Acute Rheumatic Fever in a Low Prevalence Setting.

Background: Acute rheumatic fever is a systemic inflammatory condition caused by beta-hemolytic streptococcal infection. Its prevalence in high-income countries has fallen significantly as a result of widespread antibiotic use and improved living conditions.

Case Summary: We report the case of an 18-year-old, otherwise healthy, Irish woman who presented to an Irish hospital with fever and general malaise on a background of recurrent pharyngitis.

Calcified Coronary Artery Disease: Pathology, Prevalence, Predictors and Impact on Outcomes.

Calcified coronary artery disease is a common clinical finding and is visible angiographically in 25-30% of patients presenting for percutaneous coronary intervention. The presence of coronary calcium, even without coronary artery obstruction, confers an adverse clinical prognosis. Coronary calcium score on CT is additive in predicting risk of cardiovascular events beyond traditional scoring systems.

Impact of intensive versus nonintensive antithrombotic treatment on device-related thrombus after left atrial appendage closure.

Introduction And Objectives: The optimal antithrombotic therapy (AT) after left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) is debated. We assessed the impact of intensive vs nonintensive AT on the incidence of device-related thrombus (DRT) based on whether the device implantation was classified as optimal or suboptimal.

Methods: This study included patients who underwent successful LAAC in 9 centers.

TAVI with the ACURATE neo2 in severe bicuspid aortic valve stenosis: the Neo2 BAV Registry.

Background: The ACURATE neo2 is a contemporary transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) system approved for the treatment of severe aortic stenosis in Europe. The ACURATE neo2 has not been evaluated in bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) stenosis.

Aims: We sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ACURATE neo2 in patients with BAV stenosis.

Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Morphology as a Predictor of Conductance Disturbances Following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

Background: Conduction disturbances represent one of the most common complications following transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). We sought to investigate the role of left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) morphology in the development of conduction disturbances following TAVR.

Methods And Results: Consecutive patients who underwent TAVR in our center were included.

Anything that would help is a positive development": feasibility, tolerability, and user experience of smartphone-based digital phenotyping for people with and without type 2 diabetes.

Background: Digital phenotyping, the in-situ collection of passive (phone sensor) and active (daily surveys) data using a digital device, may provide new insights into the complex relationship between daily behaviour and mood for people with type 2 diabetes. However, there are critical knowledge gaps regarding its use in people with type 2 diabetes. This study assessed feasibility, tolerability, and user experience of digital phenotyping in people with and without type 2 diabetes after participation in a 2-month digital phenotyping study in Ireland.

Comparing Face-to-Face, Blended and Online Teaching Approaches for Practical Skill Acquisition: A Randomised Controlled Trial.

Introduction: The efficacy of blended and online teaching methods for practical skill acquisition remains ambiguous, particularly for skills requiring haptic awareness and/or sensory training. This study aims to compare three teaching methods (face-to-face, blended, online) for the acquisition of skills requiring sensory learning and haptic awareness. A secondary aim was to explore student experience of each teaching approach.

The prevalence of comorbid mental health difficulties in young people with chronic skin conditions: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Chronic skin conditions can have psychosocial and somatic implications, influencing well-being and quality of life. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthesise evidence on the prevalence of comorbid mental health difficulties in 0-25-year-olds with chronic skin conditions. A secondary aim included identifying factors associated with resilience.

A network analysis of depressive symptoms in adults with and without diabetes: findings from the Irish longitudinal study on ageing.

Objectives: This study aimed to estimate networks of depressive symptoms among Irish adults with and without diabetes at two time points and compare between the two groups at each time point using data from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA).

Methods: Participants were from Wave 1 (2009-2011) and Wave 4 (2016) of TILDA, with = 639 participants with diabetes and = 7,837 without diabetes at Wave 1, and = 1,151 with diabetes and = 4,531 without diabetes at Wave 4. Depressive symptoms were measured using the 8 items of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.

Childhood maltreatment and the risk of impaired glucose metabolism or type 2 diabetes in young adults: Findings from the Lifelines Cohort Study.

We examined the associations between childhood maltreatment and the risk of impaired glucose metabolism (IGM) or type 2 diabetes (T2D) in young adults aged 18-35. Participants ( = 8506) from the Lifelines Cohort Study without IGM or diabetes at baseline (2007-2013) were included. Childhood maltreatment was assessed by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and incident IGM/T2D was assessed by haemoglobin A levels (≥5.

Neighbourhood characteristics and socioeconomic inequalities in child mental health: Cross-sectional and longitudinal findings from the Growing Up in Ireland study.

This study examined the role of neighbourhood characteristics in explaining socioeconomic inequalities in child mental health (the total difficulties score from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) using data from Cohort '08 of Growing Up in Ireland Waves 3 (age 5; baseline) and 5 (age 9; follow-up). Twenty neighbourhood items were grouped into neighbourhood safety, built environments, cohesion, interaction, and disorder. Data were analysed using regression, single and multiple mediation, and network psychometric analyses.

Emerging transcatheter heart valve technologies for severe aortic stenosis.

Introduction: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is the standard of care for selected patients with severe aortic stenosis, irrespective of the surgical risk. Over the last two decades of TAVI practice, multiple limitations were identified. In addition, the extension of TAVI into a wider patient spectrum created new challenges.

Impact of Device Implant Depth After Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion.

Background: Device-related thrombus (DRT) remains one of the main concerns after left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO). Several risk factors have been proposed, but most cannot be modulated. A modifiable factor such as device implantation depth is a potential target to adjust the risk for DRT.

Predictors of Conduction Disturbances Requiring New Permanent Pacemaker Implantation following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Using the Evolut Series.

(1) Background: Conduction disturbance requiring a new permanent pacemaker (PPM) after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has traditionally been a common complication. New implantation techniques with self-expanding platforms have reportedly reduced the incidence of PPM. We sought to investigate the predictors of PPM at 30 days after TAVI using Evolut R/PRO/PRO+; (2) Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent TAVI with the Evolut platform between October 2019 and August 2022 at University Hospital Galway, Ireland, were included.

Propensity-matched analysis of long-term clinical results after ostial circumflex revascularisation.

Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of the ostium of the left circumflex artery (LCx) is technically challenging. The aim of this study was to compare long-term clinical outcomes of ostial PCI located in the LCx versus the left anterior descending artery (LAD) in a propensity-matched population.

Methods: Consecutive patients with a symptomatic isolated 'de novo' ostial lesion of the LCx or LAD treated with PCI were included.

Mid-Term Angiographic and Intracoronary Imaging Results Following Intracoronary Lithotripsy in Calcified Coronary Artery Disease: Results From Two Tertiary Referral Centres.

Background: Intracoronary lithotripsy (IVL) is a safe and effective treatment for coronary calcification. Angiographic and intracoronary imaging follow-up have not yet been described. We aimed to describe the mid-term angiographic outcomes following IVL.

Prediabetes and the risk of type 2 diabetes: Investigating the roles of depressive and anxiety symptoms in the Lifelines cohort study.

Aims: Depression and anxiety may increase the risk of progressing from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes. The present study examined the interactions between prediabetes status and elevated depressive and anxiety symptoms with the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Participants (N = 72,428) were adults aged 40 years and above without diabetes at baseline from the Lifelines Cohort Study (58% female; mean age = 51.

In-hospital outcomes following percutaneous versus surgical intervention in the treatment of aortic stenosis and concomitant coronary artery disease.

Introduction And Objectives: Concomitant coronary artery disease (CAD) is prevalent among aortic stenosis patients; however the optimal therapeutic strategy remains debated. We investigated periprocedural outcomes among patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation with percutaneous coronary intervention (TAVI/PCI) vs surgical aortic valve replacement with coronary artery bypass grafting (SAVR/CABG) for aortic stenosis with CAD.

Methods: Using discharge data from the Spanish National Health System, we identified 6194 patients (5217 SAVR/CABG and 977 TAVI/PCI) between 2016 and 2019.