Interactive cardiovascular and thoracic surgery
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · Apr 2013
ReviewIs there any role for resuscitative emergency department thoracotomy in blunt trauma?
A best evidence topic in cardiothoracic surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was whether there is any role for resuscitative emergency department thoracotomy in severe blunt trauma. Emergency thoracotomy is an accepted intervention for patients with penetrating cardiothoracic trauma. ⋯ Furthermore, the neurological sequelae in the few survivors are frequent and severe. Interestingly, some author groups recommend that emergency department thoracotomy should be contraindicated in cases of blunt trauma with no signs of life at the scene of trauma or on arrival at the emergency department. Larger, well-designed series will be required to reach a consensus on valid prognostic factors and specific subgroups of blunt trauma patients with substantial chances of survival.
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · Apr 2013
Comparative StudyInfluence of donor-recipient gender mismatch on graft function and survival following lung transplantation.
In current practice, donors and recipients are not matched for gender in lung transplantation. However, some data have suggested a possible effect of gender combinations on lung transplant outcomes. We examined whether donor-recipient (D/R) gender mismatch is related to adverse outcomes after lung transplantation in terms of early and long-term graft function and survival. ⋯ Donor-recipient gender mismatch does not have a negative impact on early graft function and mortality following lung transplantation. There is a trend towards a survival benefit for female recipients, irrespective of the donor gender.
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · Apr 2013
Comparative StudyConcomitant surgical atrial fibrillation ablation and event recorder implantation: better monitoring, better outcome?
Concomitant ablation is an established therapy in cardiac surgical patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Post-discharge care seems to be an essential factor for clinical outcome. We analysed the influence of event recorder (ER) implantation and therapy guidance by the results of continuous rhythm monitoring of consecutive postoperative follow-up by our department of electrophysiology. ⋯ Implantation of an ER with link-up to a cardiology and/or electrophysiology provides optimized anti-arrhythmic drug management and higher rates of consecutive procedures like cardioversion or additional catheter-based ablation. As a result, a trend to higher sinus rhythm conversion rate was observed after 1-year follow-up.