Painless Aortic Dissection.

Painless aortic dissection (PAoD) has been previously linked to poor outcomes. We recently encountered a case of a patient with PAoD presenting with dyspnea; the clue to diagnosis was the presence of a loud aortic diastolic murmur. A systematic review of the literature revealed 86 other cases, 62% of which occurred in men with a mean age of 65 years.

Relation of Baseline Renal Dysfunction With Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Popliteal and Infrapopliteal Percutaneous Peripheral Arterial Interventions.

Renal dysfunction is a major risk factor for peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Infrapopliteal PAD is associated with more co-morbid conditions and worse prognosis than suprapopliteal PAD. Long-term outcomes of patients with renal dysfunction and popliteal or infrapopliteal PAD undergoing peripheral vascular intervention (PVI) are not well described.

Laser in infrapopliteal and popliteal stenosis 2 study (LIPS2): Long-term outcomes of laser-assisted balloon angioplasty versus balloon angioplasty for below knee peripheral arterial disease.

Background: Laser-assisted balloon angioplasty (LABA) has been shown to be more effective in achieving angiographic success for treatment for below knee peripheral artery disease (PAD) compared with balloon angioplasty alone(BA). However, long-term outcomes of LABA compared with BA for popliteal and infrapopliteal PAD are unknown.

Methods: We evaluated data on 726 patients undergoing LABA (n = 395) and BA (n = 331) for popliteal and infrapopliteal PAD retrospectively at a single center (2007-2012).

Facklamia Species and Streptococcus pneumoniae Meningitis: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Facklamia sp are Gram-positive cocci that are often mistaken for viridans streptococci, but they rarely cause invasive disease. In this report, we describe a case of mixed Facklamia sp and Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis in an immunocompetent host with sinusitis. This case demonstrates that Facklamia sp may be part of normal human flora but can be associated with invasive disease.

Laser in infra-popliteal and popliteal stenosis (LIPS): retrospective review of laser-assisted balloon angioplasty versus balloon angioplasty alone for below knee peripheral arterial disease.

Despite the use of laser technology over the last decade, there are limited data to show its procedural and clinical success in infra-popliteal disease. We hypothesized that laser-assisted balloon angioplasty (LABA) is at least similar or better in procedural and peri-procedural outcomes compared to balloon angioplasty (BA) alone, despite adverse lesion characteristics prior to intervention. Retrospective chart and angiogram review of consecutive critical limb ischemia (CLI) patients who underwent endovascular revascularization in the popliteal or infra-popliteal vessels between 2007 and 2012 with LABA or BA alone.