Successful aortic valve replacement by overexpanding a SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve for a large aortic annulus (>900†mm2): a case report.

Background: There are limited commercial valve sizes available for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). This makes it challenging or even prohibitive to perform TAVI on large aortic annuli. Case summary: A 78-year-old male with known low-flow, low-gradient severe aortic stenosis presented with progressive dyspnoea, chest pressure, and decompensated heart failure. Successful off-label TAVI was performed for tricuspid aortic valve stenosis with an aortic annulus of >900 mm2. An Edwards S3 29 mm valve was overexpanded with an extra 7 mL of volume at valve deployment. No complications occurred, and only trivial paravalvular leak was seen following implantation. The patient died from a non-cardiovascular cause 8 months following the procedure. Discussion: Patients that require aortic valve replacement with prohibitive surgical risk and have very large aortic valve annuli pose significant technical challenges. This case shows the feasibility of TAVI by overexpanding an Edwards S3 valve.

Interhospital Variability in Utilization of Cardioversion for Atrial Fibrillation in the Emergency Department.

The role for direct current cardioversion (DCCV) in the management of atrial fibrillation (AF) in the emergency department (ED) is unclear. Factors associated with DCCV in current practice are not well described, nor is the variation across patients and institutions. All ED encounters with a primary diagnosis of AF were identified from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample from 2006 to 2017. The independent association of patient and hospital factors with use of DCCV was assessed using multivariable hierarchical logistic regression. The relative contributions of patient, hospital, and unmeasured hospital factors were assessed using reference effect measures methods. Among 1,280,914 visits to 3,264 EDs with primary diagnosis of AF, 31,422 patients (2.4%) underwent DCCV in the ED. History of stroke (odds ratio [OR] 0.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.09 to 0.22, p <0.001) and dementia (OR 0.14, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.19, p <0.001) was associated with lowest odds of DCCV. Comparing patients more likely to receive DCCV (ninety-fifth percentile) with patients with median risk, the influence of unmeasured hospital factors (OR 14.13, 95% CI 12.55 to 16.09) exceeded the contributions of patient (OR 5.66, 95% CI 5.28 to 6.15) and measured hospital factors (OR 3.89, 95% CI 2.87 to 5.60). In conclusion, DCCV use in the ED varied widely across institutions. Disproportionately large unmeasured hospital variation suggests that presenting hospital is the most determinative factor in the use of DCCV for ED management of AF. Clarification is needed on best practices for management of AF in the ED, including the use of DCCV.

Retzius-sparing robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: racial considerations for 250 consecutive cases.

Our objective is to report the functional and oncologic outcomes of a cohort of 250 consecutive prostate cancer patients undergoing a Retzius-sparing approach and to assess for racial differences in continence outcomes. This was a prospective, single-center, case series of 250 consecutive prostate cancer patients who underwent a Retzius-sparing robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy by a single surgeon between May 2015 and April 2019. Our primary objective was to report post-operative continence outcomes of patients undergoing this technique. Continence was defined as using zero or one precautionary pad per day. Median follow-up was 24.0 months [interquartile range (IQR) 18.0-30.0 months]. Median age and body mass index were 62.0 years (IQR 57.0-67.0) and 29.0 kg/m2 (IQR 26.0-33.0), respectively. Median PSA was 8.22 ng/ml (IQR 5.74-13.31). 84.8% of patients were intermediate risk or high risk pre-operatively, as per AUA/ASTRO/SUO guidelines. 96.0% had Gleason Score 7 or worse disease on final pathologic analysis. Positive margin incidence was 18.1% and 44.4% in patients with pT2 and pT3 disease, respectively, of which 75.4% were unifocal. Immediate continence (i.e., continence achieved within 1 month post-operatively) was achieved in 45.2% of patients. Three-month and 1-year continence rates were 70.0% and 92.0%, respectively. Caucasian patients experienced earlier return of continence (77% versus 65% at 3 months) compared to African American patients. IPSS scores gradually improved from 8.0 pre-operatively to 4.0 1-year later. Median PSA level was 0.01 ng/ml (IQR 0.01-9.01) post-operatively. Retzius-sparing robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is an oncologically safe surgical technique with excellent short- and long-term continence outcomes. Caucasian patients may have earlier return of continence compared to African Americans.

Mucopolysaccharidosis Type I Diagnosed by Aortic and Mitral Valve Replacement.

A 32-year-old developmentally delayed man presenting with dyspnea was found to have severe aortic and mitral valve stenosis. After double valve replacement, unique histologic findings prompted a genetics evaluation, ultimately leading to the diagnosis of mucopolysaccharidosis type I, a rare lysosomal storage disorder with high rates of cardiac manifestations. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.).