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Journal and News Scan
September 25, 2020
Submitted by: Emily Robinson
Chauvette et al. present a multicenter study on the outcome of Ross procedure in adults with infective endocarditis. In their cohort of patients at five centers within Canada and the US, the authors observed an excellent mid-term outcome. The complication rate was low, showing one case of stroke (3%) and 13% cumulative incidence of endocarditis recurrence at eight years. Therefore, the authors conclude the Ross procedure as a safe and reasonable option for selected patients.
September 21, 2020
Submitted by: Jessica Luc
In this article, the authors explored cardiothoracic surgeons' perceptions of health services research and practice guidelines through open-ended, semi-structured phone interviews with cardiothoracic surgeons across the United States, highlighting gaps in the translation of guidelines to clinical practice.
September 21, 2020
Submitted by: Jessica Luc
This article assesses the career paths and interest in cardiothoracic surgery of the Women in Thoracic Surgery scholarship recipients and demonstrates the durability and impact of scholarship programs for women in our specialty.
September 21, 2020
Submitted by: Jessica Luc
In this article, the authors present a novel no-touch saphenous vein harvesting technique with preservation of the perivascular tissue with use of the harvester (MAQUET Getinge Group, Getinge AB, Göteborg, Sweden).
September 18, 2020
Submitted by: Emily Robinson
Chou et al. analyzed a nationwide ECMO register regarding patients with liver cirrhosis. They identified 233 patients, which represents 3.3% of all 7003 patients. These patients had a very high one-year mortality of more than 95%. Therefore, the authors conclude that ECMO should be used very carefully in patients with known liver cirrhosis.
September 15, 2020
Submitted by: Aristotle Protopapas
An open-access large metanalysis on the utility and risks of antiplatelets after PCI. Of note, mortality was not a primary endpoint. The message is that long dual antiplatelet use is an exchange between avoidance of myocardial events and serious bleeding.
The novel oral anticoagulants may enter the arena soon..
September 12, 2020
Submitted by: Jessica Luc
The authors implemented a prospective longitudinal, residency-wide coronary anastomosis simulation curriculum providing each participant with a low-fidelity coronary anastomosis simulator, high-quality instruments, and faculty mentor. They demonstrate at 1 year of follow-up improve anastomosis times and technical skills. A great model for programs to adapt to enhance their institution's simulation curriculum.
September 12, 2020
Submitted by: Jessica Luc
In this article, the authors review the literature highlighting factors that increase a patient's risk in acute Type A aortic dissection repair and provides suggestions for risk stratification to guide timing of surgery in select patients.
September 12, 2020
Submitted by: Jessica Luc
In this article, the authors demonstrate a novel technique of antegrade cardioplegia decannulation using the Cor-Knot system with phenomenal video and description on their case series. This technique has great utility in cases where closing the cardioplegia cannulation site can be challenging in minimally invasive video-assisted cardiac surgery.
September 11, 2020
Submitted by: Emily Robinson
Del Forno et al. present a retrospective study of 77 patients with de-novo 50-70% coronary stenosis undergoing valvular surgery. In these patients, bypass grafting of these coronaries was intentionally omitted. Within their cohort they did not observe any perioperative mortality and there was only one acute coronary syndrome leading to PCI and the overall PCI rate at six years was only 8 +/- 3.9%. Therefore, it seems to be safe to not bypass such stenosis and leave it to later follow-up and ischemia diagnostics.