Is routine extubation overnight safe in cardiac surgery patients?

Objectives

Expedient extubation after cardiac surgery has been associated with improved outcomes, leading to postoperative extubation frequently during overnight hours. However, recent evidence in a mixed medical-surgical intensive care unit population demonstrated worse outcomes with overnight extubation. This study investigated the impact of overnight extubation in a statewide, multicenter Society of Thoracic Surgeons database.

Buscando o motivo da instabilidade hemodinâmica: relato de caso sobre o papel do ultrassom intraoperatório

Background and objectives

A prompt and effective management of trauma patient is necessary. The aim of this case report is to highlight the importance of intraoperative echocardiography as a useful tool in patients suffering from refractory hemodynamic instability no otherwise explained.

心血管疾病的整合管理

我国心血管疾病发病率和死亡率不断升高，已成为威胁国民健康的头号杀手，迫切需要新的慢性病管理方案来降低心血管疾病发病率，提高治愈率并降低死亡率，因此整合医学理论进入人们视野。其符合现代的生物-心理-社会医学模式，可整合现代多学科发展优势，多方位综合管理慢性病，尤其适用于心血管疾病的管理。本文就整合医学在心血管疾病管理的国内外现状进行综述，提出心血管疾病的整合管理，探索我国可行的心血管疾病整合管理模式。     

The role of computed tomography myocardial perfusion imaging in clinical practice

Computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) is a widely accepted non-invasive technique for the accurate detection of coronary artery disease (CAD), but comes with a notable limitation stemming from its limited capacity to define the physiologic significance of a given lesion This hampered ability for functional assessment of coronary stenosis may lead to additional testing in an effort to delineate whether ischemia is truly present. An important technique that can overcome this pitfall of CTCA has emerged in the form of stress CT myocardial perfusion (CTP) imaging, which provides the functional assessment necessary, thereby complementing the anatomic information provided by CTCA. The combination of CTCA and CTP permits a single exam to simultaneously detect coronary stenosis and categorize its hemodynamic significance. The accuracy of CTP is now well-described in comparison to a number of reference standards for the diagnosis of CAD, including single photon emission CT, cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging, and invasive coronary angiography with and without fractional flow-reserve (FFR) measurements. While there is not yet a consensus for a single protocol regarding the optimal mode of acquisition and interpretation of CTP, there is a growing body of data to support its integration into clinical use with CTCA as a strategy to improve the detection and management of coronary disease. This review article is aimed to discuss the current clinical applications and methodology of CTP imaging, its strengths and weaknesses as well as some of the debated issues that remain to be resolved in the future.     

Multi-modality imaging of cardiac amyloidosis: Contemporary update

Cardiac amyloidosis is a heterogeneous and challenging diagnostic disease with poor prognosis that is now being altered by introduction of new therapies. Echocardiography remains the first-line imaging tool, and when disease is suspected on echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and nuclear imaging play critical roles in the non-invasive diagnosis and evaluation of cardiac amyloidosis. Advances in multi-modality cardiac imaging allowing earlier diagnosis and initiation of novel therapies have significantly improved the outcomes in these patients. Cardiac imaging also plays important roles in the risk stratification of patients presenting with cardiac amyloidosis. In the current review, we provide a clinical and imaging focused update, and importantly outline the imaging protocols, diagnostic and prognostic utility of multimodality cardiac imaging in the assessment of cardiac amyloidosis.