European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · May 2015
Surgical management of infective endocarditis: an analysis of early and late outcomes.
To review our experience of surgical management of infective endocarditis (IE) over a 13-year period and analyse the outcomes and associated prognostic factors. ⋯ Surgical management of endocarditis continues to be challenging and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. This report of 191 patients who underwent valve surgery for IE shows that in-hospital mortality is influenced by preoperative renal function and stroke at the time of presentation. The optimal timing for surgery in patients with stroke remains controversial. Long-term survival was negatively influenced by increasing age, moderate to severely impaired LVEF, prosthetic valve IE and S. aureus infection.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · May 2015
Multicenter StudyFunctional results after chest wall stabilization with a new screwless fixation device.
This is the experience with the Stratos system in two surgical centres for the management of two types of rib fractures: flail chest and multiple dislocated rib fractures with significant chest wall deformity. ⋯ Our results suggest that stabilization of the chest wall with this screwless rib fixation device can be performed with a low morbidity and lead to early restoration of chest wall integrity and respiratory pump function, without clinically relevant functional restriction. Owing to the simplicity of the fixation technique, indications for stabilization can be safely enlarged to selected patients with dislocated and painful rib fractures.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · May 2015
Comparative Study Observational StudyPain and recovery are comparable after either uniportal or multiport video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy: an observation study.
Uniportal approaches to video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy have been described in significant series. Few comparison studies between the two techniques exist. The aim was to determine whether the uniportal technique had more favourable postoperative outcomes than the multiport technique. ⋯ Uniportal VATS lobectomy is safe, and there is no appreciable negative impact on the hospital stay or morbidity. Patient-reported pain and morphine use in the first 24 h was low with either technique. Larger prospective studies are needed to quantify any benefit to a particular approach for VATS lobectomy.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · May 2015
ReviewThe European Registry for Patients with Mechanical Circulatory Support (EUROMACS): first annual report.
The European Registry for Patients with Mechanical Circulatory Support (EUROMACS) was founded on 10 December 2009 with the initiative of Roland Hetzer (Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin, Berlin, Germany) and Jan Gummert (Herz- und Diabeteszentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany) with 15 other founding international members. It aims to promote scientific research to improve care of end-stage heart failure patients with ventricular assist device or a total artificial heart as long-term mechanical circulatory support. Likewise, the organization aims to provide and maintain a registry of device implantation data and long-term follow-up of patients with mechanical circulatory support. ⋯ EUROMACS is the only European-based Registry for Patients with Mechanical Circulatory Support with rapid increase in institutional and individual membership. Because of the expeditious data input, the European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgeons saw the need to optimize the data availability and the significance of the registry to improve care of patients with mechanical circulatory support and its potential contribution to scientific intents; hence, the beginning of their alliance in 2012. This first annual report is designed to provide an overview of EUROMACS' structure, its activities, a first data collection and an insight to its scientific contributions.