Cardioprotective shock management: monitoring and supportive therapies

Opportunistic CT-derived analysis of fat and muscle tissue composition predicts mortality in patients with cardiogenic shock

Prognosis estimation in patients with cardiogenic shock (CS) is important to guide clinical decision making. Aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of opportunistic CT-derived body composition analysis in CS patients. Amount and density of fat and muscle tissue of 152 CS patients were quantified from single-slice CT images at the level of the intervertebral disc space L3/L4. Multivariable Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were performed to evaluate the predictive value of opportunistically CT-derived body composition parameters on the primary endpoint of 30-day mortality. Within the 30-day follow-up, 90/152 (59.2%) patients died. On multivariable analyses, lactate (Hazard Ratio 1.10 [95% Confidence Interval 1.04-1.17]; p = 0.002) and patient age (HR 1.04 [95% CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.017) as clinical prognosticators, as well as visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area (HR 1.004 [95% CI 1.002-1.007]; p = 0.001) and skeletal muscle (SM) area (HR 0.987 [95% CI 0.975-0.999]; p = 0.043) as imaging biomarkers remained as independent predictors of 30-day mortality. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses showed significantly increased 30-day mortality in patients with higher VAT area (p = 0.015) and lower SM area (p = 0.035). CT-derived VAT and SM area are independent predictors of dismal outcomes in CS patients and have the potential to emerge as new imaging biomarkers available from routine diagnostic CT.

Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in combination with Levosimendan as a bridge to recovery for a case of severe yew intoxication in a 13-year-old patient

In an adolescent patient with severe yew intoxication and consecutive cardiac arrest, non-responsive to conventional resuscitation necessitating extracorporeal life support, Levosimendan has been implemented in the early acute phase of hemodynamic stabilization, without obvious side effects. However, the additive value of this treatment in severe yew intoxication remains speculative.