(Press-News.org) When educating medical students or residents to perform highly technical procedures, there is always a challenge to balance the educational mission with maintaining quality results and optimal patient care. This report compared outcomes of cardiac surgery residents to those of attending physicians in performing coronary artery bypass grafting. It found no differences in patient outcomes or graft patency between the residents and attending surgeons.
Seattle WA, April 28, 2015 - A conundrum in medical education is how to train residents in complex and technically difficult procedures without reducing the quality of patient care. In an analysis of prospective data from a study of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), no differences were found in short-term or one-year patient outcomes and patency of grafts between properly-supervised residents and attending surgeons. G. Hossein Almassi, MD, is presenting the results of this research at the 95th AATS Annual Meeting in Seattle, WA on April 28, 2015.
"These findings strongly support the education and training of residents who will be the future generation of cardiac surgeons," stated Dr. Almassi, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee).
This was an analysis of prospectively collected data from the ROOBY (Randomized On/Off Bypass) trial, the world's first large trial that was designed to compare outcomes from standard CABG with the use of a heart-lung machine to the beating heart bypass grafting technique. Eighteen Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers took part in the study and 2203 patients were enrolled. Most of the medical centers were affiliated with academic medical schools and 16 participated in the training and education of both medical students and cardiac surgery residents.
The level of residents' training varied between postgraduate year 6 and 10 postgraduate year. The results showed that residents acted as the primary surgeon in the majority of surgeries: 77.8% (493/633) of on-pump CABG procedures and 67.4% (431/639) of off-pump procedures. This difference was statistically significant (p END
Study allays concerns that cardiothoracic physicians-in-training provide suboptimal care
Similar outcomes seen when CABG performed by supervised residents or attending physicians, according to presentation at 95th AATS Annual Meeting
2015-04-28
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Age at surgery and valve type in PVR key determinants of re-intervention in congenital heart disease
2015-04-28
Over the last 15 years, survival of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) has greatly improved, so that currently there are more adults than children living with CHD. Consequently, people with CHD of all ages are undergoing pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) with bioprosthetic valves. In this retrospective review of all patients with CHD who underwent bioprosthetic PVR over an 18-year period at Boston Children's Hospital, investigators found that young age and small body weight predisposed patients toward re-intervention, as did the type of valve used.
Seattle, ...
Boston Children's Hospital study reveals first 6 months best for stimulating heart growth
2015-04-28
Boston, Mass (April 27, 2015) -- In a recent issue of Science Translational Medicine, Brian Polizzotti, PhD, Bernhard Kuhn, MD, Sangita Choudhury, PhD, and colleagues affiliated with the Boston Children's Hospital's Translational Research Center report that the optimal window of time to stimulate heart muscle cell regeneration (cardiomyocyte proliferation) in humans is the first six months of life.
"Our results suggest that early administration of neuregulin may provide a targeted and multipronged approach to prevent heart failure in infants with CHD. Beginning treatment ...
Genetic markers for fetal overgrowth syndrome discovered
2015-04-28
Humans and cattle share a similar epigenetic fetal overgrowth disorder that occurs more commonly following assisted reproduction procedures. In humans, this disorder is called Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS), and in cattle it is called large offspring syndrome (LOS) and can result in the overgrowth of fetuses and enlarged babies. This naturally occurring, but rare syndrome can cause physical abnormalities in humans and cattle and often results in the deaths of newborn calves and birth-related injuries to their mothers.
Now, researchers at the University of Missouri ...
Study shows diversity of habitat needed around spotted owl reserves
2015-04-28
CHESTER, Calif. - A study just published this week shows many bird species, including several of high conservation concern, aren't getting the habitat they need due to a focus on promoting California Spotted Owl habitat in the northern Sierra Nevada.
The study, published in the science journal, PLoS ONE, tracked different bird species' use of areas inside and outside Spotted Owl reserves for two years in Plumas and Lassen National Forests. The results show 17 species avoided the reserves, including species of conservation concern like Yellow Warblers and Olive-sided ...
Emergency department treatment for opioid addiction better than referrals
2015-04-28
New Haven, Conn. -- Yale researchers conducted the first known randomized trial comparing three treatment strategies for opioid-dependent patients receiving emergency care. They found that patients given the medication buprenorphine were more likely to engage in addiction treatment and reduce their illicit opioid use.
Dependence on prescription and illicit opioids is an epidemic that continues to grow in the United States and globally. Drug overdoses account for more deaths each day than car crashes. "This is a huge public health problem," said first author Dr. Gail D'Onofrio, ...
Windows that act like an LCD Screen
2015-04-28
WASHINGTON, DC, April 28, 2015 -- The secret desire of urban daydreamers staring out their office windows at the sad brick walls of the building opposite them may soon be answered thanks to transparent light shutters developed by a group of researchers at Pusan National University in South Korea.
A novel liquid crystal technology allows displays to flip between transparent and opaque states -- hypothetically letting you switch your view in less than a millisecond from urban decay to the Chesapeake Bay. Their work appears this week in the journal AIP Advances, from AIP ...
New IVF device may improve fertility treatment
2015-04-28
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 28, 2015--For couples struggling to conceive the old-fashioned way, in vitro fertilization (IVF) provides an alternate route to starting a family. When eggs are mixed with sperm in test tubes, the fertilized eggs to grow into embryos that can be implanted inside the uterus of a woman who will carry them to term.
IVF often works miracles for infertile couples, a fact for which its inventor won a Nobel Prize a few years ago. However, the procedure can be time-consuming, costly, and emotionally draining, often requiring multiple implantation cycles ...
Tracking exploding lithium-ion batteries in real-time
2015-04-28
What happens when lithium-ion batteries overheat and explode has been tracked inside and out for the first time by a UCL-led team using sophisticated 3D imaging.
Understanding how Li-ion batteries fail and potentially cause a dangerous chain reaction of events is important for improving their design to make them safer to use and transport, say the scientists behind the study.
Hundreds of millions of these rechargeable batteries are manufactured and transported each year as they are integral to modern living, powering mobile phones, laptops, cars and planes. Although ...
Scientists discover salty aquifer, previously unknown microbial habitat under Antarctica
2015-04-28
HANOVER, N.H. - Using an airborne imaging system for the first time in Antarctica, scientists have discovered a vast network of unfrozen salty groundwater that may support previously unknown microbial life deep under the coldest, driest desert on our planet. The findings shed new light on ancient climate change on Earth and provide strong evidence that a similar briny aquifer could support microscopic life on Mars.
The study appears in the journal Nature Communications. It is available through open access. A PDF of the study, photos and video also are available on request. ...
Two-week international diet swap shows potential effects of food on colon cancer risk
2015-04-28
PITTSBURGH, April 28, 2015 - African-Americans and Africans who swapped their typical diets for just two weeks similarly exchanged their respective risks of colon cancer as reflected by alterations of their gut bacteria, according to an international study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine published online today in Nature Communications.
Principal investigator Stephen O'Keefe, M.D., professor of medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Pitt School of Medicine, observed while practicing in South Africa that his ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
ACP’s Best Practice Advice addresses use of cannabis, cannabinoids for chronic noncancer pain
Beyond photorespiration: A systematic approach to unlocking enhanced plant productivity
How a small number of mutations can fuel outbreaks of western equine encephalitis virus
Exposure to wildfire smoke linked with worsening mental health conditions
Research uncovers hidden spread of one of the most common hospital-associated infections
Many older adults send their doctors portal messages, but who pays?
Fine particulate matter from 2020 California wildfires and mental health–related emergency department visits
Gender inequity in institutional leadership roles in US academic medical centers
Pancreatic cells ‘remember’ epigenetic precancerous marks without genetic sequence mutations
Rare combination of ovarian tumors found in one patient
AI-driven clinical recommendations may aid physician decision making to improve quality of care
Artificial intelligence has potential to aid physician decisions during virtual urgent care
ACP and Annals of Internal Medicine present breaking scientific news at ACP’s Internal Medicine Meeting 2025
New study reveals polymers with flawed fillers boost heat transfer in plastics
Signs identified that precede sudden arrhythmic death syndrome in young people
Discovery of bacteria's defence against viruses becomes a piece of the puzzle against resistance
Pre-eclampsia is associated with earlier onset and higher incidence of cardiovascular risk factors
Warwick astronomers discover doomed pair of spiralling stars on our cosmic doorstep
Soil conditions significantly increase rainfall in world’s megastorm hotspots
NK cells complexed with bispecific antibody yield high response rates in patients with lymphoma
Planetary health diet and mediterranean diet associated with similar survival and sustainability benefits
Singapore launches national standard to validate antimicrobial disinfectant products
Molecular stool test could improve detection of tuberculosis in adults with HIV
Suspected fibrocartilaginous embolus in Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus)
Enhancing heat transfer using the turbulent flow of viscoelastic fluids
Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue
UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’
New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening
Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas
Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition
[Press-News.org] Study allays concerns that cardiothoracic physicians-in-training provide suboptimal careSimilar outcomes seen when CABG performed by supervised residents or attending physicians, according to presentation at 95th AATS Annual Meeting