). At 30 min thereafter, INR declined to £1.3 in 93% of patients. At all postinfusion time points through 48 h, median INR remained between 1.2 and 1.3. Clinical hemostatic efficacy was classified as very good or satisfactory in 42 patients (98%). Prompt and sustained increases in circulating coagulation factors and anticoagulant proteins were observed. One fatal suspected pulmonary embolism in a patient with metastatic cancer was judged to be possibly PCCrelated. Conclusions: PCC treatment serves as an effective rapid hemorrhage control resource in the emergency anticoagulant reversal setting. More widespread availability of PCC is warranted to ensure its benefits in appropriate patients.
Chronic HCV infection has emerged as a complex multifaceted disease with manifestations extending beyond the liver. HCV plays a direct role in glucose metabolism leading to both insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. To evaluate the changes in the glycemic state following Sofosbuvir-based treatment regimens in diabetic HCV patients. Four hundred chronic hepatitis C patients who underwent Sofosbuvir-based treatment regimens were retrospectively screened. Sixty-five diabetic HCV patients only enrolled in our analysis. Baseline demographic and laboratory data were recorded. Pretreatment Transient elastography was performed. At 24-week post EOT (SVR24), Fasting Plasma glucose, and Hemoglobin A1c were re-evaluated and compared with baseline. All enrolled diabetic patients were responders. They showed statistically significant decline in Fasting Plasma glucose and Hemoglobin A1c values at SVR24. Whatever the degree of hepatic fibrosis, the level of Fasting Plasma glucose and Hemoglobin A1c decreased at SVR24 in comparison to baseline level. Fifty-one patients showed improvement in their Hemoglobin A1c values at SVR24 and this improvement was more likely to occur among patients with low Body mass index. The reduction in Fasting Plasma glucose >20 mg/dL (>1.1 mmol/L) and Hemoglobin A1c ≥0.5% was not associated with age, gender or hepatic fibrosis stage. Sofosbuvir-based regimens are a highly efficient antiviral therapy for diabetic chronic HCV patients resulted in improvement in Fasting Plasma glucose and Hemoglobin A1c.
BackgroundOnly 50% of eligible atrial fibrillation (AF) patients receive anticoagulation (AC). Feasibility and effectiveness of electronic medical record (EMR)–based interventions to profile and raise provider AC percentage is poorly understood. The SUPPORT‐AF (Supporting Use of AC Through Provider Profiling of Oral AC Therapy for AF) study aims to improve rates of adherence to AC guidelines by developing and delivering supportive tools based on the EMR to providers treating patients with AF.Methods and ResultsWe emailed cardiologists and community‐based primary care providers affiliated with our institution reports of their AC percentage relative to peers. We also sent an electronic medical record–based message to these providers the day before an appointment with an atrial fibrillation patient who was eligible but not receiving AC. The electronic medical record message asked the provider to discuss AC with the patient if he or she deemed it appropriate. To assess feasibility, we tracked provider review of our correspondence. We also tracked the change in AC for intervention providers relative to alternate primary care providers not receiving our intervention. We identified 3786, 1054, and 566 patients cared for by 49 cardiology providers, 90 community‐based primary care providers, and 88 control providers, respectively. At baseline, the percentage of AC was 71.3%, 63.5%, and 58.3% for these 3 respective groups. Intervention providers reviewed our e‐mails and electronic medical record messages 45% and 96% of the time, respectively. For providers responding, patient refusal was the most common reason for patients not being on AC (21%) followed by high bleeding risk (19%). At follow‐up 10 weeks later, change in AC was no different for either cardiology or community‐based primary care providers relative to controls (0.2% lower and 0.01% higher, respectively).ConclusionsOur intervention profiling AC was feasible, but not sufficient to increase AC in our population.
Contrary to prior opinions, evidence from recent observational studies indicate that patients with variant angina presenting with ASCD face a worse prognosis than those without this type of presentation. Predictors of ASCD include age, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, family history of sudden cardiac death, multi-vessel spasm, and left anterior descending artery spasm. Medical therapy alone with calcium channel blockers and nitrates may not be sufficiently protective in these patients and there is lack of concrete data on the optimal management strategy. Current guidelines recommend implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) therapy in patients who are survivors of cardiac arrest caused by ventricular fibrillation or unstable ventricular tachycardia after reversible causes are excluded, and should strongly be considered in these patients. Although medical therapy is absolutely imperative for patients with variant angina and a history of ASCD, ICD therapy in these patients is justified. Further large-scale studies are required to determine whether ICD therapy can improve survival in this high-risk group of patients.
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