Patterns of Care and Outcomes of Ambulatory Endovascular Interventions in Lower Extremity Peripheral Arterial Disease.

Lower extremity endovascular intervention (LE-EVI) is gaining popularity as the primary treatment modality for patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease refractory to noninvasive management. We examined the contemporary patterns of care, regional variation, and outcomes of ambulatory LE-EVI in the United States. The National Ambulatory Surgery Sample was analyzed to identify 266,563 records with peripheral artery disease and LE-EVI between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2017.

Best Practices for Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Morbidity and Mortality Conferences.

Cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL) morbidity and mortality conferences (MMCs) are a critical component of CCL quality improvement programs and are important for the education of cardiology trainees and the lifelong learning of CCL physicians and team members. Despite their fundamental role in the functioning of the CCL, no consensus exists on how CCL MMCs should identify and select cases for review, how they should be conducted, and how results should be used to improve CCL quality. In addition, medicolegal ramifications of CCL MMCs are not well understood.

Strategies for Reducing Vascular and Bleeding Risk for Percutaneous Left Ventricular Assist Device-supported High-risk Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

In patients at high risk for haemodynamic instability during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), practitioners are increasingly opting for prophylactic mechanical circulatory support, such as the Impella® heart pump (Abiomed, Danvers, MA, USA). Though Impella-supported high-risk PCI (HRPCI) ensures haemodynamic stability during the PCI procedure, access-related complication rates have varied significantly in published studies. Reported variability in complication rates relates to many factors, including anticoagulation practices, access and closure strategy, post-procedure care and variations in event definitions.