Elif İlKay Yuce

The Myocardial Performance Index (MPI), also known as the Tei Index, is a measure of the overall performance of the heart that takes into account both systolic and diastolic function. It is a non‐invasive echocardiographic index that provides information about the efficiency of the heart's pumping action. The MPI is a useful tool for evaluating cardiac function in various clinical conditions, such as heart failure, myocardial infarction, and cardiomyopathy. A higher MPI value indicates poorer cardiac function, while a lower MPI value indicates better cardiac function. This review will give a summary of the relevant MPI literature, provide a methodology and technical aspects, and make research recommendations.

Aim: Several studies have investigated the association between biomarkers and short-term prognosis in the coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, data on the long-term prognosis are limited. To determine the predictive value of systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and C-reactive protein (CRP) to albumin ratio (CAR) for in-hospital and 1-year outcomes during COVID-19. Material and Method: The primary outcomes were in-hospital and 1-year mortality. The secondary outcomes were the intensive care unit (ICU) need at admission and transfer to the ICU later on. Results: The study included 449 (53.6%) males and 389 (46.4%) females with a mean age of 53.8±18.5 years. Previously known heart failure (HF), COVID-19-related HF, acute renal failure (ARF), diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary artery disease (CAD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)/asthma, high CO-RADS scores (>4), low ejection fraction (EF), higher CAR and SII were associated with an increased in-hospital and 1-year mortality (p<0.05). After multivariate analysis; CAR, SII, ARF, and diabetes mellitus were independent predictors of in-hospital and 1-year mortality,whereas CAD was only an independent predictor of 1-year mortality. After ROC analysis, CAR cut-off levels of 2.54 and 2.23 predicted in-hospital and 1-year mortality, respectively (p<0.001). The SII cut-off levels of 1274 and 1191 predicted in-hospital and 1-year mortality, respectively (p<0.001). Conclusion: CAR and SII can be used as valuable prognostic indexes to predict both the short-term and long-term mortality in COVID-19.

Purpose Inappropriate dosing of direct oral anticoagulants is associated with an increased risk of stroke, systemic embolism, major bleeding, cardiovascular hospitalization, and death in patients with atrial fibrillation. The main goal of the study was to determine the prevalence and associated factors of inappropriate dosing of direct oral anticoagulants in real-life settings. Methods This study was a multicenter, cross-sectional, observational study that included 2004 patients with atrial fibrillation. The study population was recruited from 41 cardiology outpatient clinics between January and May 2021. The main criteria for inappropriate direct oral anticoagulant dosing were defined according to the recommendations of the European Heart Rhythm Association. Results The median age of the study population was 72 years and 58% were women. Nine-hundred and eighty-seven patients were prescribed rivaroxaban, 658 apixaban, 239 edoxaban, and 120 dabigatran. A total of 498 patients (24.9%) did not receive the appropriate dose of direct oral anticoagulants. In a logistic regression model, advanced age, presence of chronic kidney disease and permanent atrial fibrillation, prescription of reduced doses of direct oral anticoagulants or edoxaban treatment, concomitant use of amiodarone treatment, and non-use of statin treatment were significantly associated with potentially inappropriate dosing of direct oral anticoagulants. Conclusion The study demonstrated that the prevalence of inappropriate direct oral anticoagulant dosing according to the European Heart Rhythm Association recommendations was 24.9% in patients with atrial fibrillation. Several demographic and clinical factors were associated with the inappropriate prescription of direct oral anticoagulants.

Aim: ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is one of the most severe forms of pain. However, the guidelines give quite a few places for pain control in STEMI and, do not offer strong recommendations on this issue. This study aimed to reveal which medications are given to STEMI patients for pain control until they arrive at the catheter laboratory, in which situations they are used, and the frequency of use. Material and Method: A total of 272 consecutive STEMI patients were prospectively collected. Medications were administered to the patients until they arrived at the angiography laboratory; vital signs, comorbidities, referral status, infarction types, the time between the onset of pain and the admission to the emergency department, and the door-balloon time were also noted. The patients’ pain characteristics and intensity were evaluated. Results: It was observed that 96.3% of the patients presented with chest pain. The pain of diabetic patients was severe according to the visual analog scale (VAS) score (p=0.023). It was witnessed that 9.92% of the patients were administered drugs for analgesic purposes. The most commonly administered medication was paracetamol. It was noticed that morphine was used frequently after paracetamol. Medication administration for analgesia was more common in referred patients (p=0.040). Conclusion: Physicians behave timidly in their clinical practice in pain control of STEMI and move away from the guideline. In terms of comfort and hemodynamic stabilization of the patients, it will be beneficial for the applications in the field to give more place to the treatments for pain control in the guidelines.