Summary: It was the study objective to evaluate whether chewing a 180 mg loading dose of ticagrelor versus an equal dose of traditional oral administration, enhances inhibition of platelet aggregation 1 hour (h) after administering a ticagrelor loading dose in non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients. Dual anti-platelet therapy represents standard care for treating NSTEMI patients. Ticagrelor is a direct acting P2Y12 inhibitor and, unlike clopidogrel and prasugrel, does not require metabolic activation. Fifty NSTEMI patients were randomised to receive either a chewing loading dose of 180 mg ticagrelor or an equal standard oral dose of ticagrelor. Platelet reactivity was evaluated by VerifyNow at baseline, 1 and 4 h post-loading dose. Results are reported in P2Y12 reaction units. Patients then continued to receive standard 90 mg oral ticagrelor twice daily. Baseline characteristics did not differ between the two groups. P2Y12 reaction units in the chewing group compared with the standard group at 0, 1 and 4 h after ticagrelor loading dose were: 245 vs 239 (p=0.59), 45 vs 130 (p=0.001) and 39 vs 60 (p=0.12), respectively, corresponding to a relative inhibition of platelet aggregation of 83 % vs only 47 % at 1 h (p< 0.001), and 84 % vs 77 % (p=0.59) at 4 h. Major adverse cardiac and cardiovascular events at 30 days were low (2 %), occurring in only one patient in the standard group. In conclusion, chewing a 180 mg ticagrelor loading dose is feasible and facilitates both faster and improved early inhibition of platelet aggregation in NSTEMI patients, compared with a standard oral-loading dose.Supplementary Material to this article is available online at www.thrombosis-online.com.

Patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) are prone to a wide range of complications; one complication that is constantly correlated with a worse prognosis is acute kidney injury (AKI). Gender as an independent risk factor for said complications has raised some interest; however, studies have shown conflicting results so far. We aimed to investigate the possible relation of gender to the occurrence of AKI in STEMI patients undergoing PCI. This retrospective observational study cohort included 2967 consecutive patients admitted with STEMI between the years 2008 and 2019. Their renal outcomes were assessed according to KDIGO criteria (AKI serum creatinine ≥ 0.3 mg/dL from baseline within 48 h from admission), and in-hospital complications and mortality were reviewed. Our main results show that female patients were older (69 vs. 60, p < 0.001) and had higher rates of diabetes (29.2% vs. 23%, p < 0.001), hypertension (62.9% vs. 41.3%, p < 0.001), and chronic kidney disease (26.7% vs. 19.3%, p < 0.001). Females also had a higher rate of AKI (12.7% vs. 7.8%, p < 0.001), and among patients with AKI, severe AKI was also more prevalent in females (26.1% vs. 14.5%, p = 0.03). However, in multivariate analyses, after adjusting for the baseline characteristics above, the female gender was a non-significant predictor for AKI (adjusted OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.73–1.4, p = 0.94) or severe AKI (adjusted OR 1.65, 95% CI 0.80–1.65, p = 0.18). In conclusion, while females had higher rates of AKI and severe AKI, gender was not independently associated with AKI after adjusting for other confounding variables. Other comorbidities that are more prevalent in females can account for the difference in AKI between genders.

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and serious complication in critically ill patients, particularly those with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Mechanical ventilation (MV) is often needed when respiratory deterioration occurs and is continuously associated with higher risk for AKI. Whether MV is an independent predictor for AKI in STEMI patients has not been evaluated before. We aimed to determine a potential association between MV and the occurrence of AKI in STEMI patients. Methods: A single-center retrospective cohort in a tertiary referral hospital. We evaluated consecutive patients that were admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit with acute STEMI between 2008 and 2019. Patients were divided into groups based on their need for MV upon admission. To minimize baseline differences between the two groups, propensity matching was performed. The primary outcome was the occurrence of AKI after intubation and secondary outcomes included severe AKI (>2 times the baseline creatinine) and renal recovery. Results: 2,929 patients were included and of them, 143 (5%) were intubated. After using the propensity matching, 138 pairs were available for analysis with similar demographic and clinical characteristics. MV was a predictor for AKI (Table 2, odds ratio [OR]: 3.3, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.9–5.6) and severe AKI (OR: 6.3, 95% CI: 2.5–16). These results remained significant after adjusting for the occurrence of a new heart failure and bleeding. Early or partial renal recovery was similar between the groups. Conclusion: MV is independently associated with the occurrence of AKI and severe AKI. The possible mechanism might be temporary, reflected by similar rates of renal recovery.

Physicians use Holter electrocardiography (ECG) monitoring to evaluate some patients with syncope in the internal medicine department. We questioned whether Holter ECG should be used in the presented setting. Included were all consecutive patients admitted with syncope to one of our nine internal medicine departments who had completed a 24 h Holter ECG between 2018 and 2021. A diagnostic Holter was defined as one which altered the patient’s treatment and met ESC/ACC/AHA diagnostic criteria. A total of 478 Holter tests were performed for syncope evaluation during admission to an internal medicine department in the study period. Of them, 25 patients (5.2%) had a diagnostic Holter finding. Sinus node dysfunction was the most frequent diagnostic recording (13 patients, 52%). In multivariant analysis, predictors for diagnostic Holter were older age (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.08–1.68), heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.43–11.72), and shorter duration to Holter initiation (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.56–0.96). There was a positive correlation between time from admission to Holter and hospital stay, r(479) = 0.342, p < 0.001. Our results suggest that completing a 24 h Holter monitoring during admission to the internal medicine department should be restricted to patients with a high pre-test probability to avoid overuse and possible harm.

Background Several reports suggested that compliance with acute kidney injury care bundles among hospitalized patients resulted in improved kidney and patient outcomes. We investigated the effect of acute kidney injury care bundle utilization on the incidence of acute kidney injury and renal outcomes in a large cohort of myocardial infarction patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention. Methods We included patients with myocardial infarction admitted following percutaneous coronary intervention between January 2008 and December 2020. From January 2016, acute kidney injury care bundle was implemented in our cardiac intensive care unit. Acute kidney injury care bundle consisted of simple standardized investigations and interventions, including strict monitoring of serum creatinine and urine analysis, planning investigations, treatment, and guidance about seeking nephrologist advice. Patients' records were evaluated for the occurrence of acute kidney injury, its severity, and recovery, before and after the implementation of acute kidney injury care bundle. Results We included 2646 patients (1941 patients in the years 2008–2015 and 705 patients in the years 2016–2020). Implementation of care bundles resulted in a significant decrease in the occurrence of acute kidney injury from 190/1945 to 42/705 (10–6%; p < 0.001), with a trend for lower acute kidney injury score > 1 (20% vs. 25%; p = 0.07) and higher acute kidney injury recovery (62% vs. 45%, p = 0.001). Using a multivariable regression model, the use of care bundles resulted in a 45% decrease in the relative risk for acute kidney injury (HR 0.55, 95% CI 0.37–0.82, p < 0.001). Conclusion Among patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction, treated with percutaneous coronary intervention and admitted to our cardiac intensive care unit over the period January 2008–December 2020, compliance with acute kidney injury care bundle was independently associated with a significant decrease in occurrence of acute kidney injury and with better renal outcomes following acute kidney injury. Further interventions, such as e-alert systems for acute kidney injury, could improve utilization of the acute kidney injury care bundle and optimize its clinical benefits. Graphical abstract