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Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is frequently associated with cancer. This study aimed to assess patients with acute PE and identify diagnostic predictors of new cancer after 1 year of follow-up. Methods: One hundred and twenty-one patients with PE were enrolled consecutively from the emergency department of a single medical center in Taiwan. Data from computed tomography angiography, echocardiogram, electrocardiogram and for baseline comorbidities, clinical presentation, and laboratory parameters were recorded. The surviving discharged patients without a cancer diagnosis were followed-up for 1 year, and new malignancies were recorded. Results: Of 121 patients with acute PE, 44 (36%) had an underlying cancer history (cancer group), and 77 (64%) did not (noncancer group). Baseline demographic characteristics, comorbidities, clinical symptoms, biochemical parameters, echocardiogram data, and electrocardiogram data of the two groups were similar except for a higher hospital mortality rate (56.8% vs 9.1%; p < 0.001), lower body mass index (22.6 ± 4.1 vs 25.5 ± 4.9; p =0.02), higher systolic blood pressure (139.7 ± 33.7 vs 125.4 ± 24.1; p = 0.02), lower low-density lipoprotein level (67.4 ± 38.3 vs 90.4 ± 33.8; p = 0.04), lower creatinine kinase (CK; 43.0 ± 43.0 vs 83.5 ± 83.1; p = 0.01), higher myocardial band (MB) form of CK ratio (0.2 ± 0.2 vs 0.1 ± 0.1; p < 0.01), higher partial pressure of arterial oxygen (122.81 ± 81.2 vs 90.2 ± 59.4; p = 0.03), and less presentation of chest pain (15.9% vs 40.3%; p = 0.01) in the cancer group. Kaplan-Meier curve analysis revealed that the 30-day survival rate was higher in the noncancer group than in the cancer group (log-rank p = 0.04). After 1 year of follow-up, 6 of 59 (10.17%) initial non-cancer-related PE survivors were diagnosed with malignancies. After multivariate analysis, only the initial CK-MB level was associated with a diagnosis of new cancer (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.37, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.029-1.811; p = 0.03). Conclusion: This study suggests that the CK-MB level is associated with future malignancy in patients with PE. Patients with cancer-related PE had a worse 30-day survival rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: For patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) receiving cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) implantations, current consensus recommends uninterrupted non--vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC) considering low incidence of bleeding or thrombo-embolic events. It remains unknown whether uninterrupted strategy outweighs discontinuation method for patients receiving NOAC. Methods: From January 1, 2013 to June 1, 2017, we enrolled 100 patients (mean age 78.3 ± 10.2 years, 58% male) with AF taking NOAC for stroke prevention eligible for CIED implantation in a tertiary medical center, Taipei, Taiwan. NOAC was continued without skipping any doses during the surgery. The baseline characteristics, underlying diseases, CHA2DS2-VASc score, and clinical course of every patient were reviewed and analyzed. Results: Among these patients, 28 were on dabigatran, 61 on rivaroxaban, 10 on apixaban, and one on edoxaban, respectively. There were no adverse events except one case of pericardial effusion and another one with large pocket hematoma. One patient receiving implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation had late onset of pericardial effusion with impending tamponade necessitating pericardiocentesis. Another patient had large pocket hematoma, which spontaneously resolved within 1 month without further intervention. No periprocedural mortality and stroke occurred. Conclusion: Uninterrupted NOAC during CIED implantations may be an acceptable option especially in patients with high risk for thromboembolism. However, special caution should be paid during defibrillator implantation considering relatively higher risk of bleeding, perhaps due to the larger size of the defibrillator lead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some cardiovascular diseases are associated with seasonal or meteorological factors. We tried to identify the relationship between meteorological parameters and the requirement for a permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation for advanced sinus node dysfunction (SND) and atrioventricular block (AVB). This study enrolled 656 patients (67% male, age = 76 ± 11 years) who underwent a PPM implantation due to SND or AVB from January 2004 to December 2008. Using daily temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, and daylight hour records from Taipei, we evaluated the effect of these meteorological parameters within different time periods on the occurrence of SND and AVB. There were 355 patients in the SND group and 301 in the AVB group. In the AVB group, more patients presented in the spring than in other seasons ( P = 0.003). In the SND group, there was no relationship with the seasons ( P = 0.137). The proportion of patients with AVB did not depend on the average temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, or daylight hours within 3, 7, and 14 days prior to admission ( P = NS). A temperature change of greater than 11°C within 30 days prior to admission was associated with a significantly higher proportion of patients with advanced AVB compared to those with advanced SND ( P = 0.009). Extreme change in temperature was the most independent predictor of the development of advanced AVB. The peak occurrence of advanced AVB was in the spring. The occurrence of advanced AVB was associated with extreme temperature changes within 30 days, especially in the spring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Current American and European guidelines emphasize the importance of rate-control treatments in treating atrial fibrillation with a Class I recommendation, although data on the survival benefits of rate control are lacking. The goal of the present study was to investigate whether patients receiving rate-control drugs had a better prognosis compared with those without rate-control treatment.Methods and Results: This study used the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. There were 43 879, 18 466, and 38 898 patients with atrial fibrillation enrolled in the groups receiving β-blockers, calcium channel blockers, and digoxin, respectively. The reference group consisted of 168 678 subjects who did not receive any rate-control drug. The clinical end point was all-cause mortality. During a follow-up of 4.9±3.7 years, mortality occurred in 88 263 patients (32.7%). After adjustment for baseline differences, the risk of mortality was lower in patients receiving β-blockers (adjusted hazard ratio=0.76; 95% confidence interval=0.74-0.78) and calcium channel blockers (adjusted hazard ratio=0.93; 95% confidence interval=0.90-0.96) compared with those who did not receive rate-control medications. On the contrary, the digoxin group had a higher risk of mortality with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.12 (95% confidence interval=1.10-1.14). The results were observed consistently in subgroup analyses and among the cohorts after propensity matching.Conclusions: In this nationwide atrial fibrillation cohort, the risk of mortality was lower for patients receiving rate-control treatment with β-blockers or calcium channel blockers, and the use of β-blockers was associated with the largest risk reduction. Digoxin use was associated with greater mortality. Prospective, randomized trials are necessary to confirm these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]