Pathological findings at invasive assessment in MINOCA: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Pathological mechanisms of myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) are heterogeneous, with an unknown impact on prognosis, and often remain unrecognised in clinical practice. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and prognostic impact of pathological findings by invasive coronary angiography (ICA), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and coronary function testing in MINOCA.

Methods: Studies published until August 2023 were searched on PubMed and SCOPUS and included if reporting the prevalence of patients with non-obstructive coronary arteries (NObs-CA; 1-49% coronary stenosis) versus normal coronary arteries (NCA; 0% coronary stenosis) by ICA, pathological findings by OCT, and/or coronary vasomotor tests in MINOCA.

A Virtual Response Surface Strategy to Predict the Effects of Contouring on the Static and Fatigue Mechanical Behavior of Spinal Rods.

Spinal fixation techniques based on contoured spinal rods are well established to restore an adequate sagittal alignment; however, they often break due to fatigue loading because residual stresses arise while deforming the material and they significantly reduce rod fatigue strength. The present paper aims at developing a novel strategy based on Response Surfaces (RS) as surrogate reduced order models to accurately predict the key biomechanical parameters involved both during static spinal rod contouring and subsequent fatigue loading. Finite element (FE) models of different contouring methods are performed on a wide range of spinal rods to reproduce typical clinical scenarios.

SGLT2-inhibitors in diabetic patients with severe aortic stenosis and cardiac damage undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Background: A substantial number of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) experience adverse events after TAVI, with health care expenditure. We aimed to investigate cardiac remodeling and long-term outcomes in diabetic patients with severe AS, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 50%, and extra-valvular cardiac damage (EVCD) undergoing TAVI treated with sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) versus other glucose-lowering strategies (no-SGLT2i users).

Methods: Multicenter international registry of consecutive diabetic patients with severe AS, LVEF < 50%, and EVCD undergoing TAVI.

A comprehensive systematic review of marketed bone grafts for load-bearing critical-sized bone defects.

Treatment of critical-sized bone defects typically involves implantation of a bone graft. Various types of bone grafts are nowadays marketed, categorized by their origin as allografts, xenografts, or synthetic grafts. Despite their widespread use, a comprehensive understanding of their morphology and mechanical response remains elusive.

Minimally Invasive Sinus Augmentation: A Systematic Review.

Aim: Technology improvement and a better understanding of sinus anatomy and wound healing in the past decade have allowed the development of minimally invasive surgical techniques. This systematic review focused on identifying and describing these techniques for vertical and lateral sinus augmentation (VSA and LSA).

Materials And Methods: Electronic and hand search were conducted to screen the literature published from January 2003 to May 2024.

Improved diagnostic accuracy of vessel-specific myocardial ischemia by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA).

Background: Discrepancies between stenosis severity assessed at coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and ischemia might depend on vessel type. Coronary plaque features are associated with ischemia. Thus, we evaluated the vessel-specific correlation of CCTA-derived diameter stenosis (DS) and invasive fractional flow reserve (FFR) and explored whether integrating morphological plaque features stratified by vessel might increase the predictive yield in identifying vessel-specific ischemia.

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.

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.