Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump: Overall and Temporal Trends of Comparative Effectiveness in a National Registry.

Background: Although the latest studies failed to prove the benefit of routine intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) use in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) presenting with cardiogenic shock, the benefit of IABP utilization in selected cases in "real world" practice is unknown.

Aims: We sought to follow temporal trends in IABP use in a real-world cohort of acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods: We evaluated IABP utilization and patient outcomes from the Acute Coronary Syndrome in Israel Survey (ACSIS) between the years 2000 and 2021.

Performance of Clinical Scoring Systems in the Diagnosis of Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy in a Diverse Patient Cohort.

Background: Two diagnostic clinical scoring systems, the ATTR-CM Score and the T-AMYLO Score, have been proposed but not validated in diverse populations despite Black race being an important risk factor for transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). The aim of this study was to evaluate their performance in diagnosing ATTR-CM in a diverse patient cohort.

Methods: This retrospective single-center study analyzed patients who underwent a 99mTc-pyrophosphate single-photon emission computed tomography scan (Tc-PYP) for workup of suspected ATTR-CM.

Ensuring equity in psychosocial risk assessment for solid organ transplantation: a review.

Purpose Of Review: This review summarizes the different instruments for evaluating the psychosocial health of transplant candidates, the evidence demonstrating how these instruments relate to probability of transplant waitlisting and transplant outcomes, and the critical knowledge gaps that exist in the causal pathway between psychosocial health and clinical transplant trajectory.

Recent Findings: The current literature reveals that psychosocial assessments are a common reason for racial and ethnic minorities to be denied access to the transplant list. Given evidence that a lack of clinician consensus exists regarding the definition of, importance of, and reproducibility of psychosocial support evaluations, this facet of the holistic evaluation process may create a unique challenge for already vulnerable patient populations.

Histopathologic and Molecular Insights Following the Management of Ameloblastomas via Targeted Therapies - Pathological and Clinical Perspectives.

Purpose: Current standard of care for ameloblastoma (conventional/unicystic - mural type) usually mandates extensive bone resection that frequently necessitates immediate reconstruction with serious sequelae, especially among young patients. BRAF-mutated ameloblastomas can be targeted by BRAF inhibitors to markedly reduce their size, enabling conservative removal of residual tumor. We aimed to characterize the effect of post-treatment histomorphologic changes.

The American Cancer Society National Lung Cancer Roundtable strategic plan: Implementation of high-quality lung cancer screening.

More than a decade has passed since researchers in the Early Lung Cancer Action Project and the National Lung Screening Trial demonstrated the ability to save lives of high-risk individuals from lung cancer through regular screening by low dose computed tomography scan. The emergence of the most recent findings in the Dutch-Belgian lung-cancer screening trial (Nederlands-Leuvens Longkanker Screenings Onderzoek [NELSON]) further strengthens and expands on this evidence. These studies demonstrate the benefit of integrating lung cancer screening into clinical practice, yet lung cancer continues to lead cancer mortality rates in the United States.

Elevated airborne radioactivity downwind of a Colorado oil refinery.

Airborne radioactivity from fossil fuel production systems is poorly characterized, but a recent study showed elevated ambient levels with proximity to oil and gas production wells. Here, we report year-long, high temporal resolution monitoring results of airborne alpha radioactivity from both radon gas and radon progeny attached to particulates immediately northeast of an oil refinery in Commerce City, Colorado, USA, in an environmental justice community of concern. Gas and particle-associated radioactivity contributed nearly evenly to the total alpha radioactivity.

Is 90 the new 80? Temporal trends in nonagenarians undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading cause of death in the elderly population. Data regarding percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) in nonagenarians are scarce, and differences in long term outcomes between generations remain unclear. We aimed to study the pattern and temporal trends of nonagenarians treated with PCI.

The Role of Sleep in Cardiovascular Disease.

Purpose Of Review: Sleep is an important component of cardiovascular (CV) health. This review summarizes the complex relationship between sleep and CV disease (CVD). Additionally, we describe the data supporting the treatment of sleep disturbances in preventing and treating CVD.

New approaches to triglyceride reduction: Is there any hope left?

Triglycerides play a crucial role in the efficient storage of energy in the body. Mild and moderate hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) is a heterogeneous disorder with significant association with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), including myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and peripheral artery disease and represents an important component of the residual ASCVD risk in statin treated patients despite optimal low-density lipoprotein cholesterol reduction. Individuals with severe HTG (>1,000 mg/dL) rarely develop atherosclerosis but have an incremental incidence of acute pancreatitis with significant morbidity and mortality.

Semiautomated MRI-Based Method for Orbital Volume and Contour Analysis.

Purpose: The architecture of the orbital cavity is intricate, and precise measurement of its growth is essential for managing ocular and orbital pathologies. Most methods for those measurements are by CT imaging, although MRI for soft tissue assessment is indicated in many cases, specifically pediatric patients. This study introduces a novel semiautomated MRI-based approach for depicting orbital shape and dimensions.

Orbital Development in Children with Retinoblastoma: An Imaging-Based Study.

Purpose: To examine whether children treated for Retinoblastoma (Rb) have impaired orbital development.

Methods: A retrospective case series was performed among children with Rb treated at a single medical center from 2004 to 2020. Orbital volumes and measurements were assessed by 3-dimensional image processing software.

Outcomes of Drug-Eluting Balloons for In-Stent Restenosis: Large Cohort Analysis and Single-Center Clinical Experience.

Background: The use of drug-eluting balloons (DEBs) remains clinically relevant in the contemporary era of drug-eluting stent percutaneous coronary interventions (DES-PCI), especially in the setting of in-stent restenosis (ISR). Our goal was to assess the outcomes of ISR patients in a large prospective registry.

Methods: A total of 2329 consecutive patients with ISR-PCI (675 using DEB and 1654 with DES) were treated in our medical centre from 2010 to 2021.

Neoadjuvant BRAF-targeted therapy for ameloblastoma of the mandible: an organ preservation approach.

Background: Ameloblastoma is a rare odontogenic neoplasm frequently located in the mandible. Standard treatment involves radical bone resection and immediate reconstruction, causing functional, aesthetic, and psychological impairments. The BRAF V600E mutation is present in approximately 80% of mandible ameloblastomas, and BRAF inhibitors have demonstrated sustained responses in unresectable cases.

Orbital Fat Density as a Diagnostic Tool in Pre-Septal and Orbital Cellulitis.

Purpose: To evaluate the usefulness of measuring orbital fat density in identifying post-septal involvement when initial differential diagnosis between orbital and periorbital cellulitis (OC and POC) is unclear.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective study of patients with clinical diagnosis of OC or POC who underwent contrast-enhanced computerized tomographic scans over a span of 10 years. Intraconal orbital fat density was measured with Hounsfield units (HU) in six areas on axial scans consisting of nasal and temporal intraconal sites.

LexicHash: sequence similarity estimation via lexicographic comparison of hashes.

Motivation: Pairwise sequence alignment is a heavy computational burden, particularly in the context of third-generation sequencing technologies. This issue is commonly addressed by approximately estimating sequence similarities using a hash-based method such as MinHash. In MinHash, all k-mers in a read are hashed and the minimum hash value, the min-hash, is stored.

The Impact of Sex on Cardiogenic Shock Outcomes Following ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

Background: Cardiogenic shock (CS) remains the leading cause of ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)-related mortality. Contemporary studies have shown no sex-related differences in mortality.

Methods: STEMI-CS patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) were included based on a dedicated prospective STEMI database.

COVID-19 Presenting With Acute Anicteric Hepatitis in Pediatric Patient: A Case Report.

The impact that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has on the hepatobiliary system is poorly described in the pediatric population compared with the adult population. In adults, gastrointestinal symptoms and marked elevation in liver enzymes in the setting of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been directly correlated with disease severity. This case is a unique presentation of a pediatric patient with a relatively mild disease course despite the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms and marked elevation in transaminases, suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 virus may cause isolated acute hepatitis in pediatric patients.

Effect of General Anesthesia on MR Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter in the Pediatric Population.

Background: Papilledema is thought to be the hallmark sign of increased intracranial pressure (ICP). Distension of the subarachnoid space within the optic nerve sheath is also commonly reported in MR studies as an indirect sign of increased ICP.

Hypothesis: General anesthesia and positive pressure ventilation might result in changes in optic sheath diameter (OSD) observed on clinical brain MRI.

Pregnancy and perinatal outcomes of early vs late selective termination in dichorionic twin pregnancy: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To evaluate outcomes of dichorionic twin pregnancies undergoing early vs late selective termination of pregnancy (ST).

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Web of Science databases were searched electronically up to March 2022. The primary outcome of this study was pregnancy loss prior to 24 weeks' gestation.