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Abstract Purpose We sought to investigate the expression of MALAT1, plasma brain natriuretic peptide, and Tei index in sepsis-induced myocardial injury. Methods The current retrospective analysis focused on 146 sepsis patients admitted to our hospital from February 2021 to March 2023. Based on the presence or absence of myocardial injury, the patients were divided into two groups: the sepsis group (n = 80) and the sepsis-induced myocardial injury group (n = 66). Based on the 28-day mortality status of the patients, they were also divided into a survival group of 143 cases and a death group of 3 cases. The study compared the levels of MALAT1, plasma brain natriuretic peptide, and Tei index between the sepsis group and sepsis-induced myocardial injury group, as well as the comparison of two sets of ultrasound indicators. Univariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the influencing factors of sepsis-induced myocardial injury, followed by multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify the influencing factors of such condition. MALAT1, plasma brain natriuretic peptide and cardiac Tei index between the survival and death groups were compared and Pearson correlation analysis was conduct to assess their correlations. Results In terms of general information, there were no significant differences in gender, age, BMI, mean arterial pressure, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, respiratory rate, oxygenation index, basic diseases and infection site between the two groups (P > 0.05). However, significant differences were observed in heart rate, SOFA score, and APACHE II score between the two groups (P

Purpose: We sought to investigate the expression of MALAT1, plasma brain natriuretic peptide, and Tei index in sepsis-induced myocardial injury., Methods: The current retrospective analysis focused on 146 sepsis patients admitted to our hospital from February 2021 to March 2023. Based on the presence or absence of myocardial injury, the patients were divided into two groups: the sepsis group (n = 80) and the sepsis-induced myocardial injury group (n = 66). Based on the 28-day mortality status of the patients, they were also divided into a survival group of 143 cases and a death group of 3 cases. The study compared the levels of MALAT1, plasma brain natriuretic peptide, and Tei index between the sepsis group and sepsis-induced myocardial injury group, as well as the comparison of two sets of ultrasound indicators. Univariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the influencing factors of sepsis-induced myocardial injury, followed by multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify the influencing factors of such condition. MALAT1, plasma brain natriuretic peptide and cardiac Tei index between the survival and death groups were compared and Pearson correlation analysis was conduct to assess their correlations., Results: In terms of general information, there were no significant differences in gender, age, BMI, mean arterial pressure, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, respiratory rate, oxygenation index, basic diseases and infection site between the two groups (P > 0.05). However, significant differences were observed in heart rate, SOFA score, and APACHE II score between the two groups (P < 0.05). The levels of MALAT1, plasma brain natriuretic peptide, and Tei index in the sepsis-induced myocardial injury group were significantly higher than those in the sepsis group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the sepsis-induced myocardial injury group exhibited lower left ventricular end-diastolic diameter and left ventricular end-systolic diameter compared to the sepsis group, along with higher levels of E, E/e', and e', showing significant differences (P < 0.05). The independent variables considered in the analysis included general data, ultrasound indicators with significant differences, as well as MALAT1, plasma brain natriuretic peptide, and Tei index. The dependent variable was sepsis-induced myocardial injury, and univariate logistic regression analysis identified E, E/e', e', MALAT1, plasma brain natriuretic peptide, and Tei index as influencing factors of sepsis-induced myocardial injury. Subsequently, a multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted with the independent variables set as E, E/e', e', MALAT1, plasma brain natriuretic peptide, and Tei index, and the dependent variable as sepsis-induced myocardial injury. The results indicated that MALAT1, plasma brain natriuretic peptide, and Tei index were influencing factors of sepsis-induced myocardial injury. The levels of MALAT1, plasma brain natriuretic peptide and cardiac Tei index in the death group were significantly higher than those in the survival group (P < 0.05). The Pearson correlation analysis showed that MALAT1, plasma brain natriuretic peptide and cardiac Tei index were correlated with the prognosis of patients with sepsis-induced myocardial injury (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: We demonstrated high expression levels of MALAT1, plasma brain natriuretic peptide, and Tei index in patients with sepsis-induced myocardial injury. Ultrasound indicators can effectively contribute to the diagnosis of sepsis-induced myocardial injury. Moreover, MALAT1, plasma brain natriuretic peptide, and Tei index have been identified as influencing factors of sepsis-induced myocardial injury., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Renmin Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine. Informed consent was obtained from all the study subjects before enrollment. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The main objective of the present study was to investigate whether forced vital capacity (FVC)%/diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO)% can be used to predict the presence of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in connective tissue disorders (CTDs). For this purpose, a total of 53 individuals who were diagnosed with CTDs and had undergone right heart catheterization between July, 2019 and July, 2022 were included in the present study. Based on the mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) measured during right heart catheterization, the participants were divided into the PH and non-PH groups. The differences in demographic characteristics, including sex, age, body mass index, smoking index, FVC%/DLCO% and pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) were determined by echocardiography; moreover, the 6-min walk distance, plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels, white blood cell count, red blood cell distribution width, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein levels were compared between the two groups to identify independent predictors of PH. The independent predictors were subsequently evaluated for their correlation with mPAP to assess their predictive value for PH. FVC%/DLCO%, echocardiographic PASP, and plasma BNP levels were identified as independent predictors of PH. FVC%/DLCO% and echocardiographic PASP exhibited a significant correlation with mPAP, while the correlation between plasma BNP and mPAP levels was not statistically significant. The area under the curve (AUC) value for FVC%/DLCO% alone in predicting PH was 0.791, with an optimal diagnostic threshold of 1.35, a sensitivity of 0.794 and a specificity of 0.789. The AUC for echocardiographic PASP alone in predicting PH was 0.783, with an optimal diagnostic threshold of 39.5 mmHg, a sensitivity of 0.794 and a specificity of 0.684. When combined, the AUC of the two factors in predicting PH was 0.872, with a sensitivity of 0.941 and a specificity of 0.684. Collectively, the data of the present study indicate that FVC%/DLCO% may be used as a predictive factor for CTD-PH, and its combined application with echocardiographic PASP measurement may provide additional evidence for the clinical diagnosis of CTD-PH., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © Shi et al.)

Background: We investigated longitudinal right ventricular (RV) function assessed using speckle-tracking strain echocardiography in patient with myocardial infarction (MI), and identified the contributing factors for RV dysfunction. Methods: We retrospectively studied 71 patients with old MI (the OMI group) and 45 normal subjects (the Control group) who underwent a transthoracic echocardiography. Global and free wall RV peak systolic strains (PSSs) in the longitudinal direction were measured by using speckle-tracking strain echocardiography. Left ventricular (LV) PSSs were measured in the longitudinal, radial and circumferential directions. Cardiac hemodynamics including peak systolic pulmonary artery pressure was also assessed non-invasively. Plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels were measured in all patients. Results: In the OMI group, 73% of the patients had a normal estimated peak systolic pulmonary artery pressure of less than 35 mmHg. Global and free wall RV PSS were impaired in the OMI group compared with the Control group, and these RV systolic indices were significantly associated with heart rate, logarithmic transformed plasma BNP, greater than 1 year after onset of MI, Doppler-derived estimated pulmonary vascular resistance, LV systolic indices, LV mass index, infarcted segments within a territory of the left circumflex artery and residual total occlusion in the culprit right coronary artery. Multivariable linear regression analysis indicated that reduced longitudinal LV PSS in the 4-chamber view and BNP levels ⩾500 pg/ml were independently associated with reduced global and free wall RV PSS. Moreover, when patients were divided into 3 groups according to plasma BNP levels (BNP <100 pg/ml; n = 31, 100 ⩽BNP <500 pg/ml; n = 24, and BNP ⩾500 pg/ml; n = 16), only patients with BNP ⩾500 pg/ml had a strong correlation between RV PSS and longitudinal LV PSS in the 4-chamber view (r = 0.78 for global RV PSS and r = 0.71 for free wall RV PSS, p <0.05). Conclusion: Longitudinal RV systolic strain depends significantly on longitudinal LV systolic strain especially in patients with high plasma BNP levels, but not on estimated peak systolic pulmonary artery pressure. These results indicate that process of RV myocardial dysfunction following MI may be governed by neurohormonal activation which causing ventricular remodeling rather than increased RV afterload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) level in elderly patients is elevated, but the mechanism of this increase is not clear.Objective: To examine the relationship between left ventricular geometry and BNP levels in elderly subjects.Methods: We investigated the effects of left ventricular (LV) geometry on plasma BNP levels by measuring these levels in elderly patients with or without LV hypertrophy. Patients were classified into 4 groups based on echocardiographic data: normal geometry; concentric remodeling; eccentric hypertrophy (EH), and concentric hypertrophy (CH). The samples were analyzed for BNP and endothelin-1 (ET-1).Results: Among the 4 groups, there were no differences in plasma ET-1 levels, ejection fraction, percent fractional shortening, or indices of diastolic function. Plasma BNP levels in EH and CH were higher than those in the normal geometry and concentric remodeling groups. There was a good correlation between plasma BNP levels and the relative wall thickness in EH, and between plasma BNP levels and the posterior wall thickness in CH (r = -0.474, r = 0.396, respectively, both p < 0.05). There were also good correlations between plasma BNP levels and LV mass index (LVMI). A stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that age and LVMI were significant independent contributors to plasma BNP levels.Conclusions: These results suggest that aging, increased wall stress and the extent of cardiac hypertrophy contribute to elevated BNP levels in the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waon therapy is a form of thermal treatment in a dry sauna developed by Tei. Although Waon therapy is reportedly effective for chronic heart failure (CHF) patients, not all patients respond to the therapy. The reason for this ineffectiveness has not been fully clarified. The cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) is an index of arterial stiffness of the arterial tree from the origin of the aorta to the ankle, and it is thought to reflect some of the afterload of the left ventricle. We investigated the effects of Waon therapy on CAVI and plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) level to clarify the usefulness of CAVI during Waon therapy.CHF patients (n = 21) treated with Waon therapy (2 weeks of 10 sessions) were divided into two groups: responders with an improved BNP level (n = 11) and nonresponders with no improvement in BNP (n = 10). CAVI was measured using Vasela 1500.A significant decrease in CAVI (median and interquartile range) was observed in the responder group (from 10.3 [9.6, 11.6] to 9.6 [8.6, 10.3], P = 0.021), whereas no change was observed in the nonresponder group (from 9.6 [8.6, 10.5] to 9.5 [9.1, 11.2], P = 0.919). The incidence of rehospitalization or cardiac death due to heart failure was significantly higher in patients in whom Waon therapy was ineffective at 12 months of follow-up (log-rank P = 0.001).The effectiveness of Waon therapy in CHF patients may be reflected by the improvement in CAVI.