Birol Ozkan

Objectives: Naples prognostic score (NPS) is a recently established score that measures inflammation and nutritional conditions. This score includes lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, total cholesterol levels, and serum albumin levels. Initial studies have shown that the NPS score has more prognostic value than other inflammatory parameters in some cancer diseases. Recently, the association of the NPS score with various cardiovascular diseases has started to be evaluated. The association between ischemia in myocardial perfusion scanning and the Naples score has not yet been investigated. In this study, we evaluated if the NPS may help predict ischemia in myocardial perfusion scanning. Methods: This study included a total of 110 patients. All patients underwent myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) at the nuclear medicine department, with dipyridamole or adenosine administered as the pharmaceutical stressor. The subjects were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of ischemia on gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) MPI. Laboratory values within the past month before MPS were obtained from digital records for both groups. The NPS was calculated for each group. Laboratory values and NPSs of the groups were compared. Results: All individuals in the trial had gated SPECT MPI. The average age of individuals was 59.8±11.1 years, with 62 patients (56%) being male. Subjects were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of ischemia on gated SPECT MPI. Table 1 displays the demographics of the whole study population. Based on the laboratory data (Table 2), there was no significant difference in the demographic features of the groups. The ischemia group had significantly higher levels of white blood cell count (cells/ μL), neutrophil count (cells/µL), hemoglobin (g/dL), CRP (mg/L), and NPS (8.6±2.2, 7.7±1.9, p=0.040; 5.0±2.1, 4.1±1.3, p=0.014; 12.6±1.7, 13.4±1.8, p=0.025; 8.2±2.0, 7.9±2.0, p=0.004; 2.6±1.0, 1.5). Other laboratory results did not differ across the groups. Conclusion: Our findings indicated an association between NPS and the detection of ischemia in MPS. NPS is an independent variable for diagnosing myocardial ischemia in stable coronary artery disease patients.

Aim: We sought to determine the relationship between presence of atrial fibrillation (AF) and serum biomarkers, including native thiol (antioxidant), disulphide/native thiol ratio, Hs-CRP and high-...

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a relationship between coronary collateral circulation (CCC) and contrast associated nephropathy (CAN) in very elderly patients. Methods: Patients aged 90 years or older with at least one major occlusion of the coronary artery proximal or mid-section were included in the study. CCC was graded according to the Rentrop classification. CAN was defined as an increase in blood creatinine value of 25% or more on the second day after coronary angiography. Results: Thirty-six patients who met the study criteria were included in the study. In the study group, CAN developed in 12 patients (CAN (+) group), 24 patients did not develop CAN (CAN (−) group). The creatinine levels before coronary angiography were 1.05 ± 0.12 in the CAN (−) group and 1.22 ± 0.14 in the CAN (+) group. Baseline creatinine values were significantly higher in the CAN (+) group (p = 0.001). The contrast agent used in the CAN (+) group was significantly higher (p = 0.001). In the CAN (+) group, nine patients (43%) had poor collateral circulation, whereas only three patients (20%) had well-developed collateral circulation. In a logistic regression analysis, the collateral class was not a risk factor for CAN, whereas contrast agent volume and basal creatinine were independent predictors of CAN. Conclusion: We found that CCC grade was not associated with the development of CAN in very old patients, but the amount of contrast agent and pre-procedure creatinine values were independent variables in the development of CAN.

Objective: In this study, we investigated the correlation between coronary lesion complexity as characterized by syntax score (SS) with circulating adiponectin and adipocyte-fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP4) concentrations in the presence of stable coronary artery disease affecting three coronary vessels (three-vessel stable CAD). Methods: The study groups consisted of 41 control subjects (28 males and 13 females, non-CAD group) and 115 affected subjects (79 males and 36 females, three-vessel stable CAD group). We divided into tertiles the three-vessel stable CAD group according to SS and estimated circulating concentrations of adiponectin and A-FABP4. Results: We did not find any correlation between the coronary lesion complexity with either the adiponectin and/or A-FABP4. We found lower the A-FABP4 of the non-CAD group than those of the groups with three-vessel stable CAD (p<0.001). Adiponectin were lower in DM subjects (p<0.05 for each group); though A-FABP4 were found to be higher (p<0.05 for each group) according to non-DM subjects in intra-group comparisons. Conclusion: Adiponectin is not a suitable parameter for demonstrating the existence of CAD or predicting coronary lesion complexity. A-FABP4 is more useful for the proof of the presence of CAD but A-FABP4 are not correlated with the severity of CAD.

Mini‐ A 53‐year‐old male patient with a history of rheumatoid arthritis presented with exertional dyspnea, abdominal distension, and pleuritic chest pain for approximately one month. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a large, hyperechogenic, and circumferential pericardial effusion. The computer tomography revealed circumferential hyperdense fluid image around the heart. After that findings, we aspirated approximately 900 mL yellow fluid with gold paint by emergency pericardial tapping with transthoracic echocardiographic guidance. Cytopathologic examination of the pericardial effusion showed the presence of multinucleated giant cells. The pathological images revealed rare crystals of cholesterol which were engulfed by multinucleated giant cells. The gold‐paint appearance, high cholesterol content, and cytopathologic characteristics of the pericardial effusion supported the diagnosis of cholesterol pericarditis.

The aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with left atrial (LA) myxoma. Thirty-six consecutive patients with LA myxoma (10 men, mean age: 49.3 ± 15.7 years), who were operated on between March 2010 and July 2012, were included in this retrospective study. Pre-operative electrocardiograms and echocardiographic examinations of each patient were reviewed. Postoperative AF developed in 10 patients, whereas there was no evidence of paroxysmal AF after resection of the LA myxoma in the remaining 26 patients. The patients who developed AF postoperatively were significantly older than those who did not develop AF (median: 61.5 vs 46 years; p = 0.009). Among the electrocardiographic parameters, only P-wave dispersion differed significantly between postoperative AF and non-AF patients (median: 57.6 vs 39.8 ms, p = 0.004). Logistic regression analysis revealed P- wave dispersion (OR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.003-1.224, p = 0.043) and age (OR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.001-1.278, p = 0.048) as independent predictors of postoperative AF in our cohort of patients. P-wave dispersion is a simple and useful parameter for the prediction of postoperative AF in patients with LA myxoma.

Atrial septal defect (ASD) causes chronic volume overload of the right heart. The potential adverse effects of this long-standing volume overload to left atrium (LA) and left ventricle (LV) and their response to ASD closure has been poorly studied. We studied 20 ASD patients before the procedure, at the 24-hour and 1 month following the percutaneous closure. Twenty age-matched controls served as the control group. The analysis for atrial deformation was performed on the lateral wall, mid segment of the LA from apical four-chamber view. Peak longitudinal strain (S) and strain rate (SR) during LA reservoir, passive emptying, atrial contraction phases and LV global longitudinal systolic S and SR were measured. Peak S and SR at LA reservoir, conduit and late contraction phases in ASD patients were similar to controls. All of these parameters increased immediately after the closure of the defect. Similarly, SLV and SRLV in ASD patients were not significantly different from the controls and significantly increased after the closure. But LA S, SR and LV S, SR results decreased in 1 month after the closure. SLV in ASD patients was significantly correlated with echocardiographic findings and the invasively measured defect size. LA and LV S and SR are not significantly affected in ASD patients. However, correction of the long-standing volume overload by percutaneous closure causes an early increase in LA and LV longitudinal deformation that correlates with the magnitude of the atrial septal defect. But this increase decreased in 1 month after closure.

Cilostazol is a PDE3 inhibitor and used to treat peripheral arterial disease. There are few reports on the influence of cilostazol on heart. The aim of this study was to assess this effect on right ventricular function and pulmonary artery pressure. Forty patients with normal left and right ventricular ejection fraction and mild or moderate pulmonary artery hypertension were enrolled in the study. Right ventricular function was assessed by tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), fractional area change (FAC), tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), and two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) before and after oral administration of cilostazol. Also pulmonary artery pressure assessed before and after administration of cilostazol. After cilostazol administration, there were significant increases in the TAPSE (1.9 ± 0.3 cm vs. 2.2 ± 0.3 cm, P < 0.001). Peak longitudinal strain (-18.7 ± 4.5% vs. -21.3 ± 3.7%, P = 0.001), isovolumetric acceleration (IVA) (176.6 ± 62.7 cm/sec(2) vs. 200.6 ± 61.9 cm/sec(2) , P = 0.025), right ventricular FAC increased significantly (37.6 ± 8.0% vs. 41.5 ± 8.9%, P < 0.001). Pulmonary artery pressure decreased significantly (39.9 ± 7.9 vs. 36.6 ± 5.5 mmHg, P = 0.001) after cilostazol administration. Our study demonstrated that cilostazol improved right ventricular systolic function and reduced pulmonary artery pressure.