Comparison of Long-Term Performance of Porcine versus Pericardial Bioprostheses.

Background: The long-term comparative results between porcine and pericardial bioprostheses for surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) is debated. Scarce information exists concerning direct comparative evaluation among contemporary devices. We compared late and very late results in a single center series (N=3,983 cases).

Late clinical and echocardiographic results with the Magna Ease© pericardial aortic bioprosthesis.

Objectives: The population of candidates to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) is evolving. The Perimount Magna Ease© bioprosthesis has been introduced relatively recently in the practice. We aimed at evaluating its long-term results.

Porcine bioprostheses for surgical aortic valve replacement: very long-term performance of a third-generation device.

Aims: We aimed at investigating the long-term durability of the Epic bioprosthesis for surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in a single-centre series of 888 implantations (2001-2018), expanding previous evaluations with shorter follow-up.

Methods: We retrieved prospectively collected in-hospital data and performed a systematic follow-up focusing on valve-related events (SVD, structural valve deterioration; PPM, patient-prosthesis mismatch; reoperation) (competing risks, CIF and Kaplan--Meier methods). We distinguished between SVD (permanent changes in valve function due to evolutive structural deterioration, ≥10 mmHg average gradient vs.

Durability of Mitral Valve Replacement With a Third-generation Bioprosthesis.

Background: Our aim was to evaluate the durability of a third-generation porcine bioprosthesis (Epic porcine xenograft; Abbott Cardiovascular Inc, St Paul, MN) in the mitral position, according to patients' age at surgery.

Methods: Four hundred eighty-two mitral valve replacements using the Epic valve at a single center were included (2009-2018). Perioperative and early postoperative data were prospectively collected.

Adult cardiac surgery during COVID-19 lockdown: Impact on activity and outcomes in a high-volume centre.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak had a direct impact on adult cardiac surgery activity, which systematically necessitates a postoperative stay in intensive care.

Aim: To study the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on cardiac surgery activity and outcomes, by making a comparison with the corresponding period in 2019.

Methods: This prospective observational cohort study compared adult cardiac surgery activity in our high-volume referral university hospital from 9 March to 10 May 2020 versus 9 March to 10 May 2019.

Right ventricular load adaptability metrics in patients undergoing left ventricular assist device implantation.

Objective: Several right load adaptability metrics have been proposed as predictors of right heart failure (RHF) following left ventricular assist device implantation. This study sought to validate and compare the prognostic value of these indices.

Methods: This retrospective study included 194 patients undergoing continuous-flow left ventricular assist device implantation.

Conventional aortic valve replacement in 2005 elderly patients: a 32-year experience.

Objectives: Considering the good immediate results reported for transcatheter aortic valve implantation in high-risk patients, the role of conventional aortic valve replacement (AVR) is being questioned, especially in elderly patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate our long-term results of conventional AVR in octogenarians.

Methods: A total of 2005 patients aged ≥80 years underwent AVR for aortic stenosis in our institution between 1978 and 2011.

Incremental Value of Deformation Imaging and Hemodynamics Following Heart Transplantation: Insights From Graft Function Profiling.

Objectives: This study investigated to define graft dysfunction and to determine its incremental association with long-term outcome after heart transplantation (HT).

Background: Although graft failure is an established cause of late mortality after HT, few studies have analyzed the prognostic value of graft dysfunction at 1- and 5-year follow-up of HT.

Methods: Patients who underwent HT and completed their first annual evaluation with right heart catheterization and echocardiography at Stanford University between January 1999 and December 2011 were included in the study.

Load Adaptability in Patients With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Right ventricular (RV) adaptation to pressure overload is a major prognostic factor in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The objectives were first to define the relation between RV adaptation and load using allometric modeling, then to compare the prognostic value of different indices of load adaptability in PAH. Both a derivation (n = 85) and a validation cohort (n = 200) were included.

Right Heart End-Systolic Remodeling Index Strongly Predicts Outcomes in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Comparison With Validated Models.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) end-systolic dimensions provide information on both size and function. We investigated whether an internally scaled index of end-systolic dimension is incremental to well-validated prognostic scores in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Methods And Results: From 2005 to 2014, 228 patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension were prospectively enrolled.

Impact of donor comorbidities on heart transplant outcomes in the modern era.

Objectives: The use of marginal donors with cardiovascular risk factors is increasing due to organ shortage but remains controversial in heart transplantation (HTx). We sought to investigate post-transplant outcomes in the recent era taking into account donor characteristics.

Methods: We reviewed 261 HTx performed in our hospital between January 1996 and March 2013.

Infective Endocarditis With Paravalvular Extension: 35-Year Experience.

Background: We investigated our surgical strategy and clinical results in patients from active infective endocarditis (AIE) complicated by paravalvular involvement to determine the risk factors of early and late death and reoperation.

Methods: From October 1979 to December 2014, 955 patients underwent operations for AIE; among them 207 had AIE with paravalvular extension. The patients were a mean age of 59.

Combined Coronary Revascularization: Single-Center 10-Year Experience.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the long-term outcome of combined coronary revascularization.

Methods: Between January 2000 and September 2010, 106 consecutive patients underwent combined coronary revascularization, either the same day or staged within 90 days. Percutaneous coronary intervention was always performed before coronary artery bypass grafting.

Unexpected online gambling disorder in late-life: a case report.

Background: The lifetime prevalence of problem or Gambling disorder (GD) in the elderly (i.e., those over 60 years old) is reported to range from 0.

Safety of recombinant factor VIIa in patients under extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Objectives: To address the safety (rate of thromboembolic events and circuit complications) and efficacy (rate of bleeding control) of recombinant activated coagulation factor VII (rFVIIa) to treat severe bleeding refractory to all surgical and medical treatments in patients under veno-arterial (VA) or veno-venous (VV) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support.

Methods: In a tertiary referral University Cardiothoracic Surgery Centre including three intensive care units, 30 patients received the rFVIIa during ongoing VA or VV ECMO support (8.6% of ECMO activity from 2005 to 2014; N = 347).

Predictors of Outcome among Pathological Gamblers Receiving Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy.

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate posttreatment changes of individuals with a diagnosis of gambling disorder (GD) treated with group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), to assess the potential moderator effect of sex on CBT outcome, and to explore the best predictors of posttreatment changes, relapse, and dropout rates.

Methods: A cohort design was applied with a prospective follow-up. The sample comprised 440 patients and the CBT intervention consisted of 16 weekly outpatient group sessions and a 3-month follow-up period.

Heart transplantation as salvage treatment of intractable infective endocarditis.

This study reports six consecutive patients who underwent heart transplantation as salvage treatment for endocarditis (Duke criteria) with extensive perivalvular lesions and end-stage heart failure. The median age was 45 years (range, 24 to 64), and the aortic valve was affected in all patients. Pathogens were Staphylococcus aureus (n = 2), Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 2), Streptococcus agalactiae (n = 1), or not documented (n = 1).

Sex addiction and gambling disorder: similarities and differences.

Objective: Recently, the DSM-5 has developed a new diagnostic category named "Substance-related and Addictive Disorders". This category includes gambling disorder (GD) as the sole behavioral addiction, but does not include sex addiction (SA). The aim of this study is to investigate whether SA should be classified more closely to other behavioral addictions, via a comparison of the personality characteristics and comorbid psychopathology of individuals with SA with those of individuals with GD, which comes under the category of addiction and related disorders.

Dopamine DRD2/ANKK1 Taq1A and DAT1 VNTR polymorphisms are associated with a cognitive flexibility profile in pathological gamblers.

Like drug addiction, pathological gambling (PG) has been associated with impairments in executive functions and alterations in dopaminergic functioning; however, the role of dopamine (DA) in the executive profile of PG remains unclear. The aim of this study was to identify whether the DRD2/ANKK1 Taq1A-rs1800497 and the DAT1-40 bp VNTR polymorphisms are associated with cognitive flexibility (measured by Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and Trail Making Test (TMT)) and inhibition response (measured by Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT)), in a clinical sample of 69 PG patients. Our results showed an association between DA functioning and cognitive flexibility performance.

Comparison of cardiac allograft vasculopathy in heart and heart-lung transplantations: a 15-year retrospective study.

Background: Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a major factor limiting long-term survival after heart transplantation (HTx). Specific determinants of CAV and long-term outcome after CAV occurrence have been poorly investigated after heart-lung transplantation (HLTx).

Methods: Between January 1996 and December 2006, 79 patients underwent HLTx (36.

Decision-making deficits in pathological gambling: the role of executive functions, explicit knowledge and impulsivity in relation to decisions made under ambiguity and risk.

Background: A variety of cognitive and emotional processes influence the decision-making deficits observed in pathological gambling (PG). This study investigated the role of immediate/delayed sensitivity to reward and punishment, executive functions, impulsivity and explicit knowledge in relation to decision-making performance on the original Iowa Gambling Task (IGT-ABCD) and a variant (IGT-EFGH).

Methods: We assessed 131 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of PG by using executive functioning and decision-making tasks, self-report measures of impulsivity and explicit knowledge.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy for pathological gambling in Parkinson's disease: a pilot controlled study.

Objectives: The main objective of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics and differences in response to treatment of two groups of pathological gamblers: with comorbid Parkinson's disease (PG + PD) and without (PG - PD).

Methods: Clinical and psychopathological profiles and response to cognitive-behavioral treatment were assessed in 15 PG + PD and 45 PG - PD individuals consulting a specialized hospital Unit.

Results: Statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups on a series of clinical variables.