Five-year outcomes of different techniques for minimally invasive mitral valve repair in Barlow's disease.

Objectives: Barlow's disease is a specific sub-form of mitral valve (MV) disease, characterized by diffuse excessive tissue and multi segment prolapse. The anterolateral mini-thoracotomy represents the standard access for MV regurgitation in many centres. It still remains unclear which surgical technique provides the best results.

Perspective on Cerebral Autoregulation Monitoring in Neonatal Cardiac Surgery Requiring Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

The autoregulation of cerebral blood flow protects against brain injury from transient fluctuations in arterial blood pressure. Impaired autoregulation may contribute to hypoperfusion injury in neonates and infants. Monitoring cerebral autoregulation in neonatal cardiac surgery as a guide for arterial blood pressure management may reduce neurodevelopmental morbidity.

Assessment Scores of a Mock Objective Structured Clinical Examination Administered to 99 Anesthesiology Residents at 8 Institutions.

Background: Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are used in a variety of high-stakes examinations. The primary goal of this study was to examine factors influencing the variability of assessment scores for mock OSCEs administered to senior anesthesiology residents.

Methods: Using the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) OSCE Content Outline as a blueprint, scenarios were developed for 4 of the ABA skill types: (1) informed consent, (2) treatment options, (3) interpretation of echocardiograms, and (4) application of ultrasonography.

Computer-based intrapartum fetal monitoring and beyond: A review of the 2nd Workshop on Signal Processing and Monitoring in Labor (October 2017, Oxford, UK).

The second Signal Processing and Monitoring in Labor workshop gathered researchers who utilize promising new research strategies and initiatives to tackle the challenges of intrapartum fetal monitoring. The workshop included a series of lectures and discussions focusing on: new algorithms and techniques for cardiotocogoraphy (CTG) and electrocardiogram acquisition and analyses; the results of a CTG evaluation challenge comparing state-of-the-art computerized methods and visual interpretation for the detection of arterial cord pH <7.05 at birth; the lack of consensus about the role of intrapartum acidemia in the etiology of fetal brain injury; the differences between methods for CTG analysis "mimicking" expert clinicians and those derived from "data-driven" analyses; a critical review of the results from two randomized controlled trials testing the former in clinical practice; and relevant insights from modern physiology-based studies.

Investigating pH based evaluation of fetal heart rate (FHR) recordings.

Cardiotocography (CTG) is a standard tool for the assessment of fetal well-being during pregnancy and delivery. However, its interpretation is associated with high inter- and intra-observer variability. Since its introduction there have been numerous attempts to develop computerized systems assisting the evaluation of the CTG recording.