1,721,041 research outputs found
How to prevent atrial-oesophageal fistula following ablation of atrial fibrillation: are there actually any effective methods?
No full textRisk Factors and Long-Term Survival of Octogenarians and Nonagenarians Undergoing Transvenous Lead Extraction Procedures
No full textIntroduction: Transvenous lead extraction (TLE) has become a frequently used tool for the management of complications related to pacemakers, implantable cardiac defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices. However, it is still a matter of debate whether the lead extraction procedure is a safe treatment choice in the elderly. Methods: We collected the clinical information from 3,810 patients undergoing TLE in 2 high-volume centers (Poland and Italy) between 2006 and 2017. We tested risk factors, effectiveness, safety and long-term survival in 3 groups of patients: those aged 80-89.99 years, >= 90 years and 30-79.99 years. Results: Lower BMI, lower levels of hemoglobin and more comorbidities characterized the patients, whose ages ranged from 80 to 89.99 years. Those aged >= 90 years most often had single-chamber pacemakers. Octogenarians and nonagenarians were more often undergoing TLE due to infectious indications (57.19 and 74.29 vs. 45.35% in younger individuals). Lead age and the number of leads extracted were comparable in the 3 groups. In octogenarians, leads were more often removed using standard extraction techniques: simple traction and mechanical dilatators, whereas in nonagenarians TLE was more complex. The duration of the procedure was shorter in older patients, while clinical and procedural effectiveness was similar to that in younger individuals. The rate of major complications related to TLE did not differ between octogenarians and younger subjects (2.0 vs. 1.38%, p = ns), and the number of procedure-related risk factors was smaller in older people. Nonagenarians did not develop any major complication related to TLE. Long-term mortality after TLE was similar among octogenarians and nonagenarians (39.67 and 40.00%) but higher than in younger patients (24.41; p < 0.001 and 0.05). Conclusions: Lead extraction procedures appear effective and safe in octogenarians and nonagenarians, comparable to younger individuals. Procedure-related risk in the elderly is not associated with most of the typical risk factors encountered in younger subjects, but only with the higher number of pacemaker, implantable cardiac defibrillator and cardiac resynchronization therapy device procedures before TLE. Long-term survival after TLE was found to be similar among octogenarians and nonagenarians being about 60% at over 3 years of follow-up. Age alone should not be considered a risk factor for the occurrence of major complications or procedure-related death, and therefore it should not prevent candidacy for TLE
Port-a-Cath complicated by infection or migration not removed by manual traction: usefulness of cardiac pacing leads extraction techniques
No full textBackground: Long-term use of Port-a-Caths (PACs) is related to device-related delayed complications. The aim of this study is to describe the high success rate and safety of cardiac pacing lead extraction techniques used for PACs complicated by infection or migration and not removed by manual traction.Methods: During a 13-year period (1997-2010), 19 consecutive PAC recipients (54.1 +/- 13 years, 11 females) were referred to our hospital for PAC-related delayed complications and PACs not removable by manual traction (mean dwelling time 29.3 +/- 31 months).Results: PAC implantation indications included gastrointestinal cancer (21%), breast cancer (15.7%), other malignant diseases (52.6%), and nonmalignant diseases (10.5%). PAC removal indications were breakdown due to subclavian crush (63.1%), breakdown due to unsuccessful previous removal attempt (21%), sepsis (10.5%), or malfunction (5.3%). Removal of fractured free-floating catheters (16) migrated toward the venous blood course was attempted by tool-guided traction in all cases except 1 in whom mechanical dilation was necessary. For the 3 intact ones (2 infected and one malfunctioning) we used tool-guided traction and single-sheath mechanical dilation, depending on the vascular/cardiac-catheter setting. By using multiple venous approaches we removed 18 catheters completely and 1 partially, achieving clinical success in all of the patients. The most commonly used venous approach was transfemoral (TFA; 73.6%), followed by the original venous entry site approach (VEA; 15.7%) and internal transjugular approach (ITA; 10.5%). No major or minor complications were observed.Conclusions: In experienced centers, cardiac pacing lead extraction techniques may be considered as an additional, efficacious, safe option for extraction of otherwise nonremovable entrapped PACs before surgery
[Pro-arrhythmic effect of cardiac memory in a patient with long QT syndrome]
No full textWe describe the case of a patient with a congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) who showed signs of cardiac memory associated with early afterdepolarizations and ventricular arrhythmias, after a change in the pacing mode from VVI to AAI. Cardiac memory, further altering the potassium ion channel function, may have pro-arrhythmic potential in patients with LQTS
[Indications for leadless VVI and VDD pacing in clinical practice]
No full textLeadless, intracardiac pacemakers are a major innovation in the management of bradyarrhythmia. Both safety and feasibility of leadless pacing have been assessed in acute settings and mid-term follow-up showing a significant reduction of pacing-related complications as compared with standard transvenous pacemakers. There are many advantages of the leadless approach including a reduction of infection risk and malfunction due to the absence of transvenous leads and the pacemaker pocket. Patients at high risk of endocarditis or pocket failure, with compromised venous access, can benefit from the leadless approach. In this review article, the relevant implant indications for leadless pacemaker and patient populations are described
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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