Purulent Bacterial Pericarditis: Rare Yet Lethal.

Bacterial pericarditis is a rare phenomenon that progresses rapidly and carries high mortality. Patients presenting with new pericardial effusions are often evaluated for concomitant rheumatologic, oncologic, and infectious diseases. We present a complex case of purulent pericarditis with pneumopericardium.

New UNOS allocation system associated with no added benefit in waitlist outcomes and worse post-transplant survival in heart-kidney patients.

Background: The 2018 United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) heart transplant policy change (PC) sought to improve waitlist risk stratification to decrease waitlist mortality and promote geographically broader sharing for high-acuity patients awaiting heart transplantation. Our analysis sought to determine the effect of the UNOS PC on outcomes in patients waiting for, or who have received, a heart-kidney transplantation.

Methods: We analyzed adult (≥18 years old), first-time, heart-only and heart-kidney transplant candidates and recipients from the UNOS Registry.

Effect of the UNOS policy change on rates of rejection, infection, and hospital readmission following heart transplantation.

Background: The 2018 adult heart allocation policy sought to improve waitlist risk stratification, reduce waitlist mortality, and increase organ access. This system prioritized patients at greatest risk for waitlist mortality, especially individuals requiring temporary mechanical circulatory support (tMCS). Posttransplant complications are significantly higher in patients on tMCS before transplantation, and early posttransplant complications impact long-term mortality.

UNOS policy change benefits high-priority patients without harming those at low priority.

The heart transplantation policy change (PC) has improved outcomes in high-acuity (Old 1A, New 1-3) patients, but the effect on low-priority (Old 1B/2, New 4-6) patients is unknown. We sought to determine if low-priority patient outcomes were compromised by benefits to high-priority patients by evaluating for interaction between PC and priority status (PS). We included adult first-time heart transplant candidates and recipients from the UNOS registry during a 19-month period before and after the PC.

Effect of UNOS policy change and exception status request on outcomes in patients bridged to heart transplant with an intra-aortic balloon pump.

Background: Intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABP) are used to bridge select end-stage heart disease patients to heart transplant (HT). IABP use and exception requests both increased dramatically after the UNOS policy change (PC). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of PC and exception status requests on waitlist and post-transplant outcomes in patients bridged to HT with IABP support.

Complications of Pulmonic Valve Endocarditis in Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot.

Transthoracic echocardiography plays a pivotal role in the diagnosis of complications, evaluation of hemodynamics, and management of patients with surgically repaired congenital heart disease. Late complications of surgically corrected tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), the most common cyanotic congenital heart disease, include pulmonary regurgitation (PR), ventricular septal defect (VSD) patch leakage, and residual right ventricular outflow tract obstruction. We present a case of severe PR secondary to Bartonella endocarditis in an adult with a history of repaired TOF in which echocardiography was instrumental in the diagnosis of severe PR, residual VSD, and a right-to-left shunt through an unsuspected patent foramen ovale.

Long-term outcomes in patients with critical limb ischemia and heart failure with preserved or reduced ejection fraction.

The impact of heart failure (HF) on long-term survival in patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) has not been well described. Outcomes stratified by left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) are also unknown. A single center retrospective chart review was performed for patients who underwent treatment for CLI from 2006 to 2013.

Early change in proteinuria as a surrogate end point for kidney disease progression: an individual patient meta-analysis.

Background: It is controversial whether proteinuria is a valid surrogate end point for randomized trials in chronic kidney disease.

Study Design: Meta-analysis of individual patient-level data.

Setting & Population: Individual patient data for 9,008 patients from 32 randomized trials evaluating 5 intervention types.

Differences in HIV-specific T cell responses between HIV-exposed and -unexposed HIV-seronegative individuals.

HIV-1-specific T lymphocyte responses in individuals exposed to HIV-1 but who remain persistently seronegative (HESNs) have been reported in some but not all previous studies. This study was designed to resolve unequivocally the question of whether HESNs make HIV-1-specific T cell responses. We performed a blind investigation to measure HIV-1-specific T cell responses in both HIV-1-serodiscordant couples and HIV-1-unexposed seronegative controls (HUSNs).

The National Asthma Survey--New York State: association of the home environment with current asthma status.

Objectives: The National Asthma Survey--New York State (NYS), a telephone survey of NYS residents, was conducted in 2002-2003 to further understand the burden of asthma among adults and children and to identify health, socioeconomic, behavioral, and environmental factors associated with asthma.

Methods: A total of 1,412 households with at least one member with current asthma and 2,290 control households answered questions about their home environment (e.g.

Early change in proteinuria as a surrogate outcome in kidney disease progression: a systematic review of previous analyses and creation of a patient-level pooled dataset.

Background: Proteinuria is a candidate surrogate end point for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in chronic kidney disease (CKD). There is a reasonably sound biological basis for this hypothesis, but only preliminary empirical evidence currently exists.

Methods: A systematic review and creation of a patient-level dataset of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in CKD that reported changes in proteinuria and assessed progression of kidney disease as defined by dialysis, transplantation, death, or changes in GFR or creatinine were performed.