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Cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) continues to be an area of concern due to the changing understanding of identification, pathophysiology and optimal management. Originally thought that diuretics were always the answer, recent literature has shed lights on the five major CRS subphenotypes, and while conceptual in their classifications, different strategies may be utilized to manage each type. The effect of CRS in pregnant women is largely under discussed and underappreciated as its own entity. Trials involving possible management, specifically utilizing serelaxin, a recombinant form of relaxin, have shown promising results but more data are needed to begin implementing it on a large scale.

BRASH syndrome is a newly coined diagnosis consisting of the clinical pentad of bradycardia, renal failure, atrioventricular (AV) nodal blockade, shock, and hyperkalemia. It is a rare syndrome with just under 50 reported cases. This case report and literature review present a case of BRASH syndrome, refractory to pharmaceutical measures, and subsequent literature review to assess treatment decisions and overall outcomes. The consensus from the literature supports the use of advanced interventions in most cases, including transcutaneous or transvenous pacing, hemodialysis, and adrenergic support. The early recognition and initiation of treatment in this patient demographic are paramount to reducing possible multi-system organ damage and mortality. This case report and literature review aim to improve patient outcomes and help further elucidate a protocol for treating BRASH syndrome.

Obesity is one of the challenging elements in health care. Studies have shown that as the body mass index (BMI) increases, the risk of chronic conditions tends to increase due to altered physiologic and metabolic demands. In addition to underlying physiological changes, anatomical changes can lead to common procedural challenges, such as difficult intravenous (IV) cannulation, difficult airway, and difficult intubation, which makes their preoperative and postoperative care challenging for the anesthesiologists. According to previous studies, there is no single best predictor for difficult airway or intubations and no designed protocol for choosing an intubation technique in obese patients. Some of the preoperative risk factors and techniques such as the modified Mallampati class, sternomental distance, thyromental distance, neck circumference, indirect mirror laryngoscopy, BMI, and intraoperative risk factors such as inappropriate positioning of the patient, suboptimal medication dosing, inappropriate laryngoscopy device acted as independent predictors for difficult airway and difficult intubation. Analyzing each element's importance and making suitable decisions for the individual will reduce the complications and prepare for unplanned emergencies in the operating room. This review is convincing with previous studies that obesity itself is not an independent predictor. Instead, as a preoperative risk factor, and till date, sternomental distance and the number of intubation attempts were demonstrated as significant independent predictors for adverse events. All the other independent factors and considerations were discussed, which can help with further research.

Primary cardiac tumors are an incredibly rare finding. Cardiac myxomas are the most primary cardiac tumors that often occur within the left atrium. When left untreated, they pose a high risk of causing hemodynamic collapse by obstruction or can embolize and result in thromboembolic stroke. The presentation of cardiac myxoma varies greatly and can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality when undiagnosed. A careful physical examination and high degree of suspicion is crucial in early diagnosis and intervention. Our team presents a 46-year-old female patient with no significant past medical history that presented to the emergency department with a neurological deficit that was concerning for a transient ischemic attack. Initial laboratory workup and electrocardiogram was suggestive for pulmonary embolism; however, upon evaluation with imaging, the patient was found to have a 1.6 × 3.4 cm mass fixed to the mitral leaflet that was then confirmed on transthoracic echocardiography. Our patient was found to have non-obstructive coronary artery disease on cardiac catheterization and ultimately underwent successful mass resection by cardiothoracic surgery.

Anomalous coronary artery from the opposite sinus (ACAOS) is an uncommon, yet highly variable anatomical abnormality. These coronary anatomy variants are often discovered incidentally during cardiac catheterization. These variants can be challenging intraoperatively and require adjustment by the operator. We present the case of a 93-year-old female who presented for shortness of breath due to severe mitral regurgitation (MR), who was found to have an anomalous left main coronary artery (LMCA) from the right sinus of Valsalva (RSOV). This asymptomatic finding was managed conservatively and patient underwent successful MitraClip treatment. J Med Cases. 2021;12(11):460-463 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc3782

Degeneration of the cardiac conduction system resulting in complete heart block (CHB), ventricular arrhythmias (VA), and sudden cardiac death (SCD) is recognized in patients with Kearns-Sayre syndrome (KSS) and is potentially preventable with permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation. However, other mechanisms for SCD have been proposed, and the efficacy of implanting a defibrillator instead of PPM remains to be investigated.We utilized the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database 2016-2019 to investigate the risk of VA or dysrhythmic cardiac arrest (dCA) in KSS patients. We compared the outcomes of KSS to myotonic dystrophy (MD), a more common genetic disorder with similar clinical cardiac features and course.We identified 640 admissions for KSS. VA or dCA were lower in admissions for KSS than MD patients (2.3% vs. 4.5%, p = .009). Device implantation differed between study groups. Approximately, 70% of cases with KSS and conduction abnormalities had pacemaker (± defibrillator) on hospital discharge, compared to 35% in MD. Conduction abnormalities were associated with higher rates of VA or dCA in both study groups. None of the admissions for KSS patients who developed VA or dCA had a pacemaker, and all of them had conduction abnormalities. One-third of admissions for MD patients who developed VA or dCA had a device already implanted prior to the event.Despite its effectiveness in preventing VA, PPM remains underutilized in patients with KSS or MD who have conduction abnormalities. PPM alone do not fully prevent VA in MD patients; therefore, addition of defibrillator capacity might be necessary.

BACKGROUND Pulmonary vein isolation is a method of cardiac ablation therapy used to treat irregular heart rhythm, including atrial fibrillation (AF). This report presents a case of esophagopericardial fistula (EPF) and pneumopericardium as a complication of pulmonary vein isolation in a 62-year-old man with AF. CASE REPORT We report the rare case of a 62-year-old man with a medical history of persistent atrial fibrillation status after ablation 3 days prior to his initial Emergency Department visit for chest pain. Acute coronary syndrome was ruled out with normal electrocardiogram, echocardiography, and troponin tests. Fluid overload and sotalol adverse effects were presumed to be the cause of his symptoms. We discontinued sotalol with diuresis and he was discharged home when his chest pain subsided. Nine days later, he returned to the Emergency Department with worsening similar symptoms and was eventually diagnosed with EPF and pneumopericardium on a computed tomography scan of the chest with contrast. He was managed with esophagogastroduodenoscopy and stent placement along with subxiphoid pericardial window and pericardial drain placement. The patient was discharged in stable condition after removing the pericardial drain. At 10-day and 1-month follow-up, he had no recurrent symptoms. CONCLUSIONS This report shows that although EPF with pneumopericardium is a rare complication of pulmonary vein isolation, it should be rapidly diagnosed and treated as a life-threatening emergency.

Background: Over the past 2 years of the several strategies recommended to help fight COVID-19, nirmatrelvir/ritonavir is a novel drug shown in the EPIC-HR phase 2 to 3 clinical trial to lower COVID-19-related death or hospitalization at day 28 when compared with placebo. Objective: Our study’s aim was to explore the reported adverse events (AEs) associated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir use for COVID-19. Method: We conducted a retrospective analysis using the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database for AEs, listing nirmatrelvir/ritonavir as the primary drug between January and June 2022. The primary outcome was the incidence of reported AEs associated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir. The OpenFDA database was queried using Python 3.10 to collect the AEs and Stata 17 was used to analyze the database. Adverse events were analyzed by associated medication, with “Covid-19” excluded. Results: A total of 8098 reports were identified between January and June 2022. Most reported complaints in the AE system were COVID-19 and disease recurrence. The most common symptomatic AEs were dysgeusia, diarrhea, cough, fatigue, and headache. Event rates significantly rose between April and May. Disease recurrence and dysgeusia were the most commonly reported complaints for the top 8 concomitant drugs identified. Cardiac arrest, tremor, akathisia, and death were reported in 1, 3, 67, and 5 cases, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: This is the first retrospective study done on reported AEs associated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir use for COVID-19. COVID-19 and disease recurrence were the most reported AEs. Further monitoring of the FAERS database is warranted to periodically reassess the safety profile of this medication.

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is a systemic small/medium-sized vessel vasculitis, which is a member of the family of antineutrophil cytoplasmic auto-antibody-associated vasculitides. This disorder affects multiple organs as it is a systemic disease, but overlapping with rheumatoid arthritis is extremely rare, with few cases reported in the medical literature. We report a case of a 55-year-old female with a history of rheumatoid arthritis who presented with recurrent upper/lower respiratory tract symptoms that responded poorly to antibiotics. The patient had elevated antiproteinase antibodies, ANCA IgG titer with a cytoplasmic staining pattern, proteinuria, hematuria, chest imaging showing cavitating and non-cavitating masses, and biopsies of lung and nasal tissue confirming the diagnosis of GPA. Our patient was given immunosuppressant therapy and improvement in lab work and clinical symptoms were seen throughout the course of treatment. This case report is unique as GPA usually rarely presents with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but in this case, the patient had a history of rheumatoid arthritis with a new biopsy-proven GPA. This case report will help future physicians to better diagnose similar cases and help to facilitate clinical recognition and treatment for the same.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma has a poor 5-year survival rate despite many advancements in pharmacotherapies. Studies have suggested the involvement of β-adrenergic pathway in the progression of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Animal experiments and retrospective trials have reported the use of beta-blockers as potential chemo-preventative agents. This review aims to discuss β-adrenergic physiology as it relates to the progression of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and review outcomes on the use of beta-blockers for its treatment.

Introduction Nivolumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting programmed cell death 1 receptor, is prescribed for many advanced cancers like malignant melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, renal cell carcinoma (RCC), etc. with increased use of this medication, the incidence of immune-related side effects is also on the rise. A combined medication side effect of new-onset diabetes and hypothyroidism associated with Nivolumab use is rare. We present a case of Nivolumab-induced hypothyroidism with new-onset insulin-dependent diabetes. Case presentation A 59-year-male with a past medical history of right RCC status post nephrectomy, non-ischemic cardiomyopathy with an ejection fraction of 25-30% on goal-directed therapy/implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and chronic kidney disease stage 3 who presented to the emergency department with complaints of chest pain at rest. The pain was 5/10 in severity and non-radiating. It was relieved by sublingual nitroglycerine en route to the hospital. It was associated with fatigue, nausea, polyuria, and polyphagia. He denied any history of pre-diabetes/diabetes or thyroid disease. Of note, about six months prior to this admission, he was placed on nivolumab for his RCC. Vitals were BP 121/83, RR 20, HR 85, T 97.8°F, and 97% oxygen saturation on room air. The cardiopulmonary exam was unremarkable. An electrocardiogram showed sinus rhythm with normal rate and no ST/T wave changes. Troponin level was 0. 01 ng/mL (normal:: 50,000 IU/L (normal:: 0.3-4.2 IU/L). Urinalysis was positive for ketones; 20 mg/dL (normal:: negative). Venous blood revealed a pH level of 7.344. An acute coronary syndrome was ruled out, and he was admitted for management of hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS) and hypothyroidism. Due to a low level of C-peptide: Discussion Nivolumab has been reported in the literature to cause worsening of glycemic control and is also rarely reported as a cause of insulin-dependent diabetes due to autoimmune effects. Its effects on the thyroid are usually reported as transient thyrotoxic period which either resolves to euthyroid or rarely hypothyroidism which is what happened with our patient. Recognizing the side effects of Nivolumab and periodic monitoring can help earlier diagnosis and management with better outcomes. Presentation: No date and time listed