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Query: UMLS:C0018801 (heart failure)
 72,216 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Several case series published after the Randomized Aldactone Evaluation Study (RALES) have focused on the adverse effects of spironolactone when prescribed to participants not in a trial and the appropriateness of these prescribing practices; however, there is a paucity of data on potential benefits in patients not in a trial. Therefore, we examined data from a prospective cohort study of 1,037 patients with heart failure seen at the University of Alberta Heart Function Clinic. Median age was 69 years, 66% were men, 75% had systolic dysfunction, and mean ejection fraction was 33%. Only 40% of the 136 patients prescribed spironolactone had New York Heart Association class III or IV symptoms, and <25% fulfilled all of the RALES eligibility criteria. Mean daily dose of spironolactone was 23.9 mg; 25% of patients had spironolactone withdrawn after initiation, mostly due to increases in potassium and/or creatinine (9%), gynecomastia (5%), or dehydration/hyponatremia (6%). Only 1 of our spironolactone-treated patients developed serum potassium >6 mmol/L. Cox's proportional hazards analysis confirmed the association between use of spironolactone and increased survival rate (relative risk 0.09, 95% confidence interval 0.02 to 0.39), even though 78% of our patients did not fulfill the RALES eligibility criteria. Thus, although the complication rate was higher, the benefits of spironolactone seen in RALES extended to participants not in a trial who were treated with similar doses and followed closely in a clinic specializing in heart failure.
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PMID:Usefulness of spironolactone in a specialized heart failure clinic. 1532 26

Air passenger miles will likely double by year 2020. The altered and restrictive environment in an airliner cabin can influence haematological homeostasis in passengers and crew. Flight-related deep venous thromboemboli (DVT) have been associated with at least 577 deaths on 42 of 120 airlines from 1977 to 1984 (25 deaths/million departures), whereas many such cases go unreported. However, there are four major factors that could influence formation of possible flight-induced DVT: sleeping accommodations (via sitting immobilisation); travellers' medical history (via tissue injury); cabin environmental factors (via lower partial pressure of oxygen and lower relative humidity); and the more encompassing chair-rest deconditioning (C-RD) syndrome. There is ample evidence that recent injury and surgery (especially in deconditioned hospitalised patients) facilitate thrombophlebitis and formation of DVT that may be exacerbated by the immobilisation of prolonged air travel. In the healthy flying population, immobilisation factors associated with prolonged (>5 hours) C-RD such as total body dehydration, hypovolaemia and increased blood viscosity, and reduced venous blood flow (pooling) in the legs may facilitate formation of DVT. However, data from at least four case-controlled epidemiological studies did not confirm a direct causative relationship between air travel and DVT, but factors such as a history of vascular thromboemboli, venous insufficiency, chronic heart failure, obesity, immobile standing position, more than three pregnancies, infectious disease, long-distance travel, muscular trauma and violent physical effort were significantly more frequent in DVT patients than in controls. Thus, there is no clear, direct evidence yet that prolonged sitting in airliner seats, or prolonged experimental chair-rest or bed-rest deconditioning treatments cause DVT in healthy people.
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PMID:Airline chair-rest deconditioning: induction of immobilisation thromboemboli? 1545 46

The purpose of this study was to review the rate of adverse events after contrast medium administration in the general population and at-risk patients (renal impairment, heart failure (NYHA III or IV), hypotension or hypertension, coronary artery disease, previous reaction to contrast media, asthma and/or allergies, dehydration, diabetes mellitus, poor general condition) under daily practice conditions in a post-marketing surveillance study. Two hundred and ten radiologists conducted various X-ray examinations in 52,057 patients. To document the safety of iobitridol in routine use, all patients undergoing X-ray examinations were included. Exclusion criteria were contraindications listed in the locally approved summary of product characteristics. The adverse event rate was 0.96% (at-risk patients 1.39%); the rate of serious adverse events 0.044% in all patients (at-risk patients 0.057%). Adverse events occurred more often in women than in men (P < 0.001). In patients who had previously reacted to a contrast medium, adverse events were reported in 3.43% with mild to moderate symptoms. In 47.76% of these patients, a premedication was administered. There was no difference in the frequency of adverse events and serious adverse events whether premedicated or not (P = 0.311 and P = 0.295, respectively). Iobitridol was well-tolerated in 99.04% of cases (at-risk patients 98.61%).
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PMID:Safety of iobitridol in the general population and at-risk patients. 1642 72

Five to twenty percent of patients with anorexia nervosa die from their illness. One half of those patients die of medical complications (Steinhavsen, 2002). Malnutrition, dehydration, and electrolyte abnormalities may precipitate death by inducing heart failure or fatal arrhythmias. Patients and their families commonly call upon physicians to evaluate acute and ongoing risks of malnutrition and purging behaviors. Concerns about medical compromise currently tend to determine or influence insurance coverage of medical and psychiatric treatment of patients with eating disorders. There is very limited published data to guide clinicians in the evaluation, ongoing monitoring, or treatment. Surprisingly, no consensus exists regarding recommendations for either the ongoing evaluation of cardiac parameters or the clinical implications of common findings.
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PMID:How should the clinician evaluate and manage the cardiovascular complications of anorexia nervosa? 1675 50

There is increasing evidence that aldosterone exerts major adverse cardiovascular effects through classical mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) in nonepithelial tissues such as the brain and heart. This nonepithelial role of aldosterone has been underscored by the recent Randomized Aldactone Evaluation Study (RALES) and the Eplerenone Post-AMI Heart Failure Efficacy and Survival Study (EPHESUS). These studies also showed that when using MR antagonist as an "organ protecting" drug, further organ protection could be derived by the addition of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker (ARB). The long-term effect of aldosterone was not inhibited in some subjects, so the possibility of organ damage due to so-called "breakthrough" aldosterone cannot be ignored. Nonepithelial MR-mediated effects played a major role in this aldosterone effect. These effects can be inhibited by MR antagonist at a small dose, not lower blood pressure. Therefore, the idea is now to combine a small dose of MR antagonist with an ACE inhibitor or ARB. However, warnings have been given recently due to the emergence of hyperkalemia and other adverse effects associated with inappropriate combination therapy. It is important to note that, if the eligibility criteria of RALES and EPHESUS are fulfilled, the potassium level will rarely become problematic. Therefore, the recent increase in the incidence of adverse effects can be attributed to the incorrect application of combination therapy. Elderly patients or those with dehydration, renal dysfunction, and aggravated heart failure require further close monitoring or termination of spironolactone administration. The combination of an MR antagonist and renin-angiotensin inhibitors should be a useful strategy if subjects are carefully selected, and carefully monitored. Adverse effects will occur only if the usage recommendations based on previous researches are not followed.
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PMID:Combination therapy with aldosterone blockade and renin-angiotensin inhibitors confers organ protection. 1677 27

The high case-fatality of severe malnutrition is due to infections, dehydration, electrolyte disturbances and heart failure. We focus on the evidence about managing these complications of severe malnutrition. Signs of circulatory collapse in severely malnourished children should be treated with intravenous or bone marrow infusion of Ringer's lactate with additional dextrose and potassium at a rate 20-40 mL/kg fast with close monitoring of vital signs. Recommendations for slow or restricted fluids in the face of shock are unsafe, and hypotonic or maintenance solutions must be avoided to prevent hyponatraemia. However, the evidence that severely malnourished children do not tolerate excessive fluid administration is good, so caution must be exercised with regards to fluids in the initial phase of treatment. There is also good evidence that wide spectrum antibiotics need to be given empirically for severe malnutrition to prevent the otherwise unavoidable early mortality. There is a need for improved protocols for tuberculosis diagnosis, HIV management and treatment of infants under 6 months with severe malnutrition. The contribution of environmental enteropathy to poor growth and nutrition during the weaning period means that there should be more priority on improving environmental health, particularly better hygiene and less overcrowding. A T-cell mediated enteropathy contributes to growth failure and malnutrition, and it is related to environmental contamination of enteric organisms in the weaning period rather than allergic responses.
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PMID:Critical appraisal of the management of severe malnutrition: 3. Complications. 1697 63

Hypoglycaemia is the commonest metabolic abnormality faced by diabetic patients on hypoglycaemic therapy including insulin. Diabetic keto-acidosis (DKA) requires prompt diagnosis and all patients arriving emergency with dehydration, shock, coma, severe respiratory difficulty and evidence of any major illness should be tested for capillary blood glucose (CBG) and urinary ketones urgently not to miss DKA. Hyperosmolar non-ketotic state complicates elderly type 2 diabetes with intercurrent infections (respiratory tract infection is commonest) characterised by severe dehydration, severe hyperglycaemia and absence of acidosis and vomiting. Lactic acidosis is extremely rare; may be compounded with comorbidities like tissue hypoxia, septic shock, heart failure--metformin usage inadvertently may precipitate the condition.
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PMID:Metabolic emergencies in diabetes. 1705 69

We report a Japanese girl affected with a neonatal-onset form of propionic acidaemia (PA). She developed severe metabolic crisis after dehydration at 2 years of age. Bradycardia with complete atrioventricular block responded to haemodiafiltration, but severe cardiac failure was refractory to inotropic treatment. She was diagnosed with acute cardiac dysfunction caused by PA-induced metabolic crisis. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a technique for providing mechanical circulatory support, was required. This is the first case report of a PA patient who recovered from a life-threatening metabolic crisis with cardiac failure by ECMO. Cardiac failure may be a cause of death, but it is occasionally an under-recognized complication. Mitochondrial dysfunction in the myocardium due to propionyl-CoA could contribute to the pathomechanism of cardiac complications of PA. We believe that ECMO should be attempted in PA patients with cardiac failure, in addition to haemodiafiltration and other therapeutic measures, because doing so may lead to the recovery of cardiac dysfunction, as was evident in our patient. In conclusion, prompt investigations and management of cardiac complications should be performed immediately during PA-induced metabolic crises.
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PMID:Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in a patient with propionic acidaemia: a therapeutic option for cardiac failure. 1940 33

This represents the third clinical update based on presentations at the American Medical Directors Association (AMDA) annual meeting. Topics covered this year include hypertension, heart failure, cachexia, dehydration, falls, depression, constipation, and aspiration pneumonia.
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PMID:Clinical update on nursing home medicine: 2009. 1980 52

(1) Renal colic is an acute syndrome involving unilateral flank pain, linked to an obstruction in the upper urinary tract. The pain is often intense. After having considered other diagnoses and checked for signs of complication (fever, oligoanuria), the first step is to control the pain; (2) Which non-invasive treatments have a positive risk-benefit balance in relieving this type of pain? To answer this question, we reviewed the available evidence, based on the standard Prescrire methodology; (3) According to a meta-analysis of 20 trials, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and strong opioid analgesics have comparable efficacy. The most widely studied NSAID is diclofenac, given intramuscularly at a dose of 50 mg or 75 mg. Pethidine is the best-assessed strong opioid, given intramuscularly at a dose of 50 mg to 100 mg, which corresponds to about 5 mg to 10 mg of morphine. Morphine is given intravenously; subcutaneous administration is an alternative although it has not been evaluated in renal colic; (4) In clinical trials, NSAIDs were associated with fewer adverse effects than opioids, which cause vomiting in about 20% of patients (versus about 6% with an NSAID); (5) NSAIDs expose patients to a risk of functional renal impairment, especially in patients with heart failure, renal artery stenosis, dehydration, renal impairment or ongoing treatment with a nephrotoxic drug, and the very elderly. NSAIDs should never be used during pregnancy; (6) According to one trial in 130 patients, the analgesic effect of the morphine and NSAID combination was greater than either agent used alone, in about 10% of patients; (7) Paracetamol has not been evaluated in comparative trials of renal colic, even for moderate pain; (8) Scopolamine is the only antispasmodic to have been evaluated in a comparative trial. Adding scopolamine to morphine did not seem to provide additional efficacy; (9) Other drugs, which have not been adequately tested as of early 2009, have no documented benefit in the treatment of the pain associated with renal colic; tamsulosin, nifedipine, desmopressin; (10) Among the non-drug measures tested, local active warming, taking care to avoid burns, was effective against pain according to one trial; pain was reduced by at least 50% using a device delivering 42 degrees C to the abdomen or lower back; (11) In pregnant women, morphine carries a lower risk of adverse effects than NSAIDs; (12) In practice, the treatment of renal colic is mainly based on taking an NSAID, or morphine when the NSAID does not adequately control the pain or when it is better to avoid using NSAIDs.
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PMID:Renal colic in adults: NSAIDs and morphine are effective for pain relief. 1988 96


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