BackgroundAdvanced carcinoma of the head represents a substantial health problem in cats for local control and overall survival.ObjectivesEvaluate the capability of electrochemotherapy (ECT) to improve bleomycin efficacy in cats with periocular carcinoma and advanced carcinoma of the head.AnimalsTwenty‐one cats with periocular carcinoma (17 squamous cell carcinoma [SCC] and 4 anaplastic carcinoma) and 26 cats with advanced SCC of the head.MethodsNonrandomized prospective controlled study. Periocular carcinoma cohorts: 12 cats were treated with bleomycin (15 mg/m2 IV) coupled with ECT under anesthesia; 9 cats were treated with bleomycin alone. Advanced head SCC cohorts: 14 cats were treated with bleomycin (15 mg/m2 IV) coupled with ECT administered under sedation; 12 control cats were treated with bleomycin alone. ECT treatments (2–8) were performed every other week until complete remission (CR) or tumor progression occurred.ResultsToxicities were minimal and mostly treated symptomatically. Overall response rate in the ECT treated animals was 89% (21 Complete Response [CR] and 2 Partial Response [PR]) whereas controls had response rate of 33% (4 CR and 3 PR). Median time to progression in ECT group was 30.5 months, whereas in controls it was 3.9 months (P < .0001). Median time to progression for ECT cohorts was 24.2 months for periocular cohort and 20.6 in advanced head SCC cohort, respectively.ConclusionsElectrochemotherapy is well tolerated for advanced SCC of the head in cats; its use may be considered among loco‐regional strategies for cancer therapy in sensitive body regions such as periocular region.

Histotripsy is a noninvasive therapeutic technique that uses ultrasound generated from outside the body to create controlled cavitation in targeted tissue, and fractionates it into acellular debris. We have developed a new histotripsy approach, termed microtripsy, to improve targeting accuracy and to avoid collateral tissue damage. This in vivo study evaluates the safety and efficacy of microtripsy for noninvasive thrombolysis in a porcine deep vein thrombosis (DVT) model. Acute thrombi were formed in left femoral veins of pigs (~35 kg) by occluding the vessel using two balloon catheters and infusing with thrombin. Guided by real-time ultrasound imaging, microtripsy thrombolysis treatment was conducted in 14 pigs. 10 pigs were euthanized on the same day (acute) and 4 at 2 weeks (subacute). To evaluate vessel damage, 30-min free-flow treatment in right femoral vein (no thrombus) was also conducted in 8 acute pigs. Blood flow was successfully restored or significantly increased after treatment in 13 out of the 14 pigs. The flow channels reopened by microtripsy had a diameter up to 64% of the vessel diameter (~6 mm). The average treatment time was 16 minute per cm-long thrombus. Only mild intravascular hemolysis was induced during microtripsy thrombolysis. No damage was observed on vessel walls after two weeks of recovery, venous valves were preserved, and there was no sign of pulmonary embolism. The results of this study indicate that microtripsy has the potential to be a safe and effective treatment for DVT in a porcine model.

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Many survivors of sudden cardiac death (SCD) have normal global ventricular function and severe coronary artery disease but no evidence of symptomatic ischemia or infarction before the development of lethal ventricular arrhythmias, and the trigger for ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular fibrillation (VF) remains unclear. We sought to identify the role of spontaneous ischemia and temporal hemodynamic factors preceding SCD using continuous telemetry of left ventricular (LV) pressure and the ECG for periods up to 5 mo in swine (n = 37) with hibernating myocardium who experience spontaneous VT/VF in the absence of heart failure or infarction. Hemodynamics and ST deviation at the time of VT/VF were compared with survivors with hibernating myocardium as well as sham controls. All episodes of VT/VF occurred during sympathetic activation and were initiated by single premature ventricular contractions, and the VT degenerated into VF in ∼ 30 s. ECG evidence of ischemia was infrequent and no different from those that survived. Baseline hemodynamics were no different among groups, but LV end-diastolic pressure during sympathetic activation was higher at the time of SCD (37 ± 4 vs. 26 ± 4 mmHg, P < 0.05) and the ECG demonstrated QT shortening (155 ± 4 vs. 173 ± 5 ms, P < 0.05). The week before SCD, both parameters were no different from survivors. These data indicate that there are no differences in the degree of sympathetic activation or hemodynamic stress when VT/VF develops in swine with hibernating myocardium. The transiently elevated LV end-diastolic pressure and QT shortening preceding VT/VF raises the possibility that electrocardiographically silent subendocardial ischemia and/or mechanoelectrical feedback serve as a trigger for the development of SCD in chronic ischemic heart disease.

Thousands of children experience a cardiac arrest event in the hospital each year, with more than half of these patients not surviving to hospital discharge. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) depth, rate, velocity and percentage of high-quality chest compressions are modifiable factors associated with improved survival. Therefore, we created a novel and standardised process to track and analyse cardiac arrests in the Duke paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Our aim was to identify areas for improved American Heart Association (AHA) compliance and implement education and communication-based initiatives to enhance early recognition of at-risk patients leading to improved outcomes. From January 2017 to December 2018, all cardiac arrests in our PICU were tracked, reviewed and presented at monthly morbidity and mortality conference. We used the data to track compliance with AHA guidelines and identify opportunities for improvement. Through these efforts, we established a multidisciplinary cardiac arrest education and review programme. Over the 2-year period, we tracked 45 cardiac arrests, which comprised 2% of all PICU admissions. In 2017, during the first year of development, 16 of 22 arrests (73%) were not reported to code committee members in time for complete review. Of the six cardiac arrests with complete reviews, only 17% followed AHA guidelines. In 2018, all 23 arrest events were communicated and 76% of resuscitations were found to be compliant with AHA guidelines. Survival of patients to discharge was 47% in 2017 and increased to 63% in 2018 with similar percentage of PICU admissions having a cardiac arrest between the 2 years. The primary aim of this project was to establish a multidisciplinary comprehensive cardiac arrest review process. This programme allowed for comprehensive analysis of individual events, promoted quality improvement initiatives and improved consistent delivery of high-quality CPR.