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

February 2008

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Volume 16 Issue 2
What Do You Think?
New Questions Manual Pressure I work in the cath lab. My main job is to hold manual pressure on all post cath patients. I am trying to find out how many cath labs use manual pressure compared to closure devices. Do any other cath labs have one perso…
February 2008 News
Common Drug-Eluting Coronary Stents Appear to Have Similar Clinical Outcomes A comparison of use of the first two commercially available drug-eluting coronary stents (for the medications sirolimus and paclitaxel) among patients in “everyday clinical…
The Ten-Minute Interview with: Debbie Charlton, RN
 I have been in the healthcare industry since May of 1983. I started my nursing career in the critical care unit (CCU) while working in the Army Nurse Corps. Once I left the Army Nurse Corps, I was a flight nurse with the Air National Guard for 7 yea…
DRUG-ELUTING STENT SOLUTIONS
Recently, the Washington Hospital Center presented a unique analysis on the clinical impact of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) on drug-eluting stent (DES) placement at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Heart Association. What was the objective…
The Cath Lab is a Business: Do You Have the Knowledge to Stay Afloat?
Several years ago, I attended an educational seminar that focused on healthcare finance and economics. While I don’t remember a great deal about what was presented that day, one thing stands out in my mind as clear as if it happened yesterday: the ke…
Figure 1. Effect of procedure time on complication rate. A procedure time > 75 minutes increased the risk 5-fold.
Incidence and Predictors of Vascular Complications after Invasive Coronary Procedures: A Prospective Analysis
Background Although clinical trial data suggest that the incidence of hemorrhagic and vascular complications associated with invasive coronary procedures is relatively low, contemporary data from ‘real world, non-trial related’data tertiary care c…
Figure 1. Note that the diastolic volume is 147.8 and the systolic volume is 84.2. Generally, this is automatically calculated, based upon your drawing of the outline of each phase. As you practice, you will also notice that you can often get a different
Ask the Clinical Instructor
The registered cardiovascular invasive specialist (RCIS) exam does require the candidate to be familiar with a few different ways to calculate cardiac output. In reality, some are more reliable and accurate than others. It also appears that the empha…
The Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals: RCIS Review Course Faculty and Friends at the New Cardiovascular Horizons
For more information about the SICP at New Cardiovascular Horizons, see: Powell D. The Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals Holds an RCIS Review Course at New Cardiovascular Horizons. Cath Lab Digest Jan 2008;16(1):43-44. Thank You to Dr…
February 2008 Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals (SICP) News
The Illinois Chapter of the Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals held their winter meeting December 4th, 2007 at Maggiano’s Little Italy in Schaumburg, IL. The topic of discussion was ‘PCI Drug-Eluting Stent Safety,’ presented by Fred Le…
An Evaluation of Cath Lab Turnaround Time
With the rising cost of health care and decreasing reimbursements from third-party payers, health care organizations must find a way to protect their bottom line. One area frequently reviewed is supply utilization and costs. Although supply cost redu…