Cheryl Raskind-Hood^1,*, Kashaine A. Gray^2,3, Jayne Morgan³, Wendy M. Book^4,*

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.16, No.4, pp. 333-355, 2021, DOI:10.32604/CHD.2021.014384 - 19 April 2021

Abstract Early intervention to prevent premature mortality is vital for adults with congenital heart defects (CHD). Anatomic complexity and comorbid conditions are thought to contribute to CHD mortality. Since hypertension (HTN) and heart failure (HF) are the comorbid conditions among the most prevalent causes of death in the United States, and commonly accompany CHD, it is crucial to evaluate whether they are reliable predictors of mortality for adults with CHD (ACHD) independent of anatomic CHD complexity. A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of ACHD, aged 18–64, with concomitant HTN and/or HF and at least one health care encounter… More >

Jacob Lucas¹, Ryan Barlotta¹, Matthew Brennan¹, Pak Leung², Amir S. Patel¹, Robert G. Uzzo¹, Jay Simhan¹

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.27, No.6, pp. 10456-10460, 2020

Abstract Introduction: Evidence suggests overutilization of procedural intervention for renal traumas. The objective of this study was to assess clinical factors associated with procedural intervention for patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with isolated renal trauma.
Materials and methods: A United States statewide trauma registry was queried for trauma patients presenting to level I or II trauma centers with isolated renal injuries (Grades I–V) from 2000-2013. Patient demographics, mechanism, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) grade, trauma center level designation, presenting ED vital signs, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), intubation status, and blood product transfusion were assessed.
… More >

Félix Couture^1,2,*, Stefano Polesello², Côme Tholomier^2,3, Helen Davis Bondarenko², Pierre I. Karakiewicz², Sebastiano Nazzani^4,5, Felix Preisser^5,6, Assaad El-Hakim², Kevin C. Zorn⁷

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.26, No.1, pp. 9644-9653, 2019

Abstract Introduction: Neurovascular bundle (NVB) preservation during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) directly affects patient functional outcomes. Despite careful surgical planning, many NVB preservation techniques are changed intraoperatively from their preoperative plan. Our objective was to identify risk factors predicting intraoperative change in NVB preservation technique during RARP.
Materials and methods: Prospective data from 578 RARPs performed by a single surgeon between 2010 and 2017 at a tertiary care center. Side-specific NVB preservation technique was planned preoperatively. Surgical techniques were either complete nerve sparing (CNS), or incomplete nerve sparing (INS). Variables included age, tumor grade, prostate volume, number of… More >

Stephen J. Dolgner^1,2,3, Eric V. Krieger^1,3, Jacob Wilkes⁴, Susan L. Bratton⁵, Ravi R. Thiagarajan^6,7, Cindy S. Barrett⁸, Titus Chan^1,2,9

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.4, pp. 559-570, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12758

Abstract Objective: Adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) patients who undergo cardiac surgery are at risk for poor outcomes, including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support (ECMO) and death. Prior studies have demonstrated risk factors for mortality, but have not fully examined risk factors for ECMO or death without ECMO (DWE). We sought to identify risk factors for ECMO and DWE in adults undergoing congenital heart surgery in tertiary care children’s hospitals.
Design: All adults (≥18 years) undergoing congenital heart surgery in the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database between 2003 and 2014 were included. Patients were classified into three groups:… More >

Matthew Lewis¹, William Whang², Angelo Biviano², Kathleen Hickey², Hasan Garan², Marlon Rosenbaum¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.2, pp. 207-212, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12695

Abstract Background: Catheter ablation is commonly performed to treat atrial arrhythmias in adult congenital heart disease (ACHD). Despite the frequency of ablations in the ACHD population, predictors of recurrence remain poorly defined.
Objective: We sought to determine predictors of arrhythmia recurrence in ACHD patients following catheter ablation for atrial arrhythmias.
Methods: We performed a retrospective study of all catheter ablations for atrial arrhythmias performed in ACHD patients between January 12, 2005 and February 11, 2015 at our institution. Prespecified exposures of interest and time from ablation to recurrence were determined via chart review.
Results: Among 124 patients (mean age: 45… More >

Nachiketh Soodana-Prakash¹, Raymond Balise^1,2, Bruno Nahar¹, Vivek Venkatramani¹, Joseph Palmer¹, Nicola Pavan¹, Taylor A. Johnson¹, Samarpit Rai¹, Ramgopal Satyanarayana¹, Chad Ritch¹, Sanoj Punnen¹, Dipen J. Parekh¹, Mark L. Gonzalgo¹

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.25, No.4, pp. 9395-9400, 2018

Abstract Introduction: Minimally invasive nephroureterectomy (MINU) and open nephroureterectomy (ONU) have similar oncological outcomes for treatment of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). We investigated perioperative outcomes and predictors of complications associated with MINU and ONU.
Material and methods: Using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database, 912 patients were identified that underwent radical nephroureterectomy for UTUC between 2005 and 2013. Logistic regression and contingency table methods used preoperative covariates to predict rates of major (Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ 3) and 16 common perioperative complications. Additional comparisons between treatment groups were performed using unpaired t-tests, Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, or… More >

Ruiguo Yu^1,2, Zhiqiang Liu^1,2, Jianrong Wang^1,3, Mankun Zhao^1,2, Jie Gao^1,3, Mei Yu^1,3,*

Computer Systems Science and Engineering, Vol.33, No.4, pp. 267-274, 2018, DOI:10.32604/csse.2018.33.267

Abstract The spatio-temporal feature with historical wind power information and spatial information can effectively improve the accuracy of wind power prediction, but the role of the spatio-temporal feature has not yet been fully discovered. This paper investigates the variance of the spatio-temporal feature. Based on this, a hybrid machine learning method for wind power prediction is designed. First, the training set is divided into several groups according to the variance of the input pattern, and then each group is used to train one or more predictors respectively. Multiple machine learning methods, such as the support vector More >

Keri M. Shafer^1,2, Alexander R. Opotowsky^1,2, Jonathan Rhodes¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.6, pp. 903-910, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12661

Abstract Objective: Risk prediction using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in complex congenital heart disease tends to either focus on single diagnoses or complete cohorts. We aimed to evaluate patients with two distinct anatomies cared for at a single institution over the same time period to determine CPET variables associated with mortality.
Design: All Fontan and tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) subjects with CPET between November 1, 2002 and December 31, 2014 and subsequently died were identified (cases). Cases were matched 1:3 to controls with similar age, underlying anatomy and timing of exercise test.
Results: Of the 42 cases, 27 had… More >

Raymond P. Lorenzoni III¹, Jaeun Choi², Nadine F. Choueiter³, Iona M. Munjal¹, Chhavi Katyal⁴, Kenan W. D. Stern³

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.3, pp. 470-475, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12598

Abstract Objective: Kawasaki disease is the primary cause of acquired pediatric heart disease in developed nations. Timely diagnosis of Kawasaki disease incorporates transthoracic echocardiography for visualization of the coronary arteries. Sedation improves this visualization, but not without risks and resource utilization. To identify potential sedation criteria for suspected Kawasaki disease, we analyzed factors associated with diagnostically inadequate initial transthoracic echocardiography performed without sedation.
Design: This retrospective review of patients < 18 years old undergoing initial transthoracic echocardiography for the inpatient evaluation of suspected Kawasaki disease from 2009 to 2015 occurred at a medium-sized urban children’s hospital. The primary… More >

Xinyan Li¹, Xiaoxia Qiu¹, Huan Huang¹, Yili Zhao², Xueqin Li¹, Meng Li¹, Xiaoxian Tian¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 282-287, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12568

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of using fetal heart size measurements derived from axial echocardiography to predict homozygous α-thalassemia-1.
Design: Prospective diagnostic study.
Setting: The carrier rate of α-thalassemia-1 (–/αα) in China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is approximately 15%. If both parents are carriers, the risk of homozygous a-thalassemia-1 in one pregnancy is 25%.
Patients: Singleton mid-pregnancies at risk of homozygous α-thalassemia-1 were enrolled.
Outcome Measures: Fetal heart measurements, including heart diameter (HD), heart length (HL), heart circumference (HC), and heart area (HA), were measured. The z-scores for these heart parameters were then calculated separately based on previously constructed z-score… More >