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Journal and News Scan
May 10, 2015
Submitted by: Joseph Basha
This is a follow up study by the investigators on aortic valve opening during continuous flow LVAD support. Their earlier study looked at the rate of aortic insufficiency during CF LVAD support therapy comparing patients who achieved aortic valve opening during rest versus those who did not. This current study examines the compression of patients who achieve aortic valve opening versus those patients who do not achieve this during exercise and the rate of aortic insufficiency development. Findings included improved exercise tolerance and decreased re-admission rates for those patients who achieved aortic valve opening. The investigators recommend aggressive cardiac rehabilitation programs to decrease AI and improve QOL for patients treated with CF LVAD devices.
May 10, 2015
Submitted by: J. Rafael Sadaba
In this manuscript, the authors describe their findings of an extensive literature review of 12 mostly observational, retrospective studies evaluating the use of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in patients after CABG. They conclude that there is no clear consensus regarding the use DAPT in patients undergoing CABG. Nevertheless, if not contraindicated, it is reasonable to use DAPT following CABG in the setting of acute coronary syndrome, starting in the postoperative period when chest tube drainage is acceptable.
May 10, 2015
Submitted by: Joseph Basha
In this excellent case report the authors describe the use of ECMO on a 28 year old pregenant female (26 weeks gestation) that developed ARDS requiring ECMO support for survival. The outcome for both mother and child was described as excellent with both being discharged from hospital care. The article has several important elements regarding ECMO for pulmonary failure and adds to the successful management of these patients with factors including pregnancy and long distance air transport. With recent reports of ECMO use increasing upwards of 400% over the last several years, technological advancements and improved protocols, including earlier intervention, the use of ECMO may increase to a point that manpower considerations may be something that needs to be addressed by the acute care community in advance to avoid an inability to provide an effective therapy for patients with severe pulmonary failure.
May 8, 2015
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
Targeting specific genetic changes in cancer cells offers patients personalized therapy for their tumors. The number of identified abnormalities is rapidly increasing, and determining whether they represent driver mutations or background noise is increasingly difficult. The IBM Watson supercomputer will be used by 10 US cancer centers to identify actionable targets and match them to existing therapies.
May 5, 2015
Submitted by: CTSNet Staff
In this paper, Nilsson et al present the first international survival prediction model for heart-transplanted patients. The findings from this study show that a flexible non-linear artificial neural network model can be used to predict both short- and longterm mortality with higher accuracy. Furthermore, the results indicate that a survival prediction based organ sharing system may allocate more organs compared with a criterion-based system.
May 4, 2015
Submitted by: Joel Dunning
Check out this great website, where a group of students in London took on a project to try to develop a depth sensing endoscope which will tell you how close your instruments are to tissues in the Thoracic cavity ( Much like a parking sensor in a car)
A glimpse of the future ?
Let these students know what you think
Of Note if you have any other projects that you think computer scientists can do at UCL, just let us know. They will do it for free !!!
CTSNet editors
April 30, 2015
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
This prospective study evaluated QOL and lung function after extended pleurectomy/decortication (EPD) for mesothelioma in 36 patients. Patients with performance status (PS) 0 experienced little or no improvement in QOL but did have a significant decrease in lung function (FVC, FEV1, TLC, DLCO). Patients with PS 1-2 experienced improved QOL and no important change in lung function.
April 30, 2015
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
Results of AV valve surgery in patients with Fontan circulation were evaluated over a 23 year period. 54 (9.3%) of patients requird AV valve surgery, mostly prior to the Fontan operation. 90% of patients were free from death or transplantation at 5 years; this fell to 81% at 10 years. Nearly 45% required AV valve reoperation. The rate of persistent AV valve regurgitation was 26% at 5 years and 33% at 10 years.
April 30, 2015
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
Patients with LV dysfunction who underwent complete surgical revascularization were evaluated with angiograms, echo, and MR (evaluating late vascular enhancement with contrast). About 70% of dysfunctional segments segments demonstrated improved wall motion after revascularization, and this was unrelated to the degree of late vascular enhancement evident preoperatively.
April 30, 2015
Submitted by: Mark Ferguson
Results of moderate hypothermic arrest and antegrade cerebral perfusion (MHCA group) were compared with deep hypothermic arrest and retrograde cerebral perfusion (DHCA) for management of hemiarch reconstruction using single institution data. The MHCA group was older and more often affected by atherosclerotic aneurysm. MHCA was associated with shorter CPB times and aortic crossclamp times and with less need for transfusion. Acute outcomes were similar between the groups.