Early Experience of Peer Advocate Program: Using Quality Improvement to Optimize Behavioral and Communication Disconnect in the Operating Room.

Background: The operating room (OR) remains a challenging and hierarchical work environment within healthcare, where the attending surgeon functions as a team captain. Unprofessional behavior or disconnects in this environment can lead to breakdowns in teamwork and reports within the safety event reporting system (SERS). Interventions focused on remediating adverse behaviors and team interactions should optimize team function and potentially enhance patient outcomes.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With a Left Ventricular Assist Device (QOLVAD) Questionnaire: Initial Psychometrics of a New Instrument.

Background: Patients with a left ventricular assist device are a unique and growing population who deserve their own valid, reliable instrument for health-related quality of life.

Objective: We developed and tested the Health-Related Quality of Life with a Left Ventricular Assist Device (QOLVAD) questionnaire.

Methods: In a prospective, descriptive study, patients from 7 sites completed the QOLVAD and comparator questionnaires.

Left atrial thrombus mimicking atrial myxoma on imaging studies in a patient with cardiac transplant.

Left atrial thrombus can develop in patients with atrial fibrillation and/or a dilated left atrium such as seen in patients with heart failure. In cardiac transplant patients with bi-atrial anastomosis, the suture line can be a potential nidus for thrombus formation. These thrombi can be either organized or unstable with ulcerated surfaces.