Consumer-grade wearable devices in arrhythmia diagnostics for clinicians: where we are and where we are going.

Atrial arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation (AF), are a major contributor to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Early detection and effective management are critical to mitigating adverse outcomes such as stroke, heart failure, and overall mortality. Wearable devices have emerged as promising tools for monitoring, detecting, and managing atrial arrhythmias near-continuously.

Ultra high density imaging arrays in diffuse optical tomography for human brain mapping improve image quality and decoding performance.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has dramatically advanced non-invasive human brain mapping and decoding. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT) non-invasively measure blood oxygen fluctuations related to brain activity, like fMRI, at the brain surface, using more-lightweight equipment that circumvents ergonomic and logistical limitations of fMRI. HD-DOT grids have smaller inter-optode spacing (~ 13 mm) than sparse fNIRS (~ 30 mm) and therefore provide higher image quality, with spatial resolution ~ 1/2 that of fMRI, when using the several source-detector distances (13-40 mm) afforded by the HD-DOT grid.

Fecal microbiota transplantation to prevent acute graft-versus-host disease: pre-planned interim analysis of donor effect.

Gut microbiota disruptions after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) are associated with increased risk of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD). We designed a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial to test whether healthy-donor fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) early after alloHCT reduces the incidence of severe aGVHD. Here, we report the results from the single-arm run-in phase which identified the best of 3 stool donors for the randomized phase.

What's the bug?: An unusual cause of bacterial meningitis in a patient with history of transsphenoidal surgery.

Bacterial meningitis is an increasingly rare disease that carries significant morbidity and mortality. We describe the case of a 38-year-old male with a past medical history of pituitary macroadenoma with prior endonasal surgeries on prednisone therapy daily for resultant hypopituitarism and juvenile myoclonic epilepsy on lamotrigine daily who was transferred to an academic tertiary emergency department due to concern for developing pituitary apoplexy. At the outside emergency department, the patient presented complaining of sudden onset severe headache.

Quantitative and Visual Benefits of Data-Driven Motion Correction on Oncologic PET/CT: A Prospective Cross-sectional Study.

Rationale And Objective: Conventional positron emission tomography (PET) respiratory gating utilizes a fraction of acquired PET counts (i.e., optimal gate [OG]), whereas elastic motion correction with deblurring (EMCD) utilizes all PET counts to reconstruct motion-corrected images without increasing image noise.

Pulmonary Vascular Interventions.

Endovascular intervention is a safe, effective treatment modality in the management of diverse pulmonary vascular pathologies, including acute or chronic thromboembolic disease, pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (pAVMs), pulmonary artery or bronchial artery hemorrhage, and foreign body retrieval. This article reviews indications, contraindications, techniques, and outcomes in endovascular management of common pulmonary vascular pathologies, with the goal of improving operator familiarity and facility with these procedures.

Determinants of dementia diagnosis in U.S. primary care in the past decade: A scoping review.

Background: Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) are chronically underdiagnosed in the U.S., particularly among minoritized racial and ethnic groups.

Postoperative guidelines following pediatric cataract and glaucoma surgeries: a survey of preferred surgeon instructions.

Background Recommendations regarding long-term postoperative activity are intended to prevent adverse events, but no common policy or best practice exists among ophthalmologists for pediatric patients. We surveyed ophthalmologists on their postoperative guidelines after the one-month postoperative period following childhood cataract and glaucoma surgeries. Methods A 28-question anonymous Qualtrics survey was distributed via listservs and social media.

Impella versus Non-Impella for Non-emergent High-Risk Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Impella vs. Non-Impella for HR-PCI.

Background: The benefit of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) with Impella (Abiomed, Inc, Danvers, MA) for patients undergoing non-emergent, high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (HR-PCI) is unclear and currently the subject of a large randomized clinical trial (RCT), PROTECT IV. While contemporary registry data from PROTECT III demonstrated improvement of outcomes with Impella when compared with historical data (PROTECT II), there is lack of direct comparison to the HR-PCI cohort that did not receive Impella support.

Methods: We retrospectively identified patients from our institution meeting PROTECT III inclusion criteria (left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] <35% with unprotected left main or last remaining vessel or LVEF <30% undergoing multivessel PCI), and compared this group (NonIMP) to the published outcomes data from the PROTECT III registry (IMP).

Data Collection Variability Across Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Registries.

Objective: To assess variability among data elements collected among existing neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) data registries worldwide and to determine the need for future harmonization of standard common data elements.

Study Design: This was a cross-sectional study of data elements collected from current or recently employed HIE registry data forms. Registries were identified by literature search and email inquiries to investigators worldwide.

Rotating Hinge Revision Total Knee Arthroplasty With and Without Porous Cone Adjunct Fixation.

Introduction: As the number of revision total knee arthroplasties (rTKA) continues to rise, there is increasing interest in the use of contemporary rotating hinge prostheses. These devices often incorporate porous cones to fill bone defects and enhance long-term fixation. This study evaluated the clinical and functional outcomes and survivorship in rTKA patients utilizing a rotating hinge prosthesis with flexible titanium (FT) cones, porous tantalum (PT) cones, or no cones.

TARGETING LUNG HEME IRON BY AEROSOL HEMOPEXIN ADMINSTRATION IN SICKLE CELL DISEASE PULMONARY HYPERTENSION.

Lung tissue from human patients and murine models of sickle cell disease pulmonary hypertension (SCD-PH) show perivascular regions with excessive iron accumulation. The iron accumulation arises from chronic hemolysis and extravasation of hemoglobin (Hb) into the lung adventitial spaces, where it is linked to nitric oxide depletion, oxidative stress, inflammation, and tissue hypoxia, which collectively drive SCD-PH. Here, we tested the hypothesis that intrapulmonary delivery of hemopexin (Hpx) to the deep lung is effective at scavenging heme-iron and attenuating the progression of SCD-PH.

Development of a transdermal gel for reversible male contraception.

While there are several easy-to-use reversible female contraceptives, little is available for men. Introduction of novel, cost-effective male contraceptives could have important downstream global health and economic benefits. Currently, nearly half of all pregnancies globally are unintended, with many resulting in unsafe abortions, a significant burden for women and families in many countries.

Stereotactic body radiotherapy for non-spine bone metastases: A meta-analysis and international stereotactic radiosurgery society (ISRS) clinical practice guidelines.

Background: While SBRT to NSBM has become common, particularly in the oligometastatic population, the approach to treating non-spine bone metastases (NSBM) with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) varies widely across institutions and clinical trial protocols. We present a comprehensive systematic review of the literatures to inform practice recommendations on behalf of the International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society (ISRS).

Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

Intranasal oxytocin for apathy in people with frontotemporal dementia (FOXY): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, adaptive, crossover, phase 2a/2b superiority trial.

Background: No treatments exist for apathy in people with frontotemporal dementia. Previously, in a randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-finding study, intranasal oxytocin administration in people with frontotemporal dementia improved apathy ratings on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory over 1 week and, in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study, a single dose of 72 IU oxytocin increased blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal in limbic brain regions. We aimed to determine whether longer treatment with oxytocin improves apathy in people with frontotemporal dementia.

Advancing long-read nanopore genome assembly and accurate variant calling for rare disease detection.

More than 50% of families with suspected rare monogenic diseases remain unsolved after whole-genome analysis by short-read sequencing (SRS). Long-read sequencing (LRS) could help bridge this diagnostic gap by capturing variants inaccessible to SRS, facilitating long-range mapping and phasing and providing haplotype-resolved methylation profiling. To evaluate LRS's additional diagnostic yield, we sequenced a rare-disease cohort of 98 samples from 41 families, using nanopore sequencing, achieving per sample ∼36× average coverage and 32-kb read N50 from a single flow cell.

Health effects of occupational exposure to jet fuels used in the military: A systematic review of the epidemiologic literature.

Background: Jet fuels are a common chemical exposure in occupational settings involving aircraft. Jet fuels are heterogeneous mixtures of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, as well as non-hydrocarbon performance additives. Several components of jet fuels have been linked to adverse health outcomes.

The Anatomy of Gossip: Dissecting Dynamics and Impacts in Surgical Residency.

Background: Gossip, defined by social scientists as "evaluative talk about an absent third party," is anecdotally pervasive yet poorly understood in surgical residency programs. Gossip is known to have both positive and negative impacts. This study sought to deconstruct the role of gossip in surgical residency and evaluate its impact through the lens of surgical residents.

Abortion provision and characteristics of abortion patients in an academic medical center in Washington state before and after Dobbs.

Objective: To examine abortion care in the largest academic medical center in Washington, a state protective of abortion rights, before and after the Supreme Court Dobbs decision.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study evaluated abortion provision at the University of Washington between January 1, 2022 and October 31, 2023. Data on patient sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were extracted from electronic medical records.