patients remains unclear. Methods and Results: The u-LFABP levels on admission of 293 AHF patients were analyzed. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the u-LFABP quartiles (Q1, Q2, and Q3 = low u-LFABP [L] group vs. Q4 = high u-LFABP [H] group). We evaluated the diagnostic and prognostic value of u-LFABP and compared the findings between the chronic kidney disease (CKD; n = 165) and non-CKD patients (n = 128). Acute kidney injury (AKI) during the first 7 days was evaluated based on the RIFLE criteria. In the non-CKD group, the number of AKI patients during the first 7 days was significantly greater in the H group (70.0%) than in the L group (45.6%). A multivariate logistic regression model indicated that the H group (odds ratio: 3.850, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.128-13.140) was independently associated with AKI during the first 7 days. The sensitivity and specificity of u-LFABP for predicting AKI were 63.6 and 59.7% (area under the ROC curve 0.631) at 41.9 ng/mg × cre. A Cox regression model identified the H group (hazard ratio: 13.494, 95% CI 1.512-120.415) as an independent predictor of the 60-day mortality. A Kaplan-Meier curve, including all-cause death within 60 days, showed a significantly poorer survival rate in the H group than in the L group (p = 0.036). Conclusions: The u-LFABP level is an effective biomarker for predicting AKI during the first 7 days of hospitalization and an adverse outcome in AHF patients with non-CKD.