Mitral Valve Replacement in Infants Using a 15-mm Mechanical Valve.

Background: The 15-mm mechanical valve was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in March 2018. We review our experience in infants with this valve in the mitral position (MV), focusing on outcomes and timing to repeat MV replacement (MVR).

Methods: Between 2006 and 2017 7 patients underwent eight MVRs (one repeat) with a 15-mm mechanical valve.

Motor Evoked Potentials Correlate With Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Early Recovery After Acute Spinal Cord Injury.

Background: While the utilization of neurophysiologic intraoperative monitoring with motor evoked potentials (MEPs) has become widespread in surgery for traumatic spine fractures and spinal cord injury (SCI), clinical validation of its diagnostic and therapeutic benefit has been limited.

Objective: To describe the use of intraoperative MEP at a large level I trauma center and assess the prognostic capability of this technology.

Methods: The SCI REDCap database at our institution, a level I trauma center, was queried for acute cervical SCI patients who underwent surgery with intraoperative monitoring between 2005 and 2011, yielding 32 patients.

Failure of Mean Arterial Pressure Goals to Improve Outcomes Following Penetrating Spinal Cord Injury.

Background: Increased spinal cord perfusion and blood pressure goals have been recommended for spinal cord injury (SCI). Penetrating SCI is associated with poor prognosis, but there is a paucity of literature examining the role of vasopressor administration for the maintenance of mean arterial pressure (MAP) goals in this patient population.

Objective: To elucidate this topic and to determine the efficacy of vasopressor administration in penetrating SCI by examining a case series of consecutive penetrating SCIs.

A review and update on the current and emerging clinical trials for the acute management of cervical spine and spinal cord injuries - Part III.

Introduction: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating disease with an average annual incidence of 29.5 persons per million worldwide. Hence, it is critical to refine and bolster evidence to inform standards of care and improve outcomes.

A review and update on the guidelines for the acute management of cervical spinal cord injury - Part II.

Acute traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating worldwide disease with an estimated annual incidence of 10 to 83 affected individuals per million inhabitants. These injuries typically impact younger individuals and reduce quality-adjusted life years with estimated lifetime costs exceeding $4 million per person. Hence it is critical to establish and refine clear practice guidelines for acute management of SCI.

Complications and outcomes of vasopressor usage in acute traumatic central cord syndrome.

OBJECT The optimal mean arterial pressure (MAP) for spinal cord perfusion after trauma remains unclear. Although there are published data on MAP goals after spinal cord injury (SCI), the specific blood pressure management for acute traumatic central cord syndrome (ATCCS) and the implications of these interventions have yet to be elucidated. Additionally, the complications of specific vasopressors have not been fully explored in this injury condition.

The Brain and Spinal Injury Center score: a novel, simple, and reproducible method for assessing the severity of acute cervical spinal cord injury with axial T2-weighted MRI findings.

Object: Previous studies that have evaluated the prognostic value of abnormal changes in signals on T2-weighted MRI scans of an injured spinal cord have focused on the longitudinal extent of this signal abnormality in the sagittal plane. Although the transverse extent of injury and the degree of spared spinal cord white matter have been shown to be important for predicting outcomes in preclinical animal models of spinal cord injury (SCI), surprisingly little is known about the prognostic value of altered T2 relaxivity in humans in the axial plane.

Methods: The authors undertook a retrospective chart review of 60 patients who met the inclusion criteria of this study and presented to the authors' Level I trauma center with an acute blunt traumatic cervical SCI.