Left Ventricular Assist Device Therapy and Acute Pancreatitis: Higher Incidence and Worse Clinical Outcomes.

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare incidence and outcomes of acute pancreatitis among advanced heart failure therapies.

Methods: Two retrospective cohorts are as follows: A, patients with heart failure presenting to our hospitals and B, the US National Inpatient Sample. Three groups were compared: left ventricular assist device (LVAD) recipients, transplant recipients, and controls who did not qualify for advanced therapies.

CT Attenuation Values Do Not Reliably Distinguish Benign Sclerotic Lesions From Osteoblastic Metastases in Patients Undergoing Bone Biopsy.

CT attenuation thresholds that accurately distinguish enostoses from untreated osteoblastic metastases have been published. In the Mayo Clinic practices, these thresholds have been applied more broadly to distinguish benign sclerotic bone lesions other than enostoses from osteoblastic metastases. The purpose of this article is to determine if CT attenuation thresholds allow the distinguishing of benign sclerotic bone lesions from osteoblastic metastases in patients undergoing bone biopsy.

Trastuzumab and pertuzumab in circulating tumor DNA ERBB2-amplified HER2-positive refractory cholangiocarcinoma.

Cholangiocarcinoma is a heterogeneous and target-rich disease with differences in actionable targets. Intrahepatic and extrahepatic types of cholangiocarcinoma differ significantly in clinical presentation and underlying genetic aberrations. Research has shown that extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is more likely to be associated with (HER2) genetic aberrations.

Assessment of DNA Damage After Ionizing Radiation Exposure in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Device Implantation or Atrial Fibrillation Ablation (The RADAR Study).

Background: There is limited data regarding effect of prolonged radiation exposure during electrophysiological (EP) procedures on direct DNA damage. Comet test has shown to assess DNA damage following radiation exposure.

Methods: We performed a single-center prospective observational study assessing direct DNA damage using the quantitative comet assay in patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization (CRT) and atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation procedures.