European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Aug 2014
Perioperative outcomes of cardiac surgery patients with ongoing ticagrelor therapy: boon and bane of a new drug.
Ticagrelor (Brilique®) is a novel reversible platelet inhibitor at P2Y12 receptor used in patients with acute coronary syndrome and patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions. Unlike clopidogrel (Plavix®), ticagrelor has a quicker offset of action, and therefore, it seems that platelet function recovers faster on discontinuation of therapy. These drugs sometimes cannot be stopped before coronary artery bypass grafting due to the risk of stent thrombosis or in case of emergency operations. Therefore, we investigated whether the continued preoperative use of ticagrelor influences the perioperative course of cardiac surgical patients. ⋯ In cardiac surgical patients who are treated with ticagrelor + ASA until surgery, ticagrelor therapy is associated with a significantly higher blood loss, a significantly higher use of blood products and coagulation factors and higher incidence of rethoracotomies for bleeding compared with patients treated with clopidogrel + ASA.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Aug 2014
Endovascular therapy in patients with genetically triggered thoracic aortic disease: applications and short- and mid-term outcomes.
For patients with genetically triggered thoracic aortic disease, the morbidity and mortality associated with reoperation are high, making endovascular treatment an appealing option. We evaluated the short- and mid-term outcomes of different applications of endovascular intervention in such patients. ⋯ Endovascular technology can be helpful in treating selected young patients with genetically triggered thoracic aortic disease. Long-term studies and further evolution of endovascular technology will be necessary for it to be incorporated into the armamentarium of surgical options for this challenging patient population.