PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

I Pina

Publications and source records attributed to I Pina.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Practical recommendations for the use of ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers and spironolactone in heart failure: putting guidelines into practice.

Surveys of prescribing in both hospitals and primary care have shown delays in translating improved survival data from clinical trials into clinical practice thereby denying patients the benefits of proven treatments, such as the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors. This may be due to unfamiliarity with clinical guidelines and concerns about adverse events. Recent trials have shown that substantial improvements in survival are associated with spironolactone and beta-blocker therapy. In order to accelerate the uptake of these treatments, and to ensure that all eligible patients should receive the most appropriate medications, a clear and concise set of clinical recommendations has been prepared by a group of clinicians with practical expertise in the management of heart failure. The objective of these recommendations is to provide practical guidance for non-specialists in order to support the implementation of evidenced-based therapy for heart failure. These practical recommendations are meant to supplement rather than replace existing guidelines.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed2001

Pharmacodynamic effects of milrinone with and without a bolus loading infusion.

BACKGROUND: Milrinone is a positive inotropic agent with vasodilatory and lusitropic activity. Milrinone dosed as a 50 microg/kg bolus followed by a continuous infusion provides an immediate and sustained hemodynamic response. The comparative pharmacodynamics of a placebo bolus and a milrinone bolus followed by a continuous milrinone infusion in patients with decompensated heart failure are unknown. METHODS: Nineteen patients with decompensated heart failure underwent right heart catheterization and were randomized to receive an intravenous infusion of milrinone at a rate of 0.50 microg/kg/min with (n = 9) or without (n = 10) a preceding 50 microg/kg bolus. Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, cardiac index, and plasma milrinone levels were measured serially over 24 hours. RESULTS: In the milrinone bolus group, maximal effects on plasma concentration (352.3 ng/mL), cardiac index (+0.97 L/min/m(2), P =.02), and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (-11.25 mm Hg, P <.001) were seen after the loading dose. In the placebo loading dose group, significant hemodynamic effects were observed starting at 30 minutes after the start of the continuous infusion. Changes in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (placebo -8.6 vs milrinone -8.78 mm Hg, P not significant [NS]) were similar in both groups at 2 hours, whereas changes in cardiac index (placebo loading +0.81 vs milrinone loading +0.78 L/min/m(2), P NS) and milrinone levels (placebo loading 168.0 vs milrinone loading 165.6 ng/mL, P NS) were similar at 3 hours. One patient randomized to a milrinone bolus demonstrated a marked decrease in blood pressure and was discontinued from therapy. CONCLUSIONS: A milrinone infusion without a bolus appears to be a rapidly effective inotropic strategy that may have an improved safety profile during the initiation of therapy compared with a continuous infusion strategy initiated with a bolus.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed2000

Rationale and design of the OPTIME CHF trial: outcomes of a prospective trial of intravenous milrinone for exacerbations of chronic heart failure.

BACKGROUND: The optimal management of an acute exacerbation of chronic heart failure (CHF) is uncertain. There is little randomized evidence available to support the various treatment strategies for patients hospitalized with an exacerbation of CHF. Inotropic agents may produce beneficial hemodynamic effects, and although they are currently used in these patients, their effect on clinical response and impact on clinical outcome is unclear. We present a unique and simple study designed to determine whether a treatment strategy for CHF exacerbations that includes an intravenous agent with inotropic properties can reduce hospital length of stay and lead to improved patient outcome. METHODS: The OPTIME CHF (Outcomes of a Prospective Trial of Intravenous Milrinone for Exacerbations of Chronic Heart Failure) trial is an ongoing multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of a treatment strategy for patients with acute exacerbations of CHF. The design of this study provides a novel approach to the evaluation of treatment strategies in the care of this population. The OPTIME CHF design uses early initiation of intravenous milrinone as both an adjunct to the best the medical therapy and to facilitate optimal dosing of standard oral therapy for heart failure. Patients with known systolic heart failure requiring hospital admission for a CHF exacerbation are randomly assigned within 48 hours of admission to receive a 48-hour infusion of either intravenous milrinone or placebo. The primary end point of this design is a reduction in the total hospital days for cardiovascular events within 60 days after therapy. Enrollment of 1000 patients began July 7, 1997, at 80 US centers and is projected to conclude in late 1999.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Cerebral ischemia and mitral valve prolapse: case-control study of associated factors.

We evaluated 36 patients with cerebral ischemia and mitral valve prolapse and compared them with 36 age-matched controls with cerebral ischemia who had similar attributes but who did not have mitral valve prolapse. Stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed an inverse relation between cerebral ischemia in the presence of mitral valve prolapse and hypertension, diabetes mellitus, occlusive cerebrovascular disease, and completed stroke at p less than 0.01. We also found, by correlation analysis, a negative correlation between both hypertension and diabetes mellitus versus mitral valve prolapse at p less than 0.05. Overall, 10 study patients compared with two control patients had no risk factors for cerebrovascular disease detected (chi 2 = 4.9, p less than 0.05). These data indicate that the association of mitral valve prolapse and cerebral ischemia is of special importance in patients who do not have other detected risk factors for cerebrovascular disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Cardiovascular findings in quadriplegic and paraplegic patients and in normal subjects.

Seven normal, 7 paraplegic and 7 quadriplegic patients underwent cross-sectional cardiovascular evaluation, including recording of sitting heart rate, blood pressure and echocardiography. Quadriplegic patients had a 26% lower left ventricular (LV) mass index (75 +/- 13 g/m2, p less than 0.01) compared with normal volunteers (102 +/- 16 g/m2) or paraplegic patients (110 +/- 26 g/m2). Six quadriplegic patients and 3 paraplegic patients had an unusual pattern of LV posterior wall asynergy, which was associated with a significant rightward shift of the frontal-plane QRS axis (92 +/- 22 degrees vs 42 +/- 41 degrees, p less than 0.005) and smaller left atrial dimensions (2.4 +/- 0.4 vs 3.0 +/- 0.3 cm, p less than 0.005). The quadriplegic group was characterized by a significantly reduced mean blood pressure (67 +/- 7 vs 88 +/- 8 mm Hg in normal subjects, p less than 0.002), high normal peripheral resistances (22 +/- 5 vs 17 +/- 5 units in normal subjects, difference not significant) and a markedly reduced calculated cardiac output (3.2 +/- 0.6 vs 5.4 +/- 1.4 liters/min in normal subjects, p less than 0.01). Hemodynamic data for the paraplegic patients were similar to those in the normal group. A decrease in LV wall stress, mediated primarily by a decrease in venous return, appeared to result in the "adaptive" cardiac atrophy seen in these quadriplegic patients. LV asynergy was common and also may be related to a decrease in cardiac filling.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Diagnosing myocardial infarction with a radioimmunoassay for the B-monomer of the creatine phosphokinase isoenzymes.

A diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI) is usually established by the evaluation of clinical symptoms, electrocardiographic changes, and serum enzyme levels, specifically creatine phosphokinase, subunit MB (CK-MB), by electrophoresis. A total of 215 patients were evaluated in this study. One hundred two of them were admitted to the coronary care unit and 113 to the emergency room, where they were screened for possible MIs. The radioimmunoassay (RIA) used in this study determines levels of the CK-MB isoenzyme by detecting the B monomer, which also has 100% cross-reactivity with the CK-BB isoenzyme. The intra-assay coefficients of variability (CVs) for 30 samples were 22% (means = 7.0 ng/ml) and 11% (means = 47.3 ng/ml), and the interassay CVs for 30 samples were 17% (means = 7.1 ng/ml) and 9.2% (means = 49.3 ng/ml). Of the 215 patients evaluated, 21 had myocardial infarction by the criteria in the study. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 100.0%, 92.8%, and 93.5% respectively. These values increased to 100.0%, 96.9%, and 97.2% when only coronary care unit patients were considered. The CK-MB RIA was found to be a reliable replacement for electrophoresis, but it was nonspecific in some patients.

Clinical Enzyme Tests↗
PubMed1981

Immune complex-mediated renal involvement in relapsing polychondritis.

A patient with relapsing polychondritis who presented with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis is described. This is the fourth case in which this association is reported. Crescentic glomerulonephritis was found on renal biopsy. Evidence for immunologic participation in the pathogenesis of this condition is suggested by the demonstration of circulating immune complexes, immunoglobulin and complement deposition by immunofluorescence, and electron dense deposits by electron microscopy of the kidney. Favorable response followed therapy with prednisone and dapsone.

Aged↗
PubMed1980

Hypothermia in the sunny South.

Accidental hypothermia has increased in prevalence among the aged poor, probably because of a marked increase in heating costs. Most cases of accidental hypothermia in the past have been reported from either England or the northern United States. We report our experience with this disorder in the Tampa (Florida) General Hospital over the past five years. Different manifestations, treatment, and complications are reviewed.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Therapy through social workers? The tasks of social therapy in the aged].

In therapeutic treatment of emotionally ill old persons it is imperative to consider the effect that social environment, diseases, disabilities and increasing dependency have on the individual. It is the purpose of this paper to present a psychoanalytically orientated concept, that integrates both the exploration and analysis of intrapsychic conflicts and supporting interventions by way of social therapy. This is shown for individual as well as for group settings. There is also a discussion of the possibilities to have this treatment carried out by specially trained social workers.

Aged↗