Postoperative acute kidney injury and renal replacement therapy after DCD lung transplantation.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) after lung transplantation (LTx) is a common complication. We aimed to assess whether donation after circulatory death (DCD) is associated with an increased risk of AKI and renal replacement therapy (RRT) in the early postoperative period compared to the donation after brain death (DBD). Retrospective data on a cohort (N = 95) of LTx patients (DCD n = 17, DBD n = 78) characterized by no use of ex-vivo lung perfusion were analyzed for the incidence of AKI within 30 postoperative days and incidence of RRT within 7 and 30 days.

Surgical management of misdeployed transcatheter aortic valve due to eccentric leaflet calcification.

A serious complication of transcatheter valves is the mechanistic failure of the deployment system and prosthesis migration. We report the case of a transcatheter aortic valve implantation which failed during implantation resulting in dislodgement of the prosthesis. Emergency surgery to retrieve the deployment system and surgically replace the native valve was the only option to salvage the patient.

A pancancer overview of FBN1, asprosin and its cognate receptor OR4M1 with detailed expression profiling in ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer affects >295,000 women worldwide and is the most lethal of gynaecological malignancies. Often diagnosed at a late stage, current research efforts seek to further the molecular understanding of its aetiopathogenesis and the development of novel biomarkers. The present study investigated the expression levels of the glucogenic hormone asprosin [encoded by fibrillin-1 ()], and its cognate receptor, olfactory receptor 4M1 (OR4M1), in ovarian cancer.

How-to: Focus Cardiac Ultrasound in acute settings.

Focus cardiac ultrasound (FoCUS) provides vital information at at the bedside which has the potential of improving outcomes in the acute settings. FoCUS could help the clinicians in their daily clinical decision-making while applied within the clinical context as an extension of bedside clinical examination. FoCUS practitioners should be aware of their own limitations with the importance of the timely referral for comprehensive Echocardiography whenever required.

Humoral and T-cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients receiving immunosuppression.

Objective: There is an urgent need to assess the impact of immunosuppressive therapies on the immunogenicity and efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.

Methods: Serological and T-cell ELISpot assays were used to assess the response to first-dose and second-dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (with either BNT162b2 mRNA or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccines) in 140 participants receiving immunosuppression for autoimmune rheumatic and glomerular diseases.

Results: Following first-dose vaccine, 28.

Diagnostic and Prognostic Value of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance in Neuromuscular Cardiomyopathies.

Neuromuscular diseases (NMD) encompass a broad spectrum of diseases with variable type of cardiac involvement and there is lack of clinical data on Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR) phenotypes or even prognostic value of CMR in NMD. We explored the diagnostic and prognostic value of CMR in NMD-related cardiomyopathies. The study included retrospective analysis of a cohort of 111 patients with various forms of NMD; mitochondrial: n = 14, Friedreich's ataxia (FA): n = 27, myotonic dystrophy: n = 27, Becker/Duchenne's muscular dystrophy (BMD/DMD): n = 15, Duchenne's carriers: n = 6, other: n = 22.

Noninvasive 3D Mapping and Ablation of Epicardial Premature Ventricular Contractions From the Endocardial Aspect of the Left Atrial Appendage.

Ablation is an established treatment for ectopy originating from the left ventricle (LV). We report on a case of noninvasive 3-dimensional mapping locating the origin precisely in the epicardial LV summit area. However, after failed attempts from LV and epicardially, ablation via the left atrial appendage was finally successful.

Severe degeneration of a sub-coronary pulmonary autograft in a young adult.

The pulmonary autograft is currently the best valve substitute in terms of longevity and performance. However, there is no agreement about the optimal method of insertion (sub-coronary position or freestanding root). We sought to examine the clinical status, detailed imaging and morphometric changes in an explanted pulmonary autograft 22 years after sub-coronary implantation.

Treatment of Pulmonary Carcinoid Tumors With Bronchoscopic Cryotherapy: A 28-Year Single-center Experience.

Background: Pulmonary carcinoids are rare tumors originating from neuroendocrine cells in the lungs. Because of their potentially infiltrative nature, surgical resection remains the treatment of choice. However, not all patients with technically resectable disease will be able to undergo surgery, primarily because of poor lung function or medical co-morbidities.

Is the quality-of-life improvement after transcatheter aortic valve implantation equivalent to that achieved by surgical aortic valve replacement?

A best evidence topic in cardiac surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was 'is the quality-of-life (QoL) improvement after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) equivalent to that achieved by surgical aortic valve replacement (sAVR)?' Literature search revealed 189 papers with reference to QoL after TAVI, of which 7 represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The authors, journal, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes and results of these papers were tabulated.

Identifying key priorities for research to protect the consumer with food hypersensitivity: A UK Food Standards Agency Priority Setting Exercise.

Introduction: Food hypersensitivity (FHS), including food allergy, coeliac disease and food intolerance, is a major public health issue. The Food Standards Agency (FSA), an independent UK Government department working to protect public health and consumers' wider interests in food, sought to identify research priorities in the area of FHS.

Methods: A priority setting exercise was undertaken, using a methodology adapted from the James Lind Alliance-the first such exercise with respect to food hypersensitivity.

Right ventricular ejection fraction as predictor of outcome in acute heart failure using RV ellipsoid model: A retrospective analysis of a prospective cross-sectional study.

Objectives: The right ventricular (RV) function is an important prognostic factor in acute and chronic heart failure (HF). Echocardiography is an essential imaging modality with established parameters for RV function which are useful and easy to perform. However, these fail to reflect global RV volumes due to reliability on one acoustic window.

Characteristics of Randomized Clinical Trials in Surgery From 2008 to 2020: A Systematic Review.

Importance: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) provide the highest level of evidence to evaluate 2 or more surgical interventions. Surgical RCTs, however, face unique challenges in design and implementation.

Objective: To evaluate the design, conduct, and reporting of contemporary surgical RCTs.

Freestyle aortic root prosthesis in combination with aortic replacement and open anastomosis: a retrospective analysis.

Background: The Freestyle® bioprosthesis is used for pathologies of the aortic root. Additional resection of the ascending aorta and the proximal arch in dissections or aneurysms might be indicated. The aim was to assess mid-term outcome regarding prosthetic performance, stroke, reoperations, and survival in various pathologies comparing patients with and without additional procedures on the ascending aorta and proximal arch focusing on the standardised technique of unilateral antegrade cerebral perfusion under moderate hypothermia.

p38β - MAPK11 and its role in female cancers.

Background: The p38MAPK family of Mitogen Activated Protein Kinases are a group of signalling molecules involved in cell growth, survival, proliferation and differentiation. The widely studied p38α isoform is ubiquitously expressed and is implicated in a number of cancer pathologies, as are p38γ and p38δ. However, the mechanistic role of the isoform, p38β, remains fairly elusive.

Novel strategy for improved outcomes of extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation as a treatment for refractory post cardiotomy cardiogenic shock in the current era: a refreshing new perspective.

Objectives: Post-cardiotomy cardiogenic shock is an infrequent but important cause of death following cardiac surgery. Extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation offers the opportunity for temporary cardiovascular support and myocardial rest, with a view to recovery. We examine our results with our recently-implemented management algorithm.

Autoptic identification of disseminated mucormycosis in a young male presenting with cerebrovascular event, multi-organ dysfunction and COVID-19 infection.

Among the secondary fungal infections in Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) infection, Aspergillosis has been reported more often than Mucormycosis. Disseminated mucormycosis is almost always a disease of severely immunosuppressed hosts. We report a young obese Asian male who was admitted with an acute anterior cerebral artery (ACA) territory infarct and severe COVID-19 pneumonitis to the intensive care unit (ICU).