INTRODUCTION: Management of aortic stenosis (AS) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) may often be overlooked, and this could confer poorer outcomes. METHODS: Consecutive patients ( n = 727) with index echocardiographic diagnosis of moderate to severe AS (aortic valve area <1.5 cm 2 ) were examined. They were divided into those with CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 mL/min) and those without. Baseline clinical and echocardiographic parameters were compared, and a multivariate Cox regression model was constructed. Clinical outcomes were compared using Kaplan-Meier curves. RESULTS: There were 270 (37.1%) patients with concomitant CKD. The CKD group was older (78.0 ± 10.3 vs. 72.1 ± 12.9 years, P < 0.001), with a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidaemia and ischaemic heart disease. AS severity did not differ significantly, but left ventricular (LV) mass index (119.4 ± 43.7 vs. 112.3 ± 40.6 g/m 2 , P = 0.027) and Doppler mitral inflow E to annular tissue Doppler e' ratio (E: e' 21.5 ± 14.6 vs. 17.8 ± 12.2, P = 0.001) were higher in the CKD group. There was higher mortality (log-rank 51.5, P < 0.001) and more frequent admissions for cardiac failure (log-rank 25.9, P < 0.001) in the CKD group, with a lower incidence of aortic valve replacement (log-rank 7.12, P = 0.008). On multivariate analyses, after adjusting for aortic valve area, age, left ventricular ejection fraction and clinical comorbidities, CKD remained independently associated with mortality (hazard ratio 1.96, 95% confidence interval 1.50-2.57, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Concomitant CKD in patients with moderate to severe AS was associated with increased mortality, more frequent admissions for cardiac failure and a lower incidence of aortic valve replacement.
Humans ; Aortic Valve Stenosis/surgery* ; Male ; Female ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/complications* ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Middle Aged ; Severity of Illness Index ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Echocardiography ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Retrospective Studies ; Aortic Valve/surgery* ; Echocardiography, Doppler

This study examined the impact of universal screening in diagnosing and managing gestational diabetes (GDM) amongst antenatal mother and associated neonatal outcomes. It is a single-centre, retrospective study on routinely collected data of antenatal women in Health Clinic Seremban over one year in 2018. All women diagnosed with GDM, who were not known sufferers of type 1 or type 2 diabetes were included in this study. Participants were stratified according to risk factors for GDM to compare the performance of a selective high-risk screening approach to that of universal screening for detecting GDM. Subjects were categorized as high-risk for GDM based on the guidelines recommended by the Malaysian Clinical Practice guidelines. It was found that through universal screening, 246 antenatal mothers were tested positive for GDM out of the 987 of these mothers without prior diabetes, giving a prevalence of 24.9%. If selective screening using traditional risk factors had been employed, 54 (22%) of the antenatal mothers diagnosed with GDM would have been missed. It was established that risk factors for GDM included advancing age, other ethnicities (patients that are not of Malay, Chinese nor Indian ethnicities), obesity, history of abortion or GDM and family history of diabetes mellitus. Neonatal outcomes of those with GDM as compared to those without were similar. This study highlights that universal screening improved GDM detection rates amongst antenatal mothers. The increased detection helped facilitate an earlier intervention which may have contributed to better antenatal management and outcomes for neonates and their mothers.