May 2012

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Volume 20 Issue 5

Editorial Staff

Clinical Editor
Morton Kern, MD
Executive Editor
Laurie Gustafson
Managing Editor
Rebecca Kapur
Production Manager
Elizabeth Vasil

Editorial Correspondence

Rebecca Kapur, Managing Editor, Cath Lab Digest
HMP Communications, 70 E. Swedesford Rd
Suite 100, Malvern PA 19355
Telephone: (440) 717-0418

Fax: (866) 896-8762
Email: rkapur@hmpglobal.com
What Do You Think?
Re: Pay Practices for MDs on CallDo some hospitals pay their inteventional cardiologists for call and if so, what does that rate look like? Is it based on carrying the beeper or actual call in time?  Thank you!Anonymous upon request. Email: cathlabdi…
Clinical and Industry News
Permanent Intracardiac ST Segment Monitoring Undergoing Evaluation of Safety and Effectiveness in Two TrialsC. Michael Gibson, MS, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is serving as lead investigator on two large-scale studies of ST segment moni…
News from the Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals (SICP)
March California Central Valley Chapter meetingBy Sharon J. JohnsonThe February 2012 California Central Valley SICP Chapter meeting took place at Café 225 in Visalia, California, and was sponsored by Edwards Lifesciences and Criticor.
Radial Access Made Easy: Try Ultrasound Guidance
I saw an ad on television made by SonoSite, a maker of portable echo machines. The ad showed a dynamic pretty woman doctor running around “seeing inside” everything (by ultrasound imaging, of course) she examined (almost). I was entertained, but also…
BCIS-1: Pre-Procedure Elective IABP Use in High-Risk Patients Reduces Mortality by 34% at 5 Years
The BCIS-1 Study was the first randomized, controlled, multicenter trial to assess the efficacy and safety of elective intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) use in patients undergoing high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BCIS-1 randomized 3…
Appropriate Use Criteria for PCI: Making the Best of It
Appropriate use criteria (often referred to as AUC) for various diagnostic tests and procedures are either already in place or being developed across the healthcare industry, with several professional organizations supporting their use. Cardiovascula…
Low-Dose Unfractionated Heparin Administration During Intravascular Ultrasound Studies is Safe Even Shortly After Endomyocardial Biopsy in Cardiac Transplant Patients
Abstract: Background. Full therapeutic heparin doses ranging from 5000-10,000 units or weight based (70-100 units/kg) have been recommended during percutaneous coronary interventions. However, there are currently no data available in regards to the a…
Percutaneous Closure of a Persistent Atrial Septal Defect Following Patch Repair
AbstractThe most common form of congenital malformation in adults is the secundum atrial septal defect (ASD), accounting for approximately 70% of all defects at the atrial level. Management of clinically significant ASD is achieved by closure with su…
Overcoming the Final Challenge in STEMI PCI: Reducing Infarct Size with Super-Selective ClearWay Catheter-Directed Delivery of Abciximab with Aspiration Thrombectomy
Case ReportA 49-year-old gentleman with history of hyperlipidemia presented to the emergency room with two hours of chest pain. His EKG demonstrated anterior wall ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). He was given aspirin 325 mg, prasugrel 60 m…
Increasing Patient Satisfaction and Throughput at Memorial Hospital: Self-Sealing Vascular Access with the AXERA Access Device
Can you tell us about the cath lab at Memorial Hospital?Mike Bull, Manager, Cath Lab: We have three labs, and between prep and recovery and the cath lab, we have 32 staff. Eight cardiologists are part of our team and work in the labs, 4 who do diagno…