Dual platelet inhibition in cases of severe retrobulbar hemorrhage following retrobulbar and peribulbar anesthesia.

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of dual platelet inhibition in cases of severe retrobulbar hemorrhage following retrobulbar and peribulbar anesthesia.

Setting: Department of Ophthalmology, Ludwig-Maximilans Universität, München, Germany.

Design: Retrospective study.

Comparison of PV signal quality using a novel circular mapping and ablation catheter versus a standard circular mapping catheter.

Purpose: Recently, new catheter technologies have been developed for atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. We investigate the diagnostic accuracy of a circular mapping and pulmonary vein ablation catheter (PVAC) compared with a standard circular mapping catheter (Orbiter) and the influence of filter settings on signal quality.

Methods: After reconstruction of the left atrium by three-dimensional atriography, baseline PV potentials (PVP) were recorded consecutively with PVAC and Orbiter in 20 patients with paroxysmal AF.

N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide from fresh urine for the biochemical detection of heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction.

Aims: Plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a strong biochemical marker of heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction (LVD). Due to renal arterio-venous clearance of NT-proBNP and the correlation of plasma concentrations with renal function, we hypothesized that NT-proBNP may have potential as a urinary marker. The objective of this study was to assess urinary concentrations of NT-proBNP and to identify the predictive value of urinary NT-proBNP for detecting LVD and heart failure.

Improvement of the cardiac marker N-terminal-pro brain natriuretic peptide through adjustment for renal function: a stratified multicenter trial.

Background: N-terminal-pro brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a useful cardiac marker that is also influenced by renal dysfunction. It was our objective to assess the relationship between NT-proBNP concentrations in plasma and worsening renal function, and to attempt adjustment of NT-proBNP for renal dysfunction in a prospective, stratified multi-center study.

Methods: We stratified 203 male patients according to their cardiac status and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

Safe and rapid isolation of pulmonary veins using a novel circular ablation catheter and duty-cycled RF generator.

Background: Ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) has been one of the most difficult and time-consuming electrophysiological procedures. Due to the rapidly increasing demand for ablation procedures, technical advances would be helpful to reduce complexity and procedure time in AF ablation. Therefore, we investigated the feasibility of a single-catheter technique for pulmonary vein (PV) isolation utilizing a decapolar catheter combined with a duty-cycled, unipolar-bipolar radiofrequency (RF) generator.