Echo-Doppler Predictors of Residual Pulmonary Hypertension After Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy.

Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) remains the preferred treatment for surgical accessible thrombus in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). However, residual pulmonary hypertension (PH) can persist post-PTE. A retrospective single-center analysis of patients that underwent PTE between 2013 and 2023.

Computed Tomographic and Clinical Findings Predictive of Successful Peritonsillar Abscess Drainage.

Objective: Prompt diagnosis of a peritonsillar abscess (PTA) is critical to prevent complications such as airway compromise. Bedside drainage and medical therapy are the mainstays of treatment, but there is a lack of research into clinical and radiographic markers that are predictive of successful PTA drainage. In this study, we sought to identify those factors.

Enhancing medical students' point-of-care ultrasound confidence and competence.

Aim: Undergraduate medical education in point-of-care ultrasound remains limited. Common barriers to implementation include limited curricular space, financial constraints, and lack of instructors. This pilot study aims to assess the efficacy of a one-day symposium on medical students' point-of-care ultrasound skills, knowledge, and confidence.

Evaluating the intersectionality of race and gender and its impact on heart transplant equity, listing outcomes, and allocation policy.

Background: Although there are existing studies on the role of race- and gender-based disparities as one-dimensional elements in heart transplantation (HTx), few reports have examined the intersection of such identities. Our study investigates the intersectionality of race and gender, and its impact on HTx waitlist outcomes.

Methods: Data from adult patients listed for orthotopic HTx between 2010 and 2023 were analyzed using the United Network for Organ Sharing database.

Online Cognitive-Behavioural Intervention to Manage Dental Anxiety: A 12-Month Randomised Clinical Trial.

Objective: The study aimed to test the efficacy of an online cognitive-behavioural therapy dental anxiety intervention (o-CBT) that could be easily implemented in dental healthcare settings.

Methods: An online cognitive-behavioural protocol based on psychoeducation, exposure to feared dental procedures and cognitive restructuring was developed. A randomised controlled trial was conducted (N = 499) to test its efficacy.

Uremic toxin receptor NR1H3 contributes to hyperlipidemia- and chronic kidney disease-accelerated vascular inflammation, which is partially suppressed by novel YBX2 anti-ROS pathway.

Hyperlipidemia and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are well-established risk factors for cardiovascular disease and act synergistically to promote vascular inflammation and disease progression. However, the mechanisms underlying this synergetic effect remain largely unknown. Using a mouse model combining hyperlipidemia (via high-fat diet feeding, HFD) with 5/6 nephrectomy-induced CKD, we made the following significant findings: 1) HFD + CKD upregulated 1179 genes in mouse aortas and induced prominent reactive oxygen species (ROS), far more than either HFD or CKD alone.

Enoxaparin Titration for Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis in the Burn Injured Patient - A Single Center Experience.

Burn injured patients develop altered metabolic processes predisposing them to venous thromboembolism and bleeding. Enoxaparin titration for venous thromboembolism prevention in trauma patients is safe, but this approach is not well defined in burn injured patients. We hypothesized that titration of enoxaparin in burn patients is safe and does not increase bleeding risk.

Disparities in heart transplant survival and graft rejection outcomes persist in the modern era: a call to race towards a more equitable future.

Objectives: Racial and ethnic disparities remain an ongoing challenge in healthcare. Such inequities have been reported in heart transplantation (HTx); however, there is limited data within the modern era. Additionally, there is scarce information on outcomes besides death, such as graft rejection.

Alzheimer's disease as an auto-innate immune pathology with potential cell trans-differentiation and enhanced trained immunity in 3xTg-AD mouse model.

BackgroundAlzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by memory impairment. Neuroinflammatory processes, mediated by glial and immune cells, contribute to neuronal damage. Emerging evidence implicates innate immune mechanisms, including trained immunity and cell trans-differentiation, in AD pathogenesis, though their roles remain unclear.

The Impact of Intra-abdominal Cancer Stage on Outcomes after Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair.

ObjectiveA significant number of patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair have a prior diagnosis of cancer. Further information on outcomes following AAA repair in patients with recent intra-abdominal malignancy diagnosis could help guide decision making.MethodsWe used the 2005-2016 Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database to examine outcomes of AAA repair in patients with a recent intra-abdominal malignancy diagnosis.

A multicenter analysis of lung transplantation outcomes comparing donation after circulatory death and donation after brain death.

Background: Donor organ shortage is a barrier to lung transplantation. Donation after circulatory death (DCD) may offer a solution, although it is underutilized. The objective of this study was to compare survival and other postoperative outcomes between DCD and donation after brain death (DBD).

Therapeutic Efficacy of a Novel Pharmacologic GRK2 Inhibitor in Multiple Animal Models of Heart Failure.

GRK2 is the most prominent G protein-coupled receptor kinase that is upregulated in heart failure (HF), and inhibiting GRK2 has improved cardiac function in mice. CCG258208, generated from the paroxetine scaffold, which has GRK2 inhibitory properties, has a 50-fold higher selectivity for GRK2 at 100-fold lower doses. We evaluated CCG258208 in 2 mice HF models and found that CCG258208 has robust therapeutic effects.

The Ross Procedure in Active Infective Endocarditis: A Comparison With Conventional Prostheses.

Background: The Ross procedure can be an ideal option in infective endocarditis (IE) due to greater resistance to infection. However, limited literature has highlighted the comparison with conventional prostheses in this setting.

Methods: Between February 2013 and September 2022, 25 patients (median age, 50 years) underwent a Ross procedure for IE (Ross group).

Relationship between body mass index and traditional size-matching in heart transplantation.

Background: Donor-recipient size matching is an important consideration for heart allocation, of which predicted heart mass (PHM) ratio has been found to be the most optimal metric. However, the PHM formula has not been validated in a cohort that included obese recipients. Therefore, our study seeks to add further granular data on this topic by investigating acute survival in PHM categories across multiple body mass index (BMI) groups.

The Multifactorial Relationship Between Bone Tissue Water and Stiffness at the Proximal Femur.

Bone mechanical function is determined by multiple factors, some of which are still being elucidated. Here, we present a multivariate analysis of the role of bone tissue composition in the proximal femur stiffness of cadaver bones (n = 12, age 44-93). Stiffness was assessed by testing under loading conditions simulating a sideways fall onto the hip.

Racial and ethnic disparities on the heart transplant waiting list.

Background: Racial disparities continue to affect countless individuals across the United States and is an ongoing issue in heart transplantation (HTx). Though inequities for post-transplant survival have been studied, there remains limited and conflicting data for waitlist outcomes. Our investigation aims to address this by analyzing mortality and transplantation outcomes on the heart transplant waiting list for various racial and ethnic groups.

Relativity, Rank, and the US News Health's Cardiology, Heart, and Vascular Surgery Best Hospitals.

Objective: Virtually anything can be ranked; the (USNWR or US News) ranks the top 50 hospitals specializing in cardiology, heart, and vascular surgery. Here the authors propose validating the effectiveness of rankings by comparing differences among the USNWR metrics across the top 50 hospitals.

Methods: The ranking system for the top 50 hospitals specializing in cardiology, heart, and vascular surgery was derived from 16 variant scores.

A Single-center Experience With >200 Lung Transplant Recipients With COVID-19 Infection.

Background: Although COVID-19 is no longer a declared global health emergency, data remain limited on the impact of COVID-19 in lung transplant recipients.

Methods: We identified lung transplant recipients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 from March 2020 through August 2022 in our institutional database and investigated clinical outcomes. We then analyzed outcomes based on date of COVID-19 diagnosis (first wave March 2020-October 2020; second wave November 2020-2021; third wave December 2021-September 2022) and compared these results.

Buprenorphine Induction in Trauma Patients With Opioid Use Disorder - A Single Center Experience?

Introduction: Buprenorphine is a Food and Drug Administration-approved therapy for opioid use disorder, with proven efficacy in treatment retention and reduction in opioid use and mortality. Low-dose buprenorphine initiation or microinduction is a novel means of initiation that may allow for an easier transition in patients. Trauma patients have high rates of opioid use disorder and patient directed discharges (PDD).

Cardiac device creativity and innovation under constraints: Exploring trends from the food and drug administration's device clearances and recalls.

Background: Medical device expenditures have increased in the 21st century, with cardiac devices comprising an outsized portion of the market. Meanwhile, the disproportionate share of FDA recalls of cardiac devices is often overshadowed. Using the FDA 510(k) premarket notification pathway and FDA recalls issued from 2000 to 2020, this project seeks to engage our understanding of innovation and recalls in the cardiac device space.

Safety of thyroidectomy in hospitalized patients: A descriptive analysis of the NSQIP thyroidectomy-targeted data.

Background: Some patients undergo thyroidectomy while hospitalized for a related or independent indication. Outcomes have not been described in this group.

Methods: The 2016-2018 thyroidectomy-targeted NSQIP datasets were queried for patients admitted for ≥1 day preoperatively.