Comparative Outcomes of Interventions for Femoropopliteal Chronic Total Occlusion Versus Non-Chronic Total Occlusion Lesions From the Multicenter XLPAD Registry.

Background Endovascular intervention of femoropopliteal chronic total occlusions (CTOs) is technically more complex. However, there is lack of comparative analysis between CTO and non-CTO femoropopliteal interventions. Methods and Results We report procedural details and outcomes of patients treated for femoropopliteal CTO and non-CTO lesions in the XLPAD (Excellence in Peripheral Artery Disease) registry (NCT01904851) between 2006 and 2019.

Thermal ablation compared to stereotactic body radiation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: A multicenter retrospective comparative study.

Background Aims: Early-stage HCC can be treated with thermal ablation or stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). We retrospectively compared local progression, mortality, and toxicity among patients with HCC treated with ablation or SBRT in a multicenter, US cohort.

Approach Results: We included adult patients with treatment-naïve HCC lesions without vascular invasion treated with thermal ablation or SBRT per individual physician or institutional preference from January 2012 to December 2018.

Procedural-Related Bleeding in Hospitalized Patients With Liver Disease (PROC-BLeeD): An International, Prospective, Multicenter Observational Study.

Background & Aims: Hospitalized patients with cirrhosis frequently undergo multiple procedures. The risk of procedural-related bleeding remains unclear, and management is not standardized. We conducted an international, prospective, multicenter study of hospitalized patients with cirrhosis undergoing nonsurgical procedures to establish the incidence of procedural-related bleeding and to identify bleeding risk factors.

Opioid Use After Knee Arthroscopy in Adolescent Patients: A Prospective Evaluation.

Background: There is a relative paucity of literature on how to best treat postoperative pain after knee arthroscopy in the adolescent population.

Purpose: To evaluate the use of opioid medication after knee arthroscopy in adolescent patients.

Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Percutaneous MitraClip Device or Surgical Mitral Valve Repair in Patients With Primary Mitral Regurgitation Who Are Candidates for Surgery: Design and Rationale of the REPAIR MR Trial.

Background The current standard of care for the treatment of patients with primary mitral regurgitation (MR) is surgical mitral valve repair. Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair with the MitraClip device provides a less invasive treatment option for patients with both primary and secondary MR. Worldwide, >150 000 patients have been treated with the MitraClip device.

Pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of L-ornithine phenylacetate in overt hepatic encephalopathy and the effect of plasma ammonia concentration reduction on clinical outcomes.

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a serious neurocognitive complication of liver dysfunction, often associated with elevated plasma ammonia. Ornithine phenylacetate (OP), a potent ammonia scavenger, is being evaluated for the treatment of acute/overt HE. The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of OP in patients with HE were characterized in this phase IIb study (NCT01966419).

Overt Hepatic Encephalopathy: Current Pharmacologic Treatments and Improving Clinical Outcomes.

Overt hepatic encephalopathy is a generally reversible neurologic complication of cirrhosis. Overt hepatic encephalopathy has been associated with poor hospitalization- and mortality-related outcomes, which is important given increasing hepatic encephalopathy-related hospitalizations over time. The aim of this narrative review is to provide an overview of hospital- and mortality-related outcomes in patients with overt hepatic encephalopathy and the pharmacologic therapies that may improve these outcomes.

Efficacy and Safety of Ornithine Phenylacetate for Treating Overt Hepatic Encephalopathy in a Randomized Trial.

Background & Aims: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and health care resource use. In this phase 2b study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of ornithine phenylacetate (OP), an ammonia scavenger, in hospitalized patients with cirrhosis, increased levels of ammonia at screening, and acute or overt HE.

Methods: We conducted a double-blind study of 231 patients with cirrhosis and HE at multiple sites in North America, Europe, Israel, and Australia from January 7, 2014, through December 29, 2016.

Trends in Academic "Ghost Publications" in Plastic Surgery Residency Applications: A 3-Year Study.

Unlabelled: Plastic surgery is an attractive specialty to medical students. Residency training programs have the luxury of selecting their trainees from the "cream of the crop" from United States medical schools. Because of the steep competition for PGY-1 integrated program positions, the temptation exists for applicants to falsify parts of their applications, particularly those parts that are difficult to verify.

Outcomes of kidney transplantation using deceased donors with history of diabetes.

Deceased diabetic kidneys are increasingly utilized in transplantation. The relationship of donor's history of diabetes to clinical and histological outcomes was examined. Forty-nine diabetic deceased donor kidneys (D-DM) were transplanted into 26 normal (R-N/D-DM) and 23 diabetic recipients (R-DM/D-DM) and compared to 211 diabetic recipients of normal kidneys(R-DM/D-N) and 466 normal recipients of normal kidneys (R-N/D-N).

Hyfrecation and Interference With Implantable Cardiac Devices.

Background: Mohs micrographic surgery, excisional surgery, and electrodessication and curettage (ED&C) are common dermatologic procedures that often use electrodessication through hyfrecators to achieve hemostasis. According to in vitro studies, electrodessication is considered safe in patients with implanted cardiac devices. To the authors' knowledge, there are no in vivo data to support this claim.

Altered Metabolomic Profile in Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a common atherosclerotic disease characterized by narrowed or blocked arteries in the lower extremities. Circulating serum biomarkers can provide significant insight regarding the disease progression. Here, we explore the metabolomics signatures associated with different stages of PAD and investigate potential mechanisms of the disease.

Role of Transforming Growth Factor-β in Skeletal Muscle Fibrosis: A Review.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) isoforms are cytokines involved in a variety of cellular processes, including myofiber repair and regulation of connective tissue formation. Activation of the TGF-β pathway contributes to pathologic fibrosis in most organs. Here, we have focused on examining the evidence demonstrating the involvement of TGF-β in the fibrosis of skeletal muscle particularly.

Efficacy of Liposomal Bupivacaine Compared with Multimodal Periarticular Injections for Postoperative Pain Control following Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Single-dose long-acting periarticular anesthetics have been shown to be an effective method of postoperative analgesia in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This study retrospectively compares the efficacy of multimodal periarticular injection consisting of a combination of ropivacaine, duramorph, epinephrine, and toradol (HC) with liposomal bupivacaine (LB) periarticular injection in TKA. This study was a retrospective matched comparative chart review of two cohorts of patients who underwent TKA within a single health care system and cared for by one provider.

Expanding the clinical phenotype of individuals with a 3-bp in-frame deletion of the NF1 gene (c.2970_2972del): an update of genotype-phenotype correlation.

Purpose: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is characterized by a highly variable clinical presentation, but almost all NF1-affected adults present with cutaneous and/or subcutaneous neurofibromas. Exceptions are individuals heterozygous for the NF1 in-frame deletion, c.2970_2972del (p.

Refinement of anatomic indications for the Nellix System for endovascular aneurysm sealing based on 2-year outcomes from the EVAS FORWARD IDE trial.

Background: The Nellix System (Endologix, Inc, Irvine, Calif) for endovascular aneurysm sealing (EVAS) is a novel approach to abdominal aortic aneurysm treatment and conceptually different from endovascular aneurysm repair, whereby polymer is employed to fill and actively manage the abdominal aortic aneurysm sac. One-year safety and effectiveness results of the Nellix pivotal trial demonstrated encouraging outcomes with very low morbidity and mortality and high procedural and treatment success. Two-year imaging revealed a signal of migration, leading to a field safety notification issued by the manufacturer on October 21, 2016, and a dedicated root cause analysis, resulting in refinements to the instructions for use (IFU).

Rapid Osteogenic Enhancement of Stem Cells in Human Bone Marrow Using a Glycogen-Synthease-Kinase-3-Beta Inhibitor Improves Osteogenic Efficacy In Vitro and In Vivo.

Non-union defects of bone are a major problem in orthopedics, especially for patients with a low healing capacity. Fixation devices and osteoconductive materials are used to provide a stable environment for osteogenesis and an osteogenic component such as autologous human bone marrow (hBM) is then used, but robust bone formation is contingent on the healing capacity of the patients. A safe and rapid procedure for improvement of the osteoanabolic properties of hBM is, therefore, sought after in the field of orthopedics, especially if it can be performed within the temporal limitations of the surgical procedure, with minimal manipulation, and at point-of-care.