Infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, is associated with numerous potential secondary complications. Global efforts have been dedicated to understanding the myriad potential cardiovascular sequelae which may occur during acute infection, convalescence, or recovery. Because patients often present with nonspecific symptoms and laboratory findings, cardiac imaging has emerged as an important tool for the discrimination of pulmonary and cardiovascular complications of this disease. The clinician investigating a potential COVID-related complication must account not only for the relative utility of various cardiac imaging modalities but also for the risk of infectious exposure to staff and other patients. Extraordinary clinical and scholarly efforts have brought the international medical community closer to a consensus on the appropriate indications for diagnostic cardiac imaging during this protracted pandemic. In this review, we summarize the existing literature and reference major societal guidelines to provide an overview of the indications and utility of echocardiography, nuclear imaging, cardiac computed tomography, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging for the diagnosis of cardiovascular complications of COVID.

OBJECTIVE-To determine whether kidney stone history is associated with adverse outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Kidney stone formers have an increased risk of developing coronary artery disease; however, whether these patients have worse cardiac outcomes is unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS-Weidentified adult patients who underwent first-time PCI in Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) Synthetic Derivative from 2008 to 2016 (n=11,289) and in a nationwide database of Taiwan (NHIRD) from 2005 to 2012 (n=155,762).Odds ratios (ORs) of 30-day in-hospital mortality and hazard ratios (HRs) of 1-year and 3-year adverse outcomes associated with kidney stone history were estimated using a propensity score approach.RESULTS-Overall, 294 and 12,286 stone formers undergoing PCI were identified in the VUMC and NHIRD, respectively. After matching, stone formers at VUMC were at higher risks of 30-day in-hospital mortality (OR 2.79, 95% CI 1.15-6.69) and 1-year (HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.13-2.24) and

Aim-We sought to evaluate whether the quality of coordination between physicians transferring comatose cardiac arrest survivors to a high-volume cardiac arrest center for targeted temperature management (TTM) was associated with timeliness of care.Methods-We conducted a retrospective analysis of inter-facility transfers to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for TTM between October 2016 and October 2018. We examined the relationship between Relational Coordination (RC) -a measure of communication and relationship quality -during phone conversations between transferring physicians and time-toacceptance.Results-We identified 18 patients meeting criteria. TTM was initiated or continued in 72%, and in-hospital mortality was 75%. Median time-to-acceptance was 2.77 (interquartile range [IQR] 2.0, 4.1) minutes, and duration of calls was 3.95 (IQR 2.7, 5.2) minutes. Interrater reliability for *

Objectives: We sought to evaluate whether the quality of coordination between physicians transferring comatose cardiac arrest survivors to a high-volume cardiac arrest center for targeted temperature management (TTM) was associated with timeliness of care. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of inter-facility transfers to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for TTM between October 2016 and October 2018. We examined the relationship between Relational Coordination (RC) - a validated measure comprised of 7 dimensions of communication (frequency, timeliness, accuracy, problem solving) and relationship quality (respect, knowledge sharing, shared goals) - during recorded phone conversations between transferring and accepting physicians and time-to-acceptance. Investigators listened to recorded phone conversations and used a scoring guide to assign a score between 1 and 100 for each of the 7 dimensions of RC. Results: We identified 18 patients meeting criteria. TTM was initiated or continued in 72% (13 of 18). Median time-to-acceptance was 2.77 (interquartile range [IQR] 2.0, 4.1) minutes, and duration of calls was 3.95 (IQR 2.7, 5.2) minutes. Inter-rater reliability for overall RC was high (rho=0.87). The correlation between RC and the time-to-acceptance was significant in univariate analyses (adjusted relative risk=0.96, 95%CI 0.93, 1.0, p=0.05). Secondary analyses did not find a significant relationship between RC and timeliness measures. Conclusions: In this sample of patients transferred for TTM, we found that RC had a high inter-rater reliability. We also found that higher quality care coordination for cardiac arrest survivors was associated with faster physician acceptance. To better understand how the quality of care coordination impacts timeliness of care and patient outcomes, future work using a larger cohort should examine whether higher RC among a broader set of stakeholders (physicians, emergency medical services, families, etc.) is associated with timeliness measures after adjusting for other factors.