Pulmonary endarterectomy is associated with a low in-hospital mortality rate and improvements in hemodynamics and exercise capacity.

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BACKGROUND:The IMACS Registry compiles and analyzes worldwide data from patients undergoing implantation of durable left ventricular assist devices. METHODS: Data encompassing 16,286 LVAD recipients from 4 collectives and 24 individual hospitals was collected and analyzed. In this 3rd annual report we compare and contrast outcomes, adverse events and risks factors between axial flow and centrifugal flow device recipients. RESULTS: Significant differences were found in the baseline characteristics of axial vs centrifugal flow LVAD recipients. Survival was similar between pump types. INTERMACS profile 1-3 constitute 85% of implants. A survival gap persists in destination therapy compared to bridge patients. RVAD need and delay impact survival dramatically. Centrifugal flow outperforms axial flow recipients in regards to GI bleeding and freedom from hemocompatibility related adverse events. No significant difference in the actuarial freedom from all strokes or either stroke subtype (hemorrhagic or ischemic) was seen among the two types of pumps. New end points to guide decision making are proposed. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate a transition from axial to centrifugal flow with four-year survival that approximates 60%. A high frequency of adverse events remains an impediment to the wider adoption of these technologies. In the future, composite study endpoints examining life quality and adverse events beyond survival may help in shared decision making prior to MCS implant, and may provide the requisite data to support extension of MCS therapy into the lesser ill heart failure population.

Objective: To evaluate the relation between cerebral tissue oxygenation index (TOI), measured with spatially resolved spectroscopy (SRS), and the different oxygenation parameters. To evaluate the relation between a new parameter named fractional tissue oxygen extraction (FTOE) and the cerebral fractional oxygen extraction (FOE). Methods: Six newborn piglets were measured at 33, 35, and 37°C and in hypocapnia. Mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), haemoglobin (Hb), peripheral oxygen saturation (S_aO₂) and P_aCO₂ were measured at each step. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured by injection of coloured microspheres into the left atrium. Jugular bulb oxygen saturation (JVS), cerebral arterial and venous oxygen content (C_aO₂ and C_vO₂) and FOE were calculated. TOI of the brain was calculated and FTOE was introduced as (S_aO₂ – TOI)/S_aO₂. The correlation was calculated with an ANCOVA test. Results: There was a positive correlation (R = 0.4 and p = 0.011) between TOI and JVS. No correlation was found with CBF, MABP or Hb. There was a positive correlation between P_aCO₂ and cerebral TOI (R = 0.24 and p = 0.03). FTOE correlated well with FOE (R = 0.4 and p = 0.016) and there was a negative correlation between FTOE and P_aCO₂ (R = 0.24, p = 0.03). Conclusion: The measurement of TOI and FTOE by SRS correlated well with the cerebral venous saturation and FOE, respectively.

RV function of CTEPH patients improves steadily after PEA. Unlike S, SR and RVFAC, this is not reflected by TAPSE because of postoperative changes in overall heart motion. Motion independent deformation parameters (S, SR) appear superior in the accurate description of regional RV function.