Visual scoring of aortic valve calcifications on low-dose CT in lung cancer screening.

Objectives: To evaluate risk factors for prevalence and progression of aortic valve calcification (AVC) in lung cancer screening participants and also to assess the sensitivity and reliability of visual AVCs on low-dose CT (LDCT) for predicting aortic stenosis (AS) in high-risk smokers.

Methods: We reviewed 1225 consecutive participants in annual LDCT screening for lung cancer at the Mount Sinai Hospital between 2010 and 2017. Sensitivity and specificity of moderate/severe AVC score on LDCT to identify AS on echocardiogram were calculated for 126 participants who had both within 12 months.

Medical Management of Three Patients with an Acute Type A Aortic Dissection: Case Series and a Review of the Literature.

The model of surgery first and always for Type A aortic dissections has continued to evolve. During the last three decades, various studies have demonstrated that in select patients, surgery should be delayed or avoided. This case series examines three cases in which patients were medically treated.

Single- Versus Multicenter Surgeons' Risk-Adjusted Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Procedural Outcomes.

Background: Since 2010, 460+ hospital mergers have occurred in the United States, rerouting historical coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) referral patterns. The goals of this study were: (1) to compare risk-adjusted CABG outcomes between single-center versus multicenter surgeons; and (2) for multicenter surgeons, to evaluate the risk-adjusted outcomes between their home (primary) versus satellite (secondary) hospitals.

Methods: Using The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database, nonemergent, first-time CABG procedures (n = 543,403) performed in the US between 2011 and 2014 were extracted across 1,120 centers and for 2,676 surgeons.