Comparison of the effects of weekly and biweekly intravenous CERA administration on erythropoiesis: A randomized controlled trial.

Although continuous erythropoietin receptor activators (CERAs) are widely used erythropoiesis-stimulating agents for correcting renal anemia in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD), few reports have examined weekly CERA administration. In this randomized controlled trial, we compared the efficacy and changes in the parameters of iron metabolism and erythropoiesis between weekly and biweekly CERA administration. In total, 120 patients undergoing maintenance HD were randomized to the weekly or biweekly group.

Pulmonary vasculitis due to infection with Mycobacterium goodii: A case report.

A 57-year-old Caucasian woman suffered from dyspnea on exertion. One year following a supposed pulmonary embolism event, a chronic thromboembolic vasculopathy was diagnosed and a pulmonary thromboendarterectomy was performed. However, a granulomatous pulmonary arterial vasculitis was identified upon examination.

Determinants of Discordance Between Criteria for Inactive Disease and Low Disease Activity in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

Objective: To assess concordance among criteria for inactive disease (ID) and low disease activity (LDA) in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and to seek factors driving discordance.

Methods: The frequency of fulfillment of existing criteria was evaluated in information on 10,186 patients extracted from 3 cross-sectional data sets. Patients were divided up according to the functional phenotypes of oligoarthritis and polyarthritis.

Asymptomatic Carotid Stenosis and Risk of Stroke (ACSRS) study: what have we learned from it?

The Asymptomatic Carotid Stenosis and Risk of Stroke (ACSRS) study is the largest natural history study on patients with 50-99% asymptomatic carotid stenosis (ACS). It included 1,121 ACS individuals with a follow-up between 6 and 96 months (mean: 48 months). During the last 15 years, several important ACSRS substudies have been published that have contributed significantly to the optimal management of ACS patients.

Cholesterol, carotid artery disease and stroke: what the vascular specialist needs to know.

Hypercholesterolemia is a risk factor for carotid artery stenosis and stroke. Statins are the main drugs for the management of hypercholesterolemia and they are strongly recommended by international guidelines for the management of vascular patients. The present review will focus on the associations between cholesterol, carotid artery stenosis and stroke and will cover several topics, including the conservative and perioperative/periprocedural management of carotid patients, the effect of statins on contrast-induced nephropathy developing after endovascular carotid interventions, the role of statin loading prior to endovascular procedures, as well as the indirect beneficial effects of statin treatment on renal function.

Long-term efficacy and safety of drug-coated balloons versus drug-eluting stents for small coronary artery disease (BASKET-SMALL 2): 3-year follow-up of a randomised, non-inferiority trial.

Background: In the treatment of de-novo coronary small vessel disease, drug-coated balloons (DCBs) are non-inferior to drug-eluting stents (DESs) regarding clinical outcome up to 12 months, but data beyond 1 year is sparse. We aimed to test the long-term efficacy and safety of DCBs regarding clinical endpoints in an all-comer population undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

Methods: In this prespecified long-term follow-up of a multicentre, randomised, open-label, non-inferiority trial, patients from 14 clinical sites in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria with de-novo lesions in coronary vessels <3 mm and an indication for percutaneous coronary intervention were randomly assigned 1:1 to DCB or second-generation DES and followed over 3 years for major adverse cardiac events (ie, cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and target-vessel revascularisation [TVR]), all-cause death, probable or definite stent thrombosis, and major bleeding (Bleeding Academic Research Consortium bleeding type 3-5).

Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension phenotypes determined by cluster analysis from the COMPERA registry.

The term idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) is used to categorize patients with pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension of unknown origin. There is considerable variability in the clinical presentation of these patients. Using data from the Comparative, Prospective Registry of Newly Initiated Therapies for Pulmonary Hypertension, we performed a cluster analysis of 841 patients with IPAH based on age, sex, diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO; <45% vs ≥45% predicted), smoking status, and presence of comorbidities (obesity, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and diabetes mellitus).

Molecular characteristics of rotavirus genotypes circulating in the south of Benin, 2016-2018.

Objective: Rotavirus remains the main causative agent of gastroenteritis in young children in countries that have not yet introduced the vaccine. In Benin, rotavirus vaccine was introduced late December 2019 into the EPI. This study aims to provide pre-vaccination era rotavirus genotyping data in Benin.

Long-Term Results After Drug-Eluting Versus Bare-Metal Stent Implantation in Saphenous Vein Grafts: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background Efficacy data on drug-eluting stents (DES) versus bare-metal stents (BMS) in saphenous vein grafts are controversial. We aimed to compare DES with BMS among patients undergoing saphenous vein grafts intervention regarding long-term outcome. Methods and Results In this multinational trial, patients were randomized to paclitaxel-eluting or BMS.

Voltage-guided ablation in persistent atrial fibrillation-favorable 1-year outcome and predictors.

Introduction: Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) has a low success rate. A newer ablation concept targets left atrial (LA) low voltage zones (LVZ) which correlate with fibrosis and predict recurrence after PVI. We aimed to determine the success of combined PVI- and LVZ-guided ablation and to identify the predictors for LVZ and for ablation success.

Endoscopic Treatment of Posterior Ankle Impingement Secondary to Os Trigonum in Recreational Athletes.

Background: The os trigonum (OT)-the most common accessory bone of the foot-although usually asymptomatic, may cause posterior ankle impingement syndrome (PAIS), which may be a severely debilitating problem for recreational or competitive athletes. The aim of the present study was to evaluate effectiveness of posterior ankle arthroscopy and to assess the outcome in the treatment of PAIS secondary to OT impingement or OT fractures within a group of young athletes and their return to previous sports level.

Methods: From 2011 to 2018, a retrospective review of 81 recreational athletes of mean age 27.

[Relationship between cough peak flow and onset of pneumonia in residents of geriatric health services facilities].

Aim: Sputum expectoration is associated with cough strength, which can be evaluated by cough peak flow (CPF). Since sputum expectoration can be difficult for patients with reduced CPF, they are more likely to have risk factors for pneumonia. We conducted a study to clarify factors contributing to CPF in residents of geriatric health services facilities and to assess the relationship between CPF and the onset of pneumonia.

Genetic control of CCL24, POR, and IL23R contributes to the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis.

Sarcoidosis is a genetically complex systemic inflammatory disease that affects multiple organs. We present a GWAS of a Japanese cohort (700 sarcoidosis cases and 886 controls) with replication in independent samples from Japan (931 cases and 1,042 controls) and the Czech Republic (265 cases and 264 controls). We identified three loci outside the HLA complex, CCL24, STYXL1-SRRM3, and C1orf141-IL23R, which showed genome-wide significant associations (P < 5.

Additional prognostic value of toe-brachial index beyond ankle-brachial index in hemodialysis patients.

Background: Ankle-brachial index (ABI), the first-line diagnostic test for peripheral artery disease, can be falsely elevated when ankle arteries are incompressible, showing a J-shaped association with mortality. In this situation, toe-brachial index (TBI) is the recommended test. However, whether TBI provides additional prognostic information beyond ABI in patients on hemodialysis is unknown.

[Real-time Lens Exposure Dose Measurement Using a Scintillator with Optical Fiber Dosimeter during Cardiac Catheter Operation].

In recent years, the exposure dose of the operator's eye lens during interventional radiology operations has become a problem. We therefore evaluated the feasibility of real-time lens dose measurement using scintillator with optical fiber (SOF) dosimeter. Given that the SOF dosimeter is calibrated for direct X-rays, we performed a calibration for scattered X-rays to investigate energy dependence and the accuracy of lens dose measurements.