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Journal and News Scan
March 12, 2014
Submitted by: J. Rafael Sadaba
In this manuscript the authors analyse data from the cohort B (inoperable patients) of the PARTNER trial in order to compare outcomes in two groups of patients, those inoperable for technical reasons and those inoperable for clinical reasons. Patients deemed inoperable for technical reasons had a lower risk profile. Two-year mortality and quality of life was significantly better in this group.
March 11, 2014
Submitted by: J. Rafael Sadaba
There have been some concerns about outcomes of TAVI in patients with bicuspid aortic valves (BAV). In this retrospective study, outcomes after TAVI in 21 patients with BAVs were compared with those in 447 patients with tricuspid aortic valves (TAV). Device success was lower and 30-day mortality was higher in BAV patients. There was no significant difference between groups in terms of 30-day composite safety end point, postprocedural aortic regurgitation or in 12-month cardiovascular mortality.
March 8, 2014
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
During the period 1997-2009, nearly 3,000 military veterans with NSCLC were evaluated regarding the utility of PET in staging their cancers. PET use increased in frequency during the study period from 9% to 91%. PET reduced the chance of unnecessary surgery by nearly 50%.
March 8, 2014
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
In an effort to provide diagnostic information complementary to radiographic screening for lung cancer, the authors evaluated the diagnostic performance of plasma mRNA. The mRNA signature classifier demonstrated 87% sensitivity and 81% specificity, with a negative predictive value of 99%. In contrast, low dose CT had a sensitivity of 79% and a specificity of 81%. Combining the mRNA signature classifier and low dose CT resulted in a 5-fold decrease in false positive findings based on CT alone.
March 7, 2014
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
LVI is thought to be an adverse prognostic indicator of survival in patients with NSCLC. This review quantified the relationship of LVI and survival. The unadjusted effect of LVI for recurrence-free survival was HR=3.63 and for overall survival was HR=2.38. After adjustment for covarates, these HRs were 2.52 and 1.81, both highly significant.
March 5, 2014
Submitted by: Joel Dunning
From plane crashes to lightning strikes these are the 25 things that are statistically most likely to kill you.
March 4, 2014
Submitted by: Joel Dunning
A new study suggests that delaying heart surgery may be associated with a high risk of adverse events or death in the period between dental surgery and a planned cardiac operation
March 4, 2014
Submitted by: Joel Dunning
Routine screening is warranted for the first-degree relatives of patients who present with thoracic aortic disease before age 60 years in the absence of predisposing conditions such as hypertension, Marfan syndrome, or bicuspid aortic valve, Dr. Elizabeth N. Robertson said at the American Heart Association scientific sessions. "We've shown that screening of first-degree relatives for familial thoracic aortic aneurysm disease is essential, as we detected an average of two additional affected individuals per initial patient
March 4, 2014
Submitted by: Joel Dunning
This is an amazing video that actually shows live evidence of clot in the vein after harvesting !
Why are we all not doing this routinely after all vein harvest ?
You must have a quick look at this
March 4, 2014
Submitted by: Tom C. Nguyen
The debate between surgeon sleep deprivation and performance continues. This study looked at complications from laparoscopoic cholecystectomies (n=94,183) in surgeons who operateed the night before and found no difference in outcomes. Although lap cholecystectomies don't translate to cardiothoracic surgery, some of the discussion points apply. Also, there is an excellent editorial accompanied the article written by Michael Zinner and Julie Ann Freischlag.