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Journal and News Scan
May 5, 2016
Submitted by: Marcelo Jimenez
This is an outstanding and provocative editorial comment concerning treatment costs of lung cancer based on an article published in the last issue of the European Respiratory Journal. It reveals discrepancies in access to new therapies based on therapeutic targets due to molecular testing and treatment costs.
May 5, 2016
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
In this multicenter study, baseline QOL was assessed in over 200 patients with stage II or III esophageal cancer who underwent induction therapy and surgery or definitive chemoradiotherapy. Baseline QOL was related to survival independent of age, stage, histologic type, and treatment. It is suggested that assessment of baseline QOL is a prognostic tool that can be used in shared decision making.
May 5, 2016
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
The authors measured serum amino-terminal procollagen III (PIII) as a marker of myocardial fibrogenesis in patients undergoing the Fontan procedure for single ventricle circulation and in controls. Patients with single venticle circulation had elevated PIII levels compared to controls. Staged Fontan elements successively reduced PIII levels. The levels of volume load and cyanosis were related to PIII levels. Persisently elevated PIII levels were related to venticular stiffening. PIII may be a useful marker of disease state and could indicate a therpeutic target.
May 5, 2016
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
This article summarizes the current status of robotic approaches to mitral valve repair. The technique is suitable to all types of degenerative mitral valve disease, and the outcomes are similar to those for open repair.
May 5, 2016
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
The author summarizes the challenges but tremendous potential of mechanical circulatory support for infants and children undergoing heart surgery.
April 29, 2016
Submitted by: CTSNet Staff
This article examined the impact of gait speed, as a marker of frailty, on surgical outcomes in a group of 167 cardiac patients aged 65 years or older. The authors concluded that there was no relation between gait speed and outcome.
April 28, 2016
Submitted by: Joel Dunning
A hospital has agreed to pay a $2.2 million penalty for permitting the video-taping of two patients who did not consent to the filming. U.S. Federal regulators have also used the opportunity to clarify stipulations governing the filming of patients.
April 28, 2016
Submitted by: Stuart Head
In a large multi-center, propensity-matched study, Paparella et al found that antiplatelet therapy as opposed to oral anticoagulation therapy initiated after mitral valve repair as antithrombotic prophylaxis caused significantly less major bleeding, which also caused mortality to be less by a 5-fold than with anticoagulation therapy.
April 23, 2016
Submitted by: Aristotle Protopapas
An editorial discussion of the impressive 10-year benefits of CABG for ischemic cardiomyopathy as found in the STICH trial.
April 21, 2016
Submitted by: Arie Blitz
These authors analyzed retrospectively the effect of postoperative fibrinogen level on bleeding after heart surgery in their database of 2,800 patients. They found that serum fibrinogen levels lower than 220 mg/dl more than doubled the risk of postoperative bleeding.
Is it time to standardize the measurement of postop fibrinogen in cardiac surgery?