Central versus peripheral VA ECMO for cardiogenic shock: an 8-year experience of a tertiary cardiac surgery center in Greece.

Background: Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) has emerged as an effective rescue therapy in patients with cardiogenic shock refractory to standard treatment protocols, and its use has been rising worldwide in the last decade. Although experience and availability are growing, outcomes remain poor. There is need for evidence to improve clinical practice and outcomes.

Successful management of pulmonary hemorrhage from lung carcinoid, in a patient on VenoArterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support.

Introduction: A young man was referred to our Center for refractory cardiogenic shock, accompanied with uncontrolled atrial flutter of unknown duration. The patient was supported with VenoArterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (VA ECMO) and Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump (IABP) as a bridge to decision.

Case Report: His course was complicated by pulmonary hemorrhage due to an unknown endobronchial mass.

Quality of life and functional capacity in patients after cardiac surgery intensive care unit.

Coronary heart disease and aortic stenosis are prevalent cardiovascular diseases worldwide, leading to morbidity and mortality. Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) have therapeutic benefits, including improved postoperative quality of life (QoL) and enhanced patient functional capacity which are key indicators of cardiac surgery outcome. In this article, we review the latest studies of QoL outcomes and functional capacity in patients who underwent cardiac surgery.

Safety and Feasibility of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation in Patients with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility and safety of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and thoroughly assess any potential adverse events. : We conducted a prospective observational study assessing safety and feasibility, including 16 ICU patients on ECMO support who were admitted to the cardiac surgery ICU from January 2022 to December 2023. The majority of patients were females (63%) on veno-arterial (VA)-ECMO (81%), while the main cause was cardiogenic shock (81%) compared to respiratory failure.

Effects of combined aerobic, resistance and inspiratory training in patients with pulmonary hypertension: A systematic review.

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a serious progressive disorder of the modern world, characterized by endothelial dysfunction and impaired vasoreactivity. Patients with PH usually present exercise intolerance from the very early stages and reduced exercise capacity. Exercise training has been shown to have beneficial effects in patients with cardiovascular comorbidities.

Portal vein pulsatility: An important sonographic tool assessment of systemic congestion for critical ill patients.

In this editorial we comment on the article by Kuwahara , published in the recent issue of the . In this interesting paper, the authors showed a correlation between portal vein pulsatility ratio, examined by bedside ultrasonography, and prognosis of hospitalized patients with acute heart failure. Systemic congestion is being notoriously underdetected in the acutely ill population with conventional methods like clinical examination, biomarkers, central venous pressure estimation and X-rays.

Advanced Heart Failure: Therapeutic Options and Challenges in the Evolving Field of Left Ventricular Assist Devices.

Heart Failure is a chronic and progressively deteriorating syndrome that has reached epidemic proportions worldwide. Improved outcomes have been achieved with novel drugs and devices. However, the number of patients refractory to conventional medical therapy is growing.

Safety and effectiveness of neuromuscular electrical stimulation in cardiac surgery: A systematic review.

Background: Lack of mobilization and prolonged stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) are major factors resulting in the development of ICU-acquired muscle weakness (ICUAW). ICUAW is a type of skeletal muscle dysfunction and a common complication of patients after cardiac surgery, and may be a risk factor for prolonged duration of mechanical ventilation, associated with a higher risk of readmission and higher mortality. Early mobilization in the ICU after cardiac surgery has been found to be low with a significant trend to increase over ICU stay and is also associated with a reduced duration of mechanical ventilation and ICU length of stay.

Successful management of harlequin syndrome due to pulmonary hemorrhage and atelectasis with VAV- ECMO.

Introduction: Pulmonary hemorrhage is a life-threatening complication of VA-ECMO occasionally presenting with Harlequin syndrome.

Case Report: We present a case of a VA-ECMO patient complicated with pulmonary hemorrhage, complete right lung atelectasis and differential hypoxia refractory to conventional treatment including optimal mechanical ventilation and bronchoscopy interventions. Patient was successfully managed by conversion of VA to VAV-ECMO.

Publisher Correction to: Three-dimensional tumor growth in time-varying chemical fields: a modeling framework and theoretical study.

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors noticed that the following errors were introduced by pdf/html formatting issues.

Three-dimensional tumor growth in time-varying chemical fields: a modeling framework and theoretical study.

Background: Contemporary biological observations have revealed a large variety of mechanisms acting during the expansion of a tumor. However, there are still many qualitative and quantitative aspects of the phenomenon that remain largely unknown. In this context, mathematical and computational modeling appears as an invaluable tool providing the means for conducting in silico experiments, which are cheaper and less tedious than real laboratory experiments.

Immune Phenotype Correlates With Survival in Patients With GBM Treated With Standard Temozolomide-based Therapy and Immunotherapy.

Background/aim: The need for more effective treatment modalities that can improve the clinical outcome of patients with glioblastoma multiforme remains imperative. Dendritic cell vaccination is a fast-developing treatment modality, currently under exploration. Functional immune cell subpopulations may play a role in the final outcome.

Transdermal Delivery of AT1 Receptor Antagonists Reduce Blood Pressure and Reveal a Vasodilatory Effect on Kidney Blood Vessels.

Background: The Renin Angiotensin System (RAS) is pharmacologically targeted to reduce blood pressure, and patient compliance to oral medications is a clinical issue. The mechanisms of action of angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) in reducing blood pressure are not well understood and are purported to be via a reduction of angiotensin II signaling.

Objective: We aimed to develop a transdermal delivery method for ARBs (losartan potassium and valsartan) and to determine if ARBs reveal a vasodilatory effect of the novel RAS peptide, alamandine.

In Silico Neuro-Oncology: Brownian Motion-Based Mathematical Treatment as a Potential Platform for Modeling the Infiltration of Glioma Cells into Normal Brain Tissue.

Intensive glioma tumor infiltration into the surrounding normal brain tissues is one of the most critical causes of glioma treatment failure. To quantitatively understand and mathematically simulate this phenomenon, several diffusion-based mathematical models have appeared in the literature. The majority of them ignore the anisotropic character of diffusion of glioma cells since availability of pertinent truly exploitable tomographic imaging data is limited.

Epoetin alfa in platinum-treated ovarian cancer patients: results of a multinational, multicentre, randomised trial.

This multicentre, open-label, controlled clinical trial assessed the effects of epoetin alfa treatment on haematologic and quality of life (QOL) parameters in 182 anaemic (Hb< or = 12 g dl(-1)) ovarian cancer patients receiving platinum chemotherapy. Patients were randomised 2 : 1 to receive epoetin alfa 10,000-20 000 IU three times weekly plus best standard treatment (BST) or BST only. Main study end points were changes from baseline in haemoglobin (Hb) level, transfusion requirements, and QOL.

Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis after major remission to taxane-based front-line therapy in patients with advanced breast cancer.

Aim: To determine the incidence of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC), as the first manifestation of systemic progression, in breast cancer patients after obtaining a major response (complete response, CR or >80% partial response, PR) to first-line taxane-based chemotherapy treated between 1996 and 2000 in our Medical Oncology Unit.

Patients And Methods: Patients with histologically proven breast cancer having either metastatic disease, or high-risk locoregional disease that were entered into treatment protocols with first-line taxane (paclitaxel or docetaxel) plus anthracyclines or mitoxantrone combinations and developed LMC as the first evidence of progression after major response (CR or >80% PR) were analyzed in the present study (n = 155).

Results: Seven patients with a median age of 54 (range: 40-70) years developed LMC as their first evidence of progression after taxane-based regimens with a median interval of 6 months (range: 2-18) from start of treatment to diagnosis of LMC.

Gemcitabine and vinorelbine as second-line therapy in non-small-cell lung cancer after prior treatment with taxane+platinum-based regimens.

Treatment options in patients with recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain limited as a result of the poor activity of older agents after platinum-based therapy. The present phase II study aimed to evaluate the combination of gemcitabine and vinorelbine in patients with relapsed NSCLC after pretreatment with taxane+platinum-based regimens, since gemcitabine has demonstrated activity in that setting and the combination has been well tolerated in previous phase I/II studies. Patients with advanced NSCLC (stages III/IV), World Health Organization (WHO), Performance Status (PS) < or = 2, prior platinum+taxane-based chemotherapy and unimpaired haematopoietic and organ function were eligible.

Chemotherapy-induced complete regression of choroidal metastases and subsequent isolated leptomeningeal carcinomatosis in advanced breast cancer: a case report and literature review.

Choroidal metastases from breast cancer represent an unusual metastatic presentation that has been traditionally treated with radiation therapy. Herein, we report a case of metastatic breast cancer presenting with pulmonary, cutaneous, lymph node and symptomatic choroidal metastases treated with systemic combination chemotherapy incorporating docetaxel and mitoxantrone without induction or consolidation radiation therapy to control visual symptoms from choroidal metastases. The patient experienced a durable complete remission in all metastatic sites that was maintained for 21 months since the initiation of chemotherapy, afterwhich she developed isolated leptomeningeal carcinomatosis managed successfully with intensive intrathecal methotrexate and whole brain irradiation leading to a new complete remission maintained until this report; 11 months after its presentation.

A phase II study of paclitaxel-ifosfamide-cisplatin combination in advanced nonsmall cell lung carcinoma.

Background: The necessity to develop more effective chemotherapy regimens in advanced nonsmall cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) prompted the authors to evaluate the paclitaxel-ifosfamide-cisplatin (PIC) combination, developed on the basis of high individual single-agent activity, in vitro synergism, and tolerance as determined in a previous Phase I study by the authors.

Patients: Eligibility criteria included advanced NSCLC (American Joint Committee on Cancer [AJCC]/International Union Against Cancer [UICC] Stage III/IV), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (PS) View Article and Find Full Text PDF