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.

Professional Affairs

May 3, 2014
This systematic review and meta-analysis of individual patient data from 15 RCTs (2385 pts) assessed the utility of preoperative chemotherapy in patients with primarily stages Ib-IIIa NSCLC.  Chemotherapy resulted in a 13% reduction in death (HR 0.87, p=0.007), and a 5% survival improvement at 5 years.
May 1, 2014
A panel for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid determined that annual low-dose CT screening for lung cancer carries too high a risk related to the potential benefits.  They expressed concern about high false-positive rates, quality assurance, and gaps in evidence as to how the CT results would be used.  Despite the fact that many professional grou
April 28, 2014
A Consensus Statement issued by the International Aortic Arch Surgery Study Group, on the standardization of clinical endpoints for aortic arch surgery. This guideline recommends a list important secondary outcomes that should be reported to enable comprehensive analysis of patient outcomes.
April 26, 2014
The new expert opinion paper by the ESC working on the optimal strategy for antiplateletet therapy in patients undergoing CABG
April 6, 2014
CTSNet is proud to announce that the interview series Pioneers in Cardiac Surgery, has been restored and will be reposted in the coming weeks on CTSNet.org. The interview series, envisioned and created by W. Gerald Rainer, Ted Sadler, Marvin Pomerantz and Bruce Paton, was designed to preserve the early history of the specialty through informal interviews with pioneering cardiac surgeons. Now, 41 years after the interview series began, the audio interviews have been restored into an accessible video format.
April 3, 2014
This is an interesting article on the provision of pediatric cardiac surgery in the developing world. 
April 2, 2014
Quality metrics based on administrative databases are sometimes unreliable. This study examined data from nearly 245,000 Medicare patients undergoing CABG to determine the reliability of 30-day readmission rates and whether that metric is an appropriate indicator of hospital quality.
March 24, 2014
Joel Dunning visits with Timothy M. Scanlan, Scanlan International President & Chief Executive Officer, and Brigid Scanlan Eiynck, Scanlan International Vice President, Surgical Instruments. In the interview, Mr. Dunning reviews the Scanlan family’s unique history, dedication to quality, and fascinating relationships over the years.
March 7, 2014
LVI is thought to be an adverse prognostic indicator of survival in patients with NSCLC.  This review quantified the relationship of LVI and survival.  The unadjusted effect of LVI for recurrence-free survival was HR=3.63 and for overall survival was HR=2.38.  After adjustment for covarates, these HRs were 2.52 and 1.81, both highly significant. 
October 7, 2013
This study of 389 pts receiving a continuous flow LVAD evaluated the risk of thromoembolic (TE)complications associated with preop AF.   TE occured in 25% of pts; freedom from TE at 2 years was 46% in those with AF and 72% in those without AF (p<0.001).  AF did not affect late survival.  

Pages