Chagas disease — Trypanosoma cruzi (benznidazole)

Spironolactone, which improves outcomes in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, would do the same in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

In 3,445 patients with ejection fraction of 45% or more over a mean 3.3 years, the primary composite (cardiovascular death, aborted cardiac arrest or heart-failure hospitalization) occurred in 18.6% vs 20.4% on placebo (HR 0.89, P=0.14). Hyperkalemia doubled (18.7% vs 9.1%).

Why it matched: similar wording · same research area

Serum syndecan-4, which rises after heart attacks and in heart failure, would mark heart scarring and heart dysfunction in people with chronic Chagas disease.

In 56 patients, syndecan-4 did not correlate with heart scarring (P = 0.386), disease severity (P = 0.918), or ejection fraction (r = 0.02). NT-proBNP did correlate with both.

Why it matched: same research area

Treating predominantly central sleep apnea with adaptive servo-ventilation would improve outcomes in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.

In 1,325 patients the primary endpoint did not differ (54.1% vs 50.8%, HR 1.13, P=0.10), and all-cause mortality was significantly higher with servo-ventilation (HR 1.28, P=0.01), as was cardiovascular death (HR 1.34, P=0.006).

Why it matched: same research area

Adding fenofibrate to statin therapy would lower cardiovascular events in high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes, compared with a statin alone.

Across 5,518 patients followed for a mean 4.7 years, the primary outcome (nonfatal MI, nonfatal stroke or cardiovascular death) ran at 2.2% a year with fenofibrate vs 2.4% with placebo (HR 0.92, P=0.32), with no difference on any secondary outcome.

Why it matched: similar wording