Safety and feasibility of peri-device leakage closure after LAAO: an international, multicentre collaborative study.

Background: Residual peri-device leakage (PDL) is frequent after left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO). Little is known about management strategies, procedural aspects and outcomes of interventional PDL closure.

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the safety and feasibility of PDL closure after LAAO.

Tissue Doppler indices of diastolic function in critically ill patients and association with mortality - a systematic review.

Purpose: Systolic impairment is well reported in critically ill patients but diastolic function has been relatively understudied. The objective of this review was to assess tissue Doppler indices of diastolic function in critically ill patients along with any association with mortality.

Methods: A systematic review of articles in English using Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Cochrane database of systematic reviews.

Guidance for accurate and consistent tissue Doppler velocity measurement: comparison of echocardiographic methods using a simple vendor-independent method for local validation.

Background: Variability has been described between different echo machines and different modalities when measuring tissue velocities. We assessed the consistency of tissue velocity measurements across different modalities and different manufacturers in an in vitro model and in patients. Furthermore, we present freely available software tools to repeat these evaluations.