These authors analyzed retrospectively the effect of postoperative fibrinogen level on bleeding after heart surgery in their database of 2,800 patients. They found that serum fibrinogen levels lower than 220 mg/dl more than doubled the risk of postoperative bleeding.
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Professional Affairs
April 21, 2016
April 3, 2016
Neil Moat, one of the busiest British surgeons involved directly and consistently in TAVR, discusses PARTNER 2 and SURTAVI, paying particular attention to the health economics of low-risk TAVR and the implication of reduced profile devices.
March 31, 2016
The fourth (re- )classification of cardiopericardial tumours came from the World Health Organisation last year, 11 years after the third. In particular, the malignant fibrous histiocytomas are re classified as undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas.
March 23, 2016
Guidelines recommend that ICDs should not be implanted until after 90 days following revascularization in patients with an EF<35% and an MI. Studies have shown that no clinical benefit or detriment was derived by implantation prior to 90 days.
March 11, 2016
The authors provide an excellent overview of the rationale for screening all patients with a new diagnosis of cardiomyopathy for coronary artery disease. This rationale includes the following:
February 26, 2016
A CT surgery trainee recounts his experience conducting congenital cardiac surgery humanitarian work, and considers challenges to becoming involved in surgical volunteerism.
February 23, 2016
This consensus effort provides a new definition for septic shock, which affects a subset of patients with sepsis. The definition requires the presence of circulatory disturbances (BP unresponsive to fluids and requiring pressors), cellular and metabolic abnormalities (serum lactate level >2 mmol/L). The presence of these criteria is associated
February 18, 2016
The authors studied the rate of publication of completed clinical trials performed in academic medical centers in the US. Among over 4,300 such trials, only 36% were published within 2 years of completion, and only 66% were ultimately published at any time. There was considerable variation in publication rates among institutions.
December 24, 2015
With the successful linking of the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) database, the authors studied the extent to which the STS database represents national activity in CABG. The number of centers represented increased from 45% in 2000 to 90% in 2012. The number of CABG patients represented increased
December 17, 2015
Massimo Caputo relates the story of a how charitable project to establish a congenital heart surgery program in Homs, Syria, was destroyed by the civil war in that country.