BACKGROUND/AIMS: The increasing incidence of cardiovascular disease has led to an increase in the frequency of upper gastrointestinal (GI) hemorrhage due to the use of antiplatelet agents. This study examined the clinical characteristics of patients with upper GI hemorrhage who were administered aspirin alone or a combination treatment of antiplatelet agents. METHODS: A 656 patients who underwent drug-eluting coronary stenting at Ewha Mokdong Hospital in 2008 were divided into three groups according to the antiplatetlet agents used after the intervention; groups of aspirin alone, aspirin plus clopidogrel, and aspirin, and clopidogrel plus another antiplatelet agent, respectively. Patients admitted with GI hemorrhage in the same period without a medication history of antiplatelet or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were used as the control hemorrhage group. The medical records were reviewed. RESULTS: Significant GI symptoms were observed in 21.1% of total patients, of whom 48.2% had ulcers. The upper GI hemorrhage rate was 3.8%. There was no significant difference in the hemorrhage rate between three groups. Compared to the control hemorrhage group, the endoscopic variables of the antiplatelet-related hemorrhage group were not significantly different. However, the Helicobacter pylori infection rate was lower, the admission period was longer, and the mortality rate was higher in the antiplatelet-related hemorrhage group (p<0.05, respectively). There was no direct association between restarting or discontinuance of antiplatelets after the hemorrhage event and mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Adding other antiplatelet agents to aspirin did not increase the hemorrhage rate. However, active diagnostic and therapeutic efforts are recommended in patients with GI symptoms during antiplatelet therapy.
Aged ; Aspirin/*adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Cardiovascular Diseases/prevention & control ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/*chemically induced/mortality/prevention & control ; Helicobacter Infections/complications/epidemiology ; Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peptic Ulcer/complications/epidemiology ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors/*adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Ticlopidine/adverse effects/analogs & derivatives/therapeutic use

Triple valve surgery is usually complex and carries a reported operative mortality of 13% and 10-yr survival of 61%. We examined surgical results based on our hospital's experience. A total of 160 consecutive patients underwent triple valve surgery from 1990 to 2006. The most common aortic and mitral valve disease was rheumatic disease (82%). The most common tricuspid valve disease was functional regurgitation (80%). Seventy-four percent of the patients were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III and IV. Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed to identify predictors of early and late survival. Operative mortality was 6.9% (n=11). Univariate factors associated with mortality included old age, preoperative renal failure, postoperative renal failure, pulmonary complications, and stroke. Of them, postoperative renal failure and stroke were associated with mortality on multivariable analysis. Otherwise, neither tricuspid valve replacement nor reoperation were statistically associated with late mortality. Survival at 5 and 10 yr was 87% and 84%, respectively. Ninety-two percent of the patients were in NYHA class I and II at their most recent follow-up. Ten-year freedom from prosthetic valve endocarditis was 97%; from anticoagulation-related hemorrhage, 82%; from thromboembolism, 89%; and from reoperation, 84%. Postoperative renal failure and stroke were significantly related with operative mortality. Triple valve surgery, regardless of reoperation and tricuspid valve replacement, results in acceptable long-term survival.
Adult ; Aged ; Anticoagulants/adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Aortic Valve/*surgery ; Female ; Heart Valve Diseases/complications/mortality/*surgery ; Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation/*methods ; Hemorrhage/chemically induced/epidemiology ; Humans ; Intraoperative Complications/mortality ; Kidney Failure/etiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mitral Valve/*surgery ; Postoperative Complications/mortality ; Reoperation ; Risk Factors ; Severity of Illness Index ; Stroke/etiology ; Survival Analysis ; Thromboembolism/epidemiology ; Tricuspid Valve/*surgery

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The risk of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding with dabigatran when compared to warfarin has been controversial in the literature. The aim of our study was to assess this risk with the use of dabigatran. METHODS: We examined the medical records of patients who were started on dabigatran or warfarin from October 2010 to October 2012. The study was conducted in two hospitals. RESULTS: A total of 417 patients were included (208 dabigatran vs. 209 warfarin). GI bleeding occurred in 10 patients (4.8%) in the dabigatran group compared to 21 patients (10.1%) in the warfarin group (p=0.0375). Multivariate analysis showed that patients who were on dabigatran for < or =100 days had a higher incidence of GI bleeding than those who were on it for >100 days (p=0.0007). The odds of GI bleeding in patients who were on dabigatran for < or =100 days was 8.2 times higher compared to those who were on the drug for >100 days. The incidence of GI bleeding in patients >65 years old was higher than in those <65 years old (p=0.0453, OR=3). History of previous GI bleeding was another risk factor for GI bleeding in the dabigatran group (p=0.036, OR=6.3). The lower GI tract was the most common site for GI bleeding in the dabigatran group (80.0% vs. 38.1%, p=0.014). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of GI bleeding was lower with dabigatran. The risk factors for GI bleeding with dabigtran were the first 100 days, age >65 years, and a history of previous GI bleeding.
Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anticoagulants/*adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Atrial Fibrillation/drug therapy ; Dabigatran/*adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/*chemically induced/epidemiology/mortality ; Humans ; Incidence ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Odds Ratio ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Warfarin/*adverse effects/therapeutic use

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Increased incidence of coronary artery disease has led to the increased use of dual antiplatelet therapy composed of aspirin and clopidogrel. We investigated the incidence of gastrointestinal complications in patients who received single or dual antiplatelet therapy and analyzed their clinical characteristics in order to predict the prognostic factors. METHODS: Between January 2009 and December 2011, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent coronary angiography at Chung-Ang University Hospital (Seoul, Korea). One hundred and ninety-four patients were classified into two groups: aspirin alone group and dual antiplatelet group. Clinical characteristics, past medical history, and presence of peptic ulcer were analyzed. RESULTS: During the follow-up period, 11 patients had duodenal ulcer; the event rate was 2.02% in the aspirin alone group and 9.47% in the dual antiplatelet group (hazard ratio [HR] 5.24, 95% CI 1.03-26.55, p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the rate of significant upper gastrointestinal bleeding: 0% vs. 4.2% (p=0.78). In patients who received proton pump inhibitor (PPI), 24 patients had gastric ulcer; the event rate was significantly different between the two groups: 4.87% vs. 22.98% (HR 3.40, 95% CI 1.02-11.27, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Dual antiplatelet groups had a higher incidence of duodenal ulcers without significant bleeding compared with the aspirin alone group. In patients who received PPI, the dual antiplatelet therapy group had a higher incidence of gastric ulcers without significant bleeding compared with the aspirin alone group. Therefore, physicians must pay attention to high risk groups who receive dual antiplatelet therapy and aggressive diagnostic endoscopy should also be considered.
Aged ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/*therapeutic use/toxicity ; Aspirin/*therapeutic use/toxicity ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease/*prevention & control ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/chemically induced/prevention & control ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peptic Ulcer/*diagnosis/epidemiology/etiology ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors/*therapeutic use/toxicity ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Proton Pump Inhibitors/therapeutic use ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Ticlopidine/*analogs & derivatives/therapeutic use/toxicity

BACKGROUND: There is scanty evidence concerning the ability of Can Rapid Risk Stratification of Unstable Angina Patients Suppress Adverse Outcomes with Early Implementation of the ACC/AHA Guidelines (CRUSADE) and Acute Catheterization and Urgent Intervention Triage Strategy and Harmonizing Outcomes with Revascularization and Stents in Acute Myocardial Infarction (ACUITY-HORIZONS) scores to predict out-of-hospital bleeding risk after percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) with drug-eluting stents (DES) in patients receiving dual antiplatelet therapy. We aimed to assess and compare the long-term prognostic value of these scores regarding out-of-hospital bleeding risk in such patients. METHODS: We performed a prospective observational study of 10,724 patients undergoing PCI between January and December 2013 in Fuwai Hospital, China. All patients were followed up for 2 years and evaluated through the Fuwai Hospital Follow-up Center. Major bleeding was defined as Types 2, 3, and 5 according to Bleeding Academic Research Consortium Definition criteria. RESULTS: During a 2-year follow-up, 245 of 9782 patients (2.5%) had major bleeding (MB). CRUSADE (21.00 [12.00, 29.75] vs. 18.00 [11.00, 26.00], P < 0.001) and ACUITY-HORIZONS (9.00 [3.00, 14.00] vs. 6.00 [3.00, 12.00], P < 0.001) risk scores were both significantly higher in the MB than non-MB groups. Both scores showed a moderate predictive value for MB in the whole study cohort (area under the receiver-operating characteristics curve [AUROC], 0.565; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.529-0.601, P = 0.001; AUROC, 0.566; 95% CI, 0.529-0.603, P < 0.001, respectively) and in the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) subgroup (AUROC: 0.579, 95% CI: 0.531-0.627, P = 0.001; AUROC, 0.591; 95% CI, 0.544-0.638, P < 0.001, respectively). However, neither score was a significant predictor in the non-ACS subgroup (P > 0.05). The value of CRUSADE and ACUITY-HORIZONS scores did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) in the whole cohort, ACS subgroup, or non-ACS subgroup. CONCLUSIONS CRUSADE and ACUITY-HORIZONS scores showed statistically significant but relatively limited long-term prognostic value for out-of-hospital MB after PCI with DES in a cohort of Chinese patients. The value of CRUSADE and ACUITY-HORIZONS scores did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) in the whole cohort, ACS subgroup, or non-ACS subgroup.
Acute Coronary Syndrome ; therapy ; Aged ; Angina, Unstable ; therapy ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; therapy ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors ; adverse effects ; Postoperative Hemorrhage ; chemically induced ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; surgery ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Prognosis ; Prospective Studies ; Research Design ; Risk ; Risk Assessment ; Treatment Outcome