Lung transplantation after ex vivo lung perfusion versus static cold storage: An institutional cost analysis.

Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) is a novel lung preservation strategy that facilitates the use of marginal allografts; however, it is more expensive than static cold storage (SCS). To understand how preservation method might affect postoperative costs, we compared outcomes and index hospitalization costs among matched EVLP and SCS preserved lung transplant (LTx) recipients at a single, high-volume institution. A total of 22 EVLP and 66 matched SCS LTx recipients were included; SCS grafts were further stratified as either standard-criteria (SCD) or extended-criteria donors (ECD).

Is It Time to Replace the Oswestry Index With PROMIS Physical Function Computer Adaptive Test?

Objective: To address the relative influence of psychological factors on variation in Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Function (PF) Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) and Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Index (ODI) scores.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: We enrolled patients with low back pain, presenting to clinicians specializing in the treatment of spine conditions in a large urban area.

Manipulations of Central Amygdala Neurotensin Neurons Alter the Consumption of Ethanol and Sweet Fluids in Mice.

The central nucleus of the amygdala plays a significant role in alcohol use and other affective disorders; however, the genetically-defined neuronal subtypes and projections that govern these behaviors are not well known. Here we show that neurotensin neurons in the central nucleus of the amygdala of male mice are activated by ethanol consumption and that genetic ablation of these neurons decreases ethanol consumption and preference in non-ethanol-dependent animals. This ablation did not impact preference for sucrose, saccharin, or quinine.