Journal of vascular surgery
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Noninvasive measurement of peripheral muscle microperfusion could potentially improve diagnosis, management, and treatment of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and thus improve patient care. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) as a noninvasive diagnostic tool allows quantification of muscle perfusion. Increasing data on bolus technique CEUS reflecting microperfusion are becoming available, but only limited data on steady-state CEUS for assessment of muscle microperfusion are available. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate steady-state CEUS for assessment of peripheral muscle microperfusion in a PAD animal model. ⋯ Peripheral muscle microperfusion measurement by steady-state CEUS with replenishment kinetics is feasible and allows detection of muscle microperfusion changes caused by vasodilative stress alone or in combination with a moderate inflow stenosis. Steady-state CEUS offers superior diagnostic performance compared with Doppler flow measurements. Therefore, steady-state CEUS may prove to be a useful tool in diagnosis of PAD and for evaluation of new therapies.
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This study reports the early and midterm to long-term experience of chimney grafts (CGs) in urgent endovascular repair of complex lesions in the thoracic aorta. ⋯ The midterm to long-term results of the CG technique for urgent and complex lesions of the thoracic aorta in high-risk patients are promising, with low early mortality and long durability of the CGs. More patients with longer follow-up are still needed.
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Atrial fibrillation is a common comorbid condition among patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and carotid artery stent placement (CAS); however, the outcomes of patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing CAS have not been fully examined. We sought to investigate the impact of atrial fibrillation on outcomes of CEA and CAS in general practice. ⋯ Our analysis suggests that almost 10% of CAS and CEA is performed in patients with atrial fibrillation in general practice, and higher rates of adverse events are observed among these patients, particularly those undergoing CEA.