National Trends of Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drug Use in Patients Admitted With Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Background: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a significant health and economic burden in the US. Tobacco, alcohol, and drug use are established risk factors. We sought to evaluate the national trend of use of each substance in patients admitted with AMI.

A rare case of fatal multi-organ polymer graft material and cholesterol embolization following aortic repair.

Ischemia is a common complication of various endovascular procedures including endovascular aortic aneurysm repair. Multiple mechanisms can contribute to the pathogenesis of ischemia: thrombosis, arterial dissection, graft malpositioning, cholesterol embolization, and polymer graft embolization which is an underrecognized complication. To the best of our knowledge, only 38 cases of polymer graft embolization have been reported in the literature.

Reperfusion Microvascular Ischemia After Prolonged Coronary Occlusion: Implications And Treatment With Local Supersaturated Oxygen Delivery.

Following a prolonged coronary arterial occlusion, heterogeneously scattered, focal regions of low erythrocyte flow are commonly found throughout the reperfused myocardium. Experimental studies have also demonstrated the presence of widespread, focally patchy regions of microvascular ischemia during reperfusion (RMI). However, the potential contribution of RMI to tissue viability and function has received little attention in the absence of practical clinical methods for its detection.

Quadriceps tendon autograft ACL reconstruction has less pivot shift laxity and lower failure rates than hamstring tendon autografts.

Purpose: Quadriceps tendon (QT) autograft ACL reconstruction was hypothesized to possess less anterior knee laxity, pivot shift laxity, and lower failure rates than hamstring tendon (HT) autografts.

Methods: Terms "hamstring tendon autograft" and "ACL reconstruction" or "quadriceps tendon autograft" and "ACL reconstruction" were searched in Embase and PubMed. Inclusion criteria required that studies included patients treated for primary ACL injury with reconstruction using either a QT autograft (Group 1) or a HT autograft (Group 2) and instrumented anterior knee laxity assessment.

Cementless Tapered Femoral Stems for Total Hip Arthroplasty in Octogenarians.

Background: The use of cementless femoral components has become the standard in younger patients due to increased implant survivorship and decreased loosening. However, it remains controversial whether these femoral stems can provide comparable results in elderly patients. Therefore, our purpose was to compare the (1) incidence of revisions; (2) clinical outcomes; (3) incidence of postoperative blood transfusions; and (4) differences in complications between the 2 cohorts.

Embracing 21st Century Information Sharing: Defining a New Paradigm for the Food and Drug Administration's Regulation of Biopharmaceutical Company Communications with Healthcare Professionals.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plays a unique role in protecting the public health and minimizing the risk of the distribution of unsafe or ineffective medicines in the United States. Perhaps equally as important for public health, however, is the need for healthcare professionals to be well informed about the benefits and risks of the medicines they prescribe. In this way, information sharing is critical to healthcare delivery.

The Columbia-Harlem Homeless Medical Partnership: a new model for learning in the service of those in medical need.

Though altruism and patient advocacy are promoted in medical education curricula, students are given few opportunities to develop these skills. Student-run clinics focusing on the health needs of the underserved can provide important health services to needy patients while providing students with career-influencing primary care experiences. The Columbia-Harlem Homeless Medical Partnership (CHHMP)-a project initiated by medical students to provide primary care to Northern Manhattan's homeless population-serves as a new model of service learning in medical education.

Payer type has little effect on operative rate and surgeons' work intensity.

Does health-care payer type affect the rate of operative treatment and surgeons' work intensity for patients with orthopaedic conditions? We analyzed the clinical and financial data collected during 6 consecutive years (1999-2004) for a group practice of 40 orthopaedic surgeons. We examined the rate of operative treatment and surgeons' work intensity (total physician's work Resource-based Relative Value System units) by diagnosis, patient age, and payer type. The eight payer types were: capitation health maintenance organization, health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, indemnity, self-pay, Workers' Compensation, Medicaid, and Medicare.

Case report: recurrent heart failure with preserved ejection fraction but markedly elevated BNP in a 51-year-old female on hemodialysis with oversized AV fistula.

We hereby report a case that appeared to have had recurrent clinical heart failure secondary to high-output state due to oversized arteriovenous fistula. Patient started to have dyspnea on exertion approximately 4 months after the creation of the fistula, and subsequently had two episodes of heart failure exacerbation. On both occasions, she had normal left ventricular systolic function as demonstrated by echocardiogram.