National Incidence, Outcomes, and Management Strategies for Pre- and Post-Transplant Atrial Fibrillation in Heart Transplant Recipients.

Background: Among heart transplant candidates, atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common comorbidity; however, little is known about the impact of pre-transplant AF on incidence of post-transplant AF or other transplant outcomes.

Methods: Adult heart transplant recipients transplanted from 07/01/2012 to 07/01/2021 with data available in both the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients and Symphony Health pharmacy databases were included. Recipients were categorized by presence of pre-transplant AF using prescription fill data.

Cervicofacial Pediatric Tissue Expansion: Aesthetic Unit-Based Algorithm.

Background: Tissue expansion is a powerful tool in reconstruction of pediatric soft-tissue pathologies, but complication rates in children have been reported to be as high as 40%. Infection and implant extrusion lead to premature removal and delays in reconstruction. Expanding the head and neck is uniquely challenging because the confluence of facial aesthetic units must be respected.

CHCHD4-TRIAP1 regulation of innate immune signaling mediates skeletal muscle adaptation to exercise.

Exercise training can stimulate the formation of fatty-acid-oxidizing slow-twitch skeletal muscle fibers, which are inversely correlated with obesity, but the molecular mechanism underlying this transformation requires further elucidation. Here, we report that the downregulation of the mitochondrial disulfide relay carrier CHCHD4 by exercise training decreases the import of TP53-regulated inhibitor of apoptosis 1 (TRIAP1) into mitochondria, which can reduce cardiolipin levels and promote VDAC oligomerization in skeletal muscle. VDAC oligomerization, known to facilitate mtDNA release, can activate cGAS-STING/NFKB innate immune signaling and downregulate MyoD in skeletal muscle, thereby promoting the formation of oxidative slow-twitch fibers.

Prior COVID-19 Infection Predisposes to Worse Outcomes After Autologous Breast Reconstruction: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

Background: Major shifts in health care systems worldwide have occurred because of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). With nearly half of all Americans now having a history of COVID-19 infection, there is a pressing need to better understand the importance of prior COVID-19 infection as a potential surgical risk factor. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a history of prior COVID-19 infection on patient outcomes after autologous breast reconstruction.

Treatment Delays in Nonsyndromic Craniosynostosis: A 30-Year Retrospective Case-Control Analysis of the Impact of Socioeconomic and Family Status on Access to Care.

Background: Patients with nonsyndromic craniosynostosis (NSC) generally undergo corrective surgery before 1 year of age to the mitigate morbidities and risks of delayed repair. The cohort of patients who receive primary corrective surgery after 1 year and factors associated with their gaps to care is poorly characterized in literature.

Methods: A nested case-control study was conducted for NSC patients who underwent primary corrective surgery at our institution and affiliates between 1992 and 2022.

Outcomes of Lung Transplant Candidates Aged ≥70 Years During the Lung Allocation Score Era.

Background: With the increasing age of lung transplant candidates, we studied waitlist and posttransplantation outcomes of candidates ≥70 years during the Lung Allocation Score era.

Methods: Adult lung transplant candidates from 2005 to 2020 in the United Network for Organ Sharing database were included and stratified on the basis of age at listing into 18 to 59 years old, 60 to 69 years old, and ≥70 years old. Baseline characteristics, waitlist outcomes, and posttransplantation outcomes were assessed.

Early United States experience with lung donation after circulatory death using thoracoabdominal normothermic regional perfusion.

Thoracoabdominal normothermic regional perfusion (TA-NRP) has recently begun being utilized in the United States for recovery of cardiothoracic allografts from some donors after circulatory death (DCD), but data on lungs recovered in this method is limited to case reports. We conducted a national retrospective review of lung transplants from DCD donors recovered using TA-NRP. Of the 434 total DCD lung transplants performed between January 2020 and March 2022, 17 were recovered using TA-NRP.

Frailty is the New Age: A Retrospective Study of Modified Frailty Index for Preoperative Risk Assessment in Autologous Breast Reconstruction.

Background:  Age is a poor predictor of postoperative outcomes in breast reconstruction necessitating new methods for risk-stratifying patients preoperatively. The 5-item modified frailty index (mFI-5) is a validated measure of frailty which assesses patients' global health. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of mFI-5 and age as independent predictors of 30-day postoperative complications following autologous breast reconstruction.