Negative Pressure versus Conventional Sternal Wound Dressing in Coronary Surgery Using Bilateral Internal Mammary Artery Grafts.

BACKGROUND: Sternal wound infection (SWI) is a major complication occurring often after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using bilateral internal mammary artery (BIMA) grafts. The aim of this study is to assess whether such a risk may be reduced by using incision negative pressure wound therapy (INPWT). METHODS: Data on patients undergoing isolated CABG using BIMA grafts at the Reims University Hospital, France, from 2013 to 2016 without or with INPWT was prospectively collected.  Results: INPWT was used in 161 patients and conventional sterile wound dressing was used in 266 patients. Propensity score matching resulted in 128 pairs with similar characteristics. SWIs were similarly distributed between the conventional sterile wound dressing (10.9%) and the INPWT cohorts (10.2%) (P = 1.00). Patients treated with INPWT had a lower rate of deep SWI/mediastinitis than patients who had conventional sterile dressing (5.5% versus 10.2%, P = .210), but the difference did not reach statistical significance. Tests for interaction confirmed these findings in different patient subgroups. CONCLUSION: The routine use of INPWT may not significantly reduce the risk of SWI in patients undergoing BIMA grafting. In view of previous reports showing a benefit with the use of this method, a large randomized study is justified to assess the efficacy of INPWT in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Association Between Shock Etiology and 5-Year Outcomes After Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

BACKGROUND: Outcomes of patients requiring venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) vary greatly by etiology, but large studies that incorporate the spectrum of shock supported with ECMO are rare. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to describe the etiology-related outcome of patients with shock supported with peripheral VA-ECMO. METHODS: All consecutive adults with peripheral VA-ECMO between January 2015 and August 2018 at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (Paris, France) were included in this retrospective observational study. The indication for VA-ECMO was cardiogenic shock. Rates of hospital death and neurological, renal, and pulmonary complications were evaluated according to etiology. RESULTS: Among 1,253 patients, hospital and 5-year survival rates were, respectively, 73.3% and 57.3% for primary graft failure, 58.6% and 54.0% for drug overdose, 53.2% and 45.3% for dilated cardiomyopathy, 51.6% and 50.0% for arrhythmic storm, 46.8% and 38.3% for massive pulmonary embolism, 44.4% and 42.4% for sepsis-induced cardiogenic shock, 37.9% and 32.9% for fulminant myocarditis, 37.3% and 31.5% for acute myocardial infarction, 34.6% and 33.3% for postcardiotomy excluding primary graft failure, 25.7% and 22.8% for other/unknown etiology, and 11.1% and 0.0% for refractory vasoplegia shock. Renal failure requiring hemodialysis developed in 50.0%, neurological complications in 16.0%, and hydrostatic pulmonary edema in 9.0%. CONCLUSIONS: Although the outcome differs depending on etiology, this difference is related more to the severity of the situation associated with the cause rather than the cause of the shock per se. Survival to 5 years varied by cause, which may reflect the natural course of the chronic disease and illustrates the need for long-term follow-up.

Thoracic Endometriosis Syndrome (TES) in Martinique, a French West Indies Island.

INTRODUCTION: Endometriosis is a female disease that affects 5-10% of women of childbearing age, with predominantly pelvic manifestations. It is currently declared as a public health priority in France. Thoracic endometriosis syndrome (TES) is the most common extra-pelvic manifestation. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics, and outcomes of patients with TES in Martinique. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a descriptive, retrospective study including all patients managed at the University Hospital of Martinique for TES between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2020. RESULTS: During the study period, we identified 479 cases of pneumothorax, of which 212 were women (44%). Sixty-three patients (30% of all female pneumothorax) were catamenial pneumothorax (CP) including 49 pneumothoraxes alone (78% of catamenial pneumothorax) and 14 hemopneumothorax (22% of catamenial pneumothorax). There were 71 cases of TES, including 49 pneumothoraxes (69%), 14 hemopneumothoraxes (20%) and 8 hemothorax (11%). The annual incidence of TES was 1.1 cases/100,000 inhabitants. The prevalence of TES was 1.2/1000 women aged from 15 to 45 years and the annual incidence of TES for this group was 6.9/100,000. The annual incidence of CP was 1 case/100,000 inhabitants. The average age at diagnosis was 36 ± 6 years. Eight patients (11%) had no prior diagnosis of pelvic endometriosis (PE). The mean age at pelvic endometriosis diagnosis was 29 ± 6 years. The mean time from symptom onset to diagnosis was 24 ± 50 weeks, and 53 ± 123 days from diagnosis to surgery. Thirty-two patients (47%) had prior abdominopelvic surgery. Seventeen patients (24%) presented other extra-pelvic localizations. When it came to management, 69/71 patients (97%) underwent surgery. Diaphragmatic nodules or perforations were found in 68/69 patients (98.5%). Histological confirmation was obtained in 55/65 patients who underwent resection (84.6%). Forty-four patients (62%) experienced recurrence. The mean time from the initial treatment to recurrence was 20 ± 33 months. The recurrence rate was 16/19 (84.2%) in patients who received medical therapy only, 11/17 (64.7%) in patients treated by surgery alone, and 17/31 (51.8%) in patients treated with surgery and medical therapy (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: We observed a very high incidence of TES in Martinique. The factors associated with this high incidence in this specific geographical area remain to be elucidated. The frequency of recurrence was lower in patients who received both hormone therapy and surgery.

Transfemoral versus transcarotid access for transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Objectives: To compare the outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) through a transfemoral (TF) and transcarotid (TC) access at our institution. Methods: From January 2014 to January 2020, 62 TC-TAVR and 449 TF-TAVR were performed using 2 prosthesis devices (Edwards SAPIEN 3, n = 369; Medtronic Evolut R, n = 142). Propensity score matching was used to adjust for imbalance in the baseline characteristics of the study groups. Results: Propensity score matching provided 62 matched pairs with comparable operative risk (mean European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation II, TC-TAVR 7.6% vs TF-TAVR 6.6%, P = .17). Thirty-day mortality (4.8% vs 3.2%, P = 1.00) and 2-year mortality (11.3% vs 12.9%, P = .64) after TC-TAVR were comparable with TF-TAVR. Strokes were numerically more frequent after TC-TAVR compared with TF-TAVR (3.2% vs 0%, P = .23), but the difference did not reach statistical significance. TF-TAVR was associated with a significantly greater risk of permanent pacemaker implantation (29.0% vs 12.9%, P = .04) compared with TC-TAVR. Other complications were not frequent and were similarly distributed between the matched groups. Conclusions: TC access for TAVR was associated with satisfactory results compared to the femoral access. TC-TAVR could be considered a valid and safe alternative to TF-TAVR when femoral access is contraindicated.