Association Between Patient and Physician Sex and Physician-Estimated Stroke and Bleeding Risks in Atrial Fibrillation

Background

Physicians treating nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) assess stroke and bleeding risks when deciding on anticoagulation. The agreement between empirical and physician-estimated risks is unclear. Furthermore, the association between patient and physician sex and anticoagulation decision-making is uncertain.

Deep Brain Stimulation Compared With Contingency Management for the Treatment of Cocaine Use Disorders: A Threshold and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

ObjectivesCocaine is the second most frequently used illicit drug worldwide (after cannabis), and cocaine use disorder (CUD)-related deaths increased globally by 80% from 1990 to 2013. There is yet to be a regulatory-approved treatment. Emerging preclinical evidence indicates that deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the nucleus accumbens may be a therapeutic option. Prior to expanding the costly investigation of DBS for treatment of CUD, it is important to ensure societal cost-effectiveness.AimsWe conducted a threshold and cost-effectiveness analysis to determine the success rate at which DBS would be equivalent to contingency management (CM), recently identified as the most efficacious therapy for treatments of CUDs.Materials and MethodsQuality of life, efficacy, and safety parameters for CM were obtained from previous literature. Costs were calculated from a societal perspective. Our model predicted the utility benefit based on quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and incremental-cost-effectiveness ratio resulting from two treatments on a one-, two-, and five-year timeline.ResultsOn a one-year timeline, DBS would need to impart a success rate (ie, cocaine free) of 70% for it to yield the same utility benefit (0.492 QALYs per year) as CM. At no success rate would DBS be more cost-effective (incremental-cost-effectiveness ratio <$50,000) than CM during the first year. Nevertheless, as DBS costs are front loaded, DBS would need to achieve success rates of 74% and 51% for its cost-effectiveness to exceed that of CM over a two- and five-year period, respectively.ConclusionsWe find DBS would not be cost-effective in the short term (one year) but may be cost-effective in longer timelines. Since DBS holds promise to potentially be a cost-effective treatment for CUDs, future randomized controlled trials should be performed to assess its efficacy.     

Off pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) in critical left mainstem stenosis—Our experience

Background Beating heart surgery has now become the commonest technique of doing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery (CABG) in our country. It is being used even in such high risk situations like diffuse coronary disease and Critical Left Main stem Stenosis (LMCS) with good results. The aim of this study is to retrospectively review our results in Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (OPCAB) in patients with critical left main stem stenosis. Methods This study is a retrospective analysis of the data of patients who underwent primary coronary artery bypass surgery. During the period from April 2003 to September 2005 a total of 64 patients underwent OPCAB procedure for critical LMCS. During the same period 10 patients underwent CABG on Cardio Pulmonary Bypass (CPB). The age range was 36–77yrs. The sex distribution was M: F 53∶10. Ten patients were done as emergency. 2 of them were on Intra Aortic Balloon Pump (IABP) support preoperatively. 10 patients were high risk with a Euro score of ≥5. Results Left Internal Mammary Artery (LIMA) was used in 78% of cases. Average grafts per patient was 2.96. The median ventilation time was 5.91 hrs. New IABP insertion in postoperative period was required in 1 patient. One patient was reexplored for bleeding. There was one perioperative myocardial infarction. 57% of patients did not need any blood transfusion. There was no conversion to CPB. There was no operative mortality. Inotropes were used in ten cases. Conclusions OPCAB is a safe method of revascularization in patients with critical LMCS. Preoperative IABP is useful in patients with cardiogenic shock. However, there is a place for CPB in patients needing additional procedures like Mitral Valve repair (MV repair) or Dor's procedure or when the vessels are very diffusely diseased. Those patients who are unstable despite IABP support may be managed by Beating heart On Pump (BHOP) technique.     

Pituitary abnormalities in eating disorders: further evidence from MRI studies

1. The frequent occurrence of hypothalamo-pituitary dysfunction in patients with eating disorders as well as prior reports that nutritional and endocrine status influence pituitary morphology, led us to hypothesize that pituitary size and shape may be altered in patients with eating disorders. 2. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) does not use ionizing radiation and is currently one of the most feasible modalities available to study the pituitary gland in vivo. Using MRI, we have previously reported in a preliminary study that female patients with eating disorders had significantly smaller pituitary glands than controls. In addition MRI excluded any pituitary mass lesions. 3. In this report, we confirm our previous MRI findings and provide further evidence of pituitary abnormalities in an expanded sample of eating disorder patients. Preliminary data on pituitary volume estimates from MRI scans are provided for a subset of patients and controls.     

Flow requirements for the Bain breathing circuit during anaesthesia for caesarean section

We studied the relationship between arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) and fresh gas flow (FGF) during use of the Bain breathing circuit for Caesarean section anaesthesia. Thirty-one patients undergoing Caesarean section were anaesthetised using the Bain circuit with intermittent positive pressure ventilation. The PaCO2 were measured at FGF of 70 ml X kg-1 X min-1, 80 ml X kg-1 X min-1, and 100 ml X kg-1 X min-1. The FGF requirement to maintain a given PaCO2 during Caesarean section anaesthesia is the same as the requirements for nonpregnant subjects, despite the increase in carbon dioxide production associated with pregnancy. This is probably because the total FGF determined by body weight and given during Caesarean section anaesthesia is 15-20 per cent higher than nonpregnant levels, due to the weight gain associated with pregnancy. A FGF of 100 ml X kg-1 of pregnant weight/min maintains PaCO2 of 4.44 kPa predelivery, which is in the desirable range of PaCO2 during Caesarean section.