Developing and implementing an infection prevention and control program for a COVID-19 alternative care site in Philadelphia, PA.

Background: On March 27, 2020, the city of Philadelphia was given permission by Temple University to convert the Liacouras Center gymnasium to an alternate care site (ACS) to treat low-acuity COVID-19 patients. ACSs, especially those created to specifically care for infectious patients, require a robust infection prevention and control (IPC) program.

Methods: The IPC program was led by a physician and nurse partnership, both of whom had substantial experience developing IPC programs in US and low-resource settings.

Mechanical thrombectomy with the Amplatz device: human experience.

Purpose: The authors present their early experience of mechanical arterial and graft thrombectomy with the Amplatz thrombectomy device.

Patients And Methods: Preliminary data are presented for 14 patients treated with the Amplatz thrombectomy catheter. The procedure was carried out in 10 arterial polytetrafluorethylene grafts, in two native arteries, and in two patients with venous thrombosis.

Refractory ascites: early experience in treatment with transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt.

Purpose: To evaluate the transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in treatment of refractory ascites.

Materials And Methods: Fourteen patients with chronic liver disease and portal hypertension were included in a prospective study. Six patients had Child-Pugh class B disease; eight had class C disease.

Experience with the Amplatz retrievable vena cava filter.

The Amplatz retrievable inferior vena cava filter was designed to be used as either a permanent indwelling filter or a short-term, percutaneously removable filter. The authors placed 52 filters in 52 patients. No deaths occurred as a result of filter placement or usage.

Mortalities associated with use of a commercial suspension of polyvinyl alcohol.

Two cases of symptomatic neonatal hepatic arteriovenous malformation (AVM) are presented. Both were treated with percutaneous transcatheter embolization and a commercially available polyvinyl alcohol suspension. Both infants died soon after AVM embolization.

Dual stiffness Malecot (Stamey) catheter.

A new catheter with a soft plastic shaft and a stiff mushroom has been developed for drainage of various fluid-filled cavities. It can be introduced with a flexible guidewire system. Its dual stiffness provides greater comfort for and acceptance by the patient.

Kimray-Greenfield vena cava filter: percutaneous introduction.

A percutaneous technique is described for the introduction of Kimray-Greenfield filters into the vena cava through either the internal jugular or femoral approach.

"Pseudo" intramural injection following percutaneous transluminal angioplasty.

An angiographic appearance of "pseudo" intramural injection is commonly produced following intraluminal balloon dilatation resulting from the dehiscence of the atheromatous intima that is an unavoidable consequence, and not a complication of angioplasty. These angioplasty-induced changes differ from true intramural dissections in that they are confined to the dilatation site and do not extend beyond this area.

Systemic-to-pulmonary collaterals in pathological states: a review.

Abnormal systemic-to-pulmonary-artery anastomoses can exist in many pathological conditions and result in a left-to-right shunt. Three such conditions are (a) congenital abnormalities, e.g.

Single barbed stainless steel coils for venous occlusion: a simple but useful modification.

Embolization of coils into the lungs has been reported following their use for the obliteration of large arteriovenous fistulas. So far, except for a recent report, they have not been used on the venous side of the circulation. Experimental studies at our institution demonstrated that the placement of coils on the venous side can result in embolization to the lungs, even when oversized coils are introduced.

The three types of criss-cross heart: a simple rotational anomaly.

Criss-cross heart is an angiographically confusing malformation where apparent crossing but not mixing of contrast medium is seen at atrioventricular level. The malformation can be understood by a clockwise or counter-clockwise ventricular rotation. In the normal heart or one with complete transposition ventricular rotation is clockwise.

Syphilitic aneurysms of the innominate artery.

Syphilitic aortitis can cause formation of fusiform or saccular aneurysms of the ascending aorta or transverse arch. The authors report 3 cases in which a saccular aneurysm developed at the origin of the innominate artery and was seen as a mediastinal mass on the chest radiograph.

Angiodysplasia of the right colon treated by embolization with ivalon (polyvinyl alcohol).

Angiodysplasia of the colon is being recognized with increasing frequency as a source of lower gastrointestinal bleeding in the elderly. In one patient with colonic angiodysplasia, superselective segmental embolization of the ileo-colic artery with Ivalon resulted in the cessation of bleeding without causing bowel infarction. However, because of the development of collateral branches to the angiodysplastic malformation, bleeding recurred.

Nonsurgical removal of intravascular foreign bodies.

With increasing use of indwelling venous catheters, embolization of intravascular catheter fragments has become a well-known complication. Because of the high risk and serious complications, embolized fragments should be retrieved whenever possible. Four cases of successful nonsurgical percutaneous catheter retrieval (two adults and two children) are described using a wire loop and a hook-shaped catheter technique.