Publications by authors named "Ayad S"

Ebstein's anomaly is a rare congenital displacement of the tricuspid valve resulting in atrialization of the right ventricle. About half of the patients with Ebstein's anomaly also have atrial septal defects, which may lead to chronic shunting and development of Eisenmenger syndrome. We describe a case of a sexagenarian male patient with a history of Ebstein's anomaly complicated with Eisenmenger syndrome undergoing robotic laparoscopic adrenalectomy who presented hemodynamic instability, hypoxemia, and likely right-to-left shunting intraoperatively, as well as the actions taken to correct it and have a successful outcome.

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Background: Given the public's tendency to overestimate the capability of artificial intelligence (AI) in surgical outcomes for plastic surgery, this study assesses the accuracy of AI-generated images for breast augmentation and reduction, aiming to determine if AI technology can deliver realistic expectations and can be useful in a surgical context.

Methods: We used AI platforms GetIMG, Leonardo, and Perchance to create pre- and postsurgery images of breast augmentation and reduction. Board-certified plastic surgeons and plastic surgery residents evaluated these images using 11 metrics and divided them into 2 categories: realism and clinical value.

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  • Placenta previa is a serious condition where the placenta partially or completely covers the cervix, increasing the risk of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) and complications for both mother and baby.* -
  • A 36-year-old woman with a complicated medical history, including chronic hypertension and prior cesarean sections, experienced massive PPH during a scheduled cesarean due to complete placenta previa.* -
  • Due to the patient's refusal of blood transfusions as a Jehovah's Witness, her treatment for PPH involved urgent interventions, including uterine artery embolization and ultimately a hysterectomy after other methods failed.*
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  • Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is a rare autoimmune hemolytic anemia where hemolysis occurs due to the activation of the classical complement pathway, with unclear incidence in pregnant women.
  • A case study of a 37-year-old woman undergoing a repeat Cesarean section revealed her anemia (hemoglobin 7.9 g/dL) was linked to CAD and required 20 blood transfusions throughout her pregnancy.
  • The management included preventing hypothermia to reduce hemolysis, utilizing spinal anesthesia and bilateral TAP blocks for effective pain control during the surgery.
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Objectives: To investigate the safety and efficacy of ANG-3777, a hepatocyte growth factor mimetic, in mitigating the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Methods: In this double-blind placebo-controlled study (Guard Against Renal Damage [GUARD]), patients were randomized to receive intravenous ANG-3777 2 mg/kg or placebo once daily for 4 days. The primary end point was severity of AKI, measured by mean area under the concentration-time curve on percent increase in serum creatinine from days 2 to 6.

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Complete heart block in women of childbearing age is rare, and incidental diagnosis during pregnancy is more uncommon. Hence, there remain no well-established guidelines on the management of patients with complete heart block presenting in labor. Here, we present a 26-year-old full-term primigravida, with no known previous cardiac history, in active labor with asymptomatic bradycardia in the 30-40s unresponsive to atropine augmentation.

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  • The study aimed to predict in-hospital mortality in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) using machine learning (ML) algorithms, specifically focusing on the QTc interval, and compared these predictions to established risk scores.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 500 ACS patients over two years, developing three ML models: Random Forest, Naive Bayes, and PART, measuring their effectiveness against the GRACE and TIMI risk scores.
  • The models showed promising performance, with the ML algorithms achieving an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.83 to 0.93, while the GRACE score had an AUC of 0.90, highlighting the potential of using ML for mortality prediction in hospital settings.
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Introduction: The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) plays a pivotal role in regulating blood pressure (BP), with dysregulation of RAAS resulting in hypertension and potentially heart failure (HF), myocardial infarction (MI), cardio-renal syndrome, and stroke. RAAS inhibitors, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEis) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), have advantages beyond BP control. However, differences between these two drug classes need to be considered when choosing a therapy for preventing cardiovascular events.

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Carnitine Palmitoyl Transferase Type II (CPT II) deficiency is a disorder of fatty acid beta oxidation that causes decreased adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and ketone production during periods of fasting or high energy requirements. Labor and delivery can precipitate attacks for parturients with this disorder, causing hypoglycemia, muscle weakness, rhabdomyolysis, and kidney failure. Anesthetic management considers the delivery mode and anesthetic medications available to reduce these risks.

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Background: Breast Cancer and cardiovascular diseases are amongst the two leading causes of mortality in the United States, and the two conditions are connected in part because of recognized cardiotoxicity of cancer treatments. The aim of this study is to investigate the predictors risk factors for thirty-day readmission in female breast cancer survivors presenting with acute heart failure.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of acute heart failure (AHF) hospitalization in female patients with breast cancer in 2019 using the National Readmission Database (NRD), which is the largest publicly available all-payer inpatient readmission database in the United States.

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This case report presents the complex analgesia management of a 52-year-old male with a significant medical history including atrial fibrillation treated with apixaban, essential trigeminal neuralgia, non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, and chronic systolic heart failure. The patient experienced a loss of control while riding a motorized bicycle, resulting in a fall and head injury with no loss of consciousness. Upon admission, he tested positive for ethanol, cannabinoids, and oxycodone.

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  • Pain management in multi-site trauma, especially from motor vehicle accidents, is challenging due to increased pain tolerance from polysubstance abuse, leading to higher opioid doses.
  • Peripheral nerve blocks (PNB) can effectively reduce opioid use and control postoperative pain in these patients.
  • The case report emphasizes the significance of incorporating PNBs into a comprehensive pain management strategy for patients with polytrauma and substance abuse issues.
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We present the case of a 56-year-old female with a significant medical history of cholelithiasis and recurrent choledocholithiasis. Following an elective cholecystectomy, an obstructing gallstone in the common bile duct led to a series of interventions, including endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and stent placement. The patient was scheduled for a robot-assisted laparoscopic common bile duct exploration.

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This case report describes a 75-year-old female with a medical history including recurrent bowel obstruction due to sigmoid stricture, atrial fibrillation managed with rivaroxaban, a 50-year one pack-per-day smoking history, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, peripheral vascular disease with bilateral iliac stents (2015), stage III chronic kidney disease, and renal artery stenosis with bilateral stenting. She was transferred from outside hospital for an elective sigmoidectomy with ileorectal anastomosis following several recent admissions due to bowel obstruction that had been managed non-operatively. She was deemed optimized for surgery by the primary care team; however, during induction, she developed pulseless ventricular tachycardia requiring extensive resuscitative efforts.

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Background: Felcisetrag (5-hydroxytryptamine-4 receptor [5-HT] agonist) is under investigation as prophylaxis or active treatment for accelerating resolution of gastrointestinal function post-surgery.

Methods: Phase 2, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel five-arm, double-blind, multicenter study (NCT03827655) in 209 adults undergoing open or laparoscopic-assisted bowel surgery. Patients received intravenous placebo, felcisetrag 0.

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Caesarean section is the most common inpatient surgery in the USA, with more than 1.1 million procedures in 2020. Similar to other surgical procedures, healthcare providers rely on opioids for postoperative pain management.

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Background: The amount of same-day surgery has increased markedly worldwide in recent decades, but there remains limited evidence on chronic postsurgical pain in this setting.

Methods: This study assessed pain 90 days after ambulatory surgery in an international, multicenter prospective cohort study of patients at least 45 yr old with comorbidities or at least 65 yr old. Pain was assessed using the Brief Pain Inventory.

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  • A 33-year-old woman, pregnant for the third time, had fetal surgery at 22 weeks to fix a spinal condition, which led to early membrane rupture.
  • After that, she developed a serious saddle pulmonary embolism while on bed rest, which caused strain on her heart.
  • She was treated urgently with a procedure to remove the clot and an IVC filter, and subsequently delivered her baby successfully via cesarean section.
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  • Solitary plasmacytoma (SPC) is a rare cancer where abnormal plasma cells grow in bones or soft tissues, often affecting the spine, without showing systemic disease.
  • A case study is discussed involving a 58-year-old man with multiple health issues who presented severe back pain and leg weakness, leading to the discovery of a tumor in the spine through MRI.
  • Treatment included high-dose steroids and surgery, followed by radiation and chemotherapy, which were effective, highlighting the need for prompt diagnosis, multidisciplinary approaches, and further research to enhance treatment options for SPC.
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Injury of a coronary cusp of the aortic valve is a rare complication that can occur during coronary angiography. It usually occurs from multiple attempts with different catheters to access the ostia of the right coronary artery, but it has also occurred accessing the ostia of the left coronary artery. We present the case of a patient who underwent coronary angiography with suspected coronary cusp injury that remained asymptomatic but was found to have severe aortic regurgitation during coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) one week later, requiring an aortic valve replacement.

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Background: The effects of spinal versus general anesthesia on long-term outcomes have not been well studied. This study tested the hypothesis that spinal anesthesia is associated with better long-term survival and functional recovery than general anesthesia.

Methods: A prespecified analysis was conducted of long-term outcomes of a completed randomized superiority trial that compared spinal anesthesia versus general anesthesia for hip fracture repair.

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  • A curriculum was developed to enhance procedural access for internal medicine residents through an interdisciplinary procedure course featuring simulation sessions and a one-week rotation supervised by various medical specialties.
  • Sixteen residents participated, resulting in nearly double the number of procedures performed (from 176 to 343) and significant increases in confidence levels, especially for intubations.
  • The collaboration across specialties proved effective in boosting residents' procedural skills and confidence, highlighting their desire for improved training opportunities.
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  • The study tested whether virtual reality (VR) presentations reduce postoperative pain and opioid needs in patients recovering from hip surgery, comparing immersive VR experiences to 2D nature films.
  • Results showed no significant difference in pain scores or opioid consumption between the VR and control groups after the interventions, indicating that VR did not effectively alter pain levels.
  • The research involved 106 patients, assessing pain and opioid use while considering usability and mobility, but concluded that VR presentations did not provide the anticipated analgesic benefits.
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Riedel's lobe is a rare anatomical variant of the liver morphology with a downward tongue-like projection of the anterior edge of the right lobe. It is usually detected incidentally with abdominal imaging performed for other indications. We present a case where we found Riedel's lobe incidentally, with invasive adenocarcinoma arising from close proximity.

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