Background The situation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the Indian subcontinent is worsening. In Bangladesh, rate of new infection has been on the rise despite limited testing facility. Constraint of resources in the health care sector makes the fight against COVID-19 more challenging for a developing country like Bangladesh. Vascular surgeons find themselves in a precarious situation while delivering professional services during this crisis. With the limited number of dedicated vascular surgeons in Bangladesh, it is important to safeguard these professionals without compromising emergency vascular care services in the long term. To this end, we at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and Hospital, Dhaka, have developed a working guideline for our vascular surgeons to follow during the COVID-19 pandemic. The guideline takes into account high vascular work volume against limited resources in the country. Methods A total of 307 emergency vascular patients were dealt with in the first 4 COVID-19 months (March through June 2020) according to the working guideline, and the results were compared with the 4 pre–COVID-19 months. Vascular trauma, dialysis access complications, and chronic limb-threatening ischemia formed the main bulk of the patient population. Vascular health care workers were regularly screened for COVID-19 infection. Results There was a 38% decrease in the number of patients in the COVID-19 period. Treatment outcome in COVID-19 months were comparable with that in the pre–COVID-19 months except that limb loss in the chronic limb-threatening ischemia patients was higher. COVID-19 infection among the vascular health care professionals was low. Conclusions Vascular surgery practice guidelines customized for the high work volume and limited resources of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and Hospital, Dhaka were effective in delivering emergency care during COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring safety of the caregivers. Despite the fact that similar guidelines exist in different parts of the world, we believe that the present one is still relevant on the premises of a deepening COVID-19 crisis in a developing country like Bangladesh.

Background: Transradial cardiac catheterization (TCC) is now preferred method over trans-femoral approach globally including Bangladesh. But the incidence of radial artery occlusion (RAO) after TCC is not infrequent and it ranges from 1-18% in different studies. The aim of our study was to see the incidence of RAO after TCC in a population coming for coronary angiogram and/or coronary intervention and also to evaluate the factors responsible for RAO. Methods: The observational prospective study was performed in all consecutive patients coming for TCC. Pre and three month post-procedural modified Allen’s test, reverse Barbeau test & Duplex ultrasonography for radial artery diameter (RAD), peak systolic velocity (PSV), end-diastolic velocity (EDV) and resistance index (RI) were measured. Results: 69 patients underwent TCC. Mean age was 54 years, 67% were male, 80% hypertensive, 65% diabetic. Follow-up at third month showed one total RAO (1.45%) and mean RAD of the remaining patients was significantly reduced from 2.2+0.03 mm to 2.1+0.03 mm (p=0.001) but none had any symptom or sign of ischemic hand. PSV, EDV & RI were not significantly altered. Reduction of RAD (to <2.0 mm) were significantly higher in female (p=0.032), but no association was found in presence of diabetes or its duration, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, smoking, peripheral vascular disease. The size & number of catheters used or duration of vascular access sheath kept in the artery did not affect the reduction of RAD.Conclusion: The mean RAD of the study was smaller than other study population, but incidence of RAO is very low. RAD was significantly reduced after procedure without any clinical evidence of ischemia or alteration of flow velocity. Female sex was the only factor found to be associated with reduction of RAD in this study.University Heart Journal Vol. 10, No. 2, July 2014; 66-72

Abstract:Background & Objectives: Aorto-bi-femoral

Background: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is under diagnosed in primary care practices, yet the extent of unrecognized PAD in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) is unknown.Objective: To assess the prevalence of previously unrecognized PAD in patients undergoing coronary angiogram and to determine the relationship between presence of PAD and severity of CAD. Material &Methods: This five years retrospective study was conducted at invasive lab of the department of Cardiology, Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital & Research Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh from January 2010 to December 2014. Total 77 patients were included in this study. Study variables were age, sex, risk factors like hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia, smoking habit and positive family history for ischemic heart disease, severity of coronary artery and peripheral artery disease.Results: Mean age was 56.83±13.64 years, Male mean age was 53.98±15.08 years and female mean age was 54.5±1.73years. Hypertension were detected in 55.8%, diabetes in 87%, dyslipidaemia in 81.8%, smoking habits in 88.3% and 58.4% had positive family history. After catheterization 88.3% had peripheral arterial disease and 71.4% had coronary artery disease. Out of 77 patients 52 had both coronary and peripheral arterial disease which was statistically significant (p<.014). Coronary angiogram revealed 28.6% (22) patients had triple vessel disease, 23.3% (18) had single vessel disease, 19.5% (15) had double vessel disease and 28.6% (22) were normal coronary arteries. Peripheral angiogram revealed 51.9% had superficial femoral artery disease, 24.7% had anterior tibial artery disease, 26% had posterior tibial artery disease, 15.6% had common iliac artery and common femoral artery disease and 2.6% had renal artery disease.Conclusion: There is a strong and definite correlation between coronary and peripheral arterial disease. We found that cardiovascular risk factors were in fact risk factors for both PAD and CAD.University Heart Journal Vol. 11, No. 2, July 2015; 79-84

Background: Intravenous drug abuse (IVDA) is a global health care problem that has tremendous socio-economic implications. Vascular complications following IVDA are not uncommon and may have serious consequences. At the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Dhaka, Bangladesh, there has been a steady increase in the number of cases with vascular complications of IVDA in the recent years. Objectives: The present study was undertaken to evaluate our surgical strategy for the management of various vascular complications following IVDA. Materials and Methods: Over the last 5 years, a total of 45 patients presented at the NICVD with various complications of IVDA. Thirty seven patients presented at the emergency department with bleeding from ruptured aneurysm or with impending aneurysm rupture. The remaining 8 patients presented at the vascular outpatient with deep venous thrombosis, superficial thrombophlebitis and chronic venous insufficiency. After resuscitation when necessary, excision of aneurysm was done either with simple ligation of the artery (Group A) or with restoration of arterial continuity (Group B). Outcome in the two groups were compared against the following parameters; acute limb ischemia, chronic limb ischemia, wound infection and lymphorrhoea. Results: There was no in-hospital mortality in this series. Both ligation and restoration of arterial continuity following aneurysmectomy were effective in treating the bleeding aneurysm. However, statistically significant differences were seen between the two groups in terms of acute and chronic limb ischemia. Restoration of arterial continuity was more effective in preventing acute and chronic limb ischemia. Conclusions: In Bangladesh, the incidence of IVDA with vascular complications is increasing at an alarming rate. In patients presenting with arterial pseudoaneurysms, surgical management should be aimed at restoration of arterial continuity whenever feasible. Key words: Intravenous drug abuse, Vascular complication, Aneurysm. DOI: 10.3329/cardio.v3i1.6426Cardiovasc. j. 2010; 3(1): 45-49