Pharmacist optimization of lipid therapy in patients with peripheral vascular disease.

Purpose: American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines recommend high-intensity statin therapy and consideration for nonstatin therapy for patients with peripheral vascular disease (PVD); however, utilization rates remain suboptimal. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether pharmacist intervention for patients with PVD could improve the percentage of patients discharged on a high-intensity statin.

Methods: The study used a single-center pre/post design and included patients with PVD who underwent peripheral bypass during their admission.

Determining patient risk factors associated with accelerated growth of popliteal artery aneurysms.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the natural progression of popliteal artery aneurysms (PAAs) and clinical variables associated with their accelerated growth.

Methods: Retrospective chart review of 224 patients with encounters between January 2008 and May 2016 and with at least one PAA was conducted. From this group, 65 asymptomatic patients had either unilateral (n = 43) or bilateral (n = 22) PAAs that were observed for at least 1 year of medical management before intervention.

A Novel Iliac Morphology Score Predicts Procedural Mortality and Major Vascular Complications in Transfemoral Aortic Valve Replacement.

Background: Vascular complications remain a significant technical challenge for transfemoral TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement). The goal of this study is to develop a preoperative tool for prediction of major vascular complications of TAVR.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed of all patients who underwent transfemoral TAVR at a tertiary medical center from 2011 to 2015.

Removal of a Presumed Peripheral Cerebral Cyst via Craniectomy in a Crested Pekin Duck ( Anas platyrhynchos f dom).

A juvenile, male crested pekin duck ( Anas platyrhynchos f dom) was presented for neurologic signs suggestive of cerebellar disease. Physical examination revealed microphthalmia, erratic head movements, and ataxia. Computed tomography scan of the head and neck regions revealed 2 full-thickness skull-bone defects within the caudal portion of the cranium.

Direct peritoneal resuscitation improves inflammation, liver blood flow, and pulmonary edema in a rat model of acute brain death.

Background: Brain death in organ donors alters central hemodynamic performance, impairs physiology, exaggerates inflammation, and causes end-organ microcirculatory dysfunction and hypoxia. A new treatment, direct peritoneal resuscitation (DPR), might improve these derangements in acute brain death (ABD).

Study Design: We studied a standardized rodent model of brain death with matched controls to assess the efficacy of DPR as a resuscitation strategy after ABD.

Ultrasonography of histologically normal parathyroid glands and thyroid lobules in normocalcemic dogs.

The purpose of this study is to characterize the sonographic appearance of canine parathyroid glands using high-resolution ultrasonography. Ten cadaver dogs were studied after euthanasia for reasons not relating to the parathyroid. The cervical region was examined using a 13-5 MHz linear transducer in right and left recumbency.