Cardiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Clinical and hemodynamic effects of bosentan dose optimization in symptomatic heart failure patients with severe systolic dysfunction, associated with secondary pulmonary hypertension--a multi-center randomized study.
To evaluate the effects of bosentan on echo-derived hemodynamic measurements, and clinical variables in symptomatic heart failure (HF) patients. ⋯ In HF patients with left ventricular dysfunction and secondary pulmonary hypertension, bosentan did not provide any measurable hemodynamic benefit, and was associated with more frequent AEs, requiring drug discontinuation.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Human heart-type fatty acid-binding protein as an early diagnostic and prognostic marker in acute coronary syndrome.
Although heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) can be a marker of sarcolemmal injury due to acute myocardial ischemia, the diagnostic or prognostic value is not established in patients with acute chest pain. This multicenter prospective study aimed to determine the diagnostic and prognostic values of H-FABP in 133 patients presenting to an emergency room with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) by comparing with those of conventional biomarkers. ⋯ Receiver operating characteristics analysis revealed that H-FABP was the most reliable for detection of ACS and that H-FABP had the greatest sensitivities for identification of patients requiring emergency hospitalization, coronary angiography, and interventional therapy within 7 days among the biomarkers. Thus, H-FABP can be an early diagnostic and prognostic biochemical marker, particularly within the first 6 h from the onset of chest symptoms, in patients with chest pain at an emergency department.