Effects of high-flow nasal cannula in patients with persistent hypercapnia after an acute COPD exacerbation: a prospective pilot study.

Background: Persistent hypercapnia after COPD exacerbation is associated with excess mortality and early rehospitalization. High Flow Nasal cannula (HFNC), may be theoretically an alternative to long-term noninvasive ventilation (NIV), since physiological studies have shown a reduction in PaCO2 level after few hours of treatment. In this clinical study we assessed the acceptability of HFNC and its effectiveness in reducing the level of PaCO in patients recovering from an Acute Hypercapnic Respiratory Failure (AHRF) episode.

The MIDA Mortality Risk Score: development and external validation of a prognostic model for early and late death in degenerative mitral regurgitation.

Aims: In degenerative mitral regurgitation (DMR), lack of mortality scores predicting death favours misperception of individual patients' risk and inappropriate decision-making.

Methods And Results: The Mitral Regurgitation International Database (MIDA) registries include 3666 patients (age 66 ± 14 years; 70% males; follow-up 7.8 ± 5.

Bleeding-Related Deaths in Relation to the Duration of Dual-Antiplatelet Therapy After Coronary Stenting.

Background: Although some randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses have suggested that prolonged dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) may be associated with increased mortality, the mechanistic underpinnings of this association remain unclear.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the associations among bleeding, mortality, and DAPT duration after drug-eluting stent implantation in a meta-analysis of RCTs.

Methods: RCTs comparing different DAPT durations after drug-eluting stent placement were sought through the MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane databases and the proceedings of international meetings.

Three, six, or twelve months of dual antiplatelet therapy after DES implantation in patients with or without acute coronary syndromes: an individual patient data pairwise and network meta-analysis of six randomized trials and 11 473 patients.

Aim: We sought to determine whether the optimal dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) duration after drug-eluting stent (DES) placement varies according to clinical presentation.

Methods And Results: We performed an individual patient data pairwise and network meta-analysis comparing short-term (≤6-months) versus long-term (1-year) DAPT as well as 3-month vs. 6-month vs 1-year DAPT.

Possible association between hepatitis C virus and malignancies different from hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review.

Aim: To summarize the current knowledge about the potential relationship between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and the risk of several extra-liver cancers.

Methods: We performed a systematic review of the literature, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) Statement. We extracted the pertinent articles, published in MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library, using the following search terms: neoplasm/cancer/malignancy/tumor/carcinoma/adeno-carcinoma and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, kidney/renal-, cholangio-, pancreatic-, thyroid-, breast-,oral-, skin-, prostate-, lung-, colon-, stomach-, haematologic.