Measures to reduce radiation in a modern cardiac catheterization laboratory.

Background: X-ray use in the catheterization laboratory is guided by the principle of as low as reasonably achievable. In accordance with this principle, we reduced the default fluoroscopic frame rate from 10 to 7.5 frames/s and increased the emphasis on the use of low-dose acquisition starting January 1, 2013.

Infection control guidelines for the cardiac catheterization laboratory: society guidelines revisited.

In the early years of diagnostic cardiac catheterization, strict sterile precautions were required for cutdown procedures. Thirteen years ago, when the original guidelines were written, the brachial arteriotomy was still frequently utilized, femoral closure devices were uncommon, "implantables," such as intracoronary stents and PFO/ASD closure devices, were in their infancy, and percutaneous valve replacement was not a consideration. In 2005, the cardiac catheterization laboratory is a complex interventional suite with percutaneous access routine and device implantation standard.

A case of fatal West Nile virus meningoencephalitis associated with receipt of blood transfusions after open heart surgery.

First identified in the United States in 1999, West Nile virus caused approximately 3,500 infections in the late summer and fall of 2002. The virus is predominantly transmitted by mosquitoes, and the risk of infection through blood product transfusion is believed to be low. We present a case of West Nile virus encephalitis transmitted by red blood cell transfusion at the time of coronary artery bypass grafting that resulted in the patient's death.