Is language a barrier in the management of acute appendicitis?

Background: Language preference is a contributing factor for prolonged time from symptom onset to appendectomy within pediatrics, but is poorly characterized in adults. We aimed to investigate associations between language barriers and delays in assessment and treatment for adults with acute appendicitis.

Methods: In a multiethnic community, patients aged ≥18 years old who underwent appendectomy were identified between January 2017 and August 2022 at a single institution.

Impact of English proficiency on use of Glasgow Coma Scale in geriatric patients with traumatic brain injury.

Background: The relationship between English proficiency (EP), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) is not well characterized. We aimed to understand the impact of limited English proficiency (LEP) on the evaluation and outcomes of TBI.

Methods: Retrospective comparative study in a single institution of patients aged ⪰65 who presented to the emergency department after a fall with head strike between January 2018 and December 2021.

Prehospital Assaults Against Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders During COVID-19.

Introduction: Anti-Asian sentiment increased when the SARS-CoV-2 virus reached the United States in 2020. Trends in national assaults occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community were evaluated.

Methods: Patients treated for assaults by emergency medical services between January 2019 and December 2021 were extracted from ImageTrend Collaborate, a national database.

Acute Appendicitis in the Epicenter of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A New York City Single-Center Experience.

Background: Appendectomy is the gold standard for simple appendicitis. During the coronavirus-19 pandemic, it was estimated that appendectomies in the United States decreased by 24%. We aimed to describe trends in acute appendicitis management at a center located in one of the largest epicenters of the pandemic.

Combined Intravenous Sildenafil and L-Arginine Administration in a Porcine Animal Model: Hemodynamic Safety Profile and Effects on Coronary Blood Flow.

Background: Endothelial dysfunction in the nitric oxide-cyclic guanosine monophosphate pathway is a potential contributor to perioperative myocardial ischemia. The nitric oxide precursor, L-arginine, and the cyclic guanosine monophosphate degradation blocker, sildenafil, have vasodilatory effects under high dosage.

Objective: This study examined the hemodynamic safety and effect profiles of the combined administration of L-arginine and sildenafil using an in-vivo pig model.

Improved survival after lung transplantation for adults requiring preoperative invasive mechanical ventilation: A national cohort study.

Objective: Early survival after lung transplantation has improved in the last decade. Mechanically ventilated recipients are known to be at greater risk for early post-transplant mortality. We hypothesized that post-transplant survival in mechanically ventilated recipients has improved over time.

Elevated donor plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 levels and the risk of primary graft dysfunction.

Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) following lung transplantation is associated with elevated recipient plasma levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE). However, the significance of these biomarkers in the donor plasma is uncertain. We hypothesized that elevated donor plasma levels of PAI-1 and RAGE would be associated with recipient PGD.

Multiple arterial bypass grafting should be routine.

Objective: We sought to estimate the reduction in deaths and the number of additional person-years of life that could potentially be gained by nationwide adoption of routine multiple arterial bypass grafting (MABG).

Methods: Propensity matching on 4883 patients undergoing primary, isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using the left internal thoracic artery (LITA) from January 1995 to June 2011, resulted in 1023 matched pairs of LITA-radial artery and LITA-saphenous vein patients. Kaplan-Meier estimated survivals were used to calculate the potential number of lives that could be saved based on a 20% and an 80% rate of MABG, compared with the national 10% rate, when applied to a hypothetical national sample of 200,000 similar patients.

Optimal conduit for diabetic patients: propensity analysis of radial and right internal thoracic arteries.

Background: Multiple arterial grafts, in addition to the left internal thoracic artery, improve long-term survival after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG); yet, the use of this procedure remains low for both the right internal thoracic artery (RITA) and the radial artery (RA). To identify the optimal arterial conduit to deploy for revascularization of diabetic patients, we compared the outcomes for RA and RITA grafts to the circumflex coronary.

Methods: From January 1, 1995, to December 31, 2011, 908 consecutive diabetic patients underwent first-time, isolated CABG (99% on-pump), 659 with the RA and 502 with the RITA, respectively, in two affiliated hospitals.

Results of endoscopic radial artery harvesting in 1577 patients.

Objective: We reviewed 1577 consecutive patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using endoscopic harvesting of the radial artery (RA) to define our current results.

Methods: Since 2000, we have performed endoscopic RA harvest on 1577 consecutive patients; 1476 patients had isolated CABG, and 101 patients had CABG and other procedures. The mean ± SD age was 59.

The second best arterial graft: a propensity analysis of the radial artery versus the free right internal thoracic artery to bypass the circumflex coronary artery.

Objective: We sought to determine if the radial artery (RA) or the free right internal thoracic artery (RITA) is the better conduit to bypass the circumflex coronary artery during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using the left internal thoracic artery (LITA).

Methods: Propensity matching was performed on 2488 CABG-LITA patients from 2 affiliated centers, resulting in 528 pairs who received either a RA at one center or a free RITA at the other center to bypass the circumflex coronary artery from 1995 to 2009.

Results: Kaplan Meier estimated 1-, 5-, 10-, and 15-year survival rates were 99%, 95%, 85%, and 76% for RA patients, respectively, and 97%, 92%, 80%, and 71% for RITA patients, respectively (P = .

Radial artery grafting in women improves 15-year survival.

Objectives: Radial artery (RA) grafting has a clear survival advantage after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in studies with predominantly male populations, but the impact on women's long-term survival is unclear. We sought to determine if the reported long-term survival benefit of RA versus saphenous vein (SV) grafting in the general CABG population is valid for women.

Methods: Between 1995 and 2010, 1339 female patients were alive 30 days after primary, isolated CABG with left internal thoracic artery (LITA) and additional RA or SV conduits as needed.