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Journal and News Scan
August 21, 2019
Submitted by: Aristotle Protopapas
An interesting discussion in this manuscript of a case-control study of 666 subjects.
August 20, 2019
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
It's never too late to quit. Among heavy smokers, smoking cessation resulted in a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease within five years of quitting (hazard ratio 0.61), although their risk remained elevated compared to never smokers.
August 20, 2019
Submitted by: Aristotle Protopapas
Interesting follow-up study of 208 pulmonary ground -glass opacities in 160 subjects, with a yield of three adenocardinomas.
August 19, 2019
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
In a QI study of nearly 5,400 operations, 188 adverse events were recorded. Of these, over 56% were associated with human error. Of all human performance deficiencies, cognitive error accounted for over half.
August 19, 2019
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
A standardized perioperative management protocol for pts taking direct oral anticoagulants for atrial fibrillation entailed no bridging with other anticoagulants. It resulted in low and acceptable rates of major bleeding (<2%) and stroke (<1%).
August 19, 2019
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
Ever wonder why your patients get respiratory infections postoperatively? Here's another risk factor. Almost 95% of hospital caregivers completed at least one shift while ill with an acute upper respiratory infection during flu season, despite hospital policies against such behavior. This was more common among physicians than among nurses.
August 17, 2019
Submitted by: Wei-Guo Ma
JTCVS just published a call for proposals of joining the Cardiac Surgery Intersociety Alliance (CSIA) as pilot sites. CSIA is jointly overseen by the AATS, EACTS, STS, the Asian Society for Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, and the World Heart Federation. The mission of CSIA is to evaluate, endorse, and work with potential sites in low-income countries to increase access to sustainable heart surgery, with particular emphasis on rheumatic heart disease.
August 16, 2019
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
The FDA-approved use of TAVR has now expanded to low-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis. This includes both Edwards Lifesciences' Sapien 3 and Sapien 3 Ultra as well as Medtronic's Evolut R and Evolut PRO.
August 15, 2019
Submitted by: Emily Robinson
Nelson and colleagues analyzed data from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database on 3446 aortic valve replacement procedures performed between 2000 and 2016. The authors found that practice patterns varied widely, though autograft usage was higher at high-volume centers. Additionally, homografts were found to have higher rates of mortality and major complications than other valve types.
August 15, 2019
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
Using a machine learning algorithm, resource utilization among more than 1 million Medicare patients undergoing one of 6 operations including CABG and lung resection was analyzed. Super users comprised 4.8% of the cohort but consumed 31.7% of the resources. Risk factors for super use included paraplegia/hemiplegia, weight loss, and CHF combined with chronic kidney disease.