ALERT!
This site is not optimized for Internet Explorer 8 (or older).
Please upgrade to a newer version of Internet Explorer or use an alternate browser such as Chrome or Firefox.
Journal and News Scan
October 28, 2022
Submitted by: Cameron Lind
A study was performed to assess the efficacy of topical vancomycin in the reduction of sternal wound infection (SWI), as this topic has become a point of contention. There was no difference between the vancomycin and saline control group at three months postoperatively, and similar findings were observed at one year. The study concluded that applying vancomycin makes no significant difference in SWI.
October 28, 2022
Submitted by: Cameron Lind
This randomized trial assessed the efficacy of vacuum-assisted sternal closure as compared to primary closure technique in the treatment of post-cardiac surgery mediastinitis in a pediatric age group. Out of 101 patients, the chance of survival six months post-surgery was higher for the primary sternal closure group. The study concluded that primary sternal closure technique is favorable over vacuum-assisted closure technique in pediatric cases.
October 28, 2022
Submitted by: Cameron Lind
In Fiji, where complex cardiac surgical care has not previously been available, a team of local surgeons is undergoing training with a team from India. The plan to establish two permanent cardiac surgical teams at Lautoka Hospital will greatly benefit the people of Fiji in the long term.
October 28, 2022
Submitted by: Cameron Lind
After a fetus was diagnosed with severe pulmonary stenosis, the first in-utero percutaneous balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty in western China was performed. Because the baby would be born with serious complications if surgeons decided to wait until after birth, the surgery was performed two months prior to delivery. The baby was born healthy on October 10, 2022.
October 21, 2022
Submitted by: Cameron Lind
A new study shows that white heart transplant patients are twice as likely to receive a heart transplant or ventricular assist device as Black heart transplant patients, perpetuating existing inequalities in healthcare access. Experts emphasize that this is due to differences in education and access, not biological determinants. Read the original study here.
October 21, 2022
Submitted by: Cameron Lind
A new research project, Healthcare Enabled by AI in Real-Time (HEART), aims to capture data from cardiac ICU monitors to analyze and predict a variety of different risk factors. Physicians can use the level of risk assigned by the data to each recovering cardiac surgery patient to determine if a patient needs more intense treatment before complications occur. Healthcare workers involved in critical care praise the project as a crucial advancement in the field.
October 21, 2022
Submitted by: Cameron Lind
An infant born prematurely with a double-outlet right ventricle became the youngest ever patient to undergo a ventricular switch procedure. In this rare case, the ventricular septal defect was remote, preventing a standard repair. The operation was successful, and the patient was discharged from the hospital at sixteen months old.
October 21, 2022
Submitted by: Cameron Lind
Lung transplant is a potentially life-saving option for patients with Covid-19-induced acute respiratory distress and pulmonary fibrosis. This study set out to determine whether Covid-19 lung transplant patients had comparable outcomes to other lung transplant recipients with similar lung function. The results from this study, pulled from a database of 37,333 lung transplant patients of all causes and 334 from Covid-related causes, showed minimal difference in six-month survival rates.
October 21, 2022
Submitted by: Cameron Lind
Because of the major developments in the treatment of esophageal cancer in recent decades, the authors of this study conducted it at a tertiary referral center to determine if long- and short-term survival rates had improved for patients who underwent esophagectomy from 1993 to 2018. The study showed that over the last twenty-five years, clinical outcomes and overall survival rates have improved in esophagectomy patients at this center.
October 13, 2022
Submitted by: Cameron Lind
A patient from Rwanda, who traveled to a medical center in Israel to undergo an operation for the congenital disease Tetralogy of Fallot, was not able to accept transfusions of donated blood due to her faith. Through arrangements with a blood bank, the hospital managed to obtain units of blood from the patient herself to be used in the operation, allowing the life-saving procedure to take place. The operation was successful; the patient returned to recovery at the heart center.