Objective Thromboembolic events such as acute coronary syndrome related prosthetic heart valve thrombosis, pulmonary artery embolism and renal artery embolism are a rare condition but a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In this study we discussed low-dose thrombolytic therapy, in patients with thromboembolic events in the intensive care unit.Methods The study was performed on 12 consecutive patients [8 female; 50.3±16.0 (35–95) years] with acute thromboembolism including acute coronary syndrome related prosthetic heart valve thrombosis, acute pulmonary embolism and acute renal embolism who were treated with low-dose (25 mg) and slow infusion (6 hours) of t-PA. We evaluated mainly in-hospital safety and also effectiveness.Total treatment episodes was 1.66±0.88 (1-4) times.Results All thromboembolic events have been successfully treated with low-dose (25 mg) and slow infusion (6 hours) of t-PA. The success criteria were clinically improvement and radiologically lysis. None of the patients had ischemic stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, embolism (peripheral and recurrence of coronary artery embolism), bleeding requiring transfusion. The most frequent in-hospital complication was a gum bleeding without need for transfusion (two patients).Conclusions In our case series low-dose (25 mg) and slow infusion (6 hours) of t-PA have been performed successfully for thromboembolic events including acute coronary syndrome related prosthetic heart valve thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and renal embolism in patients with in the intensive care unit. Safety is promising and if efficacy will be proved; this method may be a valuable alternative to standard fibrinolytic regimen.

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a heterogenous infection that affects the endothelial surface of the intracardiac structures and other implanted intracardiac devices. We aimed to compare demographical characteristics, causative microorganisms, treatment, and prognosis of prosthetic and native valve endocarditis diagnosed in two separate hospitals. Material and methods: Between 2010 and 2020, patients admitted with the diagnosis of IE were retrospectively included in our multicenter study. Patients' demographic and epidemiological data, clinical characteristics, infected intracardiac structure and sort of valve, culprit microorganisms, laboratory findings, treatment manifestations and in-hospital outcomes with a period of 6 months were obtained from an electronic medical record system. Results: A total of 173 consecutive patients had diagnosed IE, 60.1% (104 patients) of them native valve endocarditis (NVE) and 39.8 % (69 patients) of them prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE).  Baseline demographic properties were not different except hypertension and atrial fibrillation. Patients with prior hypertension were 25% (26 patients) in NVE; 39.1% (27 patients) in PVE and the difference was statistically significant. Septic shock was significantly higher in the PVE group than the NVE group (7.4% versus 1%; P = .036), and also recurrent endocarditis occurred more frequently in the PVE group than the NVE group (8.8% versus 1%; P = .016). Conclusion: In our study, although we detected higher mean age, HT, RDW and atrial fibrillation rates compared with NVE, we did not detect a significant difference in mortality and morbidity.

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Objectives: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) using contact-force catheter (Thermocool SmartTouch ® ) + warfarin versus antiarrhythmic drugs (AAD) + new oral anticoagulants (NOAC) in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) patients from third-party payer's perspective in China. Methods: A two-part model was developed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of these two treatments. The short-term part was a decision-tree (1 year) including surgeryrelated complications and drug toxicity. The long-term was a Markov chain (lifetime) including the health states of normal sinus rhythms, AF recurrence, heart failure, stroke, post stroke, intracranial hemorrhages (ICH), post ICH, myocardial Infarction (MI), post MI, gastrointestinal bleeding and dead. Clinical efficacy, utility and cost data were obtained from published literature. The model calculated quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and total costs per patient. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted. Results: Captured by lifetime Markov model plus 1-year decision tree model, the total costs per patient for RFCA vs. AAD groups were U107,497 vs. U149,764; QALYs 8.16 vs. 7.58. From the 7 th year, RFCA + warfarin became cost-effective (the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios at 7 th year was U98,579/QALY, lower than the recommended threshold, 3xGDP/capita in China, U178,980). Furthermore, RFCA became cost-saving from the 9 th year till lifetime with better effectiveness and lower overall costs compared with AAD. Both one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the results. Conclusions: Compared with AAD + NOAC, RFCA using contact force catheter + warfarin is cost-saving in long term for the treatment of PAF in China.