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Carlo Menozzi

Publications and source records attributed to Carlo Menozzi.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

[How is syncope studied in the Italian hospitals?].

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate how the main tests for the diagnostic assessment of syncope are currently performed in the Italian hospitals. METHODS: During the early 2003 dedicated questionnaires were administered to about 400 Italian hospitals. About each test information was requested relative to: test protocol, laboratory equipment, patients evaluated during 2002. RESULTS: Eighty-four hospitals answered the questionnaire. A syncope-dedicated ambulatory (at least once a week) was available during 2002 in 59/84 hospitals, and 56 were dependent on the Cardiology Division. Carotid sinus massage was performed either in clinostatic and in orthostatic position in 60 Centers and was repeated after atropine in 15. To define the test positivity, 35 Centers followed the "symptom method". Only 15 Centers performed > 100 procedures during 2002 (range 3-500). Tilt testing was performed in 72 hospitals. A dedicated tilting bed was available in 65 Centers, continuous beat-to-beat pressure measurement in 22. Out of the 72 Centers, 55 followed the so-called "Italian protocol" as the main methodology of the test. Only 17 Centers performed > 100 procedures during 2002 (range 3-500). Adenosine test was performed in 26 hospitals, the median dose of drug was 18 mg (range 6-20 mg); 25 out 26 Centers considered the test as positive when an asystolic pause > or = 6 s was observed. Only 6 Centers performed > 15 procedures during 2002 (range 1-204). An implantable loop recorder was available in 48 Centers. The number of implant procedures during 2002 varied among the Centers from 1 to 22. CONCLUSIONS: A great variability was observed concerning the methodology of each test and the number of procedures performed. Thus, a standardization effort about the methodology of syncope study is still needed by the medical associations.

Adenosine↗
PubMed2003

Mechanism of syncope in patients with positive adenosine triphosphate tests.

OBJECTIVES: We prospectively evaluated the mechanism of syncope in patients with positive adenosine triphosphate (ATP) tests (defined as the induction of atrioventricular [AV] block with a ventricular pause >/=6 s after an intravenous bolus of 20 mg ATP). BACKGROUND: Patients with unexplained syncope tend to have more positive ATP tests results than those without syncope. METHODS: An implantable loop recorder (ILR) was inserted in 36 ATP-positive patients (69 +/- 10 years; 22 women; median of 6 syncopal episodes); 15 of them also had a positive response to tilt testing. RESULTS: During the follow-up of 18 +/- 9 months, 18 patients (50%) had syncopal recurrence and 16 (44%) had an electrocardiographically documented episode: AV block (n = 3: paroxysmal in 2 and permanent in 1), AV block followed by sinus arrest (n = 1), sinus arrest (n = 5), sinus bradycardia <40 beats/min (n = 2), normal sinus rhythm (n = 2), sinus tachycardia (n = 1), rapid atrial fibrillation (n = 1), and ectopic atrial tachycardia (n = 1). Bradycardia was documented in a total of 11 cases (69%), and a long ventricular pause (4 to 29 s) was present in eight cases (50%). All three patients with ILR-documented AV block had previously had a negative tilt test, whereas seven of eight with ILR-documented sinus bradycardia or sinus arrest had previously had a positive tilt test. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with adenosine-sensitive syncope, the mechanism of syncope is heterogeneous, although bradycardia is the most frequent finding. Adenosine triphosphate-induced AV block predicts AV block as the mechanism of spontaneous syncope in only a few tilt-negative patients.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed2002

Isometric arm counter-pressure maneuvers to abort impending vasovagal syncope.

OBJECTIVES: We hypothesized that isometric arm exercises were able to increase blood pressure (BP) during the phase of impending vasovagal syncope and allow the patient to avoid losing consciousness. BACKGROUND: Hypotension is always present during the prodromal phase of vasovagal syncope. METHODS: We evaluated the effect of handgrip (HG) and arm-tensing in 19 patients affected by tilt-induced vasovagal syncope. The study consisted of an acute single-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, cross-over tilt-table efficacy study and a clinical follow-up feasibility study. RESULTS: In the acute tilt study, HG was administered for 2 min, starting at the time of onset of symptoms of impending syncope. In the active arm, HG caused an increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP) from 92 +/- 10 mm Hg to 105 +/- 38 mm Hg, whereas in the placebo arm SBP decreased from 91 +/- 11 mm Hg to 73 +/- 21 mm Hg (p = 0.008). Heart rate behavior was similar in the two arms. In the active arm, 63% of patients became asymptomatic, versus 11% in the control arm (p = 0.02); conversely, only 5% of patients developed syncope, versus 47% in the control arm (p = 0.01). The patients were trained to self-administer arm-tensing treatment as soon as symptoms of impending syncope occurred. During 9 +/- 3 months of follow-up, the treatment was actually performed in 95/97 episodes of impending syncope (98%) and was successful in 94/95 (99%). No patients suffered injury or other adverse morbidity related to the relapses. CONCLUSIONS: Isometric arm contraction is able to abort impending vasovagal syncope by increasing systemic BP. Arm counter-pressure maneuvers can be proposed as a new, feasible, safe, and well accepted first-line treatment for vasovagal syncope.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Mechanism of syncope in patients with heart disease and negative electrophysiologic test.

BACKGROUND: In patients with syncope and structural heart disease, syncope is suspected to be attributable to a primary cardiac arrhythmia, but little is known of its mechanism when electrophysiologic study is unremarkable. METHODS AND RESULTS: We applied an implantable loop recorder in 35 patients with overt heart disease at risk of ventricular arrhythmia, because these were patients with previous myocardial infarction or cardiomyopathy with depressed ejection fraction or nonsustained ventricular tachycardia in whom an electrophysiologic study was unremarkable. During a follow-up of 3 to 15 months, syncope recurred in 6 patients (17%) after a mean of 6+/-5 months; in 3 patients, the mechanism of syncope was bradycardia with long pauses (sudden-onset AV block in 2 cases and sinus arrest in 1 case); in 1 patient, there was stable sinus tachycardia; and in 2 patients, who had chronic atrial fibrillation, there was an increase in ventricular rate. A total of 23 episodes of presyncope were documented in 8 patients (23%): no rhythm variation or mild tachycardia in 12 cases, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation or atrial tachycardia in 10 cases, and sustained ventricular tachycardia in 1 case. No patient died during the study period nor suffered from injury attributable to syncopal relapse. CONCLUSIONS: The patients with unexplained syncope, structural heart disease, and negative electrophysiologic study had a favorable medium-term outcome with no case of death and a low recurrence rate of syncope without related injury. The mechanism of syncope was heterogeneous, and ventricular tachyarrhythmia was unlikely.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Combined use of morphology discrimination, sudden onset, and stability as discriminating algorithms in single chamber cardioverter defibrillators.

Morphology Discrimination (MD) is a rhythm discriminator based on QRS morphology analysis that can be combined with other discriminators like Stability, with or without Sinus Interval History (SIH) and Sudden Onset. Thirty-five patients implanted with a St. Jude Medical single chamber ICD were evaluated during exercise testing, during induced AF, and during follow-up for 14 +/- 5 months. At exercise testing (60 episodes detected) MD had a specificity (SP) of 96.7% and Sudden Onset a SP of 91.7%; during induced AF (25 episodes) both MD and Stability had a SP of 96.0%. The diagnostic performance on spontaneous arrhythmias was as follows: for ventricular tachycardia (126 episodes) a sensitivity (SE) of 94.4% for MD, 92.1% for Sudden Onset, 89.7% for Stability without SIH and 79.4% for Stability + SIH; for sinus tachycardia (44 episodes) a SP of 86.4% for MD, 97.7% for Sudden Onset, 2.3% for Stability and of 95.5% for Stability + SIH. For AF (165 cases) a SP of 67.9% for MD, 69.1% for Stability and 90.3% for Stability + SIH, 44.8% for Sudden Onset. Use of MD alone provided a SE of 94.4% and a SP of 71.4% for spontaneous arrhythmias and combined use of the discriminators in a "2 of 3" diagnostic logic implied a SP of 90.9% with maintenance of 96.0% of SE. In single chamber ICDs a wide range of SE/SP ratios may be obtained by use of multiple discriminators, but use of the algorithm in a 2 of 3 diagnostic logic may achieve a SP of 90.9% and a SE of 96.0%.

Algorithms↗