Tehran University Medical Journal

High incidence and mortality rate of pulmonary thromboembolism urge physicians to be aware of its occurrence and treatment. Pulmonary thromboembolism (PE) typically manifests itself with acute dyspnea and tachycardia and may occur along with deep vein thrombosis. However, syncope, chest pain and heart failure decompensation in previously stable patients might be another presenting signs and symptoms.  Although there are several guidelines about PE prophylaxis both in medical and surgical patients, guideline adherence is not good enough. The most important reasons are; inappropriate PE risk scoring, insufficient prophylaxis dosage and the fear of probable bleeding. Both unfractionated and low-molecular-weight heparin has been suggested as prophylactic agents. The role of echocardiography in the diagnosis of PE has been challenged; however, it is mandatory to do an echocardiogram to define the prognosis and also the proper treatment approach. Based on the severity of right ventricular dysfunction, biomarker levels and hemodynamic status of the patients, they will be categorized as low, moderate and high-risk. Moderate to high risk patients should be planned for more invasive treatments such as thrombolytic therapy. In conclusion, PE is the third common cardio-vascular acute condition after myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular accident. The most important reason for death in PE is right-side heart failure. Besides, PE is the most preventable fatal disease in hospitalized patients. Long hospital stay, inappropriate thromboembolic prophylaxis and baseline comorbidities predispose patients to this fatal event. Sometimes, the fear of probable bleeding precludes guideline-based thromboprophylaxis, especially in post-operative patients. If PE occurs; it will be hard to manage and treat. New oral anticoagulants are advised as fixed-dose which does not need to be closely monitored. Drug and food interaction is significantly lower in New oral anticoagulants (NOACs). Thrombo-prophylaxis is better than mechanical thrombo-prophylaxis. Post-discharge thromboprophylaxis is also advised in orthopedic patients. It is mandatory to advise patients to walk after discharge and avoid long-term bedrest if possible. A too early discharge may also be an important risk factor and prone patients to PE at home.

Background: Transradial access is one of the main access techniques in angiography. This method is technically more difficult as it is associated with radial artery occlusion. Radial artery cannulation from the dorsal surface of the hand in the snuffbox area has been introduced as a suitable solution to overcome some of the disadvantages of the standard radial artery method. This study was conducted to compare the incidence of radial artery occlusion and other complications in the two methods.
Methods: This study was conducted on 100 patients Who were referred to the Imam Hospital in Ahvaz from 22 September 2020 to 19 Mach 2021. 50 patients underwent angiography with normal radial artery access and 50 patients underwent snuffbox angiography. Basic characteristics including age, sex, underlying disease (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia), family history of coronary artery disease, medical history including chronic coronary artery disease, stable ischemic heart disease, smoking, and LVEF, and also the length of hospital stay was also collected and recorded. All subjects in the two groups underwent radial artery ultrasound in the forearm and snuffbox 24 hours after angiography. Also, angiographic complications including radial artery occlusion (thrombosis), pain, hematoma and anesthesia were recorded.

Left ventricular thrombosis (LVT) is a very serious condition and life-threatening complication that usually occurs after acute occlusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery followed by acute myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation (STEMI), which leads to significant regional wall motion abnormality (RWMA). It should be noted that its diagnosis, treatment, and management are challenging now and depend on various factors such as the type of thrombus, time of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and underlying disease. The preferred diagnostic method is cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR), but transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is routinely used for diagnostic and screening purposes also follow-up of response to treatment. It is worth mentioning that when the diagnosis of left ventricular thrombus is not clear with conventional echocardiography, contrast echocardiography is used for more resolution and detailed information. Left ventricular thrombosis can appear in both acute and chronic forms and lead to significant complications, the most important of them are stroke and systemic arterial embolism (SE). According to previous studies, vitamin K antagonist (warfarin) by keeping INR within the therapeutic range currently used to treat left ventricular thrombosis. Although the use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) has brought excellent outcomes, but due to the lack of large clinical trials, the routine use of these agents is controversial, and only in case of warfarin intolerance or contraindications, DOACs can be used as an alternative. Generally, the best way to prevent left ventricular thrombosis is primary percutaneous coronary angioplasty (primary PCI) which preserves left ventricular function. Depending on the sensitivity of the diagnostic method, thrombus will likely resolve in >50% of patients by six months after the MI. On the other hand, in rare cases, surgery is indicated if a thrombosis remains despite the medical treatment especially if it is accompanied by a left ventricular aneurysm. The purpose of this narrative review is to evaluate the latest evidence in the field of left ventricular thrombosis management and to adopt the best approach for these patients.