ObjectivesA substantial number of patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and congestive heart failure (CHF) are medically managed without undergoing corrective surgery. We sought to assess the characteristics and outcomes of CHF patients who underwent tricuspid valve surgery (TVS), compared with those who did not.MethodsRetrospective observational study involving 2556 consecutive patients with severe TR from the Cleveland Clinic Echocardiographic Database. Cardiac transplant patients or those without CHF were excluded. Survival difference between patients who were medically managed versus those who underwent TVS was compared using Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify variables associated with poor outcomes.ResultsAmong a total of 534 patients with severe TR and CHF, only 55 (10.3%) patients underwent TVS. Among the non-surgical patients (n=479), 30% (n=143) had an identifiable indication for TVS. At 38 months, patients who underwent TVS had better survival than those who were medically managed (62% vs 35%; p<0.001). On multivariate analysis, advancing age (HR: 1.23; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.35 per 10-year increase in age), moderate (HR: 1.39; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.90) and severe (HR: 2; 95% CI 1.40 to 2.80) right ventricular dysfunction were associated with higher mortality. TVS was associated with lower mortality (HR: 0.44; 95% CI 0.27 to 0.71).ConclusionAlthough corrective TVS is associated with better outcomes in patients with severe TR and CHF, a substantial number of them continue to be medically managed. However, since the reasons for patients not being referred to surgery could not be ascertained, further randomised studies are needed to validate our findings before clinicians can consider surgical referral for these patients.

Background: Seizures are the most frequent neurological manifestation in neonates. Prevalence of neonatal seizures has not been well described in relationship with gestational age (GA). Also, the impact of seizures on neonatal mortality has not been quantified. This study aims to determine 1) prevalence of neonatal seizures in all GA groups, 2) associated mortality in each GA group and 3) impact of seizures on length of stay (LOS) of survivors in each GA group. Methods: Data from the national Kids' Inpatient Database (KID) for the years 2006, 2009 and 2012 was used in the study. All admitted infants with a documented GA were included in the study. All categorical variables were analyzed using Chi-square test, continuous variables were analyzed using t-test, and logistic regression analysis used to calculate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: A total of 10, 572,209 infants were included, of whom 4400 infants (0.04%) had seizures. The highest prevalence was at 24 weeks (0.12%). Overall mortality rate of patients with seizures was 4% with OR Z 2.24 (95% CI Z 1.90e2.65, p < 0.001). The correlation of seizure with mortality was significant after 33 weeks GA with greatest impact at 33e36 weeks GA (OR Z 46.38 (95% CI Z 26.86e80.08, p < 0.001). Seizures were associated with increased median LOS from 2 to 4 days (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The prevalence of seizures varies according to gestational age ranging from 0.02% to 0.12%. The highest prevalence is at 24 weeks GA. The greatest impact for seizures on mortality is at 33e36 weeks GA.

Objectives: Pneumothorax (PTX) in newborns is a life-threatening condition associated with high morbidity and mortality especially in premature infants. The frequency of PTX in neonates at different gestational ages (GA) and its impact on neonatal mortality have not been quantified. We aimed to determine: (1) the prevalence of PTX in neonates at different GA from ≤24 to ≥37 weeks, (2) the impact of PTX on mortality per GA, and (3) the impact of PTX on the length of stay (LOS) per GA.Methods: The national Kids' Inpatient Database for the years of 2006-2012 were used. We included all infants admitted to the hospital with a documented GA and International Classification of Disease 9 code of PTX. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted and odds ratios (OR) were calculated.Results: A total of 10,625,036 infants were included; of them 3665 infants (0.034%) had a diagnosis of PTX, with highest prevalence at ≤24 weeks GA (0.67%), and lowest at term (0.02%). The overall mortality rate of patients with PTX was 8.8%, and greater in preterm (16.3%) versus term infants (2.7%). The association of mortality with PTX was greatest at GA of 29-32 weeks (OR = 8.55; 95% confidence interval: 6.56-11.13). Infants who survived until discharge had a median of 2-12 days longer LOS depending on GA category.

BackgroundSyncope accounts for 0.6% to 1.5% of hospitalizations in the United States. We sought to determine the causes and predictors of 30‐day readmission in patients with syncope.Methods and ResultsWe identified 323 250 encounters with a primary diagnosis of syncope/collapse in the 2013–2014 Nationwide Readmissions Database. We excluded patients younger than 18 years, those discharged in December, those who died during hospitalization, hospital transfers, and those whose length of stay was missing. We used multivariable logistic regression analysis to evaluate the association between baseline characteristics and 30‐day readmission. A total of 282 311 syncope admissions were included. The median age was 72 years (interquartile range, 58–83), 53.9% were women, and 9.3% had 30‐day readmission. The most common cause of 30‐day readmissions was syncope/collapse, followed by cardiac, neurological, and infectious causes. Characteristics associated with 30‐day readmissions were age 65 years and older (odds ratio [OR], 0.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.6–0.7), female sex (OR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.8–0.9), congestive heart failure (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.2–1.9), atrial fibrillation/flutter (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.3–1.4), diabetes mellitus (OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.2–1.3), coronary artery disease (OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.2–1.3), anemia (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.4–1.5), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.3–1.4), home with home healthcare disposition (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.5–1.6), leaving against medical advice (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.6–1.9), length of stay of 3 to 5 days (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.4–1.6) or >5 days (OR, 2; 95% CI, 1.8–2), and having private insurance (OR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.6–0.7).ConclusionsThe 30‐day readmission rate after syncope/collapse was 9.3%. We identified causes and risk factors associated with readmission. Future prospective studies are needed to derive risk‐stratification models to reduce the high burden of readmissions.

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