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Journal and News Scan
May 1, 2019
Submitted by: Claire Vernon
Melfi and colleagues present a keynote lecture outlining the evolution of robotic thoracic surgery. The robotic technique in thoracic surgery has progressively become widespread, particularly for the treatment of mediastinal and pulmonary lesions. The authors discuss the development of technology in the robotic system that has been associated with the improvement of intraoperative and postoperative results.
April 30, 2019
Submitted by: Claire Vernon
Aortic endografting leads to aortic stiffening. In this experimental animal study, Yamashita and colleagues evaluated the effect that thoracic endografting had on cardiac afterload, function, and remodeling. The authors report increased aortic input impedance and left ventricular mass after three months, although the effect of experimental descending aorta endografting on left ventricular contractility and efficiency was minimal.
April 29, 2019
Submitted by: Arie Blitz
The authors prospectively analyzed right ventricular (RV) function in 109 patients undergoing a broad range of cardiac surgeries. RV function was assessed at several time points by evaluating TAPSE and 2D longitudinal RV strain to evaluate long axis RV function, and fractional area exchange to evaluate global RV function. After CPB and after chest closure, reduced RV function was demonstrated across all cardiac procedures. Thus, there is a significant failure to protect the RV during surgery.
If one accepts these findings, what modes of myocardial protection should be assessed or re-assessed to protect the RV? Why or why not?
April 28, 2019
Submitted by: Arie Blitz
The authors of this single-center open-label pilot trial evaluated the intermediate-term outcomes of patients undergoing either heart (n=8) or lung (n=36) transplantation from donors that had evidence of active hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. All patients underwent treatment of HCV antiviral treatment for 4 weeks after transplantation. The primary outcome measured was a composite of a sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after completion of antiviral therapy for HCV infection and graft survival 6 months after transplantation. Of the initial 35 patients who had completed 6 months of follow-up, all patients met the primary outcome. Thus, at intermediate term follow-up, HCV infection was prevented in 100% of patients.
April 28, 2019
Submitted by: Arie Blitz
This single-center study retrospectively analyzed the impact of the implementation of thromboelastography (TEG) on all cardiac procedures performed during 2-year intervals prior to and after TEG implementation. A total of 367 and 310 patients were included in the analysis for the pre-TEG and post-TEG eras, respectively. The authors found that the implementation of TEG was associated with a significant reduction in blood product usage, reoperation, postoperative LOS, and 6-month mortality.
April 28, 2019
Submitted by: Arie Blitz
The authors analyzed the STS database for elective aortic root replacement (with several important exclusions) to derive risk factors for mortality and morbidity. A total of 8,807 patients met inclusion criteria. Significant predictors for mortality that were discovered include atrial fibrillation, body surface area, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, NYHA IV, diabetes, concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting, concomitant mitral valve surgery, and Bentall operation.
April 26, 2019
Submitted by: Claire Vernon
Patient Care and General Interest
Uruguay’s fight against tobacco and Phillip Morris was highlighted at the recent Annual Meeting of the American College of Cardiology, and one physician shares her thoughts.
The University of California Los Angeles has opened a new center, the Robert G. Kardashian Center for Esophageal Health, to focus on treatment, research, and education for esophageal disorders.
Drugs and Devices
Boston Scientific’s transcatheter Lotus Edge Aortic Valve System was cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration. The company launched the system recently in Europe and will launch it in the US soon.
Goggles that facilitated a mixed-reality view of 3D echocardiography were used for a percutaneous mitral valve intervention in Poland.
Research, Trials, and Funding
Researchers from St. Louis, Missouri, USA, report on the impact of a 2017 change in US lung transplant policy that expanded the geographic boundaries for determining which patients get first priority for donor lungs.
Simulation training improves a team’s ability to manage operating room fires more than training that is exclusively didactic, say researchers from Illinois, USA.
April 26, 2019
Submitted by: Claire Vernon
Park and colleagues sought to identify risk factors that could predict the need for systemic outflow relief operations (SORO) in newborn patients with transposed great arteries and either double-inlet left ventricle or tricuspid atresia. The authors evaluated data from 20 patients with double-inlet left ventricle and 10 patients with tricuspid atresia who underwent single-ventricle palliation between 2000 and 2018. Approximately 67% of patients underwent SORO, and arch obstruction and smaller systemic outflow tract area index at end-systolic phase were both predictive of a subsequent need for an SORO.
April 25, 2019
Submitted by: Wei-Guo Ma
The Radiological Society of North America debuts its first issue of a focused publication dedicated to cardiothoracic imaging—Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging.
The editor is Suhny Abbara, MD, Professor of Radiology and Chief of Cardiothoracic Imaging Division at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
The first issue features an editorial by Abbara and a host of original research involving aortic dissection with 4D flow magnetic resonance imaging, dual-energy cardiac computed tomography to shed light on myocardial late iodine enhancement and extracellular volume quantification, and tissue tracking versus feature tracking for strain measurement on cardiac MR images.
Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging is a bimonthly journal available exclusively online. The journal is now accepting manuscript submissions that cover all aspects of cardiac, vascular, and pulmonary imaging.
April 24, 2019
Submitted by: Wei-Guo Ma
In 148 patients with type A aortic dissection who underwent emergency total arch replacement, 155 had a conventional elephant trunk procedure (CET, age 65 ± 12 years) and 33 had a frozen elephant trunk procedure (FET, 67 ± 11 years). Early mortality was similar in the two groups (8.7% with CET versus 6.1% with FET). The FET group showed advantages of false lumen thrombosis and aortic remodeling at early follow-up examinations.