PROClass: The Development and Validation of a Novel Prosthetic Component Sophistication Classification System.

Objective: To develop a lower limb prosthesis (LLP) sophistication classification system that categorizes prosthetic component prescriptions into "basic," "intermediate," and "advanced" and assess its content validity, reliability, and accuracy.

Design: Classification development and validation study.

Setting: The Veterans Affairs (VA) Corporate Data Warehouse database and National Prosthetics Patient Database were used to identify patients undergoing their first amputation at the transtibial or transfemoral level due to diabetes or peripheral artery disease and to identify the associated codes for each LLP.

Surgical management of aortic valve disease in the elderly: A retrospective comparative study of valve choice using propensity score analysis.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Aortic valve dysfunction is the most common form of valvular heart disease. As the population continues to age, a greater number of patients will become candidates for aortic valve replacement (AVR); hence, prosthetic valve choice becomes of paramount importance.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 801 patients aged > or =65 years who underwent isolated AVR or AVR + coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) between January 1989 and June 2003 with a Carpentier Edwards Perimount (CEP) pericardial bioprosthesis (n = 398) or a St.

Bivalirudin use in off-pump myocardial revascularization in patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia [corrected].

With advances in therapy of acute coronary syndromes, repetitive exposure to heparin has become commonplace. Consequently, the incidence of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia has risen. Limited strategies for management exist, and new thrombin inhibitors may provide safe alternatives to heparin.