Browsing by Author "Monteiro, A"
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- Cardiac Rehabilitation After Acute Coronary Syndrome: Do All Patients Derive the Same Benefit?Publication . Aguiar Rosa, S; Abreu, A; Marques Soares, R; Rio, P; Filipe, C; Rodrigues, I; Monteiro, A; Soares, C; Ferreira, V; Silva, S; Alves, S; Cruz Ferreira, RINTRODUCTION: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has been demonstrated to improve exercise capacity in acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but not all patients derive the same benefit. Careful patient selection is crucial to maximize resources. OBJECTIVE: To identify in a heterogeneous ACS population which patients would benefit the most with CR, in terms of functional capacity (FC), by using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). METHODS: A retrospective analysis of consecutive ACS patients who underwent CR and CPET was undertaken. CPET was performed at baseline and after 36 sessions of exercise. Peak oxygen uptake (pVO2), percentage of predicted pVO2, minute ventilation/CO2 production (VE/VCO2) slope, VE/VCO2 slope/pVO2 and peak circulatory power (PCP) (pVO2 times peak systolic blood pressure) were assessed in two moments. The differences in pVO2 (ΔpVO2), %pVO2, PCP and exercise test duration were calculated. Patients were classified according to baseline pVO2 (group 1, <20 ml/kg/min vs. group 2, ≥20 ml/kg/min) and left ventricular ejection fraction (group A, <50% vs. group B, ≥50%). RESULTS: We analyzed 129 patients, 86% male, mean age 56.3±9.8 years. Both group 1 (n=31) and group 2 (n=98) showed significant improvement in FC after CR, with a more significant increase in pVO2, in group 1 (ΔpVO2 4.4±7.3 vs. 1.6±5.4; p=0.018). Significant improvement was observed in CPET parameters in group A (n=34) and group B (n=95), particularly in pVO2 and test duration. CONCLUSION: Patients with lower baseline pVO2 (<20 ml/kg/min) presented more significant improvement in FC after CR. CPET which is not routinely used in assessement before CR in context of ACS, could be a valuable tool to identify patients who will benefit the most.
- Juvenile Gout: Rare and AggressivePublication . Coelho Henriques, C; Monteiro, A; Lopéz, B; Sequeira, L; Panarra, A; Riso, N
- Polymerase Chain Reaction Screening for Fungemia and/or Invasive Fungal Infections in Patients with Hematologic MalignanciesPublication . Ribeiro, P; Costa, F; Monteiro, A; Caldas, J; Silva, M; Ferreira, G; Veiga, J; Sousa, MO; Viegas, MP; Santos, E; Gonçalves, AJ; Botelho de Sousa, AINTRODUCTION: Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are a life-threatening complication in patients with hematologic malignancies, mainly in acute leukemia patients, following chemotherapy. IFI incidence is increasing, and associated mortality remains high due to unreliable diagnosis. Antifungal drugs are often limited by inadequate antimicrobial spectrum and side effects. Thus, the detection of circulating fungal DNA has been advocated as a rapid, more sensitive diagnostic tool. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between June 01 and January 03, weekly blood samples (1,311) were screened from 193 patients undergoing intensive myelosuppressive or immunosuppressive therapy. IFI cases were classified according to European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses Study Group criteria. Fungal DNA was extracted from whole blood and amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) published primers that bind to the conserved regions of the fungal 18S rRNA gene sequence. In our study, two or more consecutive positive samples were always associated with fungal disease. RESULTS: PCR screening predicted the development of IFI to be 17 days (median). This test had a specificity of 91.1% and a sensitivity of 75%. IFI incidence was 7.8%. DISCUSSION: Therefore, our results confirm the potential usefulness of PCR serial screening and the clinical applicability in everyday routine. PCR screening offers a noninvasive repeatable aid to the diagnosis of IFI.
- Prevalência de Inibidores nos Doentes da Consulta de Hemofilia do Serviço de Imuno-HemoterapiaPublication . Caldeira, C; Monteiro, A; Cerezo, E; Diniz, MJ
- Prognostic Power of Anaerobic Threshold Parameters in Patients with Transposition of the Great Arteries and Systemic Right VentriclePublication . Valentim Gonçalves, A; Mano, T; Agapito, A; Aguiar Rosa, S; Sousa, L; Rio, P; Oliveira, JA; Monteiro, A; Pereira-da-Silva, T; Ilhão Moreira, R; Soares, R; Pinto, MF; Cruz Ferreira, RINTRODUCTION: Both transposition of the great arteries (TGA) previously submitted to a Senning/Mustard procedure and congenitally corrected TGA (cc-TGA) have the systemic circulation supported by the morphological right ventricle, thereby rendering these patients to heart failure events risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate cardiopulmonary exercise test parameters for stratifying the risk of heart failure events in TGA patients. METHODS: Retrospective evaluation of adult TGA patients with systemic circulation supported by the morphological right ventricle submitted to cardiopulmonary exercise test in a tertiary centre. Patients were followed up for at least 1 year for the primary endpoint of cardiac death or heart failure hospitalisation. Several cardiopulmonary exercise test parameters were analysed as potential predictors of the combined endpoint and their predictive power were compared (area under the curve). RESULTS: Cardiopulmonary exercise test was performed in 44 TGA patients (8 cc-TGA), with a mean age of 35.1 ± 8.4 years. The primary endpoint was reached by 10 (22.7%) patients, with a mean follow-up of 36.7 ± 26.8 months. Heart rate at anaerobic threshold had the highest area under the curve value (0.864), followed by peak oxygen consumption (pVO2) (0.838). Heart rate at anaerobic threshold ≤95 bpm and pVO2 ≤20 ml/kg/min had a sensitivity of 87.5 and 80.0% and a specificity of 82.4 and 76.5%, respectively, for the primary outcome. CONCLUSION: Heart rate at anaerobic threshold ≤95 bpm had the highest predictive power of all cardiopulmonary exercise test parameters analysed for heart failure events in TGA patients with systemic circulation supported by the morphological right ventricle.