PubMed Posts

Background: Many significant others of persons with serious conditions like spinal cord injury (SCI) and acquired brain injury (ABI) report high levels of psychological distress. In line with the stress-coping model, the aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between personal resource resilience and psychological distress, and whether appraisals of threat and loss, and passive coping mediate this relationship.

Methods: Significant others (n = 228) of persons with SCI or ABI completed questionnaires shortly after admission to first inpatient rehabilitation after onset of the condition. The questionnaire included measures to assess psychological distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10), appraisals (Appraisals of Life Events scale, threat and loss) and passive coping (Utrecht Coping List). The PROCESS tool was used to test the presence of mediation. Confounding and differences between SCI and ABI were investigated.

Results: High levels of psychological distress among significant others were found (34-41%). Fifty-five percent of the variance in psychological distress was explained by the relationship between resilience and psychological distress. This relationship was mediated by appraisals of threat and loss, and passive coping. The relationship between resilience and psychological distress was similar in the SCI and ABI groups.

Conclusions: The results of our study indicate that appraisals of threat and loss and passive coping are mediating factors in the relationship between resilience and psychological distress. It seems useful to investigate if interventions focussing on psychological factors like resilience, appraisal and coping are effective to prevent or reduce psychological distress among significant others of persons with SCI or ABI.

Trial registration: Dutch trial register NTR5742. Registered January 9, 2016

No abstract available

Objectives: A small proportion of patients undergoing bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) intervention have had prior repair of aortic coarctation (CoA). We aimed to describe phenotypic differences between BAV patients, comparing those with versus those without previous coarctation repair.

Methods: 556 adults with BAV who had undergone aortic valve and/or ascending aortic surgery were identified, and relevant clinical and operative details were retrospectively analysed.

Results: Of the total cohort, 532 patients (95.7%) had isolated BAV (‘BAV-only’), and 24 (4.3%) had had a previous successful CoA repair (‘BAV-CoA’). The median age at surgery was significantly lower in BAV-CoA patients compared with BAV-only (median, IQR: 40 years, 26-57 vs 62 years, 51-69, p<0.001). Indications for surgery also differed, with BAV-CoA patients much more likely to undergo surgery for aortic regurgitation (BAV-CoA 38% vs BAV-only 13%, p<0.001); patients with isolated BAV were more likely to require surgery for aortic stenosis (BAV-only 75% vs BAV-CoA 50%, p<0.001). Two different BAV morphotypes were commoner in the BAV-CoA group; type 0 valves (24% vs 8%, p<0.05) and type 2 valves (12% vs 3%, p<0.05). The proportion of patients undergoing concomitant aortic surgery at the time of valve surgery were similar (BAV-only 38% vs BAV-CoA 42%, p=0.8).

Conclusion: In adult patients undergoing aortic valve surgery for BAV disease, those with a prior history of repaired CoA underwent surgery at a very much younger age, and a higher proportion required intervention for aortic regurgitation.

Objectives: The ideal strategy for the treatment of severe aortic valve stenosis in patients of varying risk categories has become a debated topic in the last years: should the transcatheter or surgical approach be adopted? The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of low-, intermediate-, high- and very high-risk patients undergoing sutureless, rapid deployment aortic valve replacement.

Methods: From 2007 to 2017, data on a total of 3651 patients were collected from the Sutureless and Rapid Deployment Aortic Valve Replacement International Registry (SURD-IR). Of these, 2057 patients who underwent primary isolated aortic valve replacement were considered for this analysis and classified as being at low (EuroSCORE <5; n = 500), intermediate (EuroSCORE 5-10; n = 901), high (EuroSCORE 11-20; n = 500) and very high (EuroSCORE >20; n = 156) preoperative risk.

Results: Overall, a less invasive approach was used in 74.1% of patients and represented the most frequent (>50%) approach in all risk categories. The Perceval prosthesis was used more frequently than other devices, especially in patients at high and very high risk. Hospital mortality was 1.6%, 0.8%, 1.9% and 2.7% in low-, intermediate-, high- and very high-risk patients, respectively, with no significant differences among subgroups. Similarly, postoperative complication rates were similar across the different risk categories.

Conclusions: Surgical aortic valve replacement using sutureless, rapid deployment biological valve prostheses is associated with excellent results and represents a safe and effective treatment option for patients with severe aortic valve stenosis. This seems to be particularly true in patients with a higher risk profile

Objectives: The impact of sutureless and rapid deployment (SURD) valves on the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing minimally invasive aortic valve replacement (MI-AVR) has still to be defined. The aim of this study was to assess clinical characteristics and in-hospital results of patients receiving SURD-AVR through less invasive approaches in the large population of the Sutureless and Rapid Deployment International Registry (SURD-IR).

Methods: Of the 1935 patients who received primary isolated SURD-AVR between 2009 and 2018, a total of 1418 (73.3%) underwent MI interventions and were included in this analysis. SURD-AVR was performed using upper ministernotomy in 56.4% (n = 800) of cases and anterior right thoracotomy in 43.6% (n = 618). Perceval S was implanted in 1011 (71.3%) patients and Edwards Intuity or Intuity Elite in 407 (28.7%) patients.

Results: Overall in-hospital mortality and stroke rates were 1.7% and 2%, respectively. A definitive pacemaker implantation was reported in 9% of cases and significantly decreased over the observational period, from 20.6% to 5.6% (P = 0.002). The Perceval valve was associated with shorter operative times and was more frequently implanted in patients receiving anterior right thoracotomy incision. The Intuity valve was preferred in younger patients and revealed superior postoperative haemodynamic results.

Conclusions: SURD-AVR was largely performed through less invasive approaches and can be considered as a primary indication in MI surgery. In the SURD-IR cohort, MI SURD-AVR using both Perceval and Intuity valves appeared a safe and reproducible procedure associated with promising early results.

Background: New technologies such as sutureless or rapid deployment prosthetic valves and access via minimally invasive incisions offer alternatives to traditional full-sternotomy aortic valve replacement (SAVR). However, a comprehensive comparison of these surgical techniques along with alternative valve prosthesis has not been completed.

Methods: Electronic databases were searched for studies comparing outcomes for SAVR, minimally invasive AVR (MiAVR), sutureless/rapid-deployment AVR (SuAVR) via full-sternotomy, or minimally invasive SuAVR (MiSuAVR) from their inception until September 2018. Early postoperative outcomes and follow-up data were included in a Bayesian network meta-analysis.

Results: Twenty-three studies with 8,718 patients were identified. Compared with standard SAVR, SuAVR had significantly lower incidence of postoperative AF [odds ratio (OR) 0.33, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.14-0.79, P=0.013] and MiSuAVR greater requirement for postoperative permanent pacemaker (OR 2.27, 95% CI: 1.25-4.14, P=0.008). All sutureless/rapid-deployment procedures had reduced cardiopulmonary bypass and cross-clamp times, by a mean of 25.9 and 25.0 min, respectively. Hospital length of stay (LOS), but not intensive care LOS, was reduced for all groups (MiAVR -1.53 days, MiSuAVR -2.79 days, and SuAVR 3.37 days). A signal towards reduced early mortality, wound infections, and acute kidney injury was noted in both sutureless/rapid-deployment and minimally invasive techniques but did not achieve significance. Sutureless/rapid-deployment procedures had favourable survival and freedom from valve related reoperation, however follow-up times were short and demonstrated significant heterogeneity between intervention groups.

Conclusions: Minimally invasive and sutureless techniques demonstrate equivalent early postoperative outcomes to SAVR and may reduce ventilation time, hospital LOS and postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) burden

Impella CP is a percutaneously inserted left ventricular assist device indicated for temporary mechanical cardiac support during high risk percutaneous coronary interventions and for cardiogenic shock. The potential application of Impella has become particularly relevant during the current COVID-19 pandemic, for patients with acute severe heart failure complicating viral illness. Standard implantation of the Impella CP is performed under fluoroscopic guidance. Positioning of the Impella CP can be confirmed with transthoracic or transoesophageal echocardiography. We describe an alternative approach to guide intracardiac implantation of the Impella CP using two-dimensional and three-dimensional intracardiac echocardiography. This new technique can be useful in selected groups of patients when fluoroscopy, transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography is deemed inapplicable or limited for epidemiological or clinical reasons. Intracardiac three-dimensional echocardiography is a feasible alternative to the traditional techniques for implantation of an Impella CP device but careful consideration must be given to the potential limitations and complications of this technique.

Background: Total arterial coronary revascularization for three vessel disease can be achieved with a second arterial conduit joined to the left internal mammary artery as a Y graft, using either a radial artery (RAY) or second mammary artery (BIMAY).

Methods: Patients receiving total arterial revascularization for three coronary territory disease were identified from two cardiac surgical databases (Sydney and Melbourne) using Society of Thoracic Surgeons-based definitions. BIMAY patients underwent surgery between 1994 and 2009, mostly using an age-limited protocol, while RAY patients underwent surgery between 1996 and 2003 without age limits. All-cause mortality was acquired from the national death registry and survival estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Propensity score matching was performed using 13 variables. Due to the age imbalance between groups, the primary comparison was performed for age ≤66 years.

Results: Overall, 1,896 patients received RAY and 720 patients received BIMAY. Older age at surgery was the strongest independent predictor for mortality with a hazard ratio of HR 2.06, 95%CI 1.93, 2.22, P<0.001. After propensity score matching, we identified 299 pairs of patients ≤66 years with no preoperative or operative differences and similar age at surgery, RAY 56.4±7.0 vs. BIMAY 56.4±6.8 years, P=0.96. The RAY group had 4.0±0.9 grafts and the BIMAY group had 3.9±0.9, P=0.814. All-cause mortality was not different, with the proportion surviving at 15 years at 74.9% for RAY vs. 76.2% for BIMAY (P=0.211).

Conclusions: Survival was not different between RAY and BIMAY for total arterial revascularization of three coronary territory bypass grafting.

Minimally-invasive surgery presents its own unique set of challenges, especially when applied to treatment of aortic arch disease. The key components of mini-access aortic arch surgery include safe circulatory control, adequate organ protection, and meticulous surgical technique. This article describes how to perform branch-first total arch replacement with the frozen elephant trunk (FET) procedure for distal arch aneurysms. The strategy employed offers the advantages of mini-access surgery, as well as sound cerebral and systemic organ protection strategies.

The mean systemic filling pressure (MSFP) represents an interaction between intravascular volume and global cardiovascular compliance (GCC). Intravascular volume expansion using fluid resuscitation is the most frequent intervention in intensive care and emergency medicine for patients in shock and with haemodynamic compromise. The relationship between dynamic changes in MSFP, GCC and left ventricular compliance is unknown. We conducted prospective interventional pilot study following euthanasia in post cardiotomy adult sheep, investigating the relationships between changes in MSFP induced by rapid intravascular filling with fluids, global cardiovascular compliance and left ventricular compliance. This pilot investigation suggested a robust correlation between a gradual increase in the intravascular stressed volume from 0 to 40 ml/kg and the MSFP r = 0.708 95% CI 0.435 to 0.862, making feasible future prospective interventional studies. Based on the statistical modelling from the pilot results, we expect to identify a strong correlation of 0.71 ± 0.1 (95% CI) between the MSFP and the stressed intravascular volume in a future study.