The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jun 2024
WTSA 2023: To Decline or Not To Decline: Consequences of Decision-Making Regarding Lung Offers from Donors with Hepatitis C.
Lung transplants from donors with hepatitis C (HCV D+) have excellent outcomes, but these organs continue to be declined. We evaluated whether (1) being listed to consider and (2) accepting versus declining HCV D+ offers provided a survival benefit to lung transplant candidates. ⋯ Considering HCV D+ lung offers was associated with a 17% lower risk of waitlist mortality, whereas accepting versus declining an HCV D+ lung offer was associated with a 20% lower risk of mortality. Centers and candidates should consider accepting suitable HCV D+ lung offers to optimize outcomes.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jun 2024
The predictive capability of aortic stiffness index for aortic dissection among dilated ascending aortas.
We created a finite element model to predict the probability of dissection based on imaging-derived aortic stiffness and investigated the link between stiffness and wall tensile stress using our model. ⋯ Noninvasive transthoracic echocardiogram-derived aortic stiffness measurements may serve as an impactful metric toward predicting aortic dissection or quantifying dissection risk. A correlation between longitudinal stress and stiffness establishes an evidence-based link between a noninvasive stiffness parameter and stress state of the aorta with clinically apparent dissection events.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jun 2024
In The Era of Outpatient VADs, Is it Time to Reconsider the Practice of Bridging Older Children to Transplant on Outpatient Inotropes?
Ventricular assist devices (VADs) and inotropes are feasible modalities to bridge children to heart transplant (HT) in outpatient settings. However, it is unclear which modality yields superior clinical status at HT and posttransplant survival. ⋯ Consistent with prior studies, short-term outcomes for pediatric patients bridged to HT in the outpatient setting with VAD or inotropes is excellent. However, compared with outpatients bridged to HT on inotropes, outpatient VAD support allowed for better functional status at HT and superior late posttransplant survival.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jun 2024
In Search of Similarity in Adverse Events Journeys of Left Ventricular Assist Device Patients.
The Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (INTERMACS) Event data set contains an expansive collection of longitudinal evidence of the course of adverse events (AEs) of >15,000 patients who have received a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Buried in the huge Event data set is knowledge that can provide a deeper understanding of the patterns of the "AE journey" of patients with LVAD. Thus, the goal of this study was to examine the Event data set from a comprehensive perspective to identify unique relationships and patterns of AEs, alert potential challenges, and suggest future research directions. ⋯ The high diversity and sparsity of the types and timing of AE occurrences make the AE journeys of patients dissimilar from each other, impeding the discovery of highly-patterned AE journeys among the patients. This study suggests 2 salient directions for future studies to tackle this issue using cluster analysis to cluster patients into more similar groups and translate these results into a practical clinical tool to forecast the next AE based on the history of previous AEs.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jun 2024
Aortic diameter is a poor predictor of aortic tissue failure metrics in patients with ascending aneurysms.
There is growing consensus that aortic diameter is a flawed predictor of aortic dissection risk. We hypothesized that aortic tissue metrics would be better predicted by clinical metrics other than aortic diameter. Our objectives were to (1) characterize circumferential aortic failure stress and stretch as a result of aortic size and patient demographics, and (2) identify the influence of bicuspid aortic valve on failure metrics. ⋯ Aneurysmal ascending aortic tissue failure metrics correlated with available clinical metrics. Greater tissue thickness, older age, and tricuspid aortic valve morphology outperformed aortic diameter, warranting further investigation into the role of a patient-specific multifactorial dissection risk assessment over aortic diameter as a sole marker of aortic tissue integrity.