Citations

Introduction Empowering people living with multimorbidity (multiple chronic conditions) to gain greater confidence in managing their health can enhance their quality of life. Education focused on self-management is a key tool for fostering patient empowerment and is mostly provided on an individual basis. Virtual communities of practice (VCoP) present a unique opportunity for online education in chronic condition self-management within a social context. This research aims to evaluate the effectiveness/cost-effectiveness of individualised, online self-management education compared with VCoP among middle-aged individuals living with multiple chronic conditions. Methods and analysis People aged 30–60, living with ≥2 chronic conditions and receiving care in primary care (PC) centres and outpatient hospital-based clinics in Madrid and Canary Islands will enrol in an 18-month parallel-design, blinded (intervention assessment and data analysts), pragmatic (adhering to the intention-to-treat principle), individually randomised trial. The trial will compare two 12-month web-based educational offers of identical content; one delivered individually (control) and the other with online social interaction (VCoP, intervention). Using repeated measures mixed linear models, with the patient as random effect and allocation groups and time per group as fixed effects, we will estimate between-arm differences in the change in Patient Activation Measure from baseline to 12 months (primary endpoint), including measurements at 6-month and 18-month follow-up. Other outcomes will include measures of depression and anxiety, treatment burden, quality of life. In addition to a process evaluation of the VCoP, we will conduct an economic evaluation estimating the relative cost-effectiveness of the VCoP from the perspectives of both the National Health System and the Community. Ethics and dissemination The trial was approved by Clinical Research Ethics Committees of Gregorio Marañón University Hospital in Madrid/Nuestra Señora Candelaria University Hospital in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The results will be disseminated through workshops, policy briefs, peer-reviewed publications and local/international conferences. Trial registration number NCT06046326 .

Introduction: Patients with sickle cell disease are at risk for many types of cardiac complications. We present a case of endocarditis of the superior vena cava (SVC) in a 22-year-old male with sickle cell disease. Case study: A 22 year old male with sickle cell disease presented to the hospital with 3 days of fever, night sweats, generalized body pains, vomiting and poor oral intake. 6 weeks ago, he had been admitted to an outside hospital for Methicillin related Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia. At that time an implanted venous access port in the patient’s chest was removed and 4 weeks of intravenous(iv) vancomycin were administered. He was admitted to the hospital for sepsis. Blood cultures were drawn which were positive for MRSA. A transesophageal echocardiogram revealed a large mobile vegetation in the SVC ( Fig. 1) The proximal end of the vegetation extended beyond the echocardiographic field of view, so a CT scan of the chest with contrast was performed (Fig. 2) This showed intraluminal filling defects in the distal SVC along with pulmonary emboli in the lower lobes of the lungs bilaterally. His antibiotics were changed to iv daptomycin and ceftaroline but he remained persistently bacteremic for 14 days. Therefore, removal of the SVC vegetation/thrombus was performed using AngioVac venous drainage cannula system. This was followed by resolution of bacteremia, and he was discharged from the hospital 9 days later. Conclusion: Echocardiographic evaluation of endocarditis should involve a comprehensive evaluation of all cardiac structures and not be limited to valves only. AngioVac venous drainage cannula system can be used to remove infected vegetations/thrombus.

Abstract Introduction Pericardial effusion (PE) in patients with infective endocarditis (IE) has been shown to be an independent risk factor for severe complications, however no significant association with mortality has been established. Our study aims to study the significance of pericardial effusion in patients with IE. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis using the United States National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database to identify all the hospital admissions with IE using ICD 10 codes and divided them into two groups based on the presence of PE. The outcomes of interest were in-hospital mortality, in-hospital complications, need for cardiac surgery, and length of stay (LOS). Results A total of 381,300 patients were hospitalized from 2016 to 2019 with IE, of whom 10,370 developed PE. Mean age of patients in the PE group was 51 years and in non-PE group was 61 years with males and Caucasian race being predominant in both groups. PE group had higher rates of in-hospital death (12.7% vs 9%, P≤0.001) and longer in-hospital stay (12 days vs 7 days, P≤0.001) compared to non-PE group. The rates of cardiac surgery were higher in PE group (26.1% vs 8.4%, P≤0.001). The rates of heart failure, heart block, renal failure, cardiogenic shock, and embolic stroke were higher in PE group [Table 1]. Conclusion Our study shows that presence of PE in patients with IE is a predictor for in-hospital mortality, length of stay, and need for cardiac surgery. Also, these patients are at higher risk for heart failure, heart block, cardiogenic shock and embolic stroke. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

Background Rotational and orbital coronary atherectomy (CA) are commonly utilized to treat complex calcified coronary lesions. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate sex differences in procedural complications and clinical outcomes after CA. Methods PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases were searched for all studies comparing sex differences in procedural and clinical outcomes following CA. The outcomes of interest were procedural complications (coronary dissection, stroke, major bleeding, coronary perforation, cardiac tamponade, and slow or no flow in target vessel) and the clinical outcomes (including early mortality, mid-term all-cause mortality, stroke, myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization). Pooled risk ratios (RRs) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the Mantel–Haenszel random-effects model. Results Six observational studies with 3517 patients (2420 men and 1035 women) were included in this meta-analysis. While there was no significant difference in the early mortality (RR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.37–3.53; P = 0.83) between men and women, at a mean follow-up of 2.9 years, all-cause mortality was significantly higher in women (RR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.11–1.49; P = 0.0009). Women had an increased risk of procedure-related stroke (RR, 3.98; 95% CI, 1.06–14.90; P = 0.04), coronary dissection (RR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.23–3.58; P = 0.006), and bleeding (RR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.30–3.93; P = 0.004), whereas the rates of coronary perforation, cardiac tamponade, and the risk of slow or no flow in the revascularized artery were similar in both. Conclusion In our analysis, women undergoing CA are at increased risk of mid-term mortality and procedure-related complications including stroke, coronary dissection, and major bleeding.