Browsing by Author "Ephrem, Georges"
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Item Case Report: Constrictive Pericarditis in a Patient With Isolated Anomalous Right Upper Pulmonary Venous Return(Frontiers Media, 2020-12) Bou Chaaya, Rody G.; Herrmann, Jeremy L.; Rao, Roopa Akkadka; Fisch, Mark D.; Ephrem, Georges; Medicine, School of MedicineThirty-eight-year-old male presented for evaluation of abdominal swelling, lower extremity edema and dyspnea on exertion. Extensive work-up in search of the culprit etiology revealed the presence of an Anomalous Right Upper Pulmonary Venous Return (ARUPVR) into the Superior Vena Cava (SVC). During the attempted repair, the pericardium was found to be thickened and constrictive. Only one other case of co-existent partial anomalous pulmonary venous return and constrictive pericarditis (CP) has been reported. The patient underwent a warden procedure with pericardial stripping with good outcomes at 45 days post-operatively. Thus, the presence of severe heart failure symptoms in the setting of ARUPVR should prompt further investigations. Also, further cases are needed to help guide management in these patients.Item COVID-19 in Adults With Congenital Heart Disease(Elsevier, 2021-04) Broberg, Craig S.; Kovacs, Adrienne H.; Sadeghi, Soraya; Rosenbaum, Marlon S.; Lewis, Matthew J.; Carazo, Matthew R.; Rodriguez, Fred H.; Halpern, Dan G.; Feinberg, Jodi; Galilea, Francisca Arancibia; Baraona, Fernando; Cedars, Ari M.; Ko, Jong M.; Porayette, Prashob; Maldonado, Jennifer; Sarubbi, Berardo; Fusco, Flavia; Frogoudaki, Alexandra A.; Nir, Amiram; Chaudhry, Anisa; John, Anitha S.; Karbassi, Arsha; Hoskoppal, Arvind K.; Frischhertz, Benjamin P.; Hendrickson, Benjamin; Bouma, Berto J.; Rodriguez-Monserrate, Carla P.; Broda, Christopher R.; Tobler, Daniel; Gregg, David; Martinez-Quintana, Efren; Yeung, Elizabeth; Krieger, Eric V.; Ruperti-Repilado, Francisco J.; Giannakoulas, George; Lui, George K.; Ephrem, Georges; Singh, Harsimran S.; Almeneisi, Hassan MK.; Bartlett, Heather L.; Lindsay, Ian; Grewal, Jasmine; Nicolarsen, Jeremy; Araujo, John J.; Cramer, Jonathan W.; Bouchardy, Judith; Al Najashi, Khalid; Ryan, Kristi; Alshawabkeh, Laith; Andrade, Lauren; Ladouceur, Magalie; Schwerzmann, Markus; Greutmann, Matthias; Meras, Pablo; Ferrero, Paolo; Dehghani, Payam; Tung, Poyee P.; Garcia-Orta, Rocio; Tompkins, Rose O.; Gendi, Salwa M.; Cohen, Scott; Klewer, Scott; Hascoet, Sebastien; Mohammadzadeh, Shabnam; Upadhyay, Shailendra; Fisher, Stacy D.; Cook, Stephen; Cotts, Timothy B.; Aboulhosn, Jamil A.; Medicine, School of MedicineBackground Adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) have been considered potentially high risk for novel coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) mortality or other complications. Objectives This study sought to define the impact of COVID-19 in adults with CHD and to identify risk factors associated with adverse outcomes. Methods Adults (age 18 years or older) with CHD and with confirmed or clinically suspected COVID-19 were included from CHD centers worldwide. Data collection included anatomic diagnosis and subsequent interventions, comorbidities, medications, echocardiographic findings, presenting symptoms, course of illness, and outcomes. Predictors of death or severe infection were determined. Results From 58 adult CHD centers, the study included 1,044 infected patients (age: 35.1 ± 13.0 years; range 18 to 86 years; 51% women), 87% of whom had laboratory-confirmed coronavirus infection. The cohort included 118 (11%) patients with single ventricle and/or Fontan physiology, 87 (8%) patients with cyanosis, and 73 (7%) patients with pulmonary hypertension. There were 24 COVID-related deaths (case/fatality: 2.3%; 95% confidence interval: 1.4% to 3.2%). Factors associated with death included male sex, diabetes, cyanosis, pulmonary hypertension, renal insufficiency, and previous hospital admission for heart failure. Worse physiological stage was associated with mortality (p = 0.001), whereas anatomic complexity or defect group were not. Conclusions COVID-19 mortality in adults with CHD is commensurate with the general population. The most vulnerable patients are those with worse physiological stage, such as cyanosis and pulmonary hypertension, whereas anatomic complexity does not appear to predict infection severity.Item COVID-19-Related Thrombotic and Bleeding Events in Adults With Congenital Heart Disease(Elsevier, 2023-11-21) Fusco, Flavia; Krasuski, Richard A.; Sadeghi, Soraya; Rosenbaum, Marlon S.; Lewis, Matthew J.; Carazo, Matthew R.; Rodriguez, Fred H.; Halpern, Dan G.; Feinberg, Jodi L.; Galilea, Francisca A.; Baraona, Fernando; Cedars, Ari M.; Ko, Jong M.; Porayette, Prashob; Maldonado, Jennifer R.; Frogoudaki, Alexandra A.; Nir, Amiram; Chaudhry, Anisa; John, Anitha S.; Karbassi, Arsha; Ganame, Javier; Hoskoppal, Arvind; Frischhertz, Benjamin P.; Hendrickson, Benjamin; Rodriguez-Monserrate, Carla P.; Broda, Christopher R.; Tobler, Daniel; Gregg, David; Martinez-Quintana, Efrén; Yeung, Elizabeth; Krieger, Eric V.; Ruperti-Repilado, Francisco J.; Giannakoulas, George; Lui, George K.; Ephrem, Georges; Singh, Harsimran S.; Hasan, Almeneisi; Bartlett, Heather L.; Lindsay, Ian; Grewal, Jasmine; Nicolarsen, Jeremy; Araujo, John J.; Cramer, Jonathan W.; Bouchardy, Judith; Al Najashi, Khalid; Ryan, Kristi; Alshawabkeh, Laith; Andrade, Lauren; Ladouceur, Magalie; Schwerzmann, Markus; Greutmann, Matthias; Merás, Pablo; Ferrero, Paolo; Dehghani, Payam; Tung, Poyee P.; Garcia-Orta, Rocio; Tompkins, Rose; Gendi, Salwa M.; Cohen, Scott; Klewer, Scott E.; Hascoet, Sebastien; Upadhyay, Shailendra; Fisher, Stacy D.; Cook, Stephen; Cotts, Timothy B.; Kovacs, Adrienne H.; Aboulhosn, Jamil A.; Scognamiglio, Giancarlo; Broberg, Craig S.; Sarubbi, Berardo; Medicine, School of MedicineBackground: Altered coagulation is a striking feature of COVID-19. Adult patients with congenital heart disease (ACHD) are prone to thromboembolic (TE) and bleeding complications. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for COVID-19 TE/bleeding complications in ACHD patients. Methods: COVID-19-positive ACHD patients were included between May 2020 and November 2021. TE events included ischemic cerebrovascular accident, systemic and pulmonary embolism, deep venous thrombosis, myocardial infarction, and intracardiac thrombosis. Major bleeding included cases with hemoglobin drop >2 g/dl, involvement of critical sites, or fatal bleeding. Severe infection was defined as need for intensive care unit, endotracheal intubation, renal replacement therapy, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or death. Patients with TE/bleeding were compared to those without events. Factors associated with TE/bleeding were determined using logistic regression. Results: Of 1,988 patients (age 32 [IQR: 25-42] years, 47% male, 59 ACHD centers), 30 (1.5%) had significant TE/bleeding: 12 TE events, 12 major bleeds, and 6 with both TE and bleeding. Patients with TE/bleeding had higher in-hospital mortality compared to the remainder cohort (33% vs 1.7%; P < 0.0001) and were in more advanced physiological stage (P = 0.032) and NYHA functional class (P = 0.01), had lower baseline oxygen saturation (P = 0.0001), and more frequently had a history of atrial arrhythmia (P < 0.0001), previous hospitalization for heart failure (P < 0.0007), and were more likely hospitalized for COVID-19 (P < 0.0001). By multivariable logistic regression, prior anticoagulation (OR: 4.92; 95% CI: 2-11.76; P = 0.0003), cardiac injury (OR: 5.34; 95% CI: 1.98-14.76; P = 0.0009), and severe COVID-19 (OR: 17.39; 95% CI: 6.67-45.32; P < 0.0001) were independently associated with increased risk of TE/bleeding complications. Conclusions: ACHD patients with TE/bleeding during COVID-19 infection have a higher in-hospital mortality from the illness. Risk of coagulation disorders is related to severe COVID-19, cardiac injury during infection, and use of anticoagulants.Item Femoral Artery Closure Devices vs Manual Compression During Cardiac Catheterization and Percutaneous Coronary Intervention(Elsevier, 2022-06-29) Kreutz, Rolf P.; Phookan, Sujoy; Bahrami, Hamid; Sinha, Anjan K.; Breall, Jeffrey A.; Revtyak, George E.; Ephrem, Georges; Zenisek, Joseph R.; Frick, Kyle A.; Jaradat, Ziad A.; Abu Romeh, Ibrahim S.; O’Leary, Brian A.; Ansari, Hamza Z.; Ferguson, Andrew D.; Zawacki, Kevin E.; Hoque, Mohammad Z.; Iqtidar, Ali F.; Lambert, Nathan D.; von der Lohe, Elisabeth; Medicine, School of MedicineBackground: Femoral arterial access remains widely used despite recent increase in radial access for cardiac catheterization and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Various femoral artery closure devices have been developed and are commonly used to shorten vascular closure times, with variable rates of vascular complications observed in clinical trials. We sought to examine the rates of contemporary outcomes during diagnostic catheterization and PCI with the most common femoral artery closure devices. Methods: We identified patients who had undergone either diagnostic catheterization alone (n = 14,401) or PCI (n = 11,712) through femoral artery access in the Indiana University Health Multicenter Cardiac Cath registry. We compared outcomes according to closure type: manual compression, Angio-Seal, Perclose, or Mynx. Access complications and bleeding outcomes were measured according to National Cardiovascular Data Registry standard definitions. Results: The use of any vascular closure device as compared to manual femoral arterial access hold was associated with a significant reduction in vascular access complications and bleeding events in patients who underwent PCI. No significant difference in access-site complications was observed for diagnostic catheterization alone. Among closure devices, Perclose and Angio-Seal had a lower rate of hematoma than Mynx. Conclusions: The use of femoral artery access closure devices is associated with a reduction in vascular access complication rates as compared to manual femoral artery compression in patients who undergo PCI.Item Isolated congenital cleft mitral valve leaflet: a rare cause of refractory cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction(BMC, 2021-06) Bahrami, Mubashir H.; Ansari, Hamza Z.; Guglin, Maya; Ephrem, Georges; Revtyak, George E.; Medicine, School of MedicineWe report a unique presentation of isolated congenital cleft mitral valve complicating cardiogenic shock from acute myocardial infarction. Isolated cleft mitral valve is an uncommon diagnosis that can have significant clinical implications, especially if not recognized in patients presenting to the catheterization lab with acute myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock. A review of this rare diagnosis including the options and timing of therapeutic interventions, which can include MitraClip, is important for publication. The case is of a patient who presented with an anterior acute ST elevation myocardial infarction. Despite early coronary revascularization and conventional support, refractory cardiogenic shock ensued requiring mechanical circulatory support escalation to Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Subsequently, left ventriculography revealed a massively dilated left atrium and severe mitral regurgitation raising concerns for a mechanical mitral valve complication. The patient was taken to the operating room for possible mitral valve surgery, but a preoperative transesophageal echocardiogram revealed an isolated posterior cleft mitral valve. Since the patient had stabilized on mechanical circulatory support, emergent surgery was deferred. The patient successfully recovered during index hospitalization with mechanical circulatory support and discharged on guideline directed medical therapy. In conclusion, isolated cleft mitral valve is a rare diagnosis that can often be underrecognized without comprehensive 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography evaluation. If diagnosed early with significant regurgitation, surgical treatment results in good outcomes and preservation of LV systolic function. Percutaneous correction of a CMVL with MitraClip has been described and may offer an alternative approach for high risk surgical patients.Item Kidney disease and congenital heart disease: Partnership for life(Frontiers Media, 2022-08-19) El Sayegh, Skye; Ephrem, Georges; Wish, Jay B.; Moe, Sharon; Lim, Kenneth; Medicine, School of MedicineThe literature on the relationship between kidney and cardiovascular diseases is continuously expanding. Scientists have elucidated many of the neurohormonal and hemodynamic pathways involved in cardiorenal disease. However, little is known about kidney disease in patients with congenital heart disease. Given advances in the medical and surgical care of this highly complex patient population, survival rates have dramatically improved leading to a higher percentage of adults living with congenital heart disease. Accordingly, a noticeable increase in the prevalence of kidney disease is appreciated in these patients. Some of the main risk factors for developing chronic kidney disease in the adult congenital heart disease population include chronic hypoxia, neurohormonal derangements, intraglomerular hemodynamic changes, prior cardiac surgeries from minimally invasive to open heart surgeries with ischemia, and nephrotoxins. Unfortunately, data regarding the prevalence, pathophysiology, and prognosis of chronic kidney disease in the adult congenital heart disease population remain scarce. This has led to a lack of clear recommendations for evaluating and managing kidney disease in these patients. In this review, we discuss contemporary data on kidney disease in adults with congenital heart disease in addition to some of the gaps in knowledge we face. The article highlights the delicate interaction between disease of the heart and kidneys in these patients, and offers the practitioner tools to more effectively manage this vulnerable population.Item Non-invasive cardiac output monitoring (NICOM) in adult congenital heart disease patients with Fontan palliation(Elsevier, 2021-12) Quain, Angela; Hoyer, Mark; Ephrem, Georges; Kay, W. Aaron; Medicine, School of MedicineRationale Fontan palliation for single ventricle malformations is an increasingly common reason for heart failure in the adult population. Cardiac output (CO) measurement in Fontan physiology is achieved by invasive cardiac catheterization (RHC). Noninvasive CO monitors using thoracic bioreactance (NICOM) have been validated in non-congenital patients but have not been studied in adult Fontan patients. Objective To compare RHC obtained values of CO using the Fick equation with those measured simultaneously by NICOM in a cohort of adults with Fontan palliation. Methods and results In nineteen patients undergoing routine outpatient RHC, we compared CO values as determined by Fick with those generated by the Starling SV NICOM device. Bland-Altman plots and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) revealed internal consistency within NICOM measurements, however the agreement between RHC and NICOM for CO was poor (ICCs ∼ 0.40). We performed sub-analyses using two-sample T-tests and ICCs to determine if clinical cyanosis, acute desaturation, or Fontan pressure affected the difference observed between RHC and NICOM. Neither chronic hypoxia, acute desaturation, nor Fontan pressure measures were found to be associated with the observed difference between the RHC and NICOM measured CO. Discussion and conclusion Our study did not find a correlation between RHC and NICOM derived measures of CO in a cohort of Fontan patients, even in sub-analyses of confounders of Fontan physiology. We observed internal consistency within the device, which may open a role for monitoring of trends rather than absolute values in Fontan patients. Our study was limited due to small sample size.Item Outcomes of Patent Foramen Ovale Transcatheter Closure: Should a Short Aortic Rim Preclude Closure?(Elsevier, 2023-03-22) Stefanescu Schmidt, Ada C.; Abrahamyan, Lusine; Muthuppalaniappan, Annamalar; Gorocica Romero, Ricardo; Ephrem, Georges; Everett, Karl; Lee, Douglas S.; Osten, Mark; Benson, Leland N.; Horlick, Eric M.; Medicine, School of MedicineBackground: The risk of erosion of an atrial septal closure device, in particular the Amplatzer Septal Occluder, has been described as higher in patients with a short aortic rim. Similar concern has been applied to patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure devices, but there are only rare reported cases of erosion. It may be that smaller devices are chosen due to fear of device erosion in PFO patients when this is not necessarily an issue. Objectives: The authors aimed to assess outcomes after PFO closure with the Amplatzer PFO device in patients with a short (<9 mm) aortic rim. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of PFO closure for any indication, between 2006 and 2017 at a quaternary center. Preprocedural transesophageal echocardiographic parameters including the aortic rim were remeasured. Long-term outcomes were obtained by linkage to provincial administrative databases. Results: Over the study period, 324 patients underwent PFO closure with the Amplatzer PFO device, with a mean age of 49.8 years; 61% had a short aortic rim (<9 mm). The most common indication was cryptogenic stroke (72%); those with longer aortic distance were more likely to have a non-stroke indication for closure, diabetes (15% vs 6.5%, P = 0.04), and heart failure (15.7% vs 4%, P < 0.001). Over a median 7 years of follow-up, there were no cases of device erosion or embolization requiring cardiac surgery. Conclusions: In a large cohort with long-term administrative follow-up (1,394 patient-years), implantation of an Amplatzer PFO device was performed safely even in patients with a short aortic rim.