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Journal and News Scan
This is an interesting, well-written account of pooled results of two medium-size RCTs . It would be interesting to see a third arm of optimum medical therapy in follow-up studies ...
Analysis of the Arterial Revascularization Trial indicated that multiple arterial grafting was linked to lower mortality in the ten years after CABG in diabetic patients when compared with the single arterial grafting approach. This assertion was in contrast to the same trial's main intention-to-treat results, which had previously shown that there was no discernible benefit between use of single arterial grafts over bilateral internal-thoracic artery grafts. Yet the original trial's high rate of crossover and range of expertise levels appeared to omit the presence of better outcomes where multiple grafts were used, especially in cases with highly experienced surgeons.
In January 2022, University of Maryland School of Medicine surgeon-scientists made history by successfully implanting a genetically modified pig heart into a fifty-seven-year-old patient in end-stage heart failure who did not qualify for a traditional heart transplant. It was considered an early success because the transplanted pig heart functioned well for several weeks without signs of rejection, but the patient ultimately died two months after the surgery. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be heart failure likely caused by variety of factors, including the use of intravenous immunoglobulin.
A Columbia University cardiologist calls out a lack of diversity in respected medical journal editorial boards. His analysis demonstrates that as of October 2020, of fifty-one editorial board members at the New England Journal of Medicine, just one was Black and one was Hispanic, four were East Asian, and two were South Asian. Of the forty-nine editorial board members at JAMA, two were Black, two were Hispanic, three were East Asian, and one was South Asian. No board member at either publication was Native American.
This scientific statement is a granular contribution to a major cardiovascular issue, illuminating nuances of the "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) FDA designation. One would expect the relevant Thoracic Associations in North America and Europe to contribute to this debate.
A new study recently published in JTCVS found that virtual-assisted lung mapping 2.0—a novel preoperative bronchoscopic lung mapping technique—can facilitate successful resections for deep pulmonary nodules, overcoming the limitations of conventional virtual-assisted lung mapping. The technique combines the multiple dye marks of conventional virtual-assisted lung mapping with intrabronchial microcoils to navigate thoracoscopic deep lung resection.
New findings published in the American Journal of Cardiology posit that transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) are associated with similar short-term outcomes among pediatric patients presenting with congenital heart disease (CHD). However, SAVR patients in the study had “significantly” longer ICU stays and hospitalization times and were more likely to require medications to control their blood pressure following the procedure.