April 2016

|
Volume 28 Issue 4
A Paradigm Shift Toward Forearm Arterial Access Requires Establishing Preprocedure Adequacy of Hand Collateralization or Patency of Collateralizing Forearm Arteries
The authors offer their opinion on forearm arterial access and the January 2016 article by Gokhroo et al.  
Balloon-Assisted Microdissection "BAM" Technique for Balloon-Uncrossable Chronic Total Occlusions
We evaluated the safety and efficacy of the balloon-assisted microdissection (BAM) technique for treating balloon-uncrossable chronic total occlusion lesions.
Side-Branch Occlusions in Coronary CTO-PCI: Avoid or Forget?
The results of the Nguyen-Trong study are hypothesis generating and encourage further investigation into the importance of SB loss during CTO-PCI. Should additional studies find conclusively worse outcomes following SB loss, it will become important…
Spontaneous Echo Contrast and TAVR: A Smoking Gun?
Overall, as the use of TAVR continues to expand, the role for identifying which patients are at a higher risk of an adverse outcome post procedure has become increasingly important.
Spontaneous Echocardiographic Contrast in the Left Atrium During Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement is Associated With Worse Outcomes
We assessed the impact of spontaneous echocardiographic contrast on outcomes after TAVR by retrospectively reviewing the medical records of 93 consecutive patients who underwent TAVR at a single center.
Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Severely Calcified Unprotected Left Main Coronary Artery Disease: Initial Experience With Orbital Atherectomy
We retrospectively report clinical outcomes of 14 patients who underwent PCI with orbital atherectomy for severely calcified ULMCA disease from May 2014 to July 2015.
Percutaneous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: The Newest Iteration of Temporary Mechanical Support for the Left Ventricle
Use of objective scoring systems, additional operator experience with newer devices, and additional clinical trials will hopefully help clinicians accurately identify patients who will derive benefit from temporary LV support.
Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score at Presentation Predicts Survival in Patients Treated With Percutaneous Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
A study on demographic, clinical, and procedural determinants of outcomes in patients treated with percutaneous VA-ECMO initiated in the cath lab.  
Predictors and Outcomes of Side-Branch Occlusion in Coronary Chronic Total Occlusion Interventions
An investigation on whether side-branch loss during CTO-PCI could adversely impact clinical outcomes. 
Impact of Contrast Dose Reduction on Incidence of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) Among Patients Undergoing PCI: A Modeling Study
This study estimates projected reduction in the burden of AKI in association with contrast media dose reduction in PCI patients.