Effect of vitamin D supplementation on cardiovascular outcomes: an updated meta-analysis of RCTs.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on cardiovascular outcomes.

Methods: After searching different databases, we retrieved and included randomized controlled trials on long-term supplementation of vitamin D (≥1-year intervention) and reporting cardiovascular outcomes. We calculated risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for dichotomous outcomes.

Hindfoot kinematics and kinetics - A combined in vivo and in silico analysis approach.

Background: The complex anatomical structure of the foot-ankle imposes challenges to accurately quantify detailed hindfoot kinematics and estimate musculoskeletal loading parameters. Most systems used to capture or estimate dynamic joint function oversimplify the anatomical structure by reducing its complexity.

Research Question: Can four dimensional computed tomography (4D CT) imaging in combination with an innovative foot manipulator capture in vivo hindfoot kinematics during a simulated stance phase of walking and can talocrural and subtalar articular joint mechanics be estimated based on a detailed in silico musculoskeletal foot-ankle model.

Supraglottic Airway Devices: Present State and Outlook for 2050.

Correct placement of supraglottic airway devices (SGDs) is crucial for patient safety and of prime concern of anesthesiologists who want to provide effective and efficient airway management to their patients undergoing surgery or procedures requiring anesthesia care. In the majority of cases, blind insertion of SGDs results in less-than-optimal anatomical and functional positioning of the airway devices. Malpositioning can cause clinical malfunction and result in interference with gas exchange, loss-of-airway, gastric inflation, and aspiration of gastric contents.

CT and MR imaging of patients with a dilated right ventricle due to congenital causes and their treatment.

A variety of both acquired and congenital conditions can significantly affect the right ventricle, with a variety of potential origins that can have substantial clinical ramifications. These conditions can range from the impact of diseases like pulmonary arterial hypertension and ischaemic heart disease to valvular deficiencies resulting in heart failure. Moreover, the right ventricle response to factors like abnormal loading conditions, and its subsequent clinical effects, are influenced by factors such as age, disease progression, potential interventions, and their immediate and long-term clinical outcomes.

Anesthesia and perioperative pain relief in the frail elderly patient.

Demand for anesthesia and analgesia for the frail elderly is continuously increasing as the likelihood of encountering very elderly, very vulnerable, and very compromised patients has, ever so subtly, increased over the last three decades. The anesthesiologist has, increasingly, been obliged to offer professional services to frail patients. Fortunately, there has been a dramatic improvement in medications, methods of drug delivery, critical monitoring, and anesthesia techniques.

Prevention and treatment of noncognitive complications.

Patients aged 65 and older are the fastest growing segment in the population of many countries. Based on evolving demographics showing increasing life expectancies, it is expected that there will be a concurrent rise in the demand for a large variety of surgical and anesthesia services. Surgery offers definitive management of many age-related diseases and provides symptom-relieving (morbidity) and life-extending (mortality) benefits.

Hemiazygous continuation of inferior vena cava draining into the coronary sinus via persistent left superior vena cava: a rare anomaly.

We present a case of left sided inferior vena cava with hemiazygous continuation draining into the coronary sinus via the left persistent superior vena cava. This was incidentally found in an individual referred to our centre for evaluation of palpitations. These caval anomalies are rare, and are often associated with no clinical manifestations.

Transient left ventricular dysfunction after therapeutic pericardiocentesis - Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or pericardial decompression syndrome.

We present a case of reversible left ventricular (LV) dysfunction with characteristic stress or "Takotsubo" cardiomyopathy (SCM) after therapeutic pericardiocentesis in a patient with tubercular pericardial effusion. SCM following pericardiocentesis is uncommon, as opposed to the well-defined entity, pericardial decompression syndrome (PDS). PDS is defined as a paradoxical deterioration of hemodynamics and development of severe biventricular dysfunction, cardiogenic shock, and pulmonary edema after uneventful, often large volume pericardiocentesis in patients of pericardial effusion.

Quality and safety of coronary computed tomography angiography at academic and non-academic sites: insights from a large European registry (ESCR MR/CT Registry).

Objectives: To compare the use of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) between academic and non-academic sites across Europe over the last decade.

Methods: We analyzed a large multicenter registry (ESCR MR/CT Registry) of stable symptomatic patients who received CCTA 01/2010-01/2020 at 47 (22%) academic and 165 (78%) non-academic sites across 19 European countries. We compared image quality, radiation dose, contrast-media-related adverse events, patient characteristics, CCTA findings, and downstream testing between academic and non-academic sites.

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation: The Evolving Role of the Radiologist in 2021.

Background:  Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has gained worldwide acceptance and implementation as an alternative therapeutic option in patients with severe aortic valve stenosis unable to safely undergo surgical aortic valve replacement. This transformative technique places the radiologist in a key position in the pre-procedural assessment of potential candidates for this technique, delivering key anatomical information necessary for patient eligibility and procedural safety. Recent trials also provide encouraging results to potentially extend the indication to patients with safer risk profiles.

Gadolinium-based Contrast Agents for Cardiac MRI: Use of Linear and Macrocyclic Agents with Associated Safety Profile from 154 779 European Patients.

Purpose: To assess current use and acute safety profiles of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) in cardiac MRI given recent suspensions of GBCA approval.

Materials And Methods: Patients were retrospectively included from the multinational multicenter European Society of Cardiovascular Radiology (ESCR) MR/CT Registry collected between January 2013 and October 2019. GBCA-associated acute adverse events (AAEs) were classified as mild (self-limiting), moderate (pronounced AAE requiring medical management), and severe (life threatening).

Cardiac imaging procedures and the COVID-19 pandemic: recommendations of the European Society of Cardiovascular Radiology (ESCR).

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2019 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic currently constitutes a significant burden on worldwide health care systems, with important implications on many levels, including radiology departments. Given the established fundamental role of cardiovascular imaging in modern healthcare, and the specific value of cardiopulmonary radiology in COVID-19 patients, departmental organisation and imaging programs need to be restructured during the pandemic in order to provide access to modern cardiovascular services to both infected and non-infected patients while ensuring safety for healthcare professionals. The uninterrupted availability of cardiovascular radiology services remains, particularly during the current pandemic outbreak, crucial for the initial evaluation and further follow-up of patients with suspected or known cardiovascular diseases in order to avoid unnecessary complications.

Correction to: CT and MR imaging prior to transcatheter aortic valve implantation: standardisation of scanning protocols, measurements and reporting-a consensus document by the European Society of Cardiovascular Radiology (ESCR).

The original version of this article, published on 05 September 2019, unfortunately contained a mistake. The image of "Jena Valve" in Table 3 was incorrect.

CT and MR imaging prior to transcatheter aortic valve implantation: standardisation of scanning protocols, measurements and reporting-a consensus document by the European Society of Cardiovascular Radiology (ESCR).

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a minimally invasive alternative to conventional aortic valve replacement in symptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis and contraindications to surgery. The procedure has shown to improve patient's quality of life and prolong short- and mid-term survival in high-risk individuals, becoming a widely accepted therapeutic option which has been integrated into current clinical guidelines for the management of valvular heart disease. Nevertheless, not every patient at high-risk for surgery is a good candidate for TAVR.