Endovascular carotid revascularization under open-chest extracorporeal circulation combined with cardiac surgery in unstable patients at increased risk of carotid-related stroke: SIMultaneous urgent cardiac surgery and MicroNet-covered stent carotid revascularization in extreme-risk patients-SIMGUARD Study.

BACKGROUND: In patients at urgent need for cardiac surgery coexisting with increased-stroke-risk carotid stenosis, any staged intervention increases the risk of complications from the primarily unaddressed pathology. In this challenging cohort, we assessed safety and feasibility of endovascular carotid revascularization under open-chest extracorporeal circulation (ECC) combined with cardiac surgery (hybrid-room true simultaneous treatment). METHODS: Per-protocol (PP), after general anesthesia induction, chest-opening and ECC stand-by installation, carotid stenting (CAS) was performed (femoral/radial or direct carotid access) with ad-hoc/on-hand switch to ECC cardiac surgery. RESULTS: Over 78 months, 60 patients (70.7±6.9years, 85% male, all American Society of Anesthesiology grade IV) were enrolled. All were at increased carotid-related stroke risk (ipsilateral recent stroke/transient ischemick attack, asymptomatic cerebral infarct, increased-risk lesion morphology, bilateral severe stenosis). Majority of study procedures involved CAS+coronary bypass surgery or CAS+valve replacement±coronary bypass. 45 (75%) patients were PP- and 15 (25%) not-PP (NPP-) managed (context therapy). CAS was 100% neuroprotected (transient flow reversal-64.4%, filters-35.6%) and employed micronet-covered plaque-sequestrating stents with routine post-dilatation optimization/embedding. 4 deaths (6.7%) and 7 strokes (11.7%) occurred by 30-days. Despite CAS+surgery performed on aspirin and unfractionated heparin-only (delayed clopidogrel-loading), no thrombosis occurred in the stented arteries, and 30-days stent patency was 100%. NPP-management significantly increased the risk of death/ipsilateral stroke (OR 38.5; P<0.001) and death/any stroke (OR 12.3; P=0.002) by 30-days. CONCLUSIONS: In cardiac unstable patients at increased carotid-related stroke risk who require urgent cardiac surgery, simultaneous cardiac surgery and CAS with micronet-covered stent lesion sequestration is feasible and safe and shows efficacy in minimizing stroke risk. Larger-scale, multicentric evaluation is warranted. (SIMGUARD NCT04973579).

Practical aspects of drug interactions in the pharmacotherapy in otolaryngology, or the seven cardinal sins of pharmacological treatment in otolaryngological practice.

Drug interactions are a growing problem in the practice of otolaryngology. The use of drugs in patients treated with polypharmacy generates the risk of adverse drug interactions which requires specialized knowledge and active prevention. The most common interactions encountered by ENT physicians are identified on the basis of the analysis of medical order sheets and discussed in the article.

Angel(®) Catheter use for pulmonary embolism prophylaxis in a polytrauma patient.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the successful, clinical use of the Angel(®) Catheter, a device used for the prevention of pulmonary embolism (PE) and central venous access in a critically ill, multi-trauma patient. METHODS: Authors report the case of a 35-year-old man, in critical condition with multiple trauma injuries sustained from a fall, who was admitted to the Department of Rescue Medicine and Multiorgan Trauma in Krakow, Poland. RESULTS: Anticoagulation was interrupted due to the risk of intraoperative bleeding. Due to the continued presence of multiple VTE risk factors, the Angel(®) Catheter was placed at the bedside for the prevention of PE. At the time of removal, a CT scan demonstrated a filling defect, consistent with a fine emboli caught inside the filter. After removal, thrombus was found lodged in the tip of the catheter filter. CONCLUSIONS: The Angel(®) Catheter protected this critically ill, multi-trauma patient from PE at a time when current methods otherwise used for the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE), specifically antithrombotic pharmacologic agents and mechanical compression, were contraindicated due to the patient's complex clinical condition. Unlike other invasive techniques used for the prevention of PE, the Angel(®) Catheter also provided the convenience and expedience of bedside placement, eliminating the mandatory involvement of interventional radiologists or vascular surgeons, the need for specialised equipment, and movement of the patient which delay the procedure, increasing the risk of thromboembolic events.