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Journal and News Scan
September 7, 2017
Submitted by: Claire Vernon
Murashita and colleagues reviewed the surgical outcomes of patients with intraoperatively-confirmed constrictive pericarditis. The authors divided patients into a historical group (1936- 1990) and a contemporary group (1990-2013) to compare patient presentation and analyze risk factors for negative outcomes. The etiology of pericarditis was known in nearly half of contemporary cases, as opposed to fewer than 20% of historical cases. Long-term outcomes were similar between the groups when patient characteristics were controlled for.
CME activity related to this article is available online.
September 5, 2017
Submitted by: Claire Vernon
The last four days matter: larger changes in atmospheric pressure correlate with primary spontaneous pneumothorax. This paper matches two hospital databases with meteorologic data of a geographic area in Japan over more than five years.
September 4, 2017
Submitted by: Marco Nardini
A wide experience, from the Euorpean Institute of Oncology, on Pancoast tumors' treatment confirms that surgery is still the most important step of the multimodality approach for the patients affected by this condition.
August 25, 2017
Submitted by: Claire Vernon
Dr Magdi H. Yacoub and colleagues explore the major approaches, pearls, and pitfalls of septal myectomy, which represents the contemporary gold standard for treating symptomatic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients without significant comorbidities. The authors further cover key components of the preoperative workup for this procedure, as well as current evidence for short- and long-term outcomes in these patients. They emphasize that surgical techniques for relief of left ventricular outflow obstruction are still significantly underused, despite consistent demonstrations of safety and efficacy.
August 25, 2017
Submitted by: Claire Vernon
Patient Care
Two critically ill patients receive heart transplants within 4 hours in a hospital in Mumbai, India, thanks to efficient and quick transport of the organs.
A report in the World Journal of Surgery says that the primary skills of US surgeons, being ever more specialized, don’t align with the procedures that comprise the majority of work performed by groups like Médecins Sans Frontières.
Drugs and Devices
A confidentiality commitment has been signed as part of ongoing increased information exchange between the European Medicines Agency and the US Food and Drug Administration.
Research, Trials, and Funding
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, USA, find that women have a better outcomes than men following chemotherapy and radiation prior to surgery for advanced esophageal cancer.
Surgeons in New York City, USA, find evidence that questions prophylactic insertion of inferior vena cava filters in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury.
August 23, 2017
Submitted by: Arie Blitz
This CCF retrospective study compared outcomes for diabetic patients undergoing CABG who received either (1) bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) grafts or (2) single internal thoracic artery (SITA) plus radial artery (RA) grafts during CABG. A total of 1,325 patients over a 17-year period were included in the analysis, with a median follow-up of 7.4 years. Results: For propensity-matched patients, in-hospital outcomes and long-term survival were similar in the two groups.
Question: For diabetic patients, should the choice of BITA vs. SITA + RA be considered equivalent? Why or why not?
August 22, 2017
Submitted by: Joel Dunning
This is an expert summary of the evidence for thymectomy in nonthymomatous myasthenia gravis, titled Thymectomy and myasthenia gravis: A history of surgical passion and scientific excellence.
It really suggests that this operation is the standard of care for these patients if they are ACh-positive and young and MGFA II or above.
August 22, 2017
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
The authors compare outcomes of open versus minimally invasive esophagectomy (OE, MIE) from the National Cancer Databased (NCDB) 2010-2012 and use propensity scoring to match patients (977 pairs). Short term outcomes were equivalent for LOS and mortality, and median survival was similar. Nodal removal was higher for MIE (16.3 vs 14.5).
August 21, 2017
Submitted by: Aristotle Protopapas
An editorial on what will be soon required from papers sent to the Circulation group of periodicals, and probably soon to all reputable biomedical journals. Bolli advances that the internal and external validity of manuscripts has space for improvement!
August 18, 2017
Submitted by: Claire Vernon
Patient Care
Several private hospitals in Kolkata, India, have applied for licenses to perform heart and lung transplants in a region underserved for transplant of these organs.
A personal trainer from England shared a picture of herself to spread the message that you don’t have to be a smoker to get lung cancer.
Surgeons at Fortis Vasant Kunj in New Delhi, India, removed a pleural tumor weighing over 3 kg from a man’s chest.
Drugs and Devices
The US Food and Drug Administration has cleared the Haart 200 aortic annuloplasty device from BioStable Science & Engineering for bicuspid aortic valve repairs.
The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation in Minnesota, USA, announced that the first patient has been enrolled in a study to evaluate a clip-based repair for tricuspid regurgitation.
Research, Trials, and Funding
Researchers in the United Kingdom show that greater birth weight predicts better outcomes for infants with congenital heart disease.
A biopharmaceutical company, PolyPid Ltd, announced that it has completed enrollment in an early stage trial for an antibiotic drug reservoir product meant to prevent sternal infection after cardiac surgery.
Robotic-assisted transhiatal esophagectomy is found to be safe and effective for select patients with esophageal cancer, in a retrospective study by Allina Health researchers.
Medtronic announced a global randomized clinical trial to compare dual antiplatelet therapy outcomes with two drug-eluting stents following PCI procedures.