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Abstrect Presentation : 76-year-old female with hypertension, diabetes, and end stage renal disease on hemodialysis was sent to the emergency department for complaining of neck and jaw pain associated with hypotension during dialysis. Her electrocardiogram is shown in figure 1. Clearly, biphasic T waves can be seen in V2-V3. These T wave changes were not seen in her last EKG. (figure 2). She was asymptomatic in the emergency department and her troponins were negative. Her electrolytes were also within normal limits with normal vital signs. Her cardiovascular exam was unremarkable. Assessment : The patient remained asymptomatic in the emergency room with persistent negative troponins. However, the appearance of pericardial biphasic T waves in V2 and V3 seen on her presenting EKG was consistent with Type A Wellen's syndrome EKG (or initially described by Dr. Gerson as inverted U waves). Even though, she had no chest pain and was hemodynamically stable, the classic appearance of Wellen's syndrome EKG is of major concern needing immediate diagnosis and treatment. Diagnosis : Patients presenting with Wellen's syndrome EKGs are at a very high risk for anterior myocardial infarction requiring an invasive work up regardless of their hemodynamic stability or level of cardiac enzymes. They have usually high-grade proximal left anterior descending or left main coronary artery disease. Management : As she was at a very high risk for myocardial infarction based on her EKG, she was taken to the cardiac catheterization laboratory despite remaining asymptomatic in the emergency department and having normal cardiac enzymes. Her coronary angiogram showed severe three vessel coronary artery disease with involvement of her proximal left anterior descending artery as suspected (figure 3). She underwent successful coronary artery bypass grafting. After her surgery, she did well and did not experience any further episodes of hypotension or jaw pain during her dialysis.

Background: Lower extremity pain after orthopedic surgery is so frequent that has led to many treatment modalities. This study aims to compare the prophylactic effects of oral gabapentin, pregabalin, and celecoxib on reducing postsurgical pain of the lower extremity orthopedic surgery. Materials and Methods: In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, 120 patients were randomly divided into four groups using block design randomization. 1 h before spinal anesthesia, the studied groups received 300 mg oral gabapentin; 75 mg oral pregabalin; 200 mg oral celecoxib; and starch as placebo. The severity of postoperative pain (using visual analog scale), mean arterial pressure, heart rate, opioid consumption dose, and drug side effects were recorded for six times (each 60 min up to two times and then every 6 h for the next four times). Chi-square, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and ANOVA repeated measure tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: Significant reduction of pain severity was observed only at the first time measurement between pregabalin and placebo groups (P: 0.014). Patients in the pregabalin group required lower dose of opioid compared to placebo group during admission in surgical ward. There were no significant differences concerning pain reduction, opioid administration, and side effects between pregabalin, gabapentin, and celecoxib groups. Conclusion: Taking 75 mg oral pregabalin before lower extremity orthopedic surgery can attenuate postoperative pain, especially during the 1st h postoperation as well as less opioid consumption and much more patients' satisfaction.

Formally described by Prinzmetal and colleagues in 1959, variant angina represents a syndrome of resting angina that results from severe coronary artery vasospasm associated with ST elevation. The majority of patients respond to nitrates or calcium channel blockers. However, medical treatment-resistant vasospasm can occur in up to 20% of cases, thus requiring further interventions. We present a rare instance of coronary vasospasm associated with complete heart block resistant to medical therapy that was successfully treated with stenting. This case example is followed by a detailed review of the literature with regard to percutaneous or surgical coronary revascularization of patients with medically resistant vasospasm.

The prediction of significant left main or diffuse three‐vessel coronary artery disease is crucial in patients presenting with an acute coronary syndrome. ST‐segment elevation in aVR has been reported to be associated with left main coronary artery obstruction or severe diffuse coronary artery disease in acute coronary syndrome. Herein we report another cause for this ECG finding, that is diffuse ischemia not due to left main coronary artery obstruction or diffuse coronary artery disease but secondary to prolonged hypotension. Copyright © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Since its introduction by Campeau in 1989, the transradial approach for coronary angiography has gained significant popularity among interventional cardiologists due to its lower access site complication rates, cost-effectiveness, and shorter hospital course. Although the transradial approach is much safer than the transfemoral approach, it has its own inherent rare complications including radial artery occlusion, thrombosis, nonocclusive radial artery injury, vasospasm, and compartment syndrome. Herein, we present an unusual case of entrapment and kinking of a catheter in the radial artery, which was successfully removed by using a gooseneck snare via the transfemoral route. The distal and proximal tips were then simultaneously rotated in opposite directions, allowing for the unkinking and removal of the catheter. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this rare complication.

Background The combination of transfusion and chelation therapy has dramatically extended the life expectancy of thalassemic patients. The main objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of prominent thalassemia complications. Methods Two hundred twenty patients entered the study. Physicians collected demographic and anthropometric data and the history of therapies as well as menstrual histories. Patients have been examined to determine their pubertal status. Serum levels of 25(OH) D, calcium, phosphate, iPTH were measured. Thyroid function was assessed by T3, T4 and TSH. Zinc and copper in serum were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Bone mineral density (BMD) measurements at lumbar and femoral regions have been done using dual x-ray absorptiometry. The dietary calcium, zinc and copper intakes were estimated by food-frequency questionnaires. Results Short stature was seen in 39.3% of our patients. Hypogonadism was seen in 22.9% of boys and 12.2% of girls. Hypoparathyroidism and primary hypothyroidism was present in 7.6% and 7.7% of the patients. About 13 % of patients had more than one endocrine complication with mean serum ferritin of 1678 ± 955 micrograms/lit. Prevalence of lumbar osteoporosis and osteopenia were 50.7% and 39.4%. Femoral osteoporosis and osteopenia were present in 10.8% and 36.9% of the patients. Lumbar BMD abnormalities were associated with duration of chelation therapy. Low serum zinc and copper was observed in 79.6% and 68% of the study population respectively. Serum zinc showed significant association with lumbar but not femoral BMD. In 37.2% of patients serum levels of 25(OH) D below 23 nmol/l were detected. Conclusion High prevalence of complications among our thalassemics signifies the importance of more detailed studies along with therapeutic interventions.