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Journal and News Scan
March 23, 2018
Submitted by: Benjamin Bidstrup
This article examines an interesting concept for preparing for mitral repair. This may have useful assistance in complex valve repairs and in the early stages of training of young surgeons.
March 23, 2018
Submitted by: Claire Vernon
Patient Care
A teen in Chicago, Illinois, USA, awaiting a heart transplant received the news that a heart was available from his pediatric cardiologist, who dressed up as Chewbacca from Star Wars just for the occasion.
Surgeons in the UAE replaced all four heart valves in a man with infective endocarditis.
A hospital system based in Delaware, USA, plans to launch an app to help monitor infants born with a single ventricle when they are discharged from the hospital after surgery.
Drugs and Devices
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare has granted national reimbursement for the MitraClip™ from Abbott, a move that will make the technology more accessible through the country’s health insurance system.
Research, Trials, and Funding
Researchers from the Netherlands presented a proof-of-concept study at the recent European Heart Rhythm Association meeting, showing that putting light-sensitive ion channels into the heart allows it to terminate arrhythmias itself in response to a pulse of light.
Reports of severe myocarditis after cancer treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors are increasing, say researchers from the US and France, and they speculate that this is due both to increased use of these drugs and heightened awareness of this complication.
March 23, 2018
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
Surgery for cancer is known to suppress immune response and facilitate the development of metastases. In this study in mice, a scaffold designed to release agonists of innate immunity over time was placed in the bed of resected tumors. The treatment reduced local recurrence and improved survival.
March 21, 2018
Submitted by: Claire Vernon
Of 1,232 patients who underwent elective arch repairs at 11 European aortic centers, 155 were selected and their surgical outcomes were analyzed retrospectively. Approximately 13% of patients suffered an aortic event, and 85% of them needed reoperation. Multivariate analysis found older age at reoperation to be the only independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality.
March 21, 2018
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
One of the more contentious issues in Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) programs is the role of preoperative carbohydrate loading. This randomized trial demonstrated less need for insulin for treating serum glucose >180 mg/dl in the carbohydrate-loading group compared to the placebo group (2.4% versus 16.0%; RR 0.15; p<0.001) with no change in the frequency of postoperative infection.
March 21, 2018
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
A brief, informative, and helpful article. It highlights alarming reports that 80% to 90% of "negative" randomized controlled trials in surgery are not adequately powered to reliably declare a negative outcome.
March 19, 2018
Submitted by: Claire Vernon
Kepez and colleagues retrospectively evaluated the incidence of coronary artery-pulmonary artery collaterals in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Of 83 patients with CTEPH who underwent coronary angiography prior to pulmonary endarterectomy, collaterals were found definitively in 15 patients (18.1%) and were probable in an additional 4 patients (4.8 %). The presence of coronary artery-pulmonary artery collaterals was associated with higher pulmonary artery pressure, higher pulmonary vascular resistance, and a greater reduction in pulmonary vascular resistance following surgery.
March 19, 2018
Submitted by: Aristotle Protopapas
A medium-size RCT comparing full sternotomy to limited sternotomy for conventional aortic valve replacement, presented at the SCTS Annual Meeting in Glasgow. The 7-10% one year attrition rate seems quite disappointing, and will most probably be discussed. We will await the full paper to see what was the learning curve for the innovative approach.
Please scroll to page 14 in the link provided to read the presentation summary.
Beware of E-mails Soliciting for Articles: Journal Hijacking Is a New Menace for Academics Worldwide
March 19, 2018
Submitted by: Joel Dunning
A hijacked journal is a legitimate scientific journal that offers print-only version, for which a bogus website has been created by a malicious third party fake publisher for the purpose of fraudulently offering research scientists the chance to rapidly publish their paper online with publication fee. Journal hijackers are dominant in analyzing the behaviors of researchers and journalism worldwide. They find the email addresses of authors from the websites of commercial and non-peer-reviewed journals. During last few years, more than one hundred of hijacked journals have been observed. They charge a fee, but your article does not get published and you will not get a medline indexed citation.
March 18, 2018
Submitted by: Edward Savage
The authors studied 852 adults with bicuspid aortic valves. The prevelance of three morphotypes was tallied. Relative fusion rates were: RL 72.9%, RN 24.1% and LN 3%. Additionally, 18.3% had no raphe. Aortic regurgitation was unrelated to morphotype. Aortic stenosis was more common in the RN fusion group and in the presence of a raphe. Seventy-six percent had ascending aortic dilation unrelated to morphotype but associated with valve dysfunction. Aortic root dilation was present in 34% and was more commonly associated with male sex and aortic regurgitation.