Postoperative tolvaptan use in left ventricular assist device patients: The TOLVAD randomized pilot study.

Purpose: Tolvaptan, a selective vasopressin type-2 antagonist, has been shown to increase serum sodium (Na) and urine output in hyponatremic left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patients in retrospective studies. In this prospective randomized pilot study, we aimed to assess the efficacy of tolvaptan in this population.

Methods: We conducted a prospective, randomized, non-blinded pilot study of LVAD recipients with post-operative hyponatremia (Na < 135 mEq/L) (NCT05408104).

Clinical Utility of Transillumination on Transthoracic Imaging.

• TI is a 3D rendering tool that applies a movable virtual light. • TI may improve anatomic definition and diagnostic yield of transthoracic imaging. • TI is particularly useful for optimal valve anatomy visualization.

Three-Dimensional Echocardiographic Deconstruction: Feasibility of Clinical Evaluation from Two-Dimensional Views Derived from a Three-Dimensional Data Set.

Background: Three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) makes it possible to capture the entire heart in a single data set that theoretically could be used to extract any two-dimensional (2D) views and potentially replace the standard practice of serial 2D acquisitions. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the quality of 3DE-derived 2D images is sufficient to allow the visualization of the left ventricular (LV), right ventricular (RV), and left atrial (LA) endocardium, on par with images from conventional two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE), and potentially more accurate quantification of chamber size and function.

Methods: First, the investigators prospectively studied 36 patients who underwent 2DE in 14 standard views, and full-volume data sets from 3DE, from which the same views were extracted offline.

Normal Values of Cardiac Output and Stroke Volume According to Measurement Technique, Age, Sex, and Ethnicity: Results of the World Alliance of Societies of Echocardiography Study.

Background: Assessment of cardiac output (CO) and stroke volume (SV) is essential to understand cardiac function and hemodynamics. These parameters can be examined using three echocardiographic techniques (pulsed-wave Doppler, two-dimensional [2D], and three-dimensional [3D]). Whether these methods can be used interchangeably is unclear.

Effects of an Electronic Medical Record Intervention on Appropriateness of Transthoracic Echocardiograms: A Prospective Study.

Background: Transthoracic echocardiograms (TTEs) account for approximately half of U.S. spending on cardiac imaging.

Electrochemical properties of columns in capillary electrochromatography. I. Ohm's law, resistivity and field strength.

The most commonly used type of column in capillary electrochromatography (CEC) consists of a packed segment and an open (but buffer-filled) segment. The two segments differ importantly in two respects: firstly, their electrical resistivity; and secondly, their zeta potentials at a multitude of solid-liquid interfaces. Determination of the magnitude of these properties for each segment cannot be made using only results from the column as a whole.