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Medical Imaging Applications Of Federated Learning, Sukhveer Singh Sandhu, Hamed Taheri Gorji, Pantea Tavakolian, Kouhyar Tavakolian, Alireza Akhbardeh

Journal Articles

Since its introduction in 2016, researchers have applied the idea of Federated Learning (FL) to several domains ranging from edge computing to banking. The technique's inherent security benefits, privacy-preserving capabilities, ease of scalability, and ability to transcend data biases have motivated researchers to use this tool on healthcare datasets. While several reviews exist detailing FL and its applications, this review focuses solely on the different applications of FL to medical imaging datasets, grouping applications by diseases, modality, and/or part of the body. This Systematic Literature review was conducted by querying and consolidating results from ArXiv, IEEE Xplorer, and PubMed. Furthermore, …

Recovery Of Lung Function After 149 Days On Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation For Covid-19, Orlando R Suero, Sri Kartik Valluri, Mario H Farias-Kovac, Leo Simpson, Gabriel Loor, Diana M Guerra, Jose L Diaz-Gomez, Subhasis Chatterjee

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

This report highlights survival and the patient’s perspective after prolonged venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for COVID-19–related respiratory failure.

A 36-year-old man with COVID-19 presented with fever, anosmia, and hypoxia. After respiratory deterioration necessitating intubation and lung-protective ventilation, he was referred for ECMO. After 3 days of conventional venovenous ECMO, he required multiple creative cannulation configurations. Adequate sedation and recurrent bradycardia were persistent challenges. After 149 consecutive days of ECMO, he recovered native lung function and was weaned from mechanical ventilation.

This represents the longest-duration ECMO support in a survivor of COVID-19 yet reported. Necessary strategies included unconventional cannulation and …

Global Blood Pressure Screening During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Results From The May Measurement Month 2021 Campaign, Thomas Beaney, Wei Wang, Markus P Schlaich, Aletta E Schutte, George S Stergiou, Luis Alcocer, Jafar Alsaid, Alejandro Bimbo Diaz, Rafael Hernandez-Hernandez, Mohammad Ishaq, Jacek Jozwiak, Nadia Khan, Gaia Kiru, Harsha Mccardle, Augustine Nonso Odili, Wook Bum Pyun, Cesar A Romero, Jiguang Wang, Neil R Poulter, Mmm Investigators

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Raised blood pressure (BP) remains the biggest risk factor contributing to the global burden of disease and mortality, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. May Measurement Month (MMM), an annual global screening campaign aims to highlight the importance of BP measurement by evaluating global awareness, treatment and control rates among adults with hypertension. In 2021, we assessed the global burden of these rates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS: Screening sites were set up in 54 countries between May and November 2021 and screenees were recruited by convenience sampling. Three sitting BPs were measured, and a questionnaire completed including demographic, lifestyle and …

Automated Lung Ultrasound Pulmonary Disease Quantification Using An Unsupervised Machine Learning Technique For Covid-19, Hersh Sagreiya, Michael A Jacobs, Alireza Akhbardeh

Journal Articles

COVID-19 is an ongoing global health pandemic. Although COVID-19 can be diagnosed with various tests such as PCR, these tests do not establish pulmonary disease burden. Whereas point-of-care lung ultrasound (POCUS) can directly assess the severity of characteristic pulmonary findings of COVID-19, the advantage of using US is that it is inexpensive, portable, and widely available for use in many clinical settings. For automated assessment of pulmonary findings, we have developed an unsupervised learning technique termed the calculated lung ultrasound (CLU) index. The CLU can quantify various types of lung findings, such as A or B lines, consolidations, and pleural …

Abatacept, Cenicriviroc, Or Infliximab For Treatment Of Adults Hospitalized With Covid-19 Pneumonia: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Jane A O'Halloran, Emily R Ko, Kevin J Anstrom, Eyal Kedar, Matthew W Mccarthy, Reynold A Panettieri, Martin Maillo, Patricia Segura Nunez, Anne M Lachiewicz, Cynthia Gonzalez, P Brian Smith, Sabina Mendivil-Tuchia De Tai, Akram Khan, Alfredo J Mena Lora, Matthias Salathe, Gerardo Capo, Daniel Rodríguez Gonzalez, Thomas F Patterson, Christopher Palma, Horacio Ariza, Maria Patelli Lima, John Blamoun, Esteban C Nannini, Eduardo Sprinz, Analia Mykietiuk, Radica Alicic, Adriana M Rauseo, Cameron R Wolfe, Britta Witting, Jennifer P Wang, Luis Parra-Rodriguez, Tatyana Der, Kate Willsey, Jun Wen, Adam Silverstein, Sean M O'Brien, Hussein R Al-Khalidi, Michael A Maldonado, Richard Melsheimer, William G Ferguson, Steven E Mcnulty, Pearl Zakroysky, Susan Halabi, Daniel K Benjamin, Sandra Butler, Jane C Atkinson, Stacey J Adam, Soju Chang, Lisa Lavange, Michael Proschan, Samuel A Bozzette, William G Powderly, Activ-1 Im Study Group Members

Journal Articles

IMPORTANCE: Immune dysregulation contributes to poorer outcomes in COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether abatacept, cenicriviroc, or infliximab provides benefit when added to standard care for COVID-19 pneumonia.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled clinical trial using a master protocol to investigate immunomodulators added to standard care for treatment of participants hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia. The results of 3 substudies are reported from 95 hospitals at 85 clinical research sites in the US and Latin America. Hospitalized patients 18 years or older with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection within 14 days and evidence of pulmonary involvement underwent randomization between October 2020 and …

Effects Of Covid-19 On The Autonomic Cardiovascular System: Heart Rate Variability And Turbulence In Recovered Patients, Sedat Taş, Ümmü Taş

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 may be a risk factor for developing cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction. Data are limited, however, on the association between heart rate variability, heart rate turbulence, and COVID-19. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of COVID-19 on the cardiovascular autonomic system in patients with persistent symptoms after recovering from COVID-19 and to determine whether these patients showed changes in ambulatory electrocardiography monitoring.

METHODS: Fifty-one adults who had confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and presented with persistent symptoms to the cardiology outpatient clinic after clinical recovery between April and June 2021 were included. Patients were prospectively followed for 6 …

Coronary Artery Disease As An Independent Predictor Of Cardiovascular Mortality In Covid-19 Patients, Hywel Soney, Nathan Deron, Lucas Wang, Lawrence Hoang, Mujahed Abualfoul, Yi Zhao, Kristopher Aten, Victor Canela, Sri Prathivada, Michael Vu, Manavjot Sidhu

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular mortality. However, little is known about the combined effect of coronary artery disease (CAD) and COVID-19 on mortality. We aimed to investigate the incidence of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in COVID-19 patients with CAD.

METHODS: This multicenter retrospective study identified 3,336 COVID-19 patients admitted between March and December 2020. Data points were manually reviewed in the patients' electronic health records. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess whether CAD and its subtypes were associated with mortality.

RESULTS: This study shows that CAD was not an independent predictor of …

The Effects Of Obesity And Metabolic Abnormalities On Severe Covid-19-Related Outcomes After Vaccination: A Population-Based Study, Xiude Fan, Junming Han, Enfa Zhao, Jiansong Fang, Dawei Wang, Yiping Cheng, Yingzhou Shi, Zhen Wang, Zhenyu Yao, Peng Lu, Tianbao Liu, Qihang Li, Kyle L Poulsen, Zhongshang Yuan, Yongfeng Song, Jiajun Zhao

Journal Articles

Breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections of vaccinated individuals are being reported globally, resulting in an increased risk of hospitalization and death among such patients. Therefore, it is crucial to identify the modifiable risk factors that may affect the protective efficacy of vaccine use against the development of severe COVID-19 and thus to initiate early medical interventions. Here, in population-based studies using the UK Biobank database and the 2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), we analyzed 20,362 participants aged 50 years or older and 2,588 aged 18 years or older from both databases who tested positive for SARS-COV-2, of whom 33.1% and 67.7% …

Effect Of Thromboprophylaxis On Clinical Outcomes After Covid-19 Hospitalization, Tracy Y Wang, Abdus S Wahed, Alison Morris, Lisa Baumann Kreuziger, John G Quigley, Gervasio A Lamas, Alexandra J Weissman, Jose Lopez-Sendon, M Margaret Knudson, Deborah M Siegal, Raj S Kasthuri, Andrew J Alexander, Lana Wahid, Bassel Atassi, Peter J Miller, Janice W Lawson, Bela Patel, Jerry A Krishnan, Nancy L Shapiro, Deborah E Martin, Andrei L Kindzelski, Eric S Leifer, Jungnam Joo, Lingyun Lyu, Annie Pennella, Brendan M Everett, Mark W Geraci, Kevin J Anstrom, Thomas L Ortel, Activ-4c Study Group

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have an increased incidence of thromboembolism. The role of extended thromboprophylaxis after hospital discharge is unclear.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether anticoagulation is superior to placebo in reducing death and thromboembolic complications among patients discharged after COVID-19 hospitalization.

DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04650087).

SETTING: Done during 2021 to 2022 among 127 U.S. hospitals.

PARTICIPANTS: Adults aged 18 years or older hospitalized with COVID-19 for 48 hours or more and ready for discharge, excluding those with a requirement for, or contraindication to, anticoagulation.

INTERVENTION: 2.5 mg of apixaban versus placebo twice daily for …

Cardiac Surgery For Treatment Of Covid-19-Associated Infectious Endocarditis, Ali Taghizadeh-Waghefi, Asen Petrov, Manuel Wilbring, Konstantin Alexiou, Utz Kappert, Klaus Matschke, Sems-Malte Tugtekin

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

BACKGROUND: Significant uncertainty exists about the optimal timing of surgery for infectious endocarditis (IE) surgery in patients with active SARS-CoV-2 infection. This case series and a systematic review of the literature were carried out to evaluate the timing of surgery and postsurgical outcomes for patients with COVID-19-associated IE.

METHODS: The PubMed database was searched for reports published from June 20, 2020, to June 24, 2021, that contained the terms infective endocarditis and COVID-19. A case series of 8 patients from the authors' facility was also added.

RESULTS: A total of 12 cases were included, including 4 case reports that met …

Recovery From The Impact Of Covid-19 On Treatment Times And Clinical Outcomes Of Patients With St-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction: An Interim Analysis, Abdelrahman Ali, Thomas Schirmer, Francis J Kiernan, Bryan Piccirillo, Joseph Ingrassia, Talhat Azemi, Immad Sadiq, Daniel B Fram, Asad Rizvi, Saurabh Joshi, Jeffrey Mather, Raymond G Mckay

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have documented a negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergent percutaneous treatment of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), but few have examined recovery of healthcare systems in restoring prepandemic STEMI care.

METHODS: Retrospective analysis was performed of data from 789 patients with STEMI from a large tertiary medical center treated with percutaneous coronary intervention between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2021.

RESULTS: For patients with STEMI presenting to the emergency department, median time from door to balloon was 37 minutes in 2019, 53 minutes in 2020, and 48 minutes in 2021 (P < .001), whereas median time from first medical contact to device changed from 70 to 82 to 75 minutes, respectively (P = .002). Treatment time changes in 2020 and 2021 correlated with median emergency department evaluation time (30 to 41 to 22 minutes, respectively; P = .001) but not median catheterization laboratory revascularization time. For transfer patients, median time from first medical contact to device changed from 110 to 133 to 118 minutes, respectively (P = .005). In 2020 and 2021, patients with STEMI had greater late presentation (P = .028) and late mechanical complications (P = .021), with nonsignificant increases in yearly in-hospital mortality (3.6% to 5.2% to 6.4%; P = .352).

CONCLUSION: …

Mortality And Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events In Hospitalized Patients With Atrial Fibrillation With Covid-19, Lucas Wang, Lawrence Hoang, Kristopher Aten, Mujahed Abualfoul, Victor Canela, Sri Prathivada, Michael Vu, Yi Zhao, Manavjot Sidhu

Journal Articles

COVID-19 results in increased incidence of cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation (AF). However, little is known about the combined effect of AF and COVID-19 on patient outcomes. This study aimed to determine if AF, specifically new-onset AF (NOAF), is associated with increased risk of mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. This multicenter retrospective analysis identified 2,732 patients with COVID-19 admitted between March and December 2020. Data points were manually reviewed in the patients' electronic health records. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess if AF was associated with death or MACE. Patients with AF …

Early Feasibility Of Endovascular Repair Of Distal Aortic Arch Aneurysms Using Patient-Specific Single Retrograde Left Subclavian Artery Branch Stent Graft, Joshua Wong, Emanuel R Tenorio, Guilherme Lima, Marina Dias-Neto, Aidin Baghbani-Oskouei, Bernardo Mendes, Jarin Kratzberg, Laura Ocasio, Thanila A Macedo, Gustavo S Oderich

Journal Articles

OBJECTIVE: To describe the feasibility and outcomes of endovascular repair of distal aortic arch aneurysms using a patient-specific stent graft with a pre-loaded single retrograde left subclavian artery (LSA) branch stent graft.

METHODS: We reviewed the clinical data and outcomes of consecutive patients enrolled in an ongoing prospective, non-randomized physician-sponsored investigational device exemption study to evaluate the outcomes of endovascular aortic arch repair using patient-specific arch branch stent grafts (William Cook Europe, Bjaeverskov, Denmark) between 2019 and 2022. All patients received a design with triple-wide scallop and a single retrograde LSA branch with a pre-loaded catheter.

RESULTS: There were five …