Objectives We compared the computed tomographic (CT) volumetric analysis and anatomical segmental counting (ASC) for predicting postoperative forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) in patients who had segmentectomy for early-stage lung cancer. Methods A total of 175 patients who had segmentectomy for lung cancer and had postoperative pulmonary function test (PFT) were included. CT volumetric analysis was performed by software which could measure total lung and target segment volume from CT images. ASC and CT volumetric analysis were used to determine predicted postoperative (PPO) values and the concordance and difference of these values were assessed. The relationship between PPO values and actual postoperative values was also investigated. Results The PPO-FEV1 and PPO-DLCO showed high concordance between two methods (concordance correlation coefficient = 0.96 for PPO-FEV1 and 0.95 for PPO-DLCO). There was no significant difference between PPO values as determined by two methods (p = 0.53 for PPO-FEV1, p = 0.25 for PPO-DLCO) and actual postoperative values (p = 0.77 (ASC vs actual) and p = 0.20 (CT vs actual) for FEV1; p = 0.41 (ASC vs actual) and p = 0.80 (CT vs actual) for DLCO). We subdivided the patients according to poor PFT, the number of resected segments and location of resected lobe. All subgroup analysis revealed no significant difference between PPO values and actual postoperative values. Conclusions Both CT volumetric analysis and ASC showed high predictability for actual postoperative FEV1 and DLCO in segmentectomy.

Background: This study was conducted to evaluate the hemodynamic performance and the incidence of prosthesis-patient mismatch (PPM) after aortic valve replacement (AVR) using bovine pericardial valves (Carpentier-Edwards Perimount Magana and Magna Ease). Methods: In total, 216 patients (mean age, 70.0±10.5 years) who underwent AVR using stented bovine pericardial valves and had follow-up echocardiography between 3 months and 2 years (mean, 12.0±6.6 months) after surgery were enrolled. The implanted valve sizes were 19, 21, 23, and 25 mm in 32, 56, 99, and 29 patients, respectively. Results: On follow-up echocardiography, the mean transvalvular pressure gradients for the 19-mm, 21-mm, 23-mm, and 25-mm valves were 13.3±4.4, 12.6±4.2, 10.5±3.9, and 10.2± 3.7 mm Hg, respectively. The effective orifice area (EOA) was 1.25±0.26, 1.54±0.31, 1.81±0.41, and 1.87±0.33 cm 2 , respectively. These values were smaller than those suggested by the manufacturer for the corresponding sizes. No patients had PPM, when based on the reference EOA. However, moderate (EOA index ≤0.85 cm 2 /m 2) and severe (EOA index ≤0.65 cm 2 /m 2) PPM was present in 56 patients (11.8%) and 9 patients (1.9%), respectively, when using the measured values. Conclusion: Carpentier-Edwards Perimount Magna and Magna Ease bovine pericardial valves showed satisfactory hemodynamic performance with low rates of PPM, although the reference EOA could overestimate the true EOA for individual patients.

The rate of sudden cardiac death (SCD) for hemodialysis (HD) patients is significantly higher than that observed in the general population and have the highest risk for arrhythmogenic death. In this multi-center study, patients starting hemodialysis in each hospital were enrolled; they underwent regular check-ups in an open-patient clinic. We examined serial electrocardiography (ECG) data in patients undergoing HD and determined their associations with the occurrence of SCD. Of 678 enrolled subjects who underwent serial ECG before and after hemodialysis, 291 died and 39 developed SCD. In all subjects, the QT peak-to-end (QTpe) interval at all leads and QRS duration were shortened after hemodialysis. The SCD group showed a significant change in the QTpe interval of the inferior, anterior, and lateral leads before and after hemodialysis compared with the survivor group (p < 0.001). In the pre-hemodialysis ECG, SCD patients had significantly longer QTpe intervals in all leads (p < 0.001) and a longer QRS duration (92.6 ± 14.0 vs. 100.6 ± 14.9 ms, p = 0.015) than survivors. In conclusion, patients with a longer QTpe interval before hemodialysis and large changes in ECG parameters after hemodialysis might be at a higher risk of SCD. Therefore, changes in the ECG before and after hemodialysis could help to predict SCD.