Clinical Response to Third-Line Angiotensin-II vs Epinephrine in Septic Shock: A Propensity-Matched Cohort Study.

Background: The appropriate third-line vasopressor in septic shock patients receiving norepinephrine and vasopressin is unknown. Angiotensin-II (AT-II) offers a unique mechanism of action to traditionally used vasopressors in septic shock.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of third-line AT-II to epinephrine in patients with septic shock.

Effect of Early Administration of Vasopressin on New-Onset Arrhythmia Development in Patients With Septic Shock: A Retrospective, Observational Cohort Study.

Adjunctive vasopressin use in septic shock reduces catecholamine requirements and is associated with a lower incidence of new-onset arrhythmias (NOAs). The association of vasopressin timing on NOA development is ill-described. To determine whether early administration of vasopressin was associated with a lower incidence of NOA in septic shock patients.

Reduction of in-hospital cardiac arrest with sequential deployment of rapid response team and medical emergency team to the emergency department and acute care wards.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine if sequential deployment of a nurse-led Rapid Response Team (RRT) and an intensivist-led Medical Emergency Team (MET) for critically ill patients in the Emergency Department (ED) and acute care wards improved hospital-wide cardiac arrest rates.

Methods: In this single-center, retrospective observational cohort study, we compared the cardiac arrest rates per 1000 patient-days during two time periods. Our hospital instituted a nurse-led RRT in 2012 and added an intensivist-led MET in 2014.

Carotid Dissection Complicated by Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia.

In this case report, we describe a patient with fibromuscular dysplasia who suffered spontaneous bilateral carotid artery dissections. This was followed by significant variations in blood pressure and heart rates during her admission. Unfortunately, during an episode of bradycardia, a premature ventricular contraction occurred during the T wave which resulted in polymorphic ventricular tachycardia.

Association of Hospital Prices for Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting With Hospital Quality and Reimbursement.

Although prices for medical services are known to vary markedly between hospitals, it remains unknown whether variation in hospital prices is explained by differences in hospital quality or reimbursement from major insurers. We obtained "out-of-pocket" price estimates for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) from a random sample of US hospitals for a hypothetical patient without medical insurance. We compared hospital CABG price to (1) "fair price" estimate from Healthcare Bluebook data using each hospital's zip code and (2) Society of Thoracic Surgeons composite CABG quality score and risk-adjusted mortality rate.

Radial versus femoral access for primary percutaneous interventions in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Objectives: This study sought to determine the safety and efficacy of radial access compared with femoral access for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Background: Numerous randomized controlled trials, including several new studies, have compared outcomes of these approaches in the context of primary PCI for STEMI patients with inconclusive results.

Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to compare outcomes in STEMI patients undergoing radial versus femoral access for primary PCI.