Our Efforts for Ideal Stroke Prevention and Treatment in Japan

In the present short review for the Sherman Award, Dr Yamaguchi introduces studies at the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, which included development of intravenous thrombolysis using low-dose alteplase that was officially approved in Japan, long-term dual antiplatelet therapy using cilostazol together with aspirin or clopidogrel, and others. He also discusses efforts to ensure the passage of the “Stroke and Cardiovascular Disease Control Act,” the aims of which are better primary prevention, better acute treatment, rehabilitation, and secondary prevention of stroke for people living in Japan.

After A Year of Follow Up Non-Cirrhotic Portal Hypertension Patient with Partial Spleen Embolization (PSE) Management

Non-cirrhotic portal hypertension (NCPH) is a heterogeneous group of liver disorders leading to portal hypertension. There are multiple approaches to managing portal hypertension' clinical complications to treat/prevent spontaneous hemorrhage by mitigating thrombocytopenia. Portal hypertension complications have been traditionally managed with serial endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) or with invasive open surgical procedures such as orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) or portosystemic shunting, splenectomy.6–9 There are several risks associated with splenectomies, such as hemorrhagic complications or intraoperative blood loss.5,6,14 Partial Spleen Embolization (PSE) ‎may overcome the limitations of splenectomy and provide patients with an alternative treatment. An eighteen-year-old male has a splenomegaly history since he was 12 years old and has recurring hematemesis and melena. After performing abdominal computed tomography, laboratory studies, and several endoscopies, the results indicated secondary hypersplenism due to non-cirrhotic portal hypertension. The patient had 13 endoscopies and 2 EVL in 5 years. Despite adequate treatment, the patients developed recurrent variceal bleeding and no improvement in blood function. The patient underwent PSE at Integrated Cardiovascular Center in Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo, General Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia. It was performed through the femoral access with a PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) embolus. The procedure went successful, and there was no major complication with the patient. Twenty days after the patient had an abdominal CT scan, it showed no abscess, and the spleen volume was reduced by 20%. Long-term results over a year after the procedure are presented. PSE is a safe, effective, semi-invasive alternative to splenectomy in non-cirrhotic portal hypertension because it preserves functional spleen mass and avoids postprocedure accelerated liver disease or encephalopathy.

Early results of total endoscopic closure for atrial septal defect in children at Cardiovascular Center, E Hospital, Hanoi, Viet Nam

Introduction: Atrial Septal Defect is the most common congenital heart disease. Minimally invasive cardiac surgery is being perfomed routinely at several cardiovascular centers in Vietnam. At E Cardiovascular Center, from 2016 to 2019, we performed total endoscopic closure for atrial septal defect in children using 4 trocars. From 2020 to present, we have reduced the number of trocars to three. This report was to evaluate the effectiveness and early results of total endoscopic closure with 3 trocars for atrial septal defect in children. Method: Twelve children underwent ASD closure from 1/2020 to 5/2021, with mean age of 7.7 years old (range from 2.5 to 11); mean weight was 20.8 kilograms (range from 12 to 40). All the patients underwent the operation with peripheral cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Result: The mean peripheral circulation time was 70 minutes (range from 56 to100 minutes) on beating hearts. There were 8 cases with patch-closure and 4 cases with direct-closure. After operations, we reexamined by echocardiography, the atrial septal defects were closed completely with no residual shunt, the common femoral arteries at the cannula position were normal and no stenosis were present. Conclusion: Totally endoscopic closure for ASD on beating hearts with 3 trocars is save with a very good short-term results.

Pengaruh Organisasi Pembelajaran, Keterlibatan Karyawan Terhadap Komitmen dan Perubahan Organisasi Di RSJPDHK

research which aims to determine the effect of organizational learning, employee involvement on commitment and organizational change is in a health institution, namely National Cardiovascular Center Harapan Kita located in Slipi, West Jakarta. The research uses quantitative research methods. Data collection was carried out through a survey of 100 respondents who were employees who worked at National Cardiovascular Center Harapan Kita. All respondents are samples that are spread across all work units using simple random sampling and the analysis technique is the PLS method. The results showed that 1) Organizational learning was not significant with a p value of 0.078 on organizational commitment. 2) Significant employee engagement variable with p value 0.00. 3) Organizational commitment itself has a significant effect with a p value of 0.024 on organizational change. 5) learning organization does not have a significant effect with a p value of 0.832 on organizational change. This study also concludes that nurse involvement has more influence on organizational change than learning organizations so that it is expected to increase employee engagement as a strategy for better change.

High Familial Recurrence of Congenital Heart Defects in Laterality Defects Patients: An Evaluation of 184 Families

As a rare disease with genetic pathogenesis, observational study about familial CHD recurrence risk on CHD patients with laterality defects is lacking. This study aimed to investigate familial recurrence among families of patients with CHD and laterality defects, and compare them with CHD patients without laterality defects. A total of 184 patients with CHD and laterality defects treated in Cardiovascular Center, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University were observed from 2008 to 2019. A detailed family history was documented by trained staff using questionnaires, and information about the subtypes of CHD and laterality defects was also collected. In addition, positive family history information, including all three degrees relatives and all affected family members, was reconfirmed by trained medical staff through face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, and letter return visits. Of the 184 included patients, 30 had at least one family member (from among three linear generations and distant relatives) with CHD. The familial recurrence rate of CHD in our cohort was 16.3% (30/184), which was higher than the 3.3% (67/2024) of patients with CHD without laterality defects. This result shows that the recurrence rate among the first-, second-, and third-degree relatives was 11.7% (11/94), 1.5% (3/204), and 3.1% (6/91) and that the recurrence rate among siblings (21.4%, 9/42) was higher than that among parents (3.8%, 2/52). The familial recurrence risk of CHD among patients with CHD and laterality defects is high, which is consistent with the previous study that reported a high familial recurrence of heterotaxy of 10%. First-degree relatives have a higher recurrence rate than second- and third-degree relatives, especially siblings. These findings have important significance for prenatal screening, intervention, and genetic counseling in the Chinese population, but may not be generalizable to other populations that may have different rates of familial and sporadic cases.

Coronary artery fistula features associated with clinical symptoms in adults with non coronary artery disease detected with coronary computed tomography angiography

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public hospital(s). Main funding source(s): National Cardiovascular Center Harapan Kita, Jakarta, Indonesia Background Coronary artery fistula (CAF) is rare coronary artery anomaly (<1% in general population). It is often diagnosed accidentally during coronary angiography. Most of CAF cases have no clinical significance, however, some may present with hemodynamic instabilities, requiring invasive or surgical intervention. Recently, coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) has been increasingly used to detect CAF at higher rates. Correlation between CAF and significance of clinical presentation, however, remains unclear. Purpose To evaluate association of CAF features with any symptomatic trends present in non coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Methods This was a single-center, observational, analytic cross-sectional study. A total 45 cases of CAF with no documented CAD or non-significant stenosis CAD diagnosed by coronary CT angiography were collected from 10,175 consecutive patients in National Cardiovascular Center Harapan Kita spanning 5-years from January 2015 to December 2019. The imaging findings, morphologic features and relevant clinical history were recorded and analyzed. Results The prevalence of CAF determined with CCTA in our study was 0.44%. Among 45 patients with CAF, thirty (67%) were female. Mean age was 49.4 ± 12.9 years. Most common symptoms reported, in decreasing frequency, were chest pain (60%), dyspnea (22.2%), palpitation/arrhythmia (11.2%), syncope (4.4%) and general weakness (2.2%). Most common site of CAF origin was the left anterior descending artery (66.7%), followed by right coronary artery (51.1%). The fistula most commonly terminated in the main pulmonary artery (75.5%). The CAF size, in descending order, were small (35.6%), medium (33.3%), and large (20%). Mixed and multiple CAF were presented in 5 cases (11.1%). Aneurysm formation were identified in 10 cases (22.2%). CAF were mainly associated with congenital atrial and ventricular septal defects (6.7%; 4.4%, respectively). Other coexistent cardiac abnormalities presented with CAF were pulmonary hypertension (8.9%), infective endocarditis (4.4%), and pericardial effusion (2.2%). Large-sized CAF was significantly associated with chest pain and palpitation/arrhythmia (p = 0.017; p = 0.003, respectively). Aneurysm formation revealed to be significantly associated with chest pain and palpitation/arrhythmia (p = 0.044; p = 0.006, respectively) as well. Mixed and multiple CAF were significantly correlated with syncope (p = 0.003). CAF with concomitant cardiac diseases (congenital heart disease, pulmonary hypertension, valvular heart disease) were significantly associated with symptoms of chest pain and palpitation/arrhythmia as compared to isolated CAF only (p = 0.004; p = 0.007, respectively). Conclusion CAF features (large-sized, mixed and multiple, aneurysmal and presence of concomitant cardiac disease) were associated with significant trends of clinical symptoms in adults without CAD.

The Protective Effect of Vitamin E for Reducing Intra-Hospital Mortality in Acute Limb Ischemia Patients

Background Management of acute limb ischemia (ALI) is still a huge challenge. Current advances of endovascular therapeutic approach in management of ALI have decreased the overall amputation rate, nevertheless, mortality rate remains high which may be caused by metabolic consequences of reperfusion injury. Aim To understand the role of vitamin E to intra-hospital and 30-day mortality among acute limb ischemia patients. Methods This retrospective cohort study included all patients with ALI between 2015 to 2018. Vitamin E 2x400 mg orally for seven days was given based on physician preference after ALI diagnosis was confirmed. Data were collected from Vascular Registries of National Cardiovascular Center Harapan Kita (NCCHK), Jakarta, Indonesia. Univariate analysis and logistic regression models were used to explore factors that contribute to intra-hospital and 30-day mortality. Results A total of 160 patients with ALI involving 192 limbs were admitted to our hospital. Mostly were male (63.1%) and mean age were 56±13 years old. Majority of the patients had unilateral lesion (80%), and were diagnosed with Rutherford stage IIA (36.3%), followed by stage IIB (33.8%), stage I (20%), and stage III (10%) respectively. Intra-hospital and 30-day mortality were 28.1% and 36.9%, respectively. Low treatment of vitamin E increased intra-hospital mortality (HR 5,6 95%CI 1.7-18.3), however, it did not affect 30-day mortality. Other factors including IABP insertion, arrhythmia, bleeding requiring transfusion and acute renal failure were associated with higher intra-hospital and 30-day mortality. In addition, menopause (HR 3.2; CI 1.16-8.85) was also a predictor of 30-day mortality. Conclusion Vitamin E administration reduced intra-hospital mortality but not on 30-day mortality in acute limb ischemia patients. Keywords: Acute Limb Ischemia, vitamin E, mortality, reperfusion injury