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Journal and News Scan
September 3, 2021
Submitted by: Christopher Anderson
The updated EACTS and ESC valvular heart disease guidelines (superseding those published in 2017) are focused on acquired valvular heart disease and are oriented towards management of the condition.
August 28, 2021
Submitted by: Jessica Luc
In this article, Trudell et al surveyed the Women in Thoracic Surgery membership to assess for characteristics of allyship. Qualities of allyship identified include mentorship, support, and sponsorship; whereas, competitiveness, disrespect, discrimination, stereotyping, unconscious bias, and undermining were reported as detrimental factors.
August 28, 2021
Submitted by: Jessica Luc
In this study by Olive et al, they demonstrate the demographic landscape of current cardiothoracic surgeons and trainees in terms of sex and race/ethnicity, and demonstrate improvement in diversity of trainees and faculty across multiple training pathways over the years.
August 28, 2021
Submitted by: Jessica Luc
In this article, Loo et al demonstrate in a survey to the Thoracic Surgery Residents Association membership that only approximately 20% of trainees were accurate in estimating surgeon reimbursement, with a demonstrated lack of understanding in how reimbursement models work, despite acknowledgement of its importance. This study highlights an area of need for creation of a dedicated reimbursement / financial education curricula for cardiothoracic surgery trainees.
August 27, 2021
Submitted by: Christopher Anderson
This paper shows that landing zone optimization using aortic septotomy resulted in a much higher positive aortic remodeling rate, whereas standalone TEVAR outcomes without adjunctive procedures for cTBAD were unfavorable. The authors show that routine aortic septotomy may have a positive effect on long-term cTBAD survival and expand TEVAR candidacy.
August 27, 2021
Submitted by: Alexander Nissen
The following editorial focuses on CoC Standard 5.8 for curative-intent resection of primary pulmonary malignancy. We offer a summary of Standard 5.8, and relevant data upon which it is based, in hopes of improving implementation in 2021 and improving compliance, which will first be assessed during site reviews taking place in 2022. We also describe best practices for pathologists, registrars and surgeons to achieve these compliance goals.
August 27, 2021
Submitted by: Christopher Anderson
This invited commentary offers insights into a manuscript that provides a deeper understanding of the perioperative outcomes of patients with stage II/IV non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with tumour resection after neoadjuvant immunotherapy, alone or as part of multimodal treatment.
August 27, 2021
Submitted by: Christopher Anderson
It is difficult to identify patients with myocardial infarction after they have undergone heart surgery, but this manuscript presents a useful algorithm to help one decide between watchful waiting and immediate action.
August 20, 2021
Submitted by: Christopher Anderson
It is generally necessary to implant a permanent pacemaker (PPM) in 1% to 5% of patients undergoing cardiac surgery due to conduction disturbances. The authors of this study sought to discover whether PPM implantation timing and particular conduction disturbances are linked to the need for a permanent pacemaker. They concluded that implanting a PPM on postoperative day 7 was optimal for preventing unnecessary implantations and long-term hospitalizations.
August 16, 2021
Submitted by: Alexander Nissen
This is the largest analysis of COVID-19 related impact on adult cardiac surgery volume, trends, and outcomes. During the pandemic, cardiac surgery volume suffered dramatically, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions during the first COVID-19 surge, with a concurrent increase in observed-to-expected 30-day mortality.