Screening tools for the detection of clinically silent cardiac sarcoidosis.

Background: clinically silent cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) may be associated with adverse outcomes, hence the rationale for screening patients with extracardiac sarcoidosis. The optimal screening strategy has not been clearly defined.

Methods: patients with extra-cardiac sarcoidosis were prospectively included and underwent screening consisting of symptom history, electrocardiography (ECG), transthoracic echocardiogram, Holter, and signal-averaged ECG (SAECG).

Does E-learning Facilitate Medical Education in Pediatric Neurology?

Background: E-learning has become commonplace in medical education. Incorporation of multimedia, clinical cases, and interactive elements has increased its attractiveness over textbooks. Although there has been an expansion of e-learning in medicine, the feasibility of e-learning in pediatric neurology is unclear.

Negative Association of Smoking History With Clinically Manifest Cardiac Sarcoidosis: A Case-Control Study.

Background: The etiology of sarcoidosis is still unknown and is likely related to a genetic susceptibility to unidentified environmental trigger(s). Our group and others have extensively described a specific phenotype of primarily Caucasian patients who have clinically manifest cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). In this study, we sought to explore whether smoking is associated with this specific phenotype of sarcoidosis.

Exploring Occupational, Recreational, and Environmental Associations in Patients With Clinically Manifest Cardiac Sarcoidosis.

Background: Sarcoidosis is a condition of unknown etiology. A number of occupational, recreational, and environmental exposures have been associated with the development of extra-cardiac sarcoidosis. Patients with clinically manifest cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) have a distinct clinical phenotype.

Atrial Arrhythmias in Clinically Manifest Cardiac Sarcoidosis: Incidence, Burden, Predictors, and Outcomes.

Background Recent data have suggested a substantial incidence of atrial arrhythmias (AAs) in cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). Our study aims were to first assess how often AAs are the presenting feature of previously undiagnosed CS. Second, we used prospective follow-up data from implanted devices to investigate AA incidence, burden, predictors, and response to immunosuppression.

Treatment with corticosteroids is associated with an increase in ventricular arrhythmia burden in patients with clinically manifest cardiac sarcoidosis: Insights from implantable cardioverter-defibrillator diagnostics.

Introduction: We sought to explore the relationship between ventricular tachycardia (VT) and premature ventricular complex (PVC) burden (from implantable cardioverter-defibrillator diagnostics), before and during corticosteroid use in patients with newly diagnosed clinically manifest cardiac sarcoidosis (CS).

Methods: A single-centre, prospective cohort study was performed in consecutive patients who met all of the following criteria: (1) presentation with clinically manifest CS, (2) abnormal myocardial fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) uptake on positron emission tomography scan, (3) plan for implantation with implantable cardioverter-defibrillator device that reports accurate PVC count, (4) plan to initiate corticosteroids after the device healing period. Data were collected during each device interrogation visit for all patients in the study.

Reproducibility of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in patients referred for the assessment of cardiac sarcoidosis; implications for clinical practice.

Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) is an increasingly recognized condition, but cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) image interpretation in these patients may be challenging as findings are often non-specific. The main objective of this study was to investigate the inter-reader agreement for the overall interpretation of CMR for the diagnosis of CS in an experienced reference center and investigate factors that may lead to discrepancies between readers. Consecutive patients undergoing CMR imaging to investigate for CS were included.

Age, Not Sex, Modifies the Effect of Frailty on Long-term Outcomes After Cardiac Surgery.

Objective: To examine the prevalence of frailty in surgical patients and determine whether age and sex modify the relationship between frailty and long-term mortality.

Background: Frailty is a complex and prevalent clinical syndrome. The cardiac surgery literature consists mostly of small, single-center studies, and the epidemiology of frailty remains to be fully elucidated in a real-world surgical population.

The Psychometric Properties of a Self-Administered, Open-Source Module for Valuing Metastatic Epidural Spinal Cord Compression Utilities.

Introduction: Web surveys are often used for utility valuation. Typically, custom utility valuation tools that have not undergone psychometric evaluation are used.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of a metastatic epidural spinal cord compression (MESCC) module run on a customizable open-source, internet-based, self-directed utility valuation platform (Self-directed Online Assessment of Preferences [SOAP]).

Prevalence of left atrial appendage thrombus detected by transoesophageal echocardiography before catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation in patients anticoagulated with non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants.

Aims: There is ongoing controversy about the need for routine transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) prior to atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. Recently, the debate was reignited by the publication of a large series of patients showing a prevalence of left atrial appendage thrombus (LAAT) on TOE of 4.4%.

Bi-atrial fibrosis detected using three-dimensional late gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging in a patient with cardiac sarcoidosis.

Presented is the case of a 62-year old male with a history of sarcoidosis and sinus node dysfunction, who underwent late gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging, which demonstrated left ventricular hyperenhancement and bi-atrial fibrosis.

Three-year outcomes and reconnection patterns after initial contact force guided pulmonary vein isolation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Background And Objective: Contact force (CF) sensing is a novel technology used for catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF). We compared the single procedure success of CF-guided pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) with that of non-CF guided PVI during a 3-year (1,095 days) follow up period and analyzed the pattern of pulmonary vein (PV) reconnection.

Methods: A cohort of 167 subjects (68 CF vs.