METHODS: We performed a comparative prospective cross-sectional study assessing the impact of intravesical stent position on the quality of life in 46 patients with a ureteral stent. This is done using the Ureteral Stent Symptom Questionnaire (USSQ).

RESULTS: 52.5% of patients had an ipsilateral positioned intravesical stent, while the remaining had their stent positioned contralaterally. Intravesical stent position significantly influenced the quality of life. The USSQ score was worse for the contralateral group. Subscore analysis found that urinary symptoms and body pain index contribute significantly to the morbidity. Majority of patients in the ipsilateral group reported no discomfort as compared to the contralateral group.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty surviving patients with expandable endoprosthesis from 2006 till 2015 were scored using Musculoskeletal Tumour Society (MSTS) outcomes instrument and reviewed retrospectively for range of motion of respected joints, limb length discrepancy, number of surgeries performed, complications and oncological outcomes. Patients with less than 2 years of follow-up were excluded from this study.

RESULTS: Forty-five percentage patients reached skeletal maturity with initial growing endoprosthesis and 25% of patients were revised to adult modular prosthesis. One hundred fifty-seven surgeries were performed over the 9-year period. The average MSTS score was 90.83%. The mortality rate was 10% within 5 years due to advanced disease. Infection and implant failure rate was 15% each. The event-free survival was 50% and overall survival rate was 90%.

METHODS: This study is a review of 419 children (≤18 years) with RHD who underwent primary isolated MV surgery between 1992 and 2015, which comprised MV repair (336 patients; 80.2%) and MV replacement (83 patients; 19.8%). The replacement group included mechanical MV replacements (MMVRs) (n = 69 patients; 16.5%) and bioprosthetic MV replacements (n = 14 patients; 3.3%). The mean age with standard deviation at the time of operation was 12.5 ± 3.5 (2-18) years. Mitral regurgitation (MR) was predominant in 390 (93.1%) patients, and 341 (81.4%) patients showed ≥3+ MR. The modified Carpentier reconstructive techniques were used for MV repair.

BACKGROUND: Leadless pacemakers may be preferred in patients with limited vascular access and high-infection risk, such as patients on hemodialysis.

METHODS: Patients on hemodialysis at the time of Micra implantation attempt (n = 201 of 2,819; 7%) from the Micra Transcatheter Pacing Study investigational device exemption trial, Micra Transcatheter Pacing System Continued Access Study Protocol, and Micra Transcatheter Pacing System Post-Approval Registry were included in the analysis. Baseline characteristics, periprocedural outcomes, and intermediate-term follow-up were summarized.

RESULTS: Patients on hemodialysis at the time of Micra implantation attempt were on average 70.5 ± 13.5 years of age and 59.2% were male. The dialysis patients commonly had hypertension (80%), diabetes (61%), coronary artery disease (39%), and congestive heart failure (27%), and 72% had a condition that the implanting physician felt precluded the use of a transvenous pacemaker. Micra was successfully implanted in 197 patients (98.0%). Reasons for unsuccessful implantation included inadequate thresholds (n = 2) and pericardial effusion (n = 2). The median implantation time was 27 min (interquartile range: 20 to 39 min). There were 3 procedure-related deaths: 1 due to metabolic acidosis following a prolonged procedure duration in a patient undergoing concomitant atrioventricular nodal ablation and 2 deaths occurred in patients who needed surgical repair after perforation. Average follow-up was 6.2 months (range 0 to 26.7 months). No patients had a device-related infection or required device removal because of bacteremia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The literature search was carried out on two electronic databases (PubMed and Cochrane Library). Randomized controlled trials (RCT) published from January 2011 to September 2022 were included. The bias risk was evaluated using Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool 2.0. Further screening was done for meta-analysis according to modified Newcastle-Ottawa scoring criteria. Forest plot was generated using a statistical method of inverse variance of random effect with 95% confidence interval.

RESULTS: A total of 8 randomized controlled trials were included for systematic review out of which four studies were based on tooth-supported fixed prosthesis and remaining four were based on implant-supported prosthesis. Further screening was conducted and three studies were eligible for meta-analysis. Tooth-supported fixed prosthesis fabricated from digital impression showed no significant difference in the marginal fit in any region measured, except for occlusal region where conventional impression showed more favorable marginal fit. Implant-supported prosthesis fabricated from digital impression showed survival rates ranging from 97.3 to 100% and there was no statistically significant difference in marginal bone loss (p = 0.14).