Patients' and family members' views on pacemaker reuse: An international survey.

Introduction: The reuse of cardiac implantable electronic devices may help increase access to these therapies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). No published data exist regarding the views of patients and family members in LMICs regarding this practice.

Methods And Results: An article questionnaire eliciting attitudes regarding pacemaker reuse was administered to ambulatory adult patients and patients' family members at outpatient clinics at Centro Nacional Cardiologia in Managua, Nicaragua, Indus Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, Hospital Carlos Andrade Marín, and Hospital Eugenio Espejo in Quito, Ecuador, and American University of Beirut Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon.

Warfarin for prevention of thromboembolism in atrial fibrillation: comparison of patient characteristics and outcomes of the "Real-World" Michigan Anticoagulation Quality Improvement Initiative (MAQI) registry to the RE-LY, ROCKET-AF, and ARISTOTLE trials.

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining warfarin use for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF) may not accurately reflect real-world populations. We aimed to determine the representativeness of the RCT populations to real-world patients and to describe differences in the characteristics of trial populations from trial eligible patients in a real-world setting. We hypothesized that a significant fraction of real-world patients would not qualify for the RE-LY, ROCKET-AF, and ARISTOTLE trials and that real-world patients qualifying for the studies may have more strokes and bleeding events.

Cleaning and Sterilization of Used Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices With Process Validation: The Next Hurdle in Device Recycling.

Objectives: This study sought to develop a validated, reproducible sterilization protocol, which could be used in the reprocessing of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs).

Background: Access to cardiac CIED therapy in high-income and in low- and middle-income countries varies greatly. CIED reuse may reduce this disparity.

Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation: Incidence, Mechanisms, and Clinical Correlates.

Atrial fibrillation is the most commonly encountered arrhythmia after cardiac surgery. Although usually self-limiting, it represents an important predictor of increased patient morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. Numerous studies have attempted to determine the underlying mechanisms of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) with varied success.

Nationwide Trends in Reported Incidence of Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy from 2006 to 2012.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) is believed to be an increasingly diagnosed syndrome; however, data on its incidence are limited. The purpose of this study was to determine the reported incidence of TC in the United States and to examine its trend over several years. Data was obtained from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, created by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, for each of the years from 2006 to 2012.

Postoperative atrial fibrillation: incidence, mechanisms, and clinical correlates.

Atrial fibrillation is the most commonly encountered arrhythmia after cardiac surgery. Although usually self-limiting, it represents an important predictor of increased patient morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. Numerous studies have attempted to determine the underlying mechanisms of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) with varied success.

Heart Rhythm Society members' views on pacemaker and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator reuse.

Background: Reuse of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) may help address the unmet need among patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods: To examine Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) physicians' opinions regarding CIED reuse, an online survey eliciting attitudes toward CIED reuse was sent to all 3,380 HRS physician members.

Results: There were 429 responses (response rate 13%).

Daily context matters: predictors of missed oral contraceptive pills among college and graduate students.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship between daily contextual factors and oral contraceptive (OC) adherence among students who attend college or graduate school.

Study Design: Data on OC adherence, demographics, contextual factors, and side-effects were collected as part of the acceptability of the NuvaRing (Merck & Co, Whitehouse Station, NJ) vs OC study, in which students were assigned randomly to the contraceptive vaginal ring or to a low-dose OC. We performed bivariate and multivariable analyses to create an explanatory model for nonperfect OC adherence (missed at least 1 pill during 3 months of use).

What will anesthesiologists be anesthetizing? Trends in neurosurgical procedure usage.

Background: To anticipate future changes to the practice of neuroanesthesia, we examined the nationwide trends in frequently performed operative neurosurgery.

Methods: We used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a random sampling of approximately 20% of United States hospitals from 1993 to 2007. Eight categories of operative neurosurgery were developed, based on procedure codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM).