Inpatient palliative care in metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma: a retrospective analysis using the National Inpatient Sample database.

Background: The use of inpatient palliative care (IPC) in advanced cancer patients represents a well-established guideline recommendation. This study examines the utilization rates and patterns of IPC among patients with metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma (mACC).

Methods: Relying on the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database (2007-2019), we tabulated IPC rates in mACC patients.

Vascular Remodeling in Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction.

Background: Approximately one-half of the patients with angina and nonobstructive coronary artery disease (ANOCA) have evidence of coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD).

Objectives: This study aims to characterize patients with ANOCA by measuring their minimal microvascular resistance and to examine the pattern of vascular remodeling associated with these measurements.

Methods: The authors prospectively included patients with ANOCA undergoing continuous thermodilution assessment.

Recurrent pericarditis in older adults: Clinical and laboratory features and outcome.

Background: Current guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pericarditis refer to the general adult population. Few and fragmentary data regarding recurrent pericarditis in older adults exist.

Objective Of The Study: Given the absence of specific data in scientific literature, we hypothesized that there might be clinical, laboratory and outcome differences between young adults and older adults affected by idiopathic recurrent pericarditis.

Optical coherence tomography predictors of clinical outcomes after stent implantation: the ILUMIEN IV trial.

Background And Aims: Observational registries have suggested that optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging-derived parameters may predict adverse events after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation. The present analysis sought to determine the OCT predictors of clinical outcomes from the large-scale ILUMIEN IV trial.

Methods: ILUMIEN IV was a prospective, single-blind trial of 2487 patients with diabetes or high-risk lesions randomized to OCT-guided versus angiography-guided DES implantation.

Long-Term Results Following Transcatheter Versus Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement in Low-Risk Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a safe and effective treatment option for patients with severe aortic stenosis at intermediate or high surgical risk. Results after TAVR in low-risk patients are very encouraging at midterm follow-up, whereas limited long-term (≥3 year) data are available in this subset of patients. This meta-analysis aims to compare the long-term follow-up after TAVR versus surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in low-risk patients.

Outcomes of Medial Closing-Wedge Distal Femoral Osteotomy for Femoral- and Tibial-Based Valgus Deformity.

Background: In carefully selected patients with an arthritic valgus knee, distal femoral osteotomy (DFO) can improve symptoms at medium- to long-term follow-up, reducing osteoarthritis progression. To date, there is no clear evidence in the current literature regarding the role of postoperative joint line obliquity (JLO) in valgus deformity correction.

Purpose: To assess the clinical and radiological outcomes of medial closing-wedge DFO (MCW-DFO) for the treatment of valgus knees, considering both tibial- and femoral-based deformities, as well as to verify the efficacy and safety of MCW-DFO according to JLO boundaries (≤4°).

Trajectory of Change in the Severity of Symptoms in Patients with Fibromyalgia over 24 Months: Exploratory Analyses of a Combination Pharmacological Intervention.

Symptoms of fibromyalgia (FM) fluctuate and vary in severity. The current study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) in FM patients over a 24-month period and to investigate the mediating function of pain catastrophizing subdomains in unfavorable relationships with disease severity levels in patients with FM. Patients were evaluated at baseline, after 12 months, and after 24 months, using different patient-reported measures (FIQR, FASmod, PSD, and PCS) to distinguish different levels of FM disease severity.

C-Reactive Protein and Brain Natriuretic Peptides Harmonization.

The harmonization of laboratory biomarkers is pivotal in ensuring consistent and reliable diagnostic outcomes across different clinical settings. This systematic review examines the harmonization of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and N-Terminal Prohormone of Brain Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP) measurements, both of which are jointly utilized in the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular diseases. To identify relevant studies, we searched the PubMed electronic database using specific medical subject headings and keywords such as C-Reactive Protein, CRP, high sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP), N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide, and NT-proBNP, focusing on publications from June 1 to September 26, 2021.

Spectrum of electrocardiographic abnormalities in a large cohort of cardiac masses.

Background: Cardiac masses represent a heterogeneous clinical scenario. Potential electrocardiographic (ECG) red flags of malignancy remain to be investigated.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe the spectrum of ECG abnormalities in a large cohort of cardiac masses and to evaluate potential red flags suggestive of malignancy.

LANDMARK comparison of early outcomes of newer-generation Myval transcatheter heart valve series with contemporary valves (Sapien and Evolut) in real-world individuals with severe symptomatic native aortic stenosis: a randomised non-inferiority trial.

Background: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation is an established, guideline-endorsed treatment for severe aortic stenosis. Precise sizing of the balloon-expandable Myval transcatheter heart valve (THV) series with the aortic annulus is facilitated by increasing its diameter in 1·5 mm increments, compared with the usual 3 mm increments in valve size. The LANDMARK trial aimed to show non-inferiority of the Myval THV series compared with the contemporary THVs Sapien Series (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA, USA) or Evolut Series (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA).

OCT-Guided vs Angiography-Guided Coronary Stent Implantation in Complex Lesions: An ILUMIEN IV Substudy.

Background: ILUMIEN IV was the first large-scale, multicenter, randomized trial comparing optical coherence tomography (OCT)-guided vs angiography-guided stent implantation in patients with high-risk clinical characteristics and/or complex angiographic lesions.

Objectives: The authors aimed to specifically examine outcomes in the complex angiographic lesions subgroup.

Methods: From the original trial population (N = 2,487), high-risk patients without complex angiographic lesions were excluded (n = 514).

Consensus Statement on Vitamin D Status Assessment and Supplementation: Whys, Whens, and Hows.

The 6th International Conference, "Controversies in Vitamin D," was convened to discuss controversial topics, such as vitamin D metabolism, assessment, actions, and supplementation. Novel insights into vitamin D mechanisms of action suggest links with conditions that do not depend only on reduced solar exposure or diet intake and that can be detected with distinctive noncanonical vitamin D metabolites. Optimal 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels remain debated.

Clinical and cardiac CT characteristics of congenital coronary abnormalities occasionally detected in a middle-aged population: A long-term follow-up study.

Introduction: Congenital coronary artery anomalies (CCAA) represent one of the most challenging conditions as their clinical presentation may range from sudden cardiac death to a complete subclinical form. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic role of cardiac CT (CCT) evaluation in patients with CCAA, focusing on anomalies of origin.

Material And Methods: The present is a retrospective analysis of a prospective clinical registry including a consecutive cohort of patients who underwent clinically indicated CCT from January 2007 to October 2015 for suspected but unknown coronary artery disease (CAD) and were diagnosed for having a congenital coronary abnormality compared to a control group matched for age, sex and segment stenosis score (SSS).