Representation of Women in Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Randomized Controlled Trials: Systematic Review.

Background: Sex inequality in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to cardiovascular disease has been observed. This study examined the proportion of women enrolled in atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation RCTs and the potential risks of underrepresentation of women.

Methods And Results: We systematically searched PubMed and Embase for AF ablation RCTs published from 2015 to 2022.

Rationale and Design of a Study to Assess the Engagement and Usefulness of the Care4Today Connect Digital Health Application for Disease Management in Coronary Artery Disease and Peripheral Artery Disease (iPACE-CVD Study).

Introduction: Coronary artery disease (CAD) and peripheral artery disease (PAD) increase the risks of cardiovascular events and death. Digital health technologies are rapidly expanding to improve healthcare quality and access. The Care4Today Connect (C4T CAD-PAD) mobile application is designed to help patients with CAD and/or PAD improve medication adherence, learn about their disease, make lifestyle modifications, and enhance healthcare provider (HCP) connection via an HCP-facing portal.

Standards of care for peripheral intravenous catheters: evidence-based expert consensus.

Background: The insertion of a PIVC is the most commonly performed invasive procedure in healthcare. Despite its frequency in placement in hospitalized patients, PIVCs are generally perceived as being safe; however, the prevalence of failure ranges from 35%-50%. Additionally, complications are common and often deemed 'acceptable' by clinicians.

Indocyanine green angiography guidance for vascular preservation in skin and nipple sparing mastectomy.

Purpose: The skin and/or nipple-sparing approach has become an oncologically sound and desirable choice for women choosing mastectomy. Indocyanine green (ICG) perfusion imaging has been shown to reduce ischemic complications in mastectomy skin flaps. Immediate reconstruction requires a well-vascularized skin flap capable of tolerating full expansion.

Endovascular removal of a large free-floating thrombus of the descending thoracic aorta using the AngioVac system.

Free-floating aortic mural thrombus in the minimally diseased or nonaneurysmal aorta is a rare, clinically significant source of peripheral embolism. We describe a 41-year-old woman with a history of left brachial thromboembolectomy who presented atypical chest pain. Computed tomography angiography and transesophageal echocardiography revealed a 14.

Prevalence and impact of pulmonary hypertension on acute decompensated heart failure with preserved ejection fraction hospitalizations: A five-year retrospective analysis.

Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF) is a major and common cardiovascular condition with widely variable clinical outcomes. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) often co-exists with HFpEF and tends to affect patient outcomes; this study aims to identify the impact of PH on the clinical outcome of patients admitted to the hospital with acute HFpEF exacerbations. We analyzed data from the National Inpatient Sample between 2016 and 2020, focusing on 464,438 acute HFpEF exacerbation hospitalizations.

Pandemic phase-related racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 positivity and outcomes among patients presenting to emergency departments during the first two pandemic waves in the USA.

Background: In many countries including the USA, the UK and Canada, the impact of COVID-19 on people of colour has been disproportionately high but examination of disparities in patients presenting to ED has been limited. We assessed racial and ethnic differences in COVID-19 positivity and outcomes in patients presenting to EDs in the USA, and the effect of the phase of the pandemic on these outcomes.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of adult patients tested for COVID-19 during, or 14 days prior to, the index ED visit in 2020.

Inpatient outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve replacement based on class of obesity.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a transformative option for severe aortic stenosis, especially in elderly patients. obesity's impact on TAVR outcomes is limited. Using the National Inpatient Sample from 2016 to 2020, We analyzed 217,300 TAVR hospitalizations across BMI groups.

A Case of Wellens' Syndrome.

This is a clinical case of a 43-year-old male with a past medical history notable for tobacco use disorder who presented to the emergency department for evaluation of typical chest pain. ECG was consistent with Wellens' syndrome with deeply inverted T waves in the anteroseptal leads. Coronary angiography confirmed a proximal left anterior descending coronary artery lesion, alongside other areas of coronary artery disease, and the patient was treated with surgical revascularization.

HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and the attenuation of risk for disseminated intravascular coagulation in patients with sepsis.

Background: Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) is a syndrome of dysregulated coagulation. Patients with sepsis are at increased risk for DIC. HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors (Statins) are primarily used as lipid-lowering agents; however, studies have suggested statins may possess anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, anticoagulant, and endothelial stabilizing properties.

Timeliness of Breast Diagnostic Imaging and Biopsy in Practice: 15 Years of Collecting, Comparing, and Defining Quality Breast Cancer Care.

Background: The literature lacks well-established benchmarks for expected time between screening mammogram to diagnostic imaging and then to core needle breast biopsy.

Methods: Timeliness of diagnostic imaging workup was evaluated using aggregate data from 2005 to 2019 submitted to The National Quality Measures for Breast Centers (NQMBC).

Results: A total of 419 breast centers submitted data for 1,805,515 patients on the time from screening mammogram to diagnostic imaging.

Submassive Pulmonary Embolism in the Setting of Intracerebral Hemorrhage: A Case of Suction Thrombectomy.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) in the setting of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is an unfortunate, challenging, and highly morbid clinical problem. Interventional strategies have lower associated bleeding risks than the standby for PE treatment: systemic anticoagulation. Despite this benefit, there are few examples in the literature of its utilization in the management of PE in the setting of ICH.

Differences in Infection Rates by Surgical Approach in Total Hip Arthroplasty and Patient Sex: A Systematic Review.

Background: There exists conflicting data that patient sex may influence complication and revision rates when undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA), specifically when comparing different surgical approaches. Differences in body fat or muscular distribution are proposed mechanisms, but these are poorly understood and not well described in current literature.

Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted from PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science from inception of the database through September 15, 2020.

Second Nature.

A nursing student's wonder at the patterns that pervade our bodies and their world.

Anatomical Engineering and 3D Printing for Surgery and Medical Devices: International Review and Future Exponential Innovations.

Three-dimensional printing (3DP) has recently gained importance in the medical industry, especially in surgical specialties. It uses different techniques and materials based on patients' needs, which allows bioprofessionals to design and develop unique pieces using medical imaging provided by computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Therefore, the Department of Biology and Medicine and the Department of Physics and Engineering, at the Bioastronautics and Space Mechatronics Research Group, have managed and supervised an international cooperation study, in order to present a general review of the innovative surgical applications, focused on anatomical systems, such as the nervous and craniofacial system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, genitourinary system, and musculoskeletal system.

Sleep-Promotion Bundle Development, Implementation, and Evaluation in Critically Ill Adults: Roles for Pharmacists.

Objective: To review evidence for intensive care unit (ICU) sleep improvement bundle use, identify preferred sleep bundle components and implementation strategies, and highlight the role for pharmacists in developing and evaluating bundle efforts.

Data Sources: Multiple databases were searched from January 1, 1990, to September 1, 2021, using the MeSH terms , or , or to identify comparative studies evaluating ICU sleep bundle implementation.

Study Selection And Data Extraction: Study screening, data extraction, and risk-of-bias evaluation were conducted in tandem.

Opioid-Associated Amnestic Syndrome.

A 31-year-old male with a history significant for obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, methamphetamine use, and IV drug use was evaluated for unexplained global amnesia greater than 24 h. The patient had been in recovery for opioid use disorder for about a year, but he relapsed on IV fentanyl in the week prior to presentation. On exam, he was alert and fully oriented but had no spontaneous recall of three objects after five minutes.

Rapid Deployment of National Guard Alternative Healthcare Facility With Isolation Unit Capabilities in Response to COVID-19.

At the direction of Governor Phil Scott, the Vermont National Guard rapidly erected a 400-bed alternative healthcare facility field hospital to increase the state's medical capacity early in the COVID-19 pandemic when information was limited and cases were rapidly rising across the country. This case study reviews the preparation and management of the alternative healthcare facility's first COVID-19-positive patient assigned to the 50-bed COVID-19 isolation ward. Despite austere conditions with rudimentary improvements to a nonstandard facility, the ad hoc team composed entirely of members of the Vermont National Guard successfully oversaw patient care from admission to discharge while maintaining a zero-percent transmission rate to staff.

Decrease in Trauma Admissions with COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to social distancing and decreased travel in the United States. The impact of these interventions on trauma and emergency general surgery patient volume has not yet been described.

Methods: We compared trauma admissions and emergency general surgery (EGS) cases between February 1-April 14 from 2017-2020 in five two-week time periods.

Implementation and Evaluation of Tactical Combat Casualty Care for Army Aviators.

Introduction: The importance of developing military strategies to decrease preventable death by mitigating hemorrhage and reducing time between the point of injury and surgical intervention on the battlefield is highlighted in previous studies. Successful implementation of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) throughout elements of the USA and allied militaries begins to address this need. However, TCCC implementation is neither even nor complete in the larger, conventional force.

Brexanolone For Postpartum Depression: A Novel Approach and a Call for Comprehensive Postpartum Care.

Brexanolone recently became the first medication to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration specifically for treating postpartum depression. In contrast to traditional antidepressants, however, brexanolone is a neurosteroid that is believed to mimic allopregnanolone, a product of endogenous progesterone. Although early clinical trials have shown success, the medication remains largely unavailable due to its extremely high cost and formulation (it must be given as a continuous intravenous infusion over 3 days in a monitored, inpatient setting).

Impact of a Novel Sex- and Gender-Based Medicine Preclinical Elective.

Background: As sex and gender differences in health become clearer, physicians must adapt their practices. There are few interventions promoting knowledge of sex- and gender- based medicine (SGBM). Our medical school preclinical elective was designed to fill this gap.