Direct Oral Anticoagulants for Rheumatic Heart Disease-Associated Atrial Fibrillation Post-Bioprosthetic Mitral Valve Replacement.

Background: The efficacy of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in preventing ischemic and thromboembolic events may be suboptimal in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis. However, their safety and effectiveness after mitral valve replacement (MVR) using bioprosthetic valves is unclear.

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of DOACs vs warfarin among patients with rheumatic heart disease (RHD)-associated AF after bioprosthetic MVR.

Personal Protective Equipment and Donning and Doffing Techniques in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights From an Internet Search for Protocols.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a need for precise donning and doffing protocols for personal protective equipment (PPE) among healthcare infrastructures is paramount. Procedures involving the cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL) are routinely non-aerosolizing but have the potential for rapid patient deterioration, creating the need for aerosolizing generating procedures. Multiple societal and governmental guidelines on the use of PPE during medical procedures are available on Internet websites; however, there is limited literature available in peer-reviewed formats in this context.