In Global News: Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion, the Future of TMVR, and an App That Beats the Allen Test

Patient Care
Michael Mack and Alec Vahanian discuss the state and future of transcatheter mitral valve replacement.
A new guideline on the use of endoscopic eradication therapy in Barrett’s esophagus published by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy recommends against surgery for patients with high-grade dysplasia and intramucosal esophageal adenocarcinoma.
 
Drugs and Devices
Researchers found that a smartphone app evaluates blood flow in radial and ulnar arteries prior to coronary angiography with higher accuracy than the traditional Allen test.
 
Research, Trials, and Funding
A man in Texas, USA, became one of the first recipients of lungs transplanted using ex vivo lung perfusion, as part of the EXPAND II OCS trial.
Chronic thromboembolic hypertension was one of the topics at the ongoing Annual Meeting of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation in Nice, France. Another session focused on DCD heart transplantation and ex vivo heart perfusion.
Researchers in Michigan, USA, found that patients undergoing coronary revascularization after the 2014 Medicaid insurance expansion in the USA had outcomes comparable to those for patients who underwent revascularization before the expansion.