Background Ureteroarterial fistula (UAF) is a rare but potentially life threatening disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of endovascular therapy for UAF treatment. Methods This retrospective case series evaluates a single center experience of percutaneous stent graft (SG) angioplasty and/or coil embolization for UAF. Patient follow-up included technical and early clinical success, complications and revisional procedures. We also conducted a systematic review of the literature reporting on endovascular UAF management. Results We identified 17 UAF in 16 patients (12 male, 4 female, mean age 69.8 ± 11.3 years) who underwent endovascular UAF therapy at our tertiary hospital. All patients presented with hematuria. 5/17 (29.4%) presented with flank pain, in 7 (41.2%) cases patients were in hypovolemic shock. Risk factors of UAF included chronic indwelling ureteral stents in all fistulas, major pelvic surgery in 13 cases (76.5%). In 6 cases (35.3%) SG were placed from the common iliac artery (CIA) to the external iliac artery (EIA) following coil embolization of the proximal internal iliac artery (IIA). SG placement without previous coil embolization was performed in 10 fistulas (58.8%). In one case only coil embolization of the IIA was performed. Mean follow-up was 654 (range: 1–3269) days. All procedures were technically successful and no procedure related deaths occurred during follow-up. During the initial hospital stay hematuria disappeared in 14/17 cases (82.4%). Overall, four patients suffered recurrent hematuria, which in three cases resolved after a secondary intervention. One recurrent UAF related death occurred during follow-up 229 days after initial treatment. A total of 152 UAF cases were additionally analyzed from our systematic literature review: SG placement with or without embolization was performed in 140 cases (92.1%) while embolization alone was done in 12 cases (7.9%). Complications included UAF recurrence (18/152, 11.8%), SG thrombosis (7/140, 5%), and SG infections (5/140, 3.6%) with an overall complications rate of 13.8%. Five patients died due to UAF (3.3%). Conclusion Endovascular therapy offers high technical success rates and rapid bleeding control of UAF. Severe complications like SG occlusions or SG infections are rare but significant. Antibiotic treatment and single anti-platelet therapy improve SG durability as well as close and long follow-up to timely perform repeated endovascular or surgical treatment if necessary. Evidence-based medicine Level 4, case series.

OBJECTIVES Normal pulmonary artery (PA) diameter remains blurred and the definitions of PA aneurysm are heterogenous. We aimed to assess PA diameters, identify a threshold for normal diameters, define PA aneurysms, possible predictors of PA size and evaluate the correlation with mid-ascending aortic diameters. METHODS Between April 2018 and August 2019, 497 consecutive patients who underwent whole-body computed tomographic angiography were reviewed. Clinical and imaging data were collected from our institutional database. Precise three-dimensional centreline measurements were taken. Linear regression analysis was performed to detect parameters associated with PA diameter. A two-stage model was created to identify potential predictors and the resulting statistically significant interactions were tested. Data were grouped and PA, standard deviation, and upper normal limits were calculated. RESULTS Among 497 patients with an average age of 51.4 (20.2) (74.6% males), the mean PA diameter measured 32.0 (4.6) mm [female: 31.2 (4.7) mm vs male: 32.2 (4.5) mm; P = 0.032]. The mean PA length, left PA and right PA diameters were similar between male and female patients. We found a significant correlation (r = 0.352; P < 0.001) between the PAs and mid-ascending aortic diameters. Body surface area (P = 0.032, β = 4.52 [0.40; 8.64] 95% CI) was the only significant influencing variable for PA diameter. CONCLUSIONS The normal mean PA diameter in a reference cohort is 32.0 (4.6) mm. Body surface area is the only influencing variable of PA diameter. The normal diameters measured and corresponding upper limits of normal revealed that a PA aneurysm should not be considered below a threshold of 45 mm.

Due to the increasing heterogeneity and dynamics of the economy, more and more enterprises are challenged to adapt continuously to rapid changes, to concentrate on their core competencies as well as to search for competitive advantages and innovations (e.g., Prahalad & Hamel, 1990). Rapid technological advances and altered customer demands create a new dynamic and complex business environment, which requires flexibility and mobility of enterprises (Camarinha-Matos, 2002). For these reasons, different enterprises have to cooperate in order to meet customer needs effectively, to encounter the contemporary prevalent high competition and innovation pressure as well as to be permanently successful in largely saturated markets. In this respect, the opening of an organization’s borders is no longer regarded as a necessary evil but rather as an opportunity of strategic importance. Current approaches mainly focus on the cross-enterprise integration of data, functions, and processes for operational purposes within such collaborative business structures (e.g., Adam, Chikova, Hofer, & Vanderhaeghen, 2005; Grefen, Aberer, Hoffner, & Ludwig, 2001; Schulz, 2002). The driving force behind such activities is to generate a win-win-situation for all partners, whether by creating new structures or by adapting the existing ones, realizing an optimization objective. However, how do you measure if this postulated win-win situation by concentration on core competences is really achieved? The question is: Has the cooperation yielded the objectives that had been determined in the run-up? Is the cooperation really as successful as it was intended to be or can it be improved?

No abstract