Publications by authors named "Athanasia Vlahou"

Tracheal rupture is a very rare but life-threatening complication of endotracheal intubation. It is more common in women and patients older than 50 years old. Overinflation of endotracheal tube cuff and tracheal wall weakening are the most important pathogenetic mechanisms.

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Introduction: The fate of the aorta after tube graft replacement remains unclear.

Aim: We investigated the evolution of aortic dilatation after non-aortic cardiac operations and the dimensions of the root and arch after ascending aorta replacement.

Material And Methods: From 252 patients with aortic dilatation operated on between January 2010 and June 2019, 160 were followed with CT angiography.

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Objective: Tobacco smoking represents a major risk factor for coronary artery disease. Our study aimed to investigate whether Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery could act as a motivating factor to enforce smoking cessation. Specifically, we observed the success rate in individuals who quitted smoking, along with the number and reasons of relapse(s) at least one year after the operation.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study implemented VLAD methods to monitor risk-adjusted 30-day mortality and morbidity for cardiac surgeries, comparing predicted outcomes to actual results over time.
  • Risk scores were calculated for 249 surgeries, and VLAD plots revealed fluctuating mortality rates and consistently positive outcomes for most complications, except for DSW infections, which performed worse than expected.
  • Sharing these VLAD charts in multidisciplinary meetings allowed clinicians to identify underperformance and make necessary adjustments in clinical practices to improve patient outcomes.
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 Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common complication after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). It is associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased cost. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between transfusion of blood derivatives and occurrence of postoperative paroxysmal AF.

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