This controlled randomized trial examined the benefits of targeted PCI vs medical therapy alone for patients with stable CAD and stenosis who were found to have zones of fractional flow reserve of less than 0.8 at angiography. Patients without regions of FFR <0.8 were entered into a registry. The composite outcome was death, nonfatal MI, or urg
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Coronary disease
August 18, 2014
The study aims to compare outcomes between minimally invasive coronary artery bypass (MINI–CAB) and drug–eluting stent (DES) implantation for isolated left anterior descending (LAD) disease. Given the available evidence, MINI–CAB results in lower TVR rates, but otherwise similar clinical outcomes when compared with DES in patients with LAD disease.
August 18, 2014
Bakaeen and colleagues have retrospectively reviewed the use of off-pump surgery among 2137841 primary isolated CABG operations in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Database. They showed that off-pump procedures peaked in 2002 with 23% of CABG operations, after which it declined to 17% in 2012.
August 8, 2014
In this study the cost-effectiveness of CABG vs. DES-PCI was analysed from a U.S. Healthcare perspective. Using 5-year cost and quality-of-life data from the SYNTAX trial and lifetime extrapolations, the authors found that CABG was an economically attractive treatment option for most patients with 3-VD or left main CAD disease.
July 12, 2014
Volume-outcomes relationships for operative mortality were first identified more than a decade ago. This study updated the data using Medicare claims for more than 3 million patients. The inverse relationship between volume and outcomes was confirmed for all 8 procedures studied. The inverse ratio actually increased for 5 of 8 procedures despite o
Endoscopic Harvesting Device Type and Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery
July 12, 2014
This prospective multiinstitutional study evaluated outcomes of different devices used for endoscopic vein harvesting classified as open or closed tunnel devices. There was no difference in the incidence of early graft failure or late clinical outcomes. The poorer graft outcomes related to endoscopic vein harvesting are not attributable to device
July 9, 2014
This video is part of a series demonstrating cardiothoracic surgery performed by left-handed surgeons. This video demonstrates left-handed placement of pericardial stays.
July 4, 2014
The PARTNER trial reported reduced mortality in pts with prior CABG who underwent surgical AVR compared to TAVR. This study further explores the 288 pts in these two groups. The groups were similar in their clinical presentation and had similar instances of procedure-related mortality, stroke, and MI. The TAVR pts had more paravalvular leak, at 2
June 30, 2014
The incidence of coronary artery disease among patients with severe aortic stenosis and candidates for TAVI ranges from 40 to 75%. In the absence of randomized trials, the management of these patients remains to be established. In this paper, the authors offer a good overview of the subject and propose an algorithm for treatment.