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Journal and News Scan
December 3, 2014
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
Program directors from 6 distinctly different training centers assessed educational costs for CT resident training. Before formal accounting information was explored, the PDs estimated the annual cost per resident to be $250,000. The actual costs per year per resident ranged from $330,000 to $667,000, with a mean of $483,000. Faculty teaching costs made up more than half of the total costs, whereas simulation costs comprised 0 to $80,000. The contributions of the residents to program savings averaged $37,000.
December 3, 2014
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
This study explored recent patterns of surveillance imaging 4-8 mos after surgical treatment of early stage lung cancer using the SEER database. Initial imaging consisted of CXR (60%), CT (25%) and PET (3%). 13% of patients received no imaging. NCCN guidelines adherence for receipt of CT was 47%, but increased from 28% to 60% over the period of study. Adherence was reduced in pts with stage I disease and those who had surgery as a single treatment modality.
December 3, 2014
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
This study determined the relationship of pre-hospital use of epinephrine during resuscitation to survival in patients who experienced return of spontaneous circulation after out of hospital cardiac arrest. 73% received epinephrine, and 17% of those patients experienced a good outcome (discharged alive with good neurologic status). Of those who did not received epinephrine, 63% had a good outcome. There was a dose-response effect. Delayed administration of epinephrine had the worst outcomes.
December 2, 2014
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
This is an interesting historical vignette describing the discovery of transfer factor (TLCO, DLCO) and its subsequent importance in pulmonary physiology and cardiorthoracic risk assessment.
December 1, 2014
Submitted by: Joseph Basha
This is an excellent article on the feasibility of offering Veno Arterial ECMO in outlying community hospitals for Refractory Cardiogenic Shock (RCS). The Authors review a four year time period and describe assessing 104 patients of whom 87 were deemed eligible for V-A ECMO therapy. The authors conclude that providing V-A ECMO therapy in a community hospital environment for RCS is both feasible and resulted in an impressive mortality reduction of 30%. The Authors present points regarding the need for a constantly available dedicated staff, strong logistical support, and dedicated ICU beds. In addition, the authors discuss the probability of increased costs and resource utilization.
November 30, 2014
Submitted by: Joel Dunning
This is a stunning video of a myectomy and mitral anterior leaflet repair. It really shows the abilities of the robot very well indeed. Well done
November 30, 2014
Submitted by: Marcelo Jimenez
A reexamination of data from the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) with nodules above the 4mm, has been shown that increasing the nodule size threshold for a positive screen, substantially reduces the false-positive CT screenings rate and increase slightly the lung cancer missed or delayed but without affecting the survival.
November 29, 2014
Submitted by: Tom C. Nguyen
Randomized multicenter trial comparing losartan versus atenolol in young patients with Marfan's syndrome with no significant difference in aortic root dilation between groups.
November 29, 2014
Submitted by: Tom C. Nguyen
141,905 isolated primary surgical aortic valve replacements (SAVR) were stratified by STS risk of mortality. SAVR outcomes were superior to those by the predicted risk models.
November 28, 2014
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
Shanker Vedantam interviews Jason Hockenberry, an economist at Emory University, regarding recent research into patient behavior following PCI or CABG. CABG patients were more likely to quit smoking after intervention for CAD. This may be a result of the magnitude of the intervention, and has implications for improving smoking cessation programs.