Aspirin to target arterial events in chronic kidney disease (ATTACK): study protocol for a multicentre, prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded endpoint, parallel group trial of low-dose aspirin vs. standard care for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in people with chronic kidney disease.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a very common long-term condition and powerful risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Low-dose aspirin is of proven benefit in the secondary prevention of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke in people with pre-existing CVD. However, in people without CVD, the rates of MI and stroke are much lower, and the benefits of aspirin in the primary prevention of CVD are largely balanced by an increased risk of bleeding.

Pulsatile sterile abscess in the left breast following transapical transcatheter aortic valve implantation: a case report.

Background: Over the last decade, transcatheter treatment of degenerative aortic valve stenosis has been established as an alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement. Late complications of transcatheter treatment of aortic stenosis (AS) are infrequent.

Case Summary: We report an 87-year-old woman treated successfully with 23 mm Sapien 3 transapical transcatheter aortic valve implantation for severe AS.

Impact of Co-Morbidities on the Cost of Care in Primary Elective Joint Arthroplasty.

Background: The Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement model is the newest iteration of the bundled payment methodology introduced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement model, while incentivizing providers to deliver care at a lower cost, does not incorporate any patient-level risk stratification. Our study evaluated the impact of specific medical co-morbidities on the cost of care in total joint arthroplasty (TJA) patients.

Management of Periprosthetic Joint Infection: The More We Learn, the Less We Know.

Background: Despite the tremendous and long-standing success of total hip arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty as treatments for end-stage arthritis, periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) remains a rare but feared complication of these procedures.

Methods: This review highlights some of the difficulties inherent to studying PJI. These include the difficulty in powering studies to capture this relatively uncommon complication, as well as the heterogeneity in clinical presentation and manifestations associated with the diagnosis and treatment of PJI.

Transcatheter Closure of Iatrogenic VSDs after Aortic Valve Replacement Surgery: 2 Case Reports and a Literature Review.

We report 2 new cases of transcatheter closure of iatrogenic ventricular septal defects after aortic valve replacement surgery, together with our finding, in a literature review, of 9 additional patients who had undergone this procedure from 2004 through 2013. In all 11 cases, transcatheter device closure was indicated for a substantial intracardiac shunt with symptomatic heart failure, and such a device was successfully deployed across the iatrogenic ventricular septal defect, with clinical improvement. Our review suggests that transcatheter closure of iatrogenic ventricular septal defects in patients with previous aortic valve replacement surgery is a safe and effective treatment option, providing anatomic defect closure and relief of symptoms in the short-to-medium term.

Impact of call-to-balloon time on 30-day mortality in contemporary practice.

Objective: Studies reporting an association between treatment delay and outcome for patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) have generally not included patients treated by a primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) service that systematically delivers reperfusion therapy to all eligible patients. We set out to determine the association of call-to-balloon (CTB) time with 30-day mortality after PPCI in a contemporary series of patients treated within a national reperfusion service.

Methods: We analysed data on 16 907 consecutive patients with STEMI treated by PPCI in England and Wales in 2011 with CTB time of ≤6 hours.

Report of the European Society of Cardiology Cardiovascular Round Table regulatory workshop update of the evaluation of new agents for the treatment of acute coronary syndrome: Executive summary.

Regulatory authorities interpret the results of randomized controlled trials according to published principles. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is planning a revision of the 2000 and 2003 guidance documents on clinical investigation of new medicinal products for the treatment of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) to achieve consistency with current knowledge in the field. This manuscript summarizes the key output from a collaborative workshop, organized by the Cardiovascular Round Table and the European Affairs Committee of the European Society of Cardiology, involving clinicians, academic researchers, trialists, European and US regulators, and pharmaceutical industry researchers.

Fracture of an uncemented tantalum patellar component.

A 62-year-old man presented with the acute, atraumatic onset of pain 3 years after uncemented right total knee arthroplasty. He complained of new mechanical locking with the knee held in extension on examination and unable to flex the knee. On the plain radiographs, the patellar component peg was fractured and the plate was dislocated.

10-Year Mortality Outcome of a Routine Invasive Strategy Versus a Selective Invasive Strategy in Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome: The British Heart Foundation RITA-3 Randomized Trial.

Background: The RITA-3 (Third Randomised Intervention Treatment of Angina) trial compared outcomes of a routine early invasive strategy (coronary arteriography and myocardial revascularization, as clinically indicated) to those of a selective invasive strategy (coronary arteriography for recurrent ischemia only) in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTEACS). At a median of 5 years' follow-up, the routine invasive strategy was associated with a 24% reduction in the odds of all-cause mortality.

Objectives: This study reports 10-year follow-up outcomes of the randomized cohort to determine the impact of a routine invasive strategy on longer-term mortality.

Fractional flow reserve versus angiography in guiding management to optimize outcomes in non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (FAMOUS-NSTEMI): rationale and design of a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Background: In patients with acute non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), coronary arteriography is usually recommended; but visual interpretation of the angiogram is subjective. We hypothesized that functional assessment of coronary stenosis severity with a pressure-sensitive guide wire (fractional flow reserve [FFR]) would have additive diagnostic, clinical, and health economic utility as compared with angiography-guided standard care.

Methods And Design: A prospective multicenter parallel-group 1:1 randomized controlled superiority trial in 350 NSTEMI patients with ≥1 coronary stenosis ≥30% severity (threshold for FFR measurement) will be conducted.

Patient-specific instruments for total knee arthroplasty.

The use of patient-specific instruments for total knee arthroplasty shifts computer navigation for bone landmark registration and implant positioning from the intraoperative to the preoperative setting. Each system requires preoperative MRI or CT, with specifications determined by the instrument manufacturer. The marketed advantages of patient-specific instruments include greater accuracy in coronal alignment with fewer outliers, no need for instrumentation of the intramedullary canal, reduced surgical time, lower hospital costs, and improved clinical outcomes.

Pseudoaneurysm of the left ventricle following apical approach TAVI.

Symptomatic severe aortic stenosis carries a two year survival of only 50%. However many patients are unsuitable for conventional aortic valve replacement as they are considered too high risk due to significant co-morbidities. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) offers a viable alternative for this high risk patient group, either by the femoral or apical route.