Mesenteric Vein to Gonadal Vein Shunt Embolization in Patients with Portal Hypertension: Technical Considerations and Clinical Outcomes.

Purpose: To assess the technical and clinical outcomes of percutaneous embolization for high-flow mesenteric vein to gonadal vein (MGV) portosystemic shunts.

Methods: In this HIPPA-compliant, review board-approved study, patients who underwent embolization of MGV shunts between 2011 and 2023 were included. Patient demographic data, embolization technique, clinical outcomes, and complications were retrieved from the electronic health records.

Gastrostomy placement in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: assessment of risk factors for post-procedural respiratory failure.

Objective: Radiologically inserted gastrostomy placement may be performed in patients with dysphagia secondary to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This study assessed technical outcomes and complications related to gastrostomy placement in patients with ALS.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients with ALS who underwent gastrostomy placement between 2021 and 2023 was performed.

Safety and Effectiveness of Abre Self-Expanding Venous Stent for Treatment of Superior Vena Cava Syndrome.

Purpose: Superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome is a constellation of symptoms that results from partial or complete SVC obstruction. Endovascular SVC stenting is an effective treatment for SVC syndrome with rapid clinical efficacy and low risk of complications. In this study, we assess the technical and clinical outcomes of a cohort of patients with SVC syndrome treated with the Abre self-expanding venous stent (Medtronic, Inc, Minneapolis, MN, USA).

The Natural History of Splenic Artery Aneurysms: Factors That Predict Aneurysm Growth.

Purpose: To examine the natural history of splenic artery aneurysms (SAAs) at a single institution and assess the effect of patient factors and aneurysm characteristics on aneurysm growth.

Materials And Methods: This single-center retrospective study included patients with SAAs who underwent serial imaging over 30 years (1990-2020). Data regarding patient demographics and aneurysm characteristics were collected.

Sequence analysis of Discoknowium, an A5 mycobacteriophage.

Discoknowium is a temperate A5 bacteriophage that infects the bacterial host . Isolated from a rat fecal sample, Discoknowium's genome is 50,222 bp in length, contains 84 genes and 1 tRNA, and shares 82%-98% nucleotide identity with other A5 subcluster phages.

Trends in coronary calcium score and coronary CT angiography imaging volume during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the delivery of preventative care and management of acute diseases. This study assesses the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on coronary calcium score and coronary CT angiography imaging volume.

Materials And Methods: A single institution retrospective review of consecutive patients presenting for coronary calcium score or coronary CT angiography examinations between January 1, 2020 to January 4, 2022 was performed.

Stakeholder and Equity Data-Driven Implementation: a Mixed Methods Pilot Feasibility Study.

We conducted a mixed methods pilot feasibility study of a Stakeholder and Equity Data-Driven Implementation (SEDDI) process to facilitate using healthcare data to identify patient groups experiencing gaps in the use of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) and rapidly adapt EBIs to achieve greater access and equitable outcomes. We evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of SEDDI in a pilot hybrid type 2 effectiveness-implementation trial of a paired colorectal cancer (CRC) and social needs screening intervention at four federally qualified community health centers (CHCs). An external facilitator partnered with CHC teams to support initial implementation, followed by the SEDDI phase focused on advancing health equity.

Predictors for Nonhome Patient Discharge following Lower Extremity Arterial Interventions.

Purpose: To identify the variables associated with patient discharge disposition to optimize postprocedural care and discharge planning following lower extremity arterial interventions for peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Materials And Methods: The 2014-2017 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was queried using current procedural terminology codes for endovascular infrainguinal interventions for PAD. The main outcome variable of interest was nonhome discharge.

Validation of xMAP SARS-CoV-2 Multi-Antigen IgG assay in Nigeria.

Objective: There is a need for reliable serological assays to determine accurate estimates of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) seroprevalence. Most single target antigen assays have shown some limitations in Africa. To assess the performance of a multi-antigen assay, we evaluated a commercially available SARS-CoV-2 Multi-Antigen IgG assay for human coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Nigeria.

Preoperative embolization in surgical treatment of spinal metastases originating from non-hypervascular primary tumors: a propensity score matched study using 495 patients.

Background Context: Preoperative embolization (PE) reduces intraoperative blood loss during surgery for spinal metastases of hypervascular primary tumors such as thyroid and renal cell tumors. However, most spinal metastases originate from primary breast, prostate, and lung tumors and it remains unclear whether these and other spinal metastases benefit from PE.

Purpose: To assess the (1) efficacy of PE on the amount of intraoperative blood loss and safety in patients with spinal metastases originating from non-hypervascular primary tumors, and (2) secondary outcomes including perioperative allogeneic blood transfusion, anesthesia time, hospitalization, postoperative complication within 30 days, reoperation, 90-day mortality, and 1-year mortality.

Incidence of Cytomegalovirus DNAemia in Pediatric Post-Renal Transplant Patients Receiving Weight-Based vs Body Surface Area-Based Valganciclovir Chemoprophylaxis.

Objective: To determine the incidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNAemia and disease, identify potential risk factors, and assess the safety and efficacy of weight-based valganciclovir dosing in pediatric post-renal transplant patients.

Methods: This single-center, retrospective study included patients ≤21 years who received a kidney transplant between January 1, 2011, and November 1, 2019, with 3 to 24 months of follow-up data. Demographics and clinical characteristics were collected to assess for potential risk factors.

Imaging Findings in Immunotherapy-related Renal Toxicity.

Immunotherapy-related adverse events (irAEs) associated with immune-checkpoint inhibitors can affect nearly any organ system including commonly the luminal gastrointestinal tract, hepatobiliary system, lungs, endocrine glands, and skin, many of which have described imaging manifestations. In patients without clinically suspected irAEs, imaging findings may be the first indication of an abnormality that prompts further workup to facilitate early detection and initiation of appropriate treatment, such as therapy discontinuation or corticosteroid therapy. While some irAEs have well described imaging correlates, such as pneumonitis, hypophysitis, and colitis, others are not well described, such as nephritis.

Increased per-patient imaging utilization in an emergency department setting during COVID-19.

Introduction: COVID-19 has resulted in decreases in absolute imaging volumes, however imaging utilization on a per-patient basis has not been reported. Here we compare per-patient imaging utilization, characterized by imaging studies and work relative value units (wRVUs), in an emergency department (ED) during a COVID-19 surge to the same period in 2019.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients presenting to the ED from April 1-May 1, 2020 and 2019.

Microwave Ablation as Bridging Therapy for Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Awaiting Liver Transplant: A Single Center Experience.

Purpose: To determine the pathologic response of computed tomography-guided percutaneous microwave ablation as bridging therapy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma awaiting liver transplant, and its subsequent effect on survival.

Materials And Methods: A single-center retrospective analysis was conducted on 62 patients (M:F = 50:12) with mean age of 59.6 years ± 7.

Considerations for quality assurance of multiplex malaria antigen detection assays with large sample sets.

Multiplex assays for malaria antigen detection can gather data from large sample sets, but considerations for the consistency and quality assurance (QA) of mass testing lack evaluation. We present a QA framework for a study occurring November 2019 to March 2020 involving 504 assay plates detecting four Plasmodium antigens: pan-Plasmodium aldolase and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2), P. vivax LDH (PvLDH).

Insulin-Dependent Status Influences Post-Procedural Outcomes in Diabetic Patients Following Lower Extremity Endovascular Intervention for Peripheral Arterial Disease.

Purpose: Diabetic patients are at increased risk of developing lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD) requiring revascularization. This study assessed the effect of insulin dependence in diabetics on post-procedural outcomes following infra-inguinal endovascular intervention.

Materials And Methods: The American College of Surgeon's National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was used to identify 8022 patients undergoing infra-inguinal endovascular interventions between 2014 and 2017.

Albumin and the fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio: Biomarkers for the acute phase response following total knee arthroplasty.

Purpose: Complications following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) lead to patient morbidity and cost. While acute phase reactants, such as c-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen, have been used to predict complications following TKA, the extent and duration of changes in albumin levels following TKA are unknown. It is hypothesized that like CRP and fibrinogen, albumin, and the fibrinogen/albumin ratio (FAR) represent useful measures of the acute phase response (APR) following TKA.

Contrast-Enhanced Sonography with Biomimetic Lung Surfactant Nanodrops.

Nanodrops comprising a perfluorocarbon liquid core can be acoustically vaporized into echogenic microbubbles for ultrasound imaging. Packaging the microbubble in its condensed liquid state provides some advantages, including activation of the acoustic signal, longer circulation persistence, and the advent of expanded diagnostic and therapeutic applications in pathologies which exhibit compromised vasculature. One obstacle to clinical translation is the inability of the limited surfactant present on the nanodrop to encapsulate the greatly expanded microbubble interface, resulting in ephemeral microbubbles with limited utility.

Clinical Characteristics and Predictors of Mortality in Minority Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19 Infection.

Objectives: To identify the early mortality predictors in minority patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Design: Demographics, presenting characteristics, admission laboratory data, ICU admission, and mortality data were collected from 200 consecutively hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Results: The mean (SD) age was 58.

Geographic Variation in Racial Disparities in Mortality From Influenza and Pneumonia in the United States in the Pre-Coronavirus Disease 2019 Era.

Background: In 2018, influenza and pneumonia was the eighth leading cause of death in the United States. Since 1950, non-Hispanic blacks (NHBs) have experienced higher rates of mortality than non-Hispanic whites (NHWs). Previous studies have revealed geographic variation in mortality rates by race.

The Effect of Preoperative Renal Failure on Outcomes Following Infrainguinal Endovascular Interventions for Peripheral Arterial Disease.

Purpose: To analyze the effect of a patient's renal failure status on acute outcomes after lower extremity endovascular interventions for peripheral artery disease.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis of the American College of Surgery National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2014 to 2017 was conducted. Patients were included based on current procedural terminology codes.