International journal of cardiology
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Review Meta Analysis
Amiodarone and cardiac arrest: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
The 2015 Guidelines for Resuscitation recommend amiodarone as the antiarrhythmic drug of choice in the treatment of resistant ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia. We reviewed the effects of amiodarone on survival and neurological outcome after cardiac arrest. ⋯ Amiodarone significantly improves survival to hospital admission. However there is no benefit of amiodarone in survival to discharge or neurological outcomes compared to placebo or other antiarrhythmics.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Longitudinal BNP follow-up as a marker of treatment response in acute heart failure: Relationship with objective markers of decongestion.
Results of studies that examined the value of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) reduction as a marker of decongestion have been inconsistent. We investigated whether longitudinal admission-to-discharge BNP reduction can be used to monitor decongestion during acute heart failure (HF). ⋯ Admission-to-discharge BNP reduction is a reasonable marker of treatment response in HF that correlated with clinical and objective markers of decongestion.
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Post-operative hyperglycemia, in individuals with and without diabetes, has been identified as a predictor of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients following cardiac surgery. Whether or not this is also true for patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is unknown. ⋯ Post-procedural hyperglycemia is associated with a higher incidence of AKI and mortality after TAVI. Randomized controlled trials are needed to determine whether meticulous post-procedural glycemic control following TAVI impacts upon clinical outcomes.
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Parameters allowing for outcome discrimination of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy in acute coronary syndromes (ACS) complicated by refractory cardiogenic shock (CS) and/or cardio-respiratory arrest (CA) remain elusive. We aimed at evaluating the potential prognostic roles of blood and procedural parameters associated with 30-day mortality following ECMO. ⋯ The peak of serum lactate under ECMO in the first 24h predicted 30-day mortality in patients with ACS complicated with CS and CA.