Gastroduodenal artery aneurysm degeneration after coiling necessitating open repair.

A 77-year-old male presented for an incidental 5-cm gastroduodenal artery aneurysm (GDAA). He underwent an endovascular GDAA coil embolization with 6 months of no aneurysmal growth on surveillance imaging. His 12-month scan revealed aneurysmal growth from 5 cm to 7.

Endovascular Repair of Primary Aortocaval Fistula at the Caval Confluence in a Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.

Primary aortocaval fistulas (ACF) are a rare complication of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), for which treatment options encompass both endovascular and open surgical intervention. To report a rare presentation of primary aortocaval fistula. Case Report.

Incidence of Compartment Syndrome Following Peri-Pandemic Intervention for Non-traumatic Acute Limb Ischemia.

Objective: During the pandemic, our institution anecdotally observed a significant proportion of acute limb ischemia (ALI) patients developing compartment syndrome (CS) following revascularization compared to pre-pandemic rates. To determine whether this perceived increase was occurring globally, we utilized the TriNetX database to evaluate the incidence of CS secondary to ALI intervention in both the pre-pandemic (2017-2019) and pandemic eras (2020-2022).

Methods: We conducted a multicenter query using the TriNetX global research network for ALI patients receiving treatment.

Paradigm Shift of Interventional Strategies and Outcomes for Acute Limb Ischemia Post-Pandemic.

Purpose: We performed a large-scale comparison of patients treated for acute limb ischemia (ALI) in the pre-COVID (2017-2019) and COVID (2020-2022) eras to evaluate changes in interventional strategies and compare factors associated with adverse outcomes. We sought to characterize patient outcomes in an evolving ALI treatment algorithm in response to pandemic-associated presentation delays and rapid technological advancements in mechanical thrombectomy (MT).

Methods: Using the TriNetX global research network, we conducted a multicenter query across 80 health care organizations (HCOs) spanning 4 countries for patients treated for ALI.

Giant 20 × 35 cm brachial artery pseudoaneurysm after fistulogram treated with surgical resection of pseudoaneurysm and patch angioplasty of brachial artery.

Brachial artery pseudoaneurysms are a rare entity, which can occur secondary to infectious, traumatic, or iatrogenic causes. We present a 78-year-old female with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis via a right brachio-basilic arteriovenous fistula. She had previously undergone numerous fistulograms and endovascular interventions for right upper extremity swelling due to prolonged bleeding following dialysis.

Endovascular Coil Embolization of an Enlarging Gastroduodenal Artery Aneurysm.

Gastroduodenal artery aneurysms are a rare type of visceral aneurysm that can lead to rupture and death. We present a 75-year-old male with history of hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia with an incidental finding of a 3.2 × 3.

Sex-Related Disparities in Acute Limb Ischemia Treatment Outcomes.

Background: Although a substantial impetus behind disparities research in healthcare exists, those that are sex-related within vascular surgery outcomes are largely unexplored. Consequently, published guidelines lack specificity when it comes to treating male and female patients with vascular disease. Disparities related to patients suffering from chronic limb-threatening ischemia have been broached, although no extensive studies assessing disparities in acute limb ischemia treatment outcomes have come to the forefront.

MYOSIN LIGHT CHAIN KINASE DELETION WORSENS LUNG PERMEABILITY AND INCREASES MORTALITY IN PNEUMONIA-INDUCED SEPSIS.

Increased epithelial permeability in sepsis is mediated via disruptions in tight junctions, which are closely associated with the perijunctional actin-myosin ring. Genetic deletion of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) reverses sepsis-induced intestinal hyperpermeability and improves survival in a murine model of intra-abdominal sepsis. In an attempt to determine the generalizability of these findings, this study measured the impact of MLCK deletion on survival and potential associated mechanisms following pneumonia-induced sepsis.

The RIPK3 Scaffold Regulates Lung Inflammation During Pneumonia.

RIPK3 (receptor-interacting protein kinase 3) activity triggers cell death via necroptosis, whereas scaffold function supports protein binding and cytokine production. To determine if RIPK3 kinase or scaffold domains mediate pathology during infection, control mice and those with deletion or mutation of RIPK3 and associated signaling partners were subjected to pneumonia and followed for survival or killed for biologic assays. Murine immune cells were studied for -induced cytokine production and cell death, and RIPK3 binding interactions were blocked with the viral inhibitor M45.

TIGIT modulates sepsis-induced immune dysregulation in mice with preexisting malignancy.

TIGIT is a recently identified coinhibitory receptor that is upregulated in the setting of cancer and functionally contributes to the impairment of antitumor immunity. However, its role during sepsis is unknown. Because patients with cancer are 10 times more likely to die of sepsis than previously healthy (PH) patients with sepsis, we interrogated the role of TIGIT during sepsis in the context of preexistent malignancy.

The IL-27 receptor regulates TIGIT on memory CD4 T cells during sepsis.

Sepsis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality associated with significant impairment in memory T cells. These changes include the upregulation of co-inhibitory markers, a decrease in functionality, and an increase in apoptosis. Due to recent studies describing IL-27 regulation of TIGIT and PD-1, we assessed whether IL-27 impacts these co-inhibitory molecules in sepsis.

Early- and Late-Onset Bloodstream Infections in the Intensive Care Unit: A Retrospective 5-Year Study of Patients at a University Hospital in China.

Background: Limited data are available regarding the current microbiological characteristics of bloodstream infections (BSIs) in intensive care units (ICUs) in China. This retrospective study aimed to determine the epidemiology of early- and late-onset BSIs in our ICU.

Methods: We retrospectively collected data about ICU patients with BSI from 2013 to 2017.

Preexisting malignancy abrogates the beneficial effects of CXCR4 blockade during sepsis.

Patients with cancer are at an increased risk of developing and dying from sepsis. We previously reported that blockade of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 resulted in decreased CD4 T cell exhaustion and improved survival in a model of polymicrobial sepsis in previously healthy mice. Here, we sought to determine whether CXCR4 blockade could improve mortality and immune dysregulation during sepsis complicated with malignancy.

Critical illness and the role of the microbiome.

The number of microbes living within the intestinal lumen is similar to the number of all cells of human origin in the host. Although historically little attention has been paid to the massive microbial community residing inside each of us, the last few years have witnessed an explosion of information related to the role of the microbiome in the maintenance of health and in the pathogenesis of disease. Here, we review data suggesting that the microbiome is converted into a pathobiome in critical illness and potential strategies for targeting the microbiome for therapeutic gain in the intensive care unit.

The microbiome and nutrition in critical illness.

Purpose Of Review: The present review aims to describe the relationship between nutrition and the gut microbiome in critical illness.

Recent Findings: Critical illness disrupts not only cells of human origin but also the intestinal microbiome, with a decrease in bacterial diversity and transformation into a pathobiome. Under basal conditions, nutrition profoundly alters microbial composition with significant salutatory effects on human health.

Outcomes and Durability of Endovascular Aneurysm Repair in Octogenarians.

Background: Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) accounts for the majority of all abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repairs in the United States. EVAR utilization in the aging population is increasing due to the minimally invasive nature of the procedure, the low associated perioperative morbidity, and early survival benefit over open repair. The objective of this study is to compare the outcomes of octogenarians after elective EVAR to their younger counterparts, a question that can be answered by a long-term, institutional data set.

Increased mortality in CD43-deficient mice during sepsis.

CD43 is a large transmembrane protein involved in T cell activation. Previous studies of CD43-/- mice in viral models have demonstrated a role for CD43 in Th1/Th2 skewing, activation of Foxp3+ Treg, and T cell apoptosis. However, the role of CD43 during sepsis has never been tested.

Murine Pancreatic Cancer Alters T Cell Activation and Apoptosis and Worsens Survival After Cecal Ligation and Puncture.

Patients with cancer who develop sepsis have a markedly higher mortality than patients who were healthy prior to the onset of sepsis. Potential mechanisms underlying this difference have previously been examined in two preclinical models of cancer followed by sepsis. Both pancreatic cancer/pneumonia and lung cancer/cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) increase murine mortality, associated with alterations in lymphocyte apoptosis and intestinal integrity.

Chronic Alcohol Ingestion Worsens Survival and Alters Gut Epithelial Apoptosis and CD8+ T Cell Function After Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Pneumonia-Induced Sepsis.

Mortality is higher in septic patients with a history of alcohol use disorder than in septic patients without a history of chronic alcohol usage. We have previously described a model of chronic alcohol ingestion followed by sepsis from cecal ligation and puncture in which alcohol-fed septic mice have higher mortality than water-fed septic mice, associated with altered gut integrity and increased production of TNF and IFNγ by splenic CD4 T cells without alterations in CD8 T cell function. The purpose of this study was to determine whether this represents a common host response to the combination of alcohol and sepsis by creating a new model in which mice with chronic alcohol ingestion were subjected to a different model of sepsis.

Synergy of nab-paclitaxel and bevacizumab in eradicating large orthotopic breast tumors and preexisting metastases.

Introduction: Patients with metastatic disease are considered incurable. We previously showed that nabpaclitaxel (nanoparticle albumin-embedded paclitaxel) combined with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) antibody, bevacizumab, eradicates orthotopic small-sized breast tumors and metastasis. Here, we assessed this therapy in two models of advanced (450-600 mm(3)) breast tumors and delineated VEGF-A-dependent mechanisms of tumor resistance.