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Aims Despite the existence of many studies, there are still limited data about the characteristics of myocarditis in Greece. This led to the creation of the Greek Myocarditis Registry aiming to document the different symptoms and treatment of myocarditis, assess possible prognostic factors, and find similarities and differences to what is already published in literature. This paper is a preliminary descriptive analysis of this Registry. Methods and results We analysed data for the hospitalization period of all patients included in the Registry from December 2015 until November 2017. Statistics are reported as frequency (%) or median and inter‐quartile range (IQR) as appropriate. In total, 146 patients were included; 83.3% of the patients reported an infection during the last 3 months. The most common symptom, regardless of the underlying infection, was chest pain (82.2%) followed by dyspnoea (18.5%), while the most common finding in clinical examination was tachycardia (26.7%). Presentation was more frequent in the winter months. ECG findings were not specific, with the repolarization abnormalities being the most frequent (60.3%). Atrial fibrillation was observed in two patients, both of whom presented with a reduced ventricular systolic function. Left ventricular ejection fraction changed significantly during the hospitalization [55% (IQR: 50–60%) on admission vs. 60% (IQR: 55–60%) on discharge, P = 0.0026]. Cardiac magnetic resonance was performed in 88 patients (61%), revealing mainly subepicardial and midcardial involvement of the lateral wall. Late gadolinium enhancement was present in all patients, while oedema was found in 39 of them. Only 11 patients underwent endomyocardial biopsy. Discharge medication consisted mainly of beta‐blockers (71.9%) and angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors (41.8%), while 39.7% of the patients were prescribed both. Conclusions This preliminary analysis describes the typical presentation of myocarditis patients in Greece. It is a first step in developing a better prognostic model for the course of the disease, which will be completed after the incorporation of the patients' follow‐up data.

Restoration of blood flow in the infarct-related artery and subsequent myocardial reperfusion are major goals of both thrombolysis and primary percutaneous interventions. Whether percu taneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) with immediate stenting (primary stenting) produces reperfusion more rapidly than primary PTCA alone is uncertain. This study deter mines whether primary stenting produces earlier myocardial reperfusion than primary PTCA alone in patients with acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction using troponin T release kinetics. Primary stenting was performed on 60 patients and primary PTCA alone on 44 patients with typical ischemic chest pain and greater than 1.5 MV ST segment elevation in more than 2 contiguous electrocardiographic leads. Serum troponin T concentrations were measured before and after intervention; every 6 hours for 24 hours; then at 36, 48 and 72 hours. The mean time from onset of chest pain to peak serum troponin T concentration was 7.8 ±2.7 hours after primary stenting and 14.5 ±4.4 hours after primary PTCA (p < 0.0005). The mean peak serum troponin T concentration was 9.8 ±6.3 ng/dL after primary stenting and 13.6 ±6.4 ng/dL after primary PTCA (p < 0.012). A significant univariate association with time to peak concentration of serum troponin T was identified for primary stenting (p < 0.0005), time from onset of chest pain to intervention (p < 0.04), and diabetes mellitus (p < 0.01). The only significant univariate marker associated with peak concentration of serum troponin T was primary stenting (p < 0.012). Multivariate analysis indicated that primary stenting (p < 0.0005), time from onset of chest pain to intervention (p < 0.048), and diabetes mellitus (p < 0.022) significantly influenced time to peak serum concentration or troponin T. Primary stenting produces earlier myocardial reperfusion than primary PTCA in patients with acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction.

Data on risk factors associated with mechanical ventilation (MV) weaning failure among SARS-CoV2 ARDS patients is limited. We aimed to determine clinical characteristics associated with weaning outcome in SARS-CoV2 ARDS patients under MV.To determine potential risk factors for weaning outcome in patients with SARS-CoV2 ARDS.A retrospective observational study was conducted in the ICUs of four Greek hospitals via review of the electronic medical record for the period 2020–2021. All consecutive adult patients were screened and were included if they fulfilled the following criteria: a) age equal or above 18 years, b) need for MV for more than 48 hours and c) diagnosis of ARDS due to SARS-CoV2 pneumonia or primary or secondary ARDS of other aetiologies. Patient demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded for the first 28 days following ICU admission. The primary outcome was weaning success defined as spontaneous ventilation for more than 48 hours.A hundred and fifty eight patients were included; 96 SARS-CoV2 ARDS patients. SOFA score, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and shock were independently associated with the weaning outcome OR(95% CI), 0.86 (0.73–0.99), 0.27 (0.08–0.89) and 0.30 (0.14–0.61), respectively]. When we analysed data from SARS-CoV2 ARDS patients separately, COPD [0.18 (0.03–0.96)] and shock [0.33(0.12 – 0.86)] were independently associated with the weaning outcome.The presence of COPD and shock are potential risk factors for adverse weaning outcome in SARS-CoV2 ARDS patients.