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WASHINGTON Although drug-eluting stents clearly captured the limelight at this years Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) symposium held here last month, the wide breadth of other topics in the world of interventional medicine provided numerous other important developments.
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Two companies reported progress in mid-September toward their goal of FDA approval for a cryotherapeutic treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF), the most prevalent form of cardiac arrhythmia in the world.
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Philips Electronics (Andover, Massachusetts) last month reported the launch of its HeartStart MRx, a monitor/defibrillator offering a broad range of features and capabilities designed to meet the needs of those providing basic defibrillation, with a panoply of additional features also intended for use by advanced cardiac life support-trained caregivers in the emergency medical services and hospital environments.
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The FDA Circulatory System Devices advisory panel early this month grappled with the question of whether a laser alone was as effective in treating patients with blocked arteries as balloon angioplasty and overwhelmingly voted 9-1 against recommending approval of the new indication for Spectranetics (Colorado Springs, Colorado) CVX-300 excimer laser system.
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Boston Scientific (Natick, Massachusetts) received premarket approval from the FDA last month for its EPT-1000 XP Cardiac Ablation System for the treatment of atrial flutter. Successful ablation procedures occur when a linear lesion is created across the tricuspid isthmus.
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The primary objective of this prospective observational study was to test the hypothesis that arterial blood gas (ABG) results for patients with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) do not influence emergency physicians decisions regarding final diagnosis, treatment, and final disposition of patients.
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Cyclic antidepressant (CA) poisoning has significant potential for life-threatening complications, most notably malignant dysrhythmia, obtundation, and seizure. In adults, overdose frequently is intentional and the amount ingested may be unclear.
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Well-done studies have established that percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is superior to fibrinolytic administration for the reduction of early death (7% vs 9%), non fatal re-infarction (3% vs 7%), or stroke (1% vs 2%), provided that the center where it is performed has expertise with the procedure, and door-to-balloon time can be kept to 90 minutes or less.
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Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) develops in more than 5 million individuals annually in the United States, one-fifth of whom are hospitalized. While the overall mortality of CAP is 1-5%, mortality among hospitalized patients reaches 12%, underscoring that CAP is a frequent cause of death.
