Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will select 98 hospitals in metropolitan areas to take part in a 5-year mandatory program to test a bundled-payment model for myocardial infarction and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures, the July 25 Modern Healthcare reports. CMS will also expand…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 1 issued a safety alert that the agency had received reports of US patients infected with Mycobacterium chimaera after undergoing cardiothoracic surgery that involved the use of the Stockert 3T Heater-Cooler System by Sorin Group Deustchland GmbH. Efforts are underway…

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Editor's Note In this study, patient factors, hospital case volume, and practice patterns were found to be associated with in-hospital mortality after elective abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. Of 166, 443 AAA repairs performed at 1,207 hospitals, in-hospital mortality was 0.7% for endovascular AAA repair and 3.8% for open AAA…

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Editor's Note By 2035, cardiothoracic surgeons will be responsible for more than 850,000 surgical patients, a 61% increase from 2010, according to this study presented May 17 at the annual meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery in Baltimore. Cases per surgeon per year in 2010 averaged 135 for…

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Editor's Note A new long-acting cardioplegia solution resulted in better outcomes for pediatric cardiac surgery patients in this study, presented May 16 at the annual meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery in Baltimore. Researchers randomized 100 pediatric patients to the new Del Nido solution or the conventional St…

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Editor's Note The use of moderate sedation leads to better outcomes than general anesthesia for patients having transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), finds a study presented May 6 at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. Of 10,997 patients included in the study, 1,737 received…

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Editor's Note In intermediate-risk patients, outcomes (ie, death from any cause or disabling stroke) of transcatheter aortic-valve replacement (TAVR) were similar to conventional open aortic-valve replacement, this study finds. The study involved 2,032 patients: 1,011 were randomized to TAVR and 1,021 to open surgery. Previous studies have shown that survival rates…

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Editor's Note Patients undergoing minimally invasive mitral valve repair or replacement (mini-MVR) have similar outcomes as patients having traditional open procedures and also experience shorter hospital stays and fewer blood transfusions, finds this study. The study included 1,304 patients, including 425 mini-MVRs. Compared with traditional MVR, Mini-MVR patients had similar…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 11 announced the Class I recall of  Arrow International Intra-Aortic Balloon Catheter Kits and Percutaneous Insertion Kits by Teleflex Incorporated (Wayne, Pennsylvania). Class I is the FDA’s most serious recall classification. The Kits are being recalled because the sheath body…

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Editor's Note Working 46 hours per week or more increases the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), this study finds. Beginning at 46 hours, increasing work hours were progressively associated with increased risk of CVD (ie, angina, coronary disease, heart failure, heart attack, high blood pressure, or stroke). Compared to…

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