Publications by authors named "Frans J Beerkens"
Leadless cardiac pacemakers (LCPs) mitigate the risks of traditional transvenous devices such as lead fracture and infection. Two LCPs are clinically available, using either a helix or tined active fixation approach. There are rare reports of LCP infection-all involving the tined device.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNative coronary artery or bypass graft percutaneous coronary intervention in patients after previous coronary artery bypass surgery: A large nationwide analysis from the Netherlands Heart Registration.
Int J Cardiol
June 2024
Article Synopsis
- Patients with a history of coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) often undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for repeat revascularization, with a study examining factors influencing whether the intervention targets native vessels or bypass grafts.
- Data from over 154,000 PCI patients from 2017 to 2021 indicated that 8.3% had previous CABG, with most undergoing native vessel PCI; however, those presenting with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were more likely to have graft interventions.
- One year after PCI, major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were higher in patients treated with grafts compared to those with only native vessels, though there was no notable difference in mortality or short-term outcomes between the two
There is limited data on new-generation stent outcomes in patients with previous coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and the associated risk of gender and race/ethnicity is unclear. We investigated 1-year outcomes after platinum chromium everolimus-eluting stent implantation in a diverse population of men, women, and minorities with previous CABG pooled from the PLATINUM Diversity (NCT02240810) and PROMUS Element Plus (NCT01589978) registries. Our primary outcome was major adverse cardiac events (MACE), a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), and target vessel revascularization (TVR) at 1-year post percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Though 15% of hospitalized patients have a documented penicillin (PCN) allergy, fewer than 1% have an IgE-mediated reaction that necessitates avoidance of β-lactam antibiotics.
Objective: Our interdisciplinary team of medical and nursing students led and executed a two-pronged quality improvement intervention to reduce prescribing of non-β-lactam antibiotics (NBLs) for patients with reported PCN allergies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first multidisciplinary student-led intervention aimed at educating providers on low-risk penicillin allergy and encouraging best antibiotic prescribing practices.
Background: Prior coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are often older and present with multiple comorbidities. Ticagrelor monotherapy after a short course of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) has emerged as an effective bleeding-avoidance strategy among high-risk patients.
Aims: We aimed to examine the effects of ticagrelor with or without aspirin in prior CABG patients undergoing PCI within the TWILIGHT trial.
Inflammation plays a prominent role in the development of atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases, and anti-inflammatory agents may improve cardiovascular outcomes. For years, colchicine has been used as a safe and well-tolerated agent in diseases such as gout and familial Mediterranean fever. The widely available therapeutic has several anti-inflammatory effects, however, that have proven effective in a broad spectrum of cardiovascular diseases as well.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRight heart failure is a dreaded sequelae of proximal right coronary artery occlusion that can complicate an angiogram or percutaneous coronary intervention. This case illustrates the use of a percutaneous intraluminal microaxial right ventricular assist device for high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention of an ostial right coronary artery dissection in refractory right heart failure. ().
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatients who have undergone coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery are susceptible to bypass graft failure and progression of native coronary artery disease. Although the saphenous vein graft (SVG) was traditionally the most-used conduit, arterial grafts (including the left and right internal thoracic arteries and the radial artery) have improved patency rates. However, the need for secondary revascularization remains common, and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has become the most common modality of secondary revascularization after CABG surgery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study aimed to evaluate outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) among patients with a history of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), focusing on different types of target vessels: native, venous graft, and arterial graft.
- It was found that while PCI was most commonly performed on native vessels, complications like slow- and no-reflow were more frequent in venous graft PCI, yet overall outcomes after one year showed no significant differences in major adverse cardiac events (MACE) among the vessel types.
- The conclusion emphasized that the choice of target vessel did not significantly impact MACE rates after one year, indicating a need for more randomized studies to truly assess the differences between PCI on surgical grafts and native arteries.
Introduction: Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are rare tumors originating from the epithelium of the thymus with limited therapeutic options beyond surgery. The pathogenesis of TETs is poorly understood, and the scarcity of model systems for these rare tumors makes the study of their biology very challenging.
Methods: A new cell line (MP57) was established from a thymic carcinoma specimen and characterized using standard biomarker analysis, as well as next-generation sequencing (NGS) and functional assays.