The Annals of thoracic surgery
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Effect of phrenic nerve palsy on early postoperative lung function after pneumonectomy: a prospective study.
The issue of phrenic nerve preservation during pneumonectomy is still an unanswered question. So far, its direct effect on immediate postoperative pulmonary lung function has never been evaluated in a prospective trial. ⋯ Our results show that phrenic nerve palsy causes a significant impairment of dynamic lung volumes during the early postoperative period after pneumonectomy. Therefore, in these already compromised patients, intraoperative phrenic nerve injury should be avoided whenever possible.
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Comparative Study
Preoperative atrial fibrillation increases risk of thromboembolic events after left ventricular assist device implantation.
Because no series has specifically analyzed the impact of preoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) on patients already at higher risk of thromboembolism after implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), we review our experience with these patients. ⋯ Patients with preoperative AF have a lower freedom from TE events after LVAD implant. While overall late survival was not significantly reduced in these patients, refinement in anticoagulation strategies after VAD implant may be required.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Transapical aortic valve replacement for severe aortic stenosis: results from the nonrandomized continued access cohort of the PARTNER trial.
Transapical (TA) aortic valve replacement was an integral part of the Placement of Transcatheter Aortic Valves (PARTNER) trial. Enrollment during the randomized trial included 104 transapical (premarket approval TA [PMA-TA]) and 92 surgical aortic valve replacements (SAVR) within the TA cohort. On completion of the trial, enrollment continued in a nonrandomized continued access (NRCA) program. We compared the outcomes of NRCA-TA procedures with those of PMA-TA and SAVR. ⋯ Among the 975 patients in the NRCA-TA cohort, rates of major outcomes including death and stroke compared favorably with outcomes of PMA-TA and SAVR patients enrolled in the PARTNER trial. This trend toward improved outcomes may be attributed to improved patient selection, individual centers surmounting the procedural learning curve, and refinements in surgical technique.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Sivelestat attenuates lung injury in surgery for congenital heart disease with pulmonary hypertension.
Pulmonary hypertension associated with congenital heart disease increases the risk of surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass. Sivelestat is a neutrophil elastase inhibitor thought to have a prophylactic effect against lung injury after surgery using bypass. We elucidated that Sivelestat had the protective effect on lung in patients with congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension who underwent surgery using bypass. ⋯ Administration of sivelestat during bypass prevented pulmonary damage and activities of proinflammatory cytokines at the cardiac operation in neonates or infants. Our results show that sivelestat may be considered to protect pulmonary function against the injury by bypass.
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Comparative Study
Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration in diagnosing intrathoracic tuberculosis.
Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a minimally invasive procedure that has enabled mediastinal and hilar lymph node assessment with a high sensitivity, but its role in the diagnosis of intrathoracic tuberculosis (TB) has not been established. ⋯ Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration has a high diagnostic yield in the investigation of suspected intrathoracic TB by means of aspiration of intrathoracic lymph nodes and tracheobronchial wall-adjacent lung lesions.