Self-assessment skills of undergraduate students in operative dentistry: Preclinical performance and gender.

Background: Self-assessment is key to improving the quality of work performed by dental professionals. The ability to accurately self-assess has been found to correlate with better clinical performance, making it an important skill for students to master during their dental education. Furthermore, studies conducted in dental schools across the world have shown that lower-performing students tend to overestimate their abilities compared to their peers.

Coronary Artery Aneurysm Thrombosis in a Patient With Marfan Syndrome.

Coronary artery aneurysm in adults is associated with connective tissue disorders, including Marfan syndrome. Coronary artery aneurysms are at risk for thrombosis, which obstructs coronary flow and thus results in myocardial infarction. We present a case of coronary artery aneurysm thrombosis in a patient with Marfan syndrome who presented with acute coronary syndrome.

Rapid Acute Coronary Syndrome Evaluation Over One Hour With High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin I: A United States-Based Stepped-Wedge, Randomized Trial.

Study Objective: The real-world effectiveness and safety of a 0/1-hour accelerated protocol using high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) to exclude myocardial infarction (MI) compared to routine care in the United States is uncertain. The objective was to compare a 0/1-hour accelerated protocol for evaluation of MI to a 0/3-hour standard care protocol.

Methods: The RACE-IT trial was a stepped-wedge, randomized trial across 9 emergency departments (EDs) that enrolled 32,609 patients evaluated for possible MI from July 2020 through April 2021.

The iATTEND Trial: A Trial Comparing Hybrid Versus Standard Cardiac Rehabilitation.

The improving ATTENDance (iATTEND) to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) trial tested the hypotheses that hybrid CR (HYCR) (combination of virtual and in-facility CR sessions) would result in greater attendance compared with traditional, facility-based only CR (FBCR) and yield equivalent improvements in exercise capacity and health status. Patients were randomized to HYCR (n = 142) or FBCR (n = 140), stratified by gender and race. Attendance was assessed as number of CR sessions completed within 6 months (primary end point) and the percentage of patients completing 36 CR sessions.

The value of local dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to ultrasound-guided wide awake local anesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT) in flexor tendon repair surgeries: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The Wide-Awake Local Anesthesia No Tourniquet (WALANT) technique allows intraoperative motor assessment of tendon repair integrity of the hand compared with general anesthesia or brachial plexus block. No studies have tested the effect of adding dexmedetomidine to lidocaine on the analgesic properties of the WALANT technique, which is the aim of our study.

Methods: A total of 128 patients aged more than 18 years were scheduled for surgical flexor tendon injury repair using WALANT technique.

Interfacial integrity of bulk-fill resin composite restorations in deep Class-II cavities.

This study evaluated the interfacial integrity of deep (6 mm) Class-II (OM/OD) restorations placed using different bulk-fill resin composites [Filtek™ Bulk Fill Flowable Restorative (BF) and Filtek™ Bulk Fill Posterior Restorative (BP) (3M ESPE, St. Paul, MN, USA)] of different increment thicknesses (2 or 4 mm). BP was used for capping in all cases, while Filtek™ Z250 Universal Restorative (3M ESPE) was used as the control material.

Inverse Relationship of Maximal Exercise Capacity to Hospitalization Secondary to Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between maximal exercise capacity measured before severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and hospitalization due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: We identified patients (≥18 years) who completed a clinically indicated exercise stress test between January 1, 2016, and February 29, 2020, and had a test for SARS-CoV-2 (ie, real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test) between February 29, 2020, and May 30, 2020. Maximal exercise capacity was quantified in metabolic equivalents of task (METs).

Cerebrovascular injuries found in acute type B aortic dissections are associated with blood pressure derangements and poor outcome.

Objective: Cerebrovascular injury (CVI) is a recognized but underappreciated complication of acute type B aortic dissection (ATBAD). This study was performed to determine risk factors for CVI associated with ATBAD and, in particular, the possible contributory role of aggressive anti-impulse therapy.

Methods: A retrospective review of all patients presenting to a tertiary medical center with an ATBAD between January 2003 and October 2012 was conducted.

Triple management of cubitus valgus deformity complicating neglected nonunion of fractures of lateral humeral condyle in children: a case series.

Background: Long standing nonunion of the lateral humeral condyle (LHC) usually results in elbow pain and instability with progressive cubitus valgus and tardy ulnar neuritis. Surgical treatment of long standing nonunion is still a controversial issue due to the reported complications, such as stiffness, loss of elbow motion, and avascular necrosis of the LHC fragment. In this study, we reported the outcomes of treatment of cubitus valgus deformity in long standing nonunion of the LHC in children treated with combined triple management (fixation of the nonunion site, dome corrective osteotomy, and anterior transposition of ulnar nerve) through a modified para-triceptal approach.

The (Dis) Utility of a Change in Troponin I for Diagnosis of Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction in an Observation Unit.

Background: Observation units (OUs) may be an efficient and effective setting to diagnose and risk stratify patients with coronary ischemia and myocardial infarction (MI). Given improved cardiac troponin I (cTnI) assays and expanded utilization of OUs, it is not uncommon for patients with mildly elevated cTnI to be evaluated in OUs. We investigated the serial cTnI results in OU patients to determine whether absolute or relative cTnI changes were useful for the diagnosis of MI.

Socioeconomic disparities affect survival after aortic dissection.

Objective: The effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on the course of many disease states has been documented in the literature but has not been studied in aortic dissection. This study evaluated the effect of SES on 30-day and long-term survival of patients after aortic dissection.

Methods: Hospital discharge records were used to identify patients with acute aortic dissection.

Relationship Between Exercise Workload During Cardiac Rehabilitation and Outcomes in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease.

The purpose of this retrospective, observational study was to describe the relation between exercise workload during cardiac rehabilitation (CR), expressed as metabolic equivalents of task (METs), and prognosis among patients with coronary heart disease. We included patients with coronary heart disease who participated in CR between January 1998 and June 2007. METs were calculated from treadmill workload.

Single coronary ostium in right coronary sinus: previously unreported "one for all" configuration.

We report our identification of a single coronary ostium arising from the right coronary sinus of Valsalva, in a 63-year-old woman who presented with chest pain atypical of angina. Coronary angiograms showed that the left anterior descending coronary artery arose from a right ventricular branch and that the left circumflex coronary artery arose from a right posterolateral branch. Both arteries reconstituted themselves in a backward fashion from the apex to the base of the heart-a configuration that to our knowledge has not been reported.

Magnetic resonance imaging for identifying patients with cardiac sarcoidosis and preserved or mildly reduced left ventricular function at risk of ventricular arrhythmias.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess whether delayed enhancement (DE) on MRI is associated with ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular fibrillation or death in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis and left ventricular ejection fraction >35%.

Methods And Results: Fifty-one patients with cardiac sarcoidosis and left ventricular ejection fraction >35% underwent DE-MRI. DE was assessed by visual scoring and quantified with the full-width at half-maximum method.

Relationship of technetium-99m tetrofosmin-gated rest single-photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion imaging to death and hospitalization in heart failure patients: results from the nuclear ancillary study of the HF-ACTION trial.

Background: We hypothesized that the severity of resting perfusion abnormalities assessed by the summed rest score (SRS) would be associated with a higher rate of adverse outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF) and reduced left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF).

Methods: A subset of 240 subjects from HF-ACTION underwent resting technetium-99m tetrofosmin-gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). Images were evaluated using a 17-segment model to derive the SRS and additional nuclear variables.

Myocardial perfusion, function, and dyssynchrony in patients with heart failure: baseline results from the single-photon emission computed tomography imaging ancillary study of the Heart Failure and A Controlled Trial Investigating Outcomes of Exercise TraiNing (HF-ACTION) Trial.

Background: There are currently limited data on the relationships between resting perfusion abnormalities, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, and exercise capacity as defined by peak VO(2) and 6-minute walk test in patients with heart failure (HF) and reduced LVEF. Furthermore, the association between resting perfusion abnormalities and left ventricular dyssynchrony is currently unknown. This article addresses the Heart Failure and A Controlled Trial Investigating Outcomes of Exercise TraiNing (HF-ACTION) gated SPECT imaging (gSPECT) substudy baseline results.

Endogenous endothelin in human coronary vascular function: differential contribution of endothelin receptor types A and B.

Endothelin 1 mediates coronary vasoconstriction and endothelial dysfunction via endothelin receptor type A (ET(A)) activation. However, the effects of selective endothelin receptor type B (ET(B)) and combined ET(A+B) receptor blockade on coronary vasomotion are unknown. We measured coronary vascular tone and endothelium-dependent and -independent vasomotor function before and after selective infusion of BQ-788 (an ET(B) receptor antagonist) or combined infusion of BQ-788+BQ-123 (an ET(A) antagonist) into unobstructed coronary arteries of 39 patients with coronary atherosclerosis or risk factors undergoing cardiac catheterization.