Correlates of 90-Day Mortality Among People Who Do and Do Not Inject Drugs With Infective Endocarditis in Seattle, Washington.

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) remains highly morbid, but few studies have evaluated factors associated with IE mortality. We examined correlates of 90-day mortality among people who inject drugs (PWID) and people who do not inject drugs (non-PWID).

Methods: We queried the electronic medical record for cases of IE among adults ≥18 years of age at 2 academic medical centers in Seattle, Washington, from 1 January 2014 to 31 July 2019.

A Multidisciplinary Pathway for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Endocarditis.

Clinical pathways can be useful when disparate clinical-pathologic groups converge on a common diagnostic and therapeutic trajectory. The progressive increase in the incidence of endocarditis in the US has included higher-risk subjects whose candidacy for aggressive cardiac surgical intervention may be highly resource-intensive, prohibitively high risk, or delayed and possibly deferred by comorbidities. We sought to define the sequence, application, and resolution of multidisciplinary endocarditis team decision-making in 4 distinct clinical groups.

Speckle Tracking Analysis of Left Ventricular Systolic Function Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Pilot Prospective Observational Cohort Study.

Background: Systolic dysfunction and reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) has been documented after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Speckle tracking is an emerging technology for myocardial strain assessment which has been utilized to identify subclinical myocardial dysfunction, and is most commonly reported as global longitudinal strain (GLS). We examined myocardial strain and regional strain patterns following moderate-severe TBI.

Association of Early Myocardial Workload and Mortality Following Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objectives: To examine the impact of early myocardial workload on in-hospital mortality following isolated severe traumatic brain injury.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Data from the National Trauma Databank, a multicenter trauma registry operated by the American College of Surgeons, from 2007 to 2014.

Early Systolic Dysfunction Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Cohort Study.

Objective: Prior studies have suggested that traumatic brain injury may affect cardiac function. Our study aims were to determine the frequency, longitudinal course, and admission risk factors for systolic dysfunction in patients with moderate-severe traumatic brain injury.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Association of Early Hemodynamic Profile and the Development of Systolic Dysfunction Following Traumatic Brain Injury.

Background: While systolic dysfunction has been observed following traumatic brain injury (TBI), the relationship between early hemodynamics and the development of systolic dysfunction has not been investigated. Our study aimed to determine the early hemodynamic profile that is associated with the development of systolic dysfunction after TBI.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study among patients under 65 years old without cardiac comorbidities who sustained moderate-severe TBI.

Cardiac Dysfunction After Neurologic Injury: What Do We Know and Where Are We Going?

Recent literature has implicated severe neurologic injuries, such as aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, as a cause of cardiac dysfunction, impaired hemodynamic function, and poor outcomes. Mechanistic links between the brain and the heart have been explored in detail over the past several decades, and catecholamine excess, neuroendocrine dysfunction, and unchecked inflammation all likely contribute to the pathophysiologic process. Although cardiac dysfunction has also been described in other disease paradigms, including septic shock and thermal injury, there is likely a common underlying pathophysiology.

Two pediatric cases of variant neurogenic stress cardiomyopathy after intracranial hemorrhage.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy, is an acquired form of left ventricular systolic dysfunction seen in the setting of physiologic stress and the absence of coronary artery disease. It is thought to be caused by excessive sympathetic stimulation. It is well described in the adult literature associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage where it is known as neurogenic stress cardiomyopathy (NSC), but few such pediatric cases have been reported.

One-armed brachiation in gibbons (Hylobates lar).

The locomotor and postural behavior of Hylobates lar was studied in a seminaturalistic environment at the New York Zoological Park. A particular locomotor pattern, one-armed brachiation, was observed and filmed. Analysis indicated that the occurrence of one-armed brachiation as a preferred locomotor pattern was rare and was limited to the carrying of food.