Reducing Left Ventricular Wall Stress through Aortic Valve Enlargement via Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Severe Aortic Stenosis.

: In aortic stenosis, the left ventricle exerts additional force to pump blood through the narrowed aortic valve into the downstream arterial vasculature. Adaptive hypertrophy helps to maintain wall stress homeostasis but at the expense of impaired compliance. Advanced ventricular deformation impacts the extent of functional recovery benefits achieved through transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Acute Effect in Mechanical Efficiency by Pressure-Volume Loop Analysis after Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the immediate effect of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) on mechanical efficiency.

Methods: A total of 46 patients (25 females) with an average age of 83 ± 6.4 years underwent TAVI using the CoreValve system.

The effects of topical anesthesia on outcomes and glucose control in diabetic patients treated with split-thickness skin graft surgery.

Background: Using split-thickness skin grafting to treat diabetic foot and leg ulcers is common. Diabetic patients usually exhibit multiple comorbidities and high risks of adverse responses to general and spinal anesthesia. Topical anesthesia can be an alternative to avoid these risks.

An Update on Gene Therapy for Inherited Retinal Dystrophy: Experience in Leber Congenital Amaurosis Clinical Trials.

Inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs) are a group of rare eye diseases caused by gene mutations that result in the degradation of cone and rod photoreceptors or the retinal pigment epithelium. Retinal degradation progress is often irreversible, with clinical manifestations including color or night blindness, peripheral visual defects and subsequent vision loss. Thus, gene therapies that restore functional retinal proteins by either replenishing unmutated genes or truncating mutated genes are needed.

What is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency medicine residency training: an observational study.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has engendered difficulties for health systems globally; however, the effect of the pandemic on emergency medicine (EM) residency training programs is unknown. The pandemic has caused reduced volumes of emergency department (ED) patients, except for those with COVID-19 infections, and this may reduce the case exposure of EM residents. The primary objective of this study was to compare the clinical exposure of EM residents between the prepandemic and pandemic periods.

Risk of gastrointestinal perforation in patients taking oral fluoroquinolone therapy: An analysis of nationally representative cohort.

Background: Fluoroquinolone is a commonly prescribed antimicrobial agent, and up to 20% of its users registers adverse gastroenterological symptoms. We aimed to evaluate the association between use of fluoroquinolone and gastrointestinal tract perforation.

Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study on a national health insurance claims database between 1998 and 2011.

Association of In-Hospital Mortality and Dysglycemia in Septic Patients.

Background: The associations between dysglycemia and mortality in septic patients with and without diabetes are yet to be confirmed. Our aim was to analyze the association of diabetes and sepsis mortality, and to examine how dysglycemia (hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia and glucose variability) affects in-hospital mortality of patients with suspected sepsis in emergency department (ED) and intensive care units.

Methods: Clinically suspected septic patients admitted to ED were included, and stratified into subgroups according to in-hospital mortality and the presence of diabetes.

STARD-compliant article: The utility of red cell distribution width to predict mortality for septic patients visiting the emergency department.

Sepsis is a common condition in the emergency department that is associated with high mortality. Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has been used as a simple prognosis predictor for patients with community-acquired pneumonia, gram-negative bacteremia, and severe sepsis or septic shock. To evaluate the performance of RDW to predict in-hospital mortality among septic patients, we conducted a hospital-based retrospective cohort study in an emergency department of a tertiary teaching hospital.

Is 15 minutes an appropriate resuscitation duration before termination of a traumatic cardiac arrest? A case-control study.

Background: Previous guidelines suggest up to 15 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) accompanied by other resuscitative interventions before terminating resuscitation of a traumatic cardiac arrest. The current study evaluated the duration of CPR according to outcome using the model of a county-based emergency medical services (EMS) system in Taiwan.

Methods: This study was performed as a prospectively defined retrospective review from EMS records and cardiac arrest registration between June 2011 and November 2012 in Taoyuan, Taiwan.

Usefulness of natriuretic peptide for the diagnosis of Kawasaki disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To examine the diagnostic value of serum B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in acute Kawasaki disease (KD).

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Sources: A systematic literature search strategy was designed and carried out using MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library from inception to December 2013.