Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0018801 (heart failure)
 72,216 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Rituximab (Mabthera) is used in the treatment of refractory low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or in case of relapse after chemotherapy. Among the different adverse reactions with this drug, the most common is a constellation of symptoms (fever, rigors and chills) that occur more frequently during administration of the first dose of drug. These symptoms could be related to a cytokine-release syndrome. We report the case of a 46 year-old patient, presenting a familial cardiomyopathy, deceased a few minutes after having developed this syndrome, at the time of the 2nd infusion of rituximab. Several hypothesis have been suggested to explain this sudden death: a cardiac failure following deterioration of the systolic function, potentially related to the negative inotropic effects of TNFalpha, and/or an impairment of the diastolic function following the volemic overload. The impact of the reflex "administration of monoclonal antibody/cytokine-release syndrome" was only little investigated under physiologic or pathologic conditions. In spite of a risk of adverse reactions apparently moderated compared to the other drugs used in this context, this case report underlines the need for a special attention when using rituximab among patients with cardiac risk factors (reassessment of the benefit-risk ratio, specific monitoring, pre medication). More generally, it underlines the need for a systematic and continuous identification and reporting of adverse drug reactions to the French network of regional pharmacovigilance centres.
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PMID:[Cardiac effects of cytokines produced after rituximab infusion]. 1620 66

The major components and merits of the physical examination of patients with heart failure are presented. A staging of the physical examination practiced by most heart failure specialists is proposed based on the information needed at the time of the encounter. The challenges to our subspecialty regarding this diagnostic tool are the prevention of its extinction during an era of seemingly limitless comprehensive laboratory testing, the promotion of its widespread use, and, over the years, the subjection of its components to the rigors of blinded controlled studies. Part I addresses the staging of the physical examination in heart failure, general observation of the patient, vital signs, and assessment of arterial pulse and neck veins.
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PMID:The physical examination in heart failure--Part I. 1726 9

Cardiac repair through the use of regenerative medicine has been a considerable research focus over the last decade. Several stem cell types have been investigated over this timeframe as potential candidates to target post-infarction heart failure. The progression of investigation through the rigors of clinical trial design has provided some answers as to the potential clinical utility of this therapy; although there are many questions that remain. This review will concentrate on the clinical trial results of stem cell therapy for cardiac repair since the turn of the century and discuss some of the points that need clarification before this form of therapy can be considered for widespread applicability.
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PMID:Stem cell therapy: promising treatment in heart failure? 2335 83

A 24-year-old otherwise healthy man presented with a 3-week history of malaise, headache, fever and rigors after he was treated with oral clindamycin for left parotitis and Gemella haemolysans bacteraemia. He developed G. haemolysans infective endocarditis, septic emboli and heart failure due to progressive bivalvular disease. He underwent urgent mechanical aortic valve replacement and mitral valve repair, which required venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, to support severe respiratory failure. This is the first documented case of G. haemolysans infective endocarditis affecting native aortic and mitral valves in a healthy adult.
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PMID:Native bivalvular endocarditis by Gemella haemolysans requiring venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. 2753 35