A randomized controlled trial of levosimendan to reduce mortality in high-risk cardiac surgery patients (CHEETAH): Rationale and design.

Objective: Patients undergoing cardiac surgery are at risk of perioperative low cardiac output syndrome due to postoperative myocardial dysfunction. Myocardial dysfunction in patients undergoing cardiac surgery is a potential indication for the use of levosimendan, a calcium sensitizer with 3 beneficial cardiovascular effects (inotropic, vasodilatory, and anti-inflammatory), which appears effective in improving clinically relevant outcomes.

Design: Double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter randomized trial.

Mitraclip therapy in patients with functional mitral regurgitation and missing leaflet coaptation: is it still an exclusion criterion?

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of Mitraclip therapy in patients with functional mitral regurgitation (MR) and missing leaflet coaptation (MLC).

Methods And Results: Out of 62 consecutive patients with functional MR undergoing Mitraclip implantation, 22 had MLC defined as the presence of a 'gap' between two mitral leaflets or insufficient coaptation length (<2 mm), according to the EVEREST II criterion. Compared with the control group, the MLC population had a significantly higher effective regurgitant orifice area (0.

Effect of fenoldopam on use of renal replacement therapy among patients with acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery: a randomized clinical trial.

Importance: No effective pharmaceutical agents have yet been identified to treat acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery.

Objective: To determine whether fenoldopam reduces the need for renal replacement therapy in critically ill cardiac surgery patients with acute kidney injury.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study from March 2008 to April 2013 in 19 cardiovascular intensive care units in Italy.