Venous stasis, deep venous thrombosis and airline flight: can the seat be fixed?

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolization (PE) associated with air travel are directly related to the duration of flight and seating in non-aisle seats. In this study, we assessed a modification of a standard airline seat (NewSit) designed to decrease the incidence of DVT on long flights. This seat raises the feet from the floor, facilitates mobility, and permits intermittent calf compression.

Integrated approach to construction and maintenance of prosthetic arteriovenous access for hemodialysis.

Autogenous arteriovenous access is the preferred access for hemodialysis patients with end-stage renal disease but is not feasible in a significant number of patients. The creation of a prosthetic arteriovenous access (PAVA) for hemodialysis using expanded polytetrafluoroethylene is technically simple and the short-term results are usually good, but the PAVA's 1-year patency rate is low (less than 60% in many centers). We have developed an integrated approach for the creation and maintenance of PAVAs, under the direction of a dedicated vascular access surgeon, involving preoperative imaging, anesthetic and surgical techniques, and a postoperative graft surveillance program, to improve patency rates.

The predictive value of the halo sign in color Doppler ultrasonography of the temporal arteries for diagnosing giant cell arteritis.

Objective: The diagnosis of giant cell arteritis (GCA) usually requires a temporal artery biopsy. Recently it has been reported that a periluminal dark halo, detected by color Doppler ultrasonography (US) of the temporal arteries, is a characteristic sign of GCA. We evaluated the predictive value of this dark halo sign in diagnosing GCA.