The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Apr 2013
Predictors of hyperglycemia after cardiac surgery in nondiabetic patients.
Postoperative hyperglycemia is associated with poor clinical outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. However, some experts consider hyperglycemia to be an epiphenomenon related to acute stress. We investigated whether preoperative patient characteristics can predict hyperglycemia after cardiac surgery in nondiabetic patients. ⋯ Preoperative patient characteristics are associated with hyperglycemia after cardiac surgery.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Apr 2013
Surgical decortication as the first-line treatment for pleural empyema.
The study objective was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of surgical decortication as the first line of treatment for pleural empyema. ⋯ The first treatment choice for pleural empyema is a critical determinant of ultimate therapeutic success. After adjusting for confounding variables, surgical decortication is the optimal first treatment choice for advanced empyema.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Apr 2013
Complete revascularization is compromised in off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.
Patients who undergo off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) commonly receive fewer bypass grafts and are more often incompletely revascularized compared with those receiving conventional coronary artery bypass (CCAB) recipients. Because this can compromise survival, we sought to determine whether patients undergoing OPCAB are incompletely revascularized and whether this affects long-term survival and freedom from cardiac events. ⋯ Despite receiving fewer distal anastomoses and the decreased frequency of complete revascularization, OPCAB and CCAB techniques produced comparable results.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Apr 2013
Nebulized nitrite protects rat lung grafts from ischemia reperfusion injury.
Nebulization is a potential method for delivering therapeutic agents to lung grafts. Recent evidence suggests that nitrite may mitigate ischemia-reperfusion injury via a nitric oxide-dependent pathway. ⋯ These data suggest that nebulized nitrite limits lung ischemia-reperfusion injury and may prove a clinically useful strategy but requires appropriate dosing to limit oxidative injury at high doses.