Contemporary assessment of short- and functional 90-days outcome in old intensive care patients suffering from COVID-19.

Purpose: There are limited data about the outcome of old intensive care (ICU) patients suffering from Covid-19 in the post-vaccination era. This study distinguishes the pre- and post-acute illness living conditions of ICU survivors from non-survivors.

Methods: This prospective international multicenter study included 642 old (≥ 70 years) ICU patients, including data ranging from pre-illness condition to functional 90-days follow-up.

Sublingual microcirculatory assessment on admission independently predicts the outcome of old intensive care patients suffering from shock.

Shock is a life-threatening condition. This study evaluated if sublingual microcirculatory perfusion on admission is associated with 30-day mortality in older intensive care unit (ICU) shock patients. This trial prospectively recruited ICU patients (≥ 80 years old) with arterial lactate above 2 mmol/L, requiring vasopressors despite adequate fluid resuscitation, regardless of shock cause.

Management of cardiogenic shock: state-of-the-art.

The management of cardiogenic shock is an ongoing challenge. Despite all efforts and tremendous use of resources, mortality remains high. Whilst reversing the underlying cause, restoring/maintaining organ perfusion and function are cornerstones of management.

Feasibility, Accuracy, and Reproducibility of Aortic Valve Sizing for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Using Virtual Reality.

Background: Detailed visualization and precise measurements of aortic valve dimensions are critical for the success of transcatheter aortic valve implantation and for the prevention of complications. Currently, multislice computed tomography is the gold standard for assessment of the aortic annulus and surrounding structures to determine the prosthesis size. New technologies such as virtual reality (VR) not only enable 3-dimensional (3D) visualization with the potential to improve understanding of anatomy and pathology but also allow measurements in 3D.

A comparison of conventional and advanced 3D imaging techniques for percutaneous left atrial appendage closure.

Background: Understanding complex cardiac anatomy is essential for percutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) closure. Conventional multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) are now supported by advanced 3D printing and virtual reality (VR) techniques for three-dimensional visualization of volumetric data sets. This study aimed to investigate their added value for LAA closure procedures.

Acute and short-term fluctuations in gravity are associated with changes in circulatory plasma protein levels.

Gravitational changes between micro- and hypergravity cause several adaptations and alterations in the human body. Besides muscular atrophy and immune system impairment, effects on the circulatory system have been described, which can be associated with a wide range of blood biomarker changes. This study examined nine individuals (seven males, two females) during a parabolic flight campaign (PFC).

Reporting SOFA in research: we should always present each of the SOFA subscores.

Introduction: The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score is the sum of 6 components, each representing one organ system with dysfunction classified on a 4-point scale. In research, usually by default, the total SOFA score is taken into account, but it may not reflect the severity of the condition of the individual organs. Often, these values are expected to predict mortality.

A successful cardiac transplant in a patient with situs inversus totalis and congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries.

A heart transplant is the gold standard therapy for patients with end-stage heart failure. In this case report, situs inversus totalis and congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries led to a unique and complex preoperative setting. Extended donor organ harvesting, donor graft rotation of 45° to the right and post-operative stenting of the superior vena cava were essential steps in the interdisciplinary management of this case.

Left atrial appendage sizing for percutaneous closure in virtual reality-a feasibility study.

Background And Aims: The complex and highly variable three-dimensional anatomy of the left atrial appendage (LAA) makes planning and device sizing for interventional occlusion procedures (LAAC) challenging. Several imaging modalities [e.g.

Angiopoietin-2 is associated with capillary leak and predicts complications after cardiac surgery.

Background: Patients undergoing cardiac surgery are prone to numerous complications. Increased vascular permeability may be associated with morbidity and mortality due to hemodynamic instability, fluid overload, and edema formation. We hypothesized that markers of endothelial injury and inflammation are associated with capillary leak, ultimately increasing the risk of postoperative complications.

Early Postoperative Neurologic Events Are Associated With Worse Outcome and Fatal Midterm Survival After Adult Heart Transplantation.

Background Neurologic events during primary stay in heart transplant (HTx) recipients may be associated with reduced outcome and survival, which we aim to explore with the current study. Methods and Results We screened and included all patients undergoing HTx in our center between September 2010 and December 2022 (n=268) and checked for the occurrence of neurologic events within their index stay. Neurologic events were defined as ischemic stroke, hemorrhage, hypoxic ischemic injury, or acute symptomatic neurologic dysfunction without central nervous system injury.

Reply to Thet et al. Comment on "Oehler et al. Outcome and Midterm Survival after Heart Transplantation Is Independent from Donor Length of Stay in the Intensive Care Unit. 2022, , 1053".

Myat Soe Thet et al. published a letter [..

The impact of gender and frailty on the outcome of older patients with functional mitral regurgitation.

Aims: Functional mitral regurgitation (MR) is the second most common valvular heart disease worldwide and is increasing with age. The present study investigates the gender distribution and 1 year prognosis of older patients (≥65 years) with pharmacologically treated MR in a real-world population with moderate to severe functional MR.

Methods And Results: This a single-centre retrospective observational cohort study and included 243 medically treated patients with moderate to severe MR from 2014 to 2020.

Atrial Fibrillation Burden and Atrial Shunt Therapy in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common comorbidity in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and in heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF).

Objectives: This study sought to describe AF burden and its clinical impact among individuals with HFpEF and HFmrEF who participated in a randomized clinical trial of atrial shunt therapy (REDUCE LAP-HF II [A Study to Evaluate the Corvia Medical, Inc IASD System II to Reduce Elevated Left Atrial Pressure in Patients with Heart Failure]) and to evaluate the effect of atrial shunt therapy on AF burden.

Methods: Study investigators characterized AF burden among patients in the REDUCE LAP-HF II trial by using ambulatory cardiac patch monitoring at baseline (median patch wear time, 6 days) and over a 12-month follow-up (median patch wear time, 125 days).

Direct assessment of microcirculation in shock: a randomized-controlled multicenter study.

Purpose: Shock is a life-threatening condition characterized by substantial alterations in the microcirculation. This study tests the hypothesis that considering sublingual microcirculatory perfusion variables in the therapeutic management reduces 30-day mortality in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with shock.

Methods: This randomized, prospective clinical multicenter trial-recruited patients with an arterial lactate value above two mmol/L, requiring vasopressors despite adequate fluid resuscitation, regardless of the cause of shock.

The Clinical Frailty Scale for mortality prediction of old acutely admitted intensive care patients: a meta-analysis of individual patient-level data.

Background: This large-scale analysis pools individual data about the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) to predict outcome in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: A systematic search identified all clinical trials that used the CFS in the ICU (PubMed searched until 24th June 2020). All patients who were electively admitted were excluded.