Targeted Temperature Management After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Integrating Evidence Into Real World Practice.

Targeted temperature management (TTM) after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has been a focus of debate in an attempt to improve post-arrest outcomes. Contemporary trials examining the role of TTM after cardiac arrest suggest that targeting normothermia should be the standard of care for initially comatose survivors of cardiac arrest. Differences in patient populations have been demonstrated across trials, and important subgroups may be under-represented in clinical trials compared with real-world registries. In this review, we aimed to describe the populations represented in international OHCA registries and to propose a pathway to integrate clinical trial evidence into practice. The patient case mix among registries including survivors to hospital admission was similar to the pivotal trials (shockable rhythm, witnessed arrest), suggesting reasonable external validity. Therefore, for the majority of OHCA, targeted normothermia should be the strategy of choice. There remains conflicting evidence for patients with a nonshockable rhythm, with no clear evidence-based justification for mild hypothermia over targeted normothermia.

Real world long-term outcomes among adults undergoing transcatheter patent foramen closure with amplatzer PFO occluder.

BACKGROUND: Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a congenital heart defect associated with an increased risk of cryptogenic stroke. We aimed to evaluate real-world outcomes of adult patients undergoing transcatheter PFO closure with the Amplatzer PFO Occluder. METHODS: In this single centre, retrospective cohort study, we linked a detailed clinical registry with provincial administrative databases to obtain short and long-term outcomes. Validated algorithms were used to established baseline comorbidities and adverse outcomes. RESULTS: Between 1999 and 2017, 479 patients had PFO closure with an Amplatzer PFO Occluder. The average age of the patients was 47.3 years (standard deviation (SD) = 12.4), and 54.7% were males. The procedural success was 100%, and 96% of patients were discharged on the same day. Any in-hospital complication was observed in 2.5% (n = 12) of patients. At 30 days post-discharge, 18% of patients had an ED visit and 5% a hospitalization. Over a mean follow-up of 9.1 (SD = 3.8) years, 4% experienced TIA, 1.5% stroke, and 7.6% atrial fibrillation. The composite outcome of stroke/TIA/death was observed in 10.9% of patients (1.22 events per 100 person-years). Patients >60 years old experienced higher rates of adverse events than younger patients. CONCLUSIONS: In this large real-world cohort of patients with cryptogenic stroke, we observed excellent safety and effectiveness outcomes for PFO closure conducted with Amplatzer PFO Occluder, similar to randomized controlled trials or other long-term cohort studies. New onset atrial fibrillation was one of the most commonly adverse events. Future studies should investigate early post-discharge management of patients to prevent readmissions.

Economics of Minimalist Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Results From the 3M-TAVR Economic Study.

BACKGROUND: The 3M-TAVR trial (3M-Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement) demonstrated the feasibility and safety of next-day hospital discharge after transfemoral TAVR with implementation of a minimalist pathway. However, the economic impact of this approach is unknown. Therefore, we evaluated costs for patients undergoing minimalist TAVR compared with conventional TAVR. METHODS: We used propensity matching to compare resource utilization and costs (from a US health care system perspective) for patients in the 3M-TAVR trial with those for transfemoral TAVR patients enrolled in the contemporaneous S3i trial (PARTNER SAPIEN-3 Intermediate Risk). Procedural costs were estimated using measured resource utilization for both groups. For the S3i group, all other costs through 30-day follow-up were assessed by linkage with Medicare claims; for 3M, these costs were assessed using regression models derived from S3i cost and resource utilization data. RESULTS: After 1:1 propensity matching, 351 pairs were included in our study (mean age 82, mean Society of Thoracic Surgery risk score 5.3%). There were no differences in death, stroke, or rehospitalization between the 3M-TAVR and S3i groups through 30-day follow-up. Index hospitalization costs were $10 843/patient lower in the 3M-TAVR cohort, driven by reductions in procedure duration, anesthesia costs, and length of stay. Between discharge and 30 days, costs were similar for the 2 groups such that cumulative 30-day costs were $11 305/patient lower in the 3M-TAVR cohort compared with the S3i cohort ($49 425 versus $60 729, 95% CI for difference $9378 to $13 138; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with conventional transfemoral TAVR, use of a minimalist pathway in intermediate-risk patients was associated with similar clinical outcomes and substantial in-hospital cost savings, which were sustained through 30 days. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov; Unique identifier: NCT02287662.

Same-Day Discharge Post-Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Multicenter PROTECT TAVR Study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the safety and efficacy of same-day discharge (SDD) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) during the COVID-19 pandemic. BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has placed significant stress on health care systems worldwide. SDD in highly selected TAVR patients can facilitate the provision of essential cardiovascular care while managing competing COVID-19 resource demands. METHODS: Patient selection for SDD was at the discretion of the local multidisciplinary heart team, across 7 international sites. The primary outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death, stroke, myocardial infarction, all-cause readmission, major vascular complications, and new permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation. RESULTS: From March 2020 to August 2021, 124 of 2,100 patients who underwent elective transfemoral TAVR were selected for SDD. The average age was 78.9 ± 7.8 years, the median Society of Thoracic Surgeons score was 2.4 (IQR: 1.4-4.2), and 32.3% (n = 40) had preexisting PPMs. There were no major vascular complications, strokes, or deaths during the index admission. One patient (0.8%) required PPM implantation for complete heart block and was discharged the same day. No patient required a PPM between discharge home and 30-day follow-up. The composite of cardiovascular death, stroke, myocardial infarction, all-cause readmission, major vascular complications, and new PPM at 30 days occurred in 5.7% patients (n = 6 of 106). CONCLUSIONS: SDD post-TAVR is safe and feasible in selected patients at low risk for adverse clinical events postdischarge. This strategy may have a potential role in highly selected patients even when the COVID-19 pandemic abates.

New-onset atrial fibrillation following percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: A patent foramen ovale (PFO), present in up to 25% of adults, is an embryologic remnant which allows for right to left shunting and has been implicated in cryptogenic stroke (Neill and Lin, Methodist Debakey Cardiovasc J. 13(3):152-159, 2017; Bass 2015). The current standard of care for selected patients with PFO and cryptogenic stroke is transcatheter closure, but the risk of post-closure, new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) is unknown (Vaidya et al., Cardiovasc Diagn Ther. 8(6):739-753, 2018; Kjeld et al., Acta Radiol Open. 7(9):2058460118793922, 2018; Staubach et al., Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 74(6):889-95, 2009). This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized evidence on AF development post transcatheter PFO closure and predictors of AF development, and assessed existing knowledge gaps. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials and observational studies were selected according to the inclusion criteria of adults that underwent a transcatheter PFO closure without a history of AF. Studies were retrieved from electronic databases from inception until February 2019. A Freeman-Tukey arcsine transformation was performed for meta-analysis of AF incidence rate. RESULTS: From 765 studies, 45 were included in quantitative data synthesis. Study sample sizes ranged between 20 and 1887 individuals, and average patient age between 37 to 67 years across studies. The overall incidence rate was 0.013 person-years, and 0.014 person-years for the within 6 months follow-up subgroup. There was no consistency in reported predictors of AF development. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of AF post-PFO closure was low across studies, with a high level of between-study heterogeneity. Until a concerted effort is made to improve accurate AF diagnosis, it will be difficult to gauge the association between transcatheter PFO closure and incidence of AF.

Same Day Discharge during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Highly Selected Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Patients.

Background: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with a standardized clinical pathway allows most patients to achieve safe next-day discharge. This approach has been successfully implemented across global centers as part of the Benchmark Program. Considering restricted hospital resources resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, a modified same day discharge (SDD) clinical pathway was implemented for selected TAVR patients at a single Benchmark site. Methods: All patients accepted for TAVR were assessed for the SDD clinical pathway. Eligibility criteria included adequate social support and accessibility to the TAVR program post-discharge. Patients with preexisting conduction disease were excluded. The clinical pathway comprised of mobilization, bloodwork and electrocardiogram 4 hours post-TAVR and discharge ≥8 hours following groin hemostasis. Results: From June to December 2020, 142 patients underwent TAVR at a single community Benchmark site. Of those, 29 highly selected patients were successfully discharged the same day using the SDD clinical pathway. There were no vascular access complications, permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation, or mortality in the SDD group during index admission or at 30-day follow-up. When compared to a standard therapy group, there was no statistically significant difference in 30-day cardiovascular readmission. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the safety and feasibility of same day discharge post-TAVR in a highly selected cohort of patients, with no observable difference in safety outcomes when compared to patients who were discharged according to standard institutional practice.Abbreviations: AS: aortic stenosis; ACT: Activated clotting time; AV: atrioventricular; AVB: atrioventricular block; BBB: bundle branch block; CAIC: Canadian Society for Cardiovascular Angiography; CCL: cardiac catheterization laboratory; CT: Computed topography; CV: cardiovascular; IQR: Interquartile Range; IVCD: intraventricular conduction delay; LBBB: left bundle branch block; LOS: length of stay; NDD: next day discharge; PPM: permanent pacemaker; RBBB: right bundle branch block; SCAI: Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention; SD: standard deviation; SDD: same day discharge; ST: standard therapy; STS PROM: society of thoracic surgeons predicted risk of mortality; TAVR: transcatheter aortic valve replacement; TF: transfemoral; THV: transcatheter heart valve; TTE: transthoracic echocardiogram; VARC: Valve Academic Research Consortium.

Normal and Abnormal Relationships of Pulmonary Artery to Wedge Pressure During Exercise.

Background Resting right heart catheterization can assess both left heart filling and pulmonary artery (PA) pressures to identify and classify pulmonary hypertension. Although exercise may further elucidate hemodynamic abnormalities, current pulmonary hypertension classifications do not consider the expected interrelationship between PA and left heart filling pressures. This study explored the utility of this relationship to enhance the classification of exercise hemodynamic phenotypes in pulmonary hypertension. Methods and Results Data from 36 healthy individuals (55, 50-60 years, 50% male) and 85 consecutive patients (60, 49-71 years, 48% male) with dyspnea and/or suspected pulmonary hypertension of uncertain etiology were analyzed. Right heart catheterization was performed at rest and during semiupright submaximal cycling. To classify exercise phenotypes in patients, upper 95% CIs were identified from the healthy individuals for the change from rest to exercise in mean PA pressure over cardiac output (ΔmPAP/ΔCO ≤3.2 Wood units [WU]), pulmonary artery wedge pressure over CO (ΔPAWP/ΔCO ≤2 mm Hg/L per minute), and exercise PA pulse pressure over PAWP (PP/PAWP ≤2.5). Among patients with a ΔmPAP/ΔCO ≤3.2 WU, the majority (84%) demonstrated a ΔPAWP/ΔCO ≤2 mm Hg/L per minute, yet 23% demonstrated an exercise PP/PAWP >2.5. Among patients with a ΔmPAP/ΔCO >3.2 WU, 37% had an exercise PP/PAWP >2.5 split between ΔPAWP/ΔCO groups. Patients with normal hemodynamic classification declined from 52% at rest to 36% with exercise. Conclusions The addition of PP/PAWP to classify exercise hemodynamics uncovers previously unrecognized abnormal phenotypes within each ΔmPAP/ΔCO group. Our study refines abnormal exercise hemodynamic phenotypes based on an understanding of the interrelationship between PA and left heart filling pressures.

Periprocedural Outcomes of Fluoroscopy-Guided Patent Foramen Ovale Closure With Selective Use of Intracardiac Echocardiography.

BACKGROUND: Recent randomized trials have confirmed the role of patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure in the secondary prevention of cryptogenic stroke. Guidelines have suggested a central role for intraprocedural imaging using intracardiac echocardiography (ICE). However, this modality may not be required to achieve safe and effective closure. We aimed to examine the periprocedural outcomes of PFO closure retrospectively, using fluoroscopic guidance in patients with cryptogenic stroke, with provisional ICE guidance driven by anatomic and procedural factors. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of consecutive patients who underwent PFO closure in a single centre using the Amplatzer PFO occluder (AGA Medical Corporation, Plymouth, Minnesota) for cryptogenic stroke was conducted. Outcomes analyzed included procedural data, periprocedural complications, length of stay, and factors contributing to the use of intraprocedural imaging. RESULTS: Between 2006 and 2017, 467 patients underwent PFO closure for cryptogenic stroke with the Amplatzer PFO occluder; 381 patients underwent closure with fluoroscopy alone, and 86 with ICE and fluoroscopic guidance. Periprocedural arrhythmic complications occurred in 1.3% in the fluoroscopy group and 1.2% in the ICE group (P = 1.000). Vascular complications occurred in 0.5% in the fluoroscopy group and 2.3% (P = 0.323) in the ICE group. One device embolized requiring surgical intervention. There was no in-hospital mortality or stroke. Same-day discharge occurred in 97.6% of patients. CONCLUSION: Our single-centre experience suggests that PFO closure can be safely conducted under fluoroscopic guidance alone with provisional adjunctive ICE use limited to specific anatomic situations.

The Vancouver 3M (Multidisciplinary, Multimodality, But Minimalist) Clinical Pathway Facilitates Safe Next-Day Discharge Home at Low-, Medium-, and High-Volume Transfemoral Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Centers: The 3M TAVR Study.

OBJECTIVES: The authors sought to prospectively determine the safety and efficacy of next-day discharge using the Vancouver 3M (Multidisciplinary, Multimodality, but Minimalist) Clinical Pathway. BACKGROUND: Transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is an alternative to surgery in high- and intermediate-risk patients; however, hospital stays average at least 6 days in most trials. The Vancouver 3M Clinical Pathway is focused on next-day discharge, made possible by the use of objective screening criteria as well as streamlined peri- and post-procedural management guidelines. METHODS: Patients were enrolled from 6 low-volume (<100 TAVR/year), 4 medium-volume, and 3 high-volume (>200 TAVR/year) centers in Canada and the United States. The primary outcomes were a composite of all-cause death or stroke by 30 days and the proportion of patients successfully discharged home the day following TAVR. RESULTS: Of 1,400 screened patients, 411 were enrolled at 13 centers and received a SAPIEN XT (58.2%) or SAPIEN 3 (41.8%) valve (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, California). In centers enrolling exclusively in the study, 55% of screened patients were enrolled. The median age was 84 years (interquartile range: 78 to 87 years) with a median STS score of 4.9% (interquartile range: 3.3% to 6.8%). Next-day discharge home was achieved in 80.1% of patients, and within 48 h in 89.5%. The composite of all-cause mortality or stroke by 30 days occurred in 2.9% (95% confidence interval: 1.7% to 5.1%), with neither component of the primary outcome affected by hospital TAVR volume (p = 0.51). Secondary outcomes at 30 days included major vascular complication 2.4% (n = 10), readmission 9.2% (n = 36), cardiac readmission 5.7% (n = 22), new permanent pacemaker 5.7% (n = 23), and >mild paravalvular regurgitation 3.8% (n = 15). CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to the Vancouver 3M Clinical Pathway at low-, medium-, and high-volume TAVR centers allows next-day discharge home with excellent safety and efficacy outcomes.

A UV-blocking polymer shell prevents one-photon photoreactions while allowing multi-photon processes in encapsulated upconverting nanoparticles.

Sun block for nanoparticles: Unintentional photorelease triggered by UV light is a problem in photodynamic therapy. Encapsulating upconverting nanoparticles containing photoswitches in a UV-blocking amphiphilic polymer shuts down the one-photon process and only allows two-photon-driven photochemistry. Thus, UV light is blocked while NIR light can reach the nanoparticle core and trigger photorelease.