Biomedical subjects

Cristina Giglioli

Publications and source records attributed to Cristina Giglioli.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Role of glycoprotein Ia gene polymorphisms in determining platelet function in myocardial infarction patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention on dual antiplatelet treatment.

Response variability to antiplatelet treatment has been described and the widespread use of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and clopidogrel requires clarification of the residual platelet reactivity (RPR). Various glycoprotein Ia (GpIa) polymorphisms have been investigated, but their influence on platelet reactivity in myocardial infarction (MI) patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on dual antiplatelet treatment is not still elucidated. Aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of C807T, G873A and T837C polymorphisms of GpIa on modulating platelet function in MI patients on dual antiplatelet treatment undergoing PCI. We measured platelet function by both a point-of-care assay (PFA100) and platelet-rich-plasma aggregation in 289 MI patients undergoing PCI and receiving dual antiplatelet treatment. Our data show that C807T/G873A polymorphisms, but not T837C, are associated with higher platelet reactivity. Carriers of the 807T/873A allele had significantly higher platelet aggregation values after arachidonic acid (AA) and collagen stimuli and, even if they did not reach the statistical significance, after 2 and 10 microM ADP stimuli; 807T/873A allele carriers had also significantly shorter closure times on PFA100/epinephrine membranes. At the multiple analyses, C807T/G873A polymorphisms resulted an independent risk factor for RPR defined by both AA induced platelet aggregation (OR=3.0, 95%CI 1.17-7.89, p=0.022) or by PFA100/epinephrine (OR=4.1, 95%CI 1.53-10.89, p=0.005). In conclusion, this study shows the 807T/873A allele of the GpIa gene is an independent risk factor for the RPR on dual antiplatelet treatment, and extends, in a larger acute coronary syndrome population, the observation that the 807T/873A allele is associated with higher platelet reactivity.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Usefulness of aspirin resistance after percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction in predicting one-year major adverse coronary events.

Recently, great interest has focused on the phenomenon of aspirin resistance, which may be defined as clinical or laboratory resistance. Monitoring the antiplatelet effect appears to be relevant in the presence of clinical implications, but no data are available on the possible clinical implications of the failure of aspirin to inhibit tests of platelet function in the setting of acute coronary syndromes. This study evaluated the role of aspirin resistance in the occurrence of 1-year major adverse coronary events (MACEs) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We prospectively evaluated 146 patients (115 men and 31 women; median age 65 years, range 30 to 84) with AMI who underwent primary PCI. Exclusion criteria were the use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors, hematocrit <or=30%, and a platelet count <100,000/mm3. Platelet function analyzer-100 closure times by collagen-epinephrine were used for measuring platelet function in venous blood samples obtained 12 to 15 hours after revascularization. Patients were considered aspirin resistant in the presence of a collagen-epinephrine closure time of <203 seconds. After 1-year follow-up, MACEs were recorded in 44 of 146 patients (30.1%). A significantly higher percentage of patients with MACEs had aspirin resistance (39.1% vs 23.2%, p <0.05). A Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that the overall risk of MACEs was significantly higher among patients with aspirin resistance (p = 0.02). A Cox regression analysis that adjusted for age, gender, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, systolic left ventricular function, number of stenosed coronary arteries, and previous AMI, PCI, or coronary artery bypass graft showed aspirin resistance to be a significant and independent risk factor for the future MACEs (hazard ratio 2.9, 95% confidence interval 1.1 to 9.2, p <0.05). In conclusion, our data demonstrate that aspirin resistance after PCI is a significant and independent predictor of MACEs in patients with AMI undergoing primary PCI.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Predictors of in-hospital mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention for cardiogenic shock.

OBJECTIVES: The mortality of patients with cardiogenic shock (CS) complicating ST elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) remains high, despite early revascularization. Current knowledge of predictors of death is limited. BACKGROUND: The pathophysiologic understanding of CS after acute myocardial infarction has shifted from a mere hemodynamic disorder to a more complex approach including imbalance in metabolic functions. METHODS: In 45 consecutive patients (71.4+/-13 years) with CS complicating STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) serum levels of lactate, glucose and uric acid on coronary care unit (CCU) admission were measured. The end-point was in-hospital death. RESULTS: The following parameters, on CCU admission, were univariate predictors of in-hospital mortality: serum glucose >200 mg/dl (OR=11.3, p=0.002), serum creatinine >1.5 mg/dl (OR=12.7, p=0.003), uric acid >6.5 mg/dl (OR=6.7, p=0.016), lactate >6.5 mmol/l (OR=54, p<0.0001), age > or =75 years (OR=8.5, p=0.002), history of hypertension (OR=8.3, p=0.003) and TIMI flow post PCI < or = 2 (OR=12.9, p=0.02). At multivariate analysis, after adjustment for sex, age, hypertension and diabetes, lactate >6.5 mmol/l and TIMI flow post PCI < or = 2 were still independent predictors of in-hospital mortality (OR=295, p=0.01; OR=19.5, p=0.04, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Hyperlactatemia, hyperglycemia and increased levels of uric acid on CCU admission are univariate predictors of in-hospital death. Moreover, at multivariate analysis, hyperlactatemia (>6.5 mmol/l) is an independent indicator of in-hospital death in CS patients complicating STEMI.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Timing, setting and incidence of cardiovascular complications in patients with acute myocardial infarction submitted to primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: At the Istituto di Clinica Medica Generale e Cardiologia (Florence, Italy), the widespread use of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has markedly changed the hospital course of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). These patients are typically transferred to the coronary care unit (CCU) only after primary PCI, whereas during the thrombolytic era, patients were first admitted to CCU before reperfusion. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: The incidence, timing and setting of complications from symptom onset to hospital discharge in 689 consecutive AMI patients undergoing PCI were evaluated. RESULTS: Ventricular fibrillation occurred in 11% of patients, and most episodes (94.7%) occurred before or during PCI. Of all patients, 6.3% developed complete atrioventricular block (CAVB), and in 86.3% of these cases, the CAVB occurred before or during PCI; in 94.5%, a CAVB resolution occurred in the catheterization laboratory (CL). Thirty-one patients (4.5%) had impending shock on admission to the CL. Cardiogenic shock developed in 2 9 patients (4.2%), mostly in the prehospital phase or in the CL. Only four patients (less than 1%) developed cardiogenic shock later during their hospital course. Similarly, circulatory and ventilatory support, as well as temporary pacing and cardiac defibrillation, were used mostly in the prehospital phase or in the CL. During the CCU stay, 45 patients (6.5%) had hemorrhagic or vascular complications, and the incidence of post-PCI ischemia and early reocclusion of the culprit vessel were low (2.1% and 0.6%, respectively). Thus, cardiac complications usually associated with AMI were observed mainly before hospital admission or in the CL during the reopening of the target vessel. These complications were rarely observed after a successful PCI. CONCLUSIONS: For AMI patients, the CL is not only the site of PCI, it is also where most life-threatening cardiac complications are observed and treated.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Protein Z levels and prognosis in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

BACKGROUND: Protein Z, a vitamin K-dependent glycoprotein, serves as a cofactor for the inhibition of activated coagulation factor X. During recent years, a role for low levels of protein Z in prothrombotic disorders such as ischemic stroke and acute coronary syndromes (ACS) has been reported. The aims of this study were to test changes in protein Z and their association with outcome at 1-year follow-up in 193 (150 male, 43 female) patients with ACS. RESULTS: Protein Z plasma levels were significantly lower (p<0.0001) after 1 year [1,600 (28-3,736) ng/mL] compared to the baseline [1,695 (294-4,068) ng/mL]. Regression analysis showed a significant association between baseline protein Z below the 5th percentile of our control group and subsequent adverse cardiac events at follow-up (odds ratio 3.3; 95% CI 1.04-10.7; p=0.04). Moreover, Cox regression analysis showed that low protein Z levels at admission were significant predictors of major adverse cardiac events (cardiac death, non-fatal recurrent myocardial infarction, and need for target lesion revascularization) after 1 year (hazard risk 2.5; 95% CI 1.02-6.5, p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that in patients with ACS: 1) protein Z decreases moving from the acute to the convalescent phase; and 2) low levels of baseline protein Z are significantly associated with adverse outcome at 1-year follow-up.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2006

Contrast-induced nephropathy in urgent coronary interventions.

OBJECTIVES: Patients submitted to urgent percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) are quite often at high risk for contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) since they exhibit several predisposing factors such as electrical and haemodynamic instability together with the lack of time to undergo adequate prophylaxis. This was a not blinded, non-randomized study whose aims were (i) to evaluate the incidence of CIN after urgent PCI in a high-volume cardiovascular referral practice (patients with acute myocardial infarction or with acute coronary syndromes enrolled in a single centre), and (ii) to assess the prognostic implications of CIN during hospitalization and at 1-month follow-up. METHODS: Between 1 October 2003 and 1 April 2004, 194 consecutive patients undergoing urgent coronary angiography and PCIs at our catheterization laboratory were enrolled in the study: 67 patients (34.5%) received the iso-osmolar contrast medium iodixanol (group A) and 127 patients (65.5%) received the hypo-osmolar contrast medium iopromid (group B). RESULTS: The overall incidence of CIN was 10.82%. Patients of group A showed a higher incidence of CIN than patients of group B (22.3 vs. 4.7%, P < 0.05). On univariate logistic analysis, age, pre-existing renal insufficiency, intra-aortic balloon pump (an indirect indicator of haemodynamic instability), dyslipidaemia, and postprocedural hypotension were risk indicators for the development of CIN after primary PCI. On multivariate logistic analysis, age and postprocedural hypotension remained significant independent correlates of CIN. CONCLUSIONS: In emergency PCIs, CIN is a frequent complication mainly related to haemodynamic instability and pre-existing renal dysfunction. Since CIN is associated with a high in-hospital mortality rate, our data stress the need for the development and validation of new preventive strategies for renal protection during emergency PCIs.

Acute Kidney Injury↗

PubMed2006

Erythrocyte deformability and white blood cell count are associated with aspirin resistance in high-risk vascular patients.

Recently the phenomenon of aspirin resistance has been object of several studies, but no data are available on the possible role of the haemorheologic parameters in affecting platelet function and resistance to antiplatelet agents. Aim of our study was to evaluate platelet function and haemorheology in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), receiving double antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel. The study population included 301 (231M/70F; age: 66 +/- 13 yrs) consecutive adult patients admitted to the Coronary Care Unit of the Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi, with diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina. We assessed: whole blood viscosity (WBV) at shear rates of 0.512 s(-1) and 94.5 s(-1), plasma viscosity (PLV) at 94.5 s(-1) shear rate, erythrocyte deformability index (DI) and PFA-100 closure times with ADP (PFA/ADP) and epinephrine (PFA/EPI). We considered any PFA-100-EPI result < 203 sec (95th percentile of control distribution) to be indicative of aspirin resistance. 104/301 patients (34.5%) had PFA/EPI CTs in the reference range (group 1) whereas the remaining had values higher than 203 sec (group 2). WBV at 94.5 sec (-1) s.r. was similar in group 1 and 2 (WBV: 4.43 +/- 0.25 vs 4.45 +/- 0.61 mPa.sec, respectively). PLV and WBV at 0.512 sec (-1) s.r. were slightly higher, but not significantly, in group 1 than in group 2 (PLV: 1.47+/-0.13 vs 1.44 +/- 0.15 mPa.sec; p = 0.08 and WBV: 23.37 +/- 4.6 vs 22.54 +/- 3.90 mPa.sec; p = 0.07). DI was significantly lower in group 1 with respect to group 2 (4.05 +/- 2.93 vs 5.71 +/- 3.30, p < 0.0001). White blood count (WBC) was significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2 (11464 +/- 3504 vs 7867 +/- 2162, p < 0.0001). In conclusion, these results demonstrate that in patients with acute coronary syndromes the antiaggregant effect of aspirin is modulated not only by the direct action on platelets, but also by erythrocyte deformability and white blood cell count.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

TAFI activity and antigen plasma levels are not increased in acute coronary artery disease patients admitted to a coronary care unit.

INTRODUCTION: Hypofibrinolysis, at least in part due to high levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), has been reported to occur frequently in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). A recently described carboxypeptidase, thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI), is involved in the regulation of the balance between coagulation and fibrinolysis. High TAFI plasma levels may therefore contribute to a hypofibrinolytic state and to an increased risk for thrombotic disorders. There are contradictory results regarding TAFI levels in CAD patients, possibly because the characteristics of patients investigated and the time of blood sampling were different among different studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fibrinolytic inhibitors (TAFI activity, TAFI antigen and PAI-1 activity plasma levels) were measured in 44 consecutive patients admitted to the Coronary Care Unit of the University of Florence and in a group of 44 healthy controls, matched for age and sex, to detect a possible association of their levels with acute CAD. RESULTS: No differences were found in TAFI levels, either activity or antigen, between patients and controls. PAI-1 activity was significant different between patients and controls (p=0.0001). The frequencies of TAFI activity and antigen over cut-off levels were similar in patients and controls. Instead, higher PAI-1 levels were more frequent (p=0.04) in patients respect to controls. The univariate analysis confirmed the association of increased PAI-1 levels with acute CAD [OR=3.3; p=0.04]. Among the patients, TAFI and PAI-1 levels were not different according to clinical presentation of symptoms or indication to immediate percutaneous revascularization. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that in acute phase of CAD no increased levels of TAFI are detectable in plasma.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2005

The incidence and timing of major arrhythmias following successful primary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: The potential benefits of direct percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) on malignant arrhythmias in the hospital phase of acute myocardial infarction have not yet been established. METHODS: We prospectively investigated the incidence and timing of major arrhythmias occurring during direct PTCA and within 24 hours of mechanical reperfusion in 90 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing successful direct PTCA within 12 hours of symptom onset. RESULTS: Ventricular fibrillation and complete atrioventricular block occurred exclusively during direct PTCA and both resolved in the catheterization laboratory. Holter monitoring showed that ventricular tachyarrhythmias, such as runs of more than 3 extrasystoles, were detectable only during the first 8 hours after direct PTCA. CONCLUSIONS: In our group of patients undergoing successful direct PTCA, no in-hospital life-threatening arrhythmias occurred after this procedure.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2004

Eluting stents: an effective, promising solution?

Recent studies with eluting stents showed encouraging results in preventing in-stent restenosis. We report a case of a patient in whom the implantation of carbon-coated and eluting stents in two different vessels was associated with different angiographic results. A diabetic hypertensive 67-year-old woman with an acute inferior myocardial infarction underwent direct coronary angioplasty on the right coronary artery with the implantation of two carbon-coated stents. In view of the severity of an additional lesion of the left anterior descending coronary artery and diabetes, coronary angioplasty and stenting with an eluting stent was performed in this vessel. Five months later the patient presented with acute pulmonary edema and an increase in troponin I levels. A new coronary angiography showed a long subtotal in-stent restenosis of the right coronary artery, whereas the left anterior descending coronary artery was normal. Our case report suggests that eluting stents should be considered a precious and effective tool in preventing in-stent restenosis.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

Early outcome after paclitaxel-eluting stents in patients with acute and subacute myocardial infarction. A clinical study.

BACKGROUND: Paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) have been proven to prevent in-stent restenosis in patients submitted to elective percutaneous coronary intervention. No data are so far available about the safety and efficacy of PES in acute and subacute myocardial infarction. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the occurrence of in-hospital adverse events in patients with acute and subacute myocardial infarction submitted to PES implantation. METHODS: From June 1 to July 31, 2003, we implanted 53 PES in 43 consecutive patients with acute (34 patients) and subacute (9 patients) myocardial infarction. RESULTS: In 65.1% of the patients the culprit lesion was located in the left anterior descending artery. Direct stenting was performed in 27.9% and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors were used in 74.4%. Before the procedure a TIMI flow 0-1 was present in 46.5% while post-procedural TIMI flow 3 was achieved in all patients. A pre-procedural TIMI thrombus grade 2 to 5 was present in 67.8%. No death, reinfarction, early post-infarction angina or any other episode referable to in-stent thrombosis were observed during hospitalization. No patient was submitted to target lesion revascularization. At short-term follow-up with a mean duration of 118 +/- 75 days from discharge no cardiac or noncardiac death, reinfarction or any other major adverse coronary events were reported in the study population and no target lesion revascularization was performed. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, PES implant in patients with acute and subacute myocardial infarction was safe, with an early outcome comparable to conventional standard stents and no adverse events related to acute or subacute thrombosis.

Age Distribution↗