feat(route): add TCTMD conference news by ChuYinan2023 · Pull Request #21072 · DIYgod/RSSHub

ChuYinan2023 · 2026-02-06T04:54:39Z

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/tctmd/conference-news

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Add RSS feed support for TCTMD Conference News section.

TCTMD is the leading source for interventional cardiology news and education from the Cardiovascular Research Foundation.

Route: `/tctmd/conference-news`

Scrapes the conference news listing page
Extracts featured article + list articles (title, link, date, author, thumbnail)
Fetches full article content for each item with caching (cache.tryGet)
Uses cheerio for HTML parsing, got for HTTP requests
Date/time parsed from <time datetime=""> elements (UTC, ISO 8601)
No anti-bot measures encountered; no Puppeteer needed
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Add RSS route for TCTMD (tctmd.com) Conference News section, covering interventional cardiology conference coverage. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

github-actions · 2026-02-06T04:59:28Z

Successfully generated as following:

http://localhost:1200/tctmd/conference-news - Success ✔️

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>TCTMD - Conference News</title>
    <link>https://www.tctmd.com/news/conference-news</link>
    <atom:link href="http://localhost:1200/tctmd/conference-news" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"></atom:link>
    <description>Latest conference news coverage from TCTMD, the leading source for interventional cardiology news - Powered by RSSHub</description>
    <generator>RSSHub</generator>
    <webMaster>contact@rsshub.app (RSSHub)</webMaster>
    <language>en</language>
    <image>
      <url>https://www.tctmd.com/themes/tctmd/logo.svg</url>
      <title>TCTMD - Conference News</title>
      <link>https://www.tctmd.com/news/conference-news</link>
    </image>
    <lastBuildDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 04:59:27 GMT</lastBuildDate>
    <ttl>5</ttl>
    <item>
      <title>FASTEST Hints at Benefits of Hemostatic Therapy for Acute ICH in Select Groups</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Though recombinant factor VIIa didn’t improve outcomes overall, treating very early and in those with a spot sign on CT may help.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;NEW ORLEANS, LA—Recombinant factor VIIa slowed hematoma growth in patients with a spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) when administered within 2 hours of onset, but treatment significantly increased the risk of life-threatening thromboembolic complications and failed to improve functional outcomes, according to the overall FASTEST findings reported here at the International Stroke Conference.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;In subgroup analyses, there were suggestions of better clinical outcomes and greater impacts on limiting bleeding expansion when the hemostatic therapy was administered very early after ICH onset (within 90 minutes) and in patients with a positive spot sign—a biological marker of ongoing bleeding—on CT angiography.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“The enhanced biological effect in stopping bleeding in these two subgroups was associated with efficacy at 90 days . . . and borderline efficacy at 180 days,” said Joseph Broderick, MD (University of Cincinnati, OH), who presented the findings along with Kazunori Toyoda, MD, PhD (National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Broderick noted that the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07227246&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;FASTEST Part 2&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; trial is evaluating recombinant factor VIIa in patients treated within 90 minutes or, in those who have a positive spot sign, within 120 minutes. “We think we now have a very clear road map to the first hemostatic therapy for intracerebral hemorrhage,” he said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Steven Greenberg, MD, PhD (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston), who commented on the study for TCTMD, pointed out that its logistics were demanding and that getting all patients enrolled and treated within 2 hours of ICH onset was “remarkable.” The signal of benefit in the subgroups also appears to be a reasonable finding. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“Sometimes when people do subgroup analyses, it’s kind of suspect because it seems like they’ve sliced and diced the data to find something that had a positive result, but I think here . . . the analysis was very thoughtful,” he said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Having indications of benefit in patients treated within 90 minutes and those with a positive spot sign “makes sense because you’re getting the process when it’s most active or earliest,” Greenberg said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;He added, “the way it correlates with the amount of enlargement that you’re preventing supports that mechanism that if we can find a subgroup where we’re not preventing just a slight enlargement of bleeding but a sizable enlargement of bleeding, that’s going to show up as a clinical benefit.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The FASTEST results were &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00097-8/abstract&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;published simultaneously online&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; in the &lt;em&gt;Lancet&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Stopping Bleeding Early&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;In spontaneous ICH, nearly all the bleeding expansion occurs in the first 2 to 3 hours, Toyoda said. Prior studies have shown that recombinant factor VIIa stems bleeding when given within the first 3 hours, with even greater effects when it’s administered in the first 2 hours.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The phase III FASTEST trial, conducted at 103 sites in the United States, Japan, Canada, Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom, was designed to evaluate the treatment’s impact when administered early after acute ICH onset. Investigators enrolled patients who were ages 18 to 80 years, had a baseline ICH volume of 2 to 60 mL, and had no or small volume of intraventricular hemorrhage. All were treated within 2 hours of stroke onset or when they were last known to be well, with the time to drug administration shortened through the use of mobile stroke units and other measures.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The initial plan called for 860 patients, but the study was stopped for futility after the second interim analysis. The data and safety monitoring board, however, recommended reconfiguring the trial to enroll only those with a positive spot sign on CT angiography.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Ultimately, 626 patients (mean age 61 years, 35% women) were randomized to intravenous recombinant factor VIIa at a dose of 80 µg/kg (maximum dose 10 mg) or placebo on top of best standard therapy (including a target systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg); the mean time from ICH onset to administration of study drug was 100 minutes. At baseline, mean ICH volume was 16.7 mL, mean IVH volume was 1.5 mL, and median NIHSS score was 13.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The primary outcome—the distribution of ordinal modified Rankin Scale scores at 180 days—was not significantly different between the treatment and control arms (adjusted common OR 1.09; 95% CI 0.79-1.51).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;There was no impact on functional outcomes despite the hemostatic therapy leading to smaller increases from baseline to 24 hours in ICH volume (mean 3.68 mL less) and ICH plus IVH volume (mean 5.23 mL less; &lt;em&gt;P&lt;/em&gt; = 0.0011 for both) compared with placebo.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;On the safety side, use of recombinant factor VIIa increased the rate of life-threatening thromboembolic complications during the first 4 days (4.6% vs 1.3%; relative risk 3.41; 95% CI 1.14-10.15), with no significant differences in other endpoints, including 180-day mortality (6.1% vs 7.4%; RR 0.83; 95% CI 0.46-1.48).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Eyeing an Eventual ‘Big Step Forward’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The increase in thromboembolic events with recombinant factor VIIa is very real, and not trivial, but ideally that risk can be offset by a therapy that will improve long-term functional outcomes, said Greenberg. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“The hope is that we get to that point. We’re obviously not there yet,” he acknowledged.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Overall, the findings are encouraging and provide a good rationale for continuing with FASTEST Part 2, he said, indicating, however, that there’s a need for other potential therapies as well. “We’ve got to get much better. This can’t be our only treatment for bleeding strokes,” Greenberg said. “But if we get to the point where we’ve got a hemostatic therapy that benefits patients, it’s [going to be] a big step forward.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://www.tctmd.com/news/fastest-hints-benefits-hemostatic-therapy-acute-ich-select-groups</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.tctmd.com/news/fastest-hints-benefits-hemostatic-therapy-acute-ich-select-groups</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 05 Feb 2026 17:59:39 GMT</pubDate>
      <author>Todd Neale</author>
      <enclosure url="https://d14d5nk8lue86f.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/styles/editors_pick_teaser_210x370/public/2026-02/FASTEST%20Hints%20at%20Benefits%20of%20Hemostatic%20Therapy%20for%20Acute%20ICH%20in%20Select%20Groups_tier1.jpg?itok=z-J04SZZ" type="image/jpeg"></enclosure>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Carotid Revascularization Doesn’t Improve Cognition: CREST-2</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Neither stenting nor endarterectomy provided a boost versus medical therapy alone in patients with asymptomatic stenosis.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;NEW ORLEANS, LA—Revascularization with either stenting or endarterectomy does not improve cognitive function compared with medical management alone in patients who have asymptomatic high-grade carotid artery stenosis, a CREST-2 analysis shows.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;There were no significant differences between the revascularization and control arms in the trajectories of scores on five cognitive tests evaluating learning, attention, memory, and executive function or of a composite of those scores, Ronald Lazar, PhD (University of Alabama at Birmingham), reported here at the International Stroke Conference.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“Given the results of reperfusion in the setting of acute stroke in improving neurologic function, many people began to think that if we revascularize these patients, not only would you prevent stroke, but perhaps you can improve cognition as well,” Lazar said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The new results, however, “suggest that those with greater than 70% stenosis and diminished cognition may already have irreversible neurologic injury,” he concluded. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Prior studies have shown that patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis have reduced cognitive function before undergoing revascularization. Lazar and his colleagues, for instance, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.032972&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;demonstrated&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; that patients entering the CREST-2 trial had cognitive deficits, particularly in memory, at baseline.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Studies exploring the possibility that carotid revascularization might improve cognitive function have yielded mixed results, though they’ve been subject to various limitations related to the types of screening instruments used, control groups, length of follow-up, and sample size.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The cognitive function analysis of the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.tctmd.com/news/long-awaited-crest-2-results-bolster-stents-asymptomatic-carotid-stenosis&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;CREST-2&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; trial, which was conducted at 155 sites and included 2,485 patients, strengthens the evidence in this area. The study—which encompasses two separate trials of stenting and endarterectomy, each compared with intensive medical management alone—showed that stenting, but not surgery, significantly reduced long-term stroke risk.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The impact on cognition was a prespecified secondary outcome, with 2,165 patients providing data for this analysis. The cognitive test battery, administered by telephone at baseline and then annually up to 4 years of follow-up, included five neuropsychological assessments:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Word list learning (learning)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
        &lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Digit Span (attention)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
        &lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Word list delayed recall (memory)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
        &lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Animal naming (executive function)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
        &lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Controlled oral word association (executive function)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
        &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The investigators calculated Z-scores, which place each individual result in reference to scores from all patients in the cohort, for each test and for the composite of all five.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Unadjusted trajectories in mean composite Z-score over time, based on 7,060 tests during the trial, showed no differences between the revascularization and control arms for either the stenting or endarterectomy studies.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The researchers then used linear mixed models to adjust for covariates, confirming that the slopes for all five cognitive measures as well as the composite were not significantly influenced by revascularization versus intensive medical management.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The findings were consistent in patients with the poorest cognitive function at baseline.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;To assess whether the telephone-based test battery was sensitive enough to detect neurological status, the researchers performed an additional analysis showing that when patients had a stroke during follow-up, there was a significant and measurable dip in cognitive function. That “confirms to us the sensitivity of our cognitive battery,” Lazar said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;blockquote&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;We need to look at the overall landscape of things that can impact cognition. &lt;strong&gt;Seemant Chaturvedi&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/blockquote&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Commenting for TCTMD, Seemant Chaturvedi, MD (University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore), a member of the CREST-2 executive committee, congratulated Lazar and his team for completing the cognitive analysis, noting that “this was certainly the biggest study ever of this type in patients with asymptomatic carotid disease.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;He added that “the battery that they used was appropriate in that it was able to evaluate some key cognitive domains and yet it was still practical enough to be done within 30 minutes during a large-scale trial.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;That revascularization did not provide a boost in cognitive function is not unexpected, “because we know that cognition is very complex and there are many factors that can impact cognitive ability,” Chaturvedi said, pointing, for example, to the burden of small-vessel disease, changes related to Alzheimer’s disease, APOE status, and sleep apnea. “When you consider the complexity of those factors, it is maybe not that surprising.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;It’s also possible, he said, that some patients with asymptomatic carotid narrowing don’t have a true flow-limiting stenosis, which could have influenced the results seen here.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;These findings won’t necessarily change how he counsels patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis when they’re considering revascularization, because most are focused on the potential for reducing stroke risk, said Chaturvedi. “I haven’t had too many patients inquire as to whether there’ll be any cognitive benefit.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;That said, “if patients ask about it, I think we can say that as of now, there’s no definite proof that it will improve cognition,” he added.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;He also advocated for a more holistic approach to managing cognitive function in patients with carotid stenosis. “We need to look at the overall landscape of things that can impact cognition,” Chaturvedi said. “For these patients, we’re seeing them at one point in time, but over the next 5, 10 years, we want to optimize their brain health.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://www.tctmd.com/news/carotid-revascularization-doesnt-improve-cognition-crest-2</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.tctmd.com/news/carotid-revascularization-doesnt-improve-cognition-crest-2</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 20:41:17 GMT</pubDate>
      <author>Todd Neale</author>
      <enclosure url="https://d14d5nk8lue86f.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/styles/editors_pick_teaser_210x370/public/2026-02/Carotid%20Revascularization%20Doesn%E2%80%99t%20Improve%20Cognition%20CREST-2_0.jpg?itok=UatTgGcK" type="image/jpeg"></enclosure>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Quality-Improvement Effort Decreases Deep Sternal Wound Infections After Surgery</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A bundle of protocols including patient education, skin prep, and glove changes reduced infections at a large US surgical center.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;NEW ORLEANS, LA—A standardized initiative to prevent deep sternal wound infections in patients undergoing cardiac surgery more than halved the rate of this risky complication over 4 years, according to results from a single US hospital.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The team reduced the rate from 2.1% in 2021-2022 to 0.7% in 2023-2024 (&lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.04) by introducing and adopting a bundle of interventions and processes to be followed for each cardiac surgery.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“What really made the big difference is our commitment to standardized perioperative care—in terms of how patients are prepared for surgery, both physically in terms of the CHG [chlorhexidine gluconate] baths that they get and the specific timing of those baths, but also how we’re caring for the wounds after surgery,” Alice Vinogradsky, MD (NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY), who presented the results at the recent 2025 Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Annual Meeting, told TCTMD.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;It’s been a multidisciplinary initiative and commitment—one that was developed after physicians at NewYork-Presbyterian-Columbia University Medical Center identified a “persistently elevated” rate of infections compared to other area hospitals—but Vinogradsky credited the nurses with enforcing the bundle and ensuring its success. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“We have nurses who are champions of their aspects of the care protocol,” she said. “In the operating room, our circulating nurses really take it upon themselves to make sure that whatever component of the intraoperative checklist we’re adhering to, that’s being documented and recognized, and whatever component we’re not adhering to, that’s also being documented and recognized and highlighted.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Sternal wound infections are known to be associated with increased morbidity, mortality, healthcare costs, and prolonged hospitalizations after cardiac surgery. Core components of the bundle include preoperative patient education on preventing infection, skin preparation protocols, a standardized intraoperative checklist printed in pink, and postoperative wound care. Some of the biggest differences with the protocol, Vinogradsky said, included glove changes—every 2 hours and after specific surgical maneuvers—and adhering to standardization in general.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“There definitely was an intraoperative checklist, but it wasn’t a checklist that was printed and circulated,” she said, adding that it didn’t specify things like when and how to clean dressings and which dressings to use. “When you’re trying all these different things iteratively, there’s not really a standardized protocol for which patient gets what, and then I think that keeps you from being able to home in on what the actual root causes were of these infections.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Commenting on the findings for TCTMD, Maria Alcina Fonseca, DNP, RN (Morristown Medical Center, NJ), who has previously implemented a similar initiative at her hospital, said the Columbia program was “very well done.” Further, she added, “I am a true believer that a bundle and an interdisciplinary approach [as] has been demonstrated previously is the most successful way to reduce infections.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Clear Results&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;To assess the effectiveness of the intervention, Vinogradsky and colleagues conducted a propensity score-matched analysis of two groups of 802 patients (mean age 66 years; 74%) undergoing isolated CABG, isolated valve, or combined valve/CABG surgery from before (2021-2022) and after (2023-2024) their hospital instituted the initiative to prevent sternal wounds.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Surgical times and the number of bypass grafts remained similar between the time periods, but bilateral internal thoracic artery harvest increased (36.2% vs 46.0%) as did the percentage of patients transfused with platelets (26.8% vs 34.3%) and those extubated in the OR (3.1% vs 9.0%; all &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;&amp;lt; 0.01). Also, after the bundle was implemented, ICU stay length decreased (56.1 vs 51.9 hours; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.02), more patients were discharged early (9.7% vs 14.0%; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.01), and total ventilation time went down (8.2 vs 5.4 hours; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;&amp;lt; 0.01). Notably, the rate of postoperative atrial fibrillation increased (27.8% vs 33.7%; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.01).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Infection rates dropped, save for superficial ones, as did rates of readmission over 30 days.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Infection Rates Over Time: Before vs After Bundle*&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;div class=&quot;table-responsive&quot;&gt;&lt;table class=&quot;Table&quot; style=&quot;width:468px; border-collapse:collapse&quot; width=&quot;468&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:none; width:234px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:none; width:84px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#943634&quot;&gt;Before&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:none; width:90px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:none; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#943634&quot;&gt;After&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:none; width:60px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#943634&quot;&gt;P&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#943634&quot;&gt; value&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:234px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:84px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:none; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#943634&quot;&gt;(n = 802)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:90px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#943634&quot;&gt;(n = 802)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:60px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:234px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#953735&quot;&gt;Any SWI&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:84px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;22.7%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:90px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;1.1%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:60px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;0.03&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:234px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#953735&quot;&gt;Superficial SWI&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:84px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;0.6%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:90px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;0.3%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:60px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;0.87&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:234px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#953735&quot;&gt;Deep SWI&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:84px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;2.1%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:90px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;0.7%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:60px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;0.04&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:234px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#953735&quot;&gt;Readmission for SWI in First 30 Days&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:84px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;1.3%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:90px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;0.4%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:60px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;0.01&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom:13px&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:115%&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:115%&quot;&gt;*SWI = sternal wound infection&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;There was a trend toward annual event rates of any sternal wound infections dropping over the study period &lt;em&gt;(P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.06), but the difference became significant when the 2 years before and after the bundle were grouped (&lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.03).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Independent predictors of any sternal wound infection on multivariate analysis included diabetes, higher body mass index, and surgery before the bundle was implemented.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Interestingly, researchers noted changes in culture isolates, including an almost tripling of candida infections. This led to slight changes in the protocol to reduce the duration of triple antibiotic ointment use.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;‘A Lot of Enthusiasm’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Vinogradsky said her department has generally been supportive of the changes in protocol, especially with results like they’ve seen, and of the weekly check-ins to track adherence. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“Everybody recognizes how much of a burden [infections are] to the patient and to the healthcare system and how sternal wound infections in general just threaten the integrity of the entire operation that you performed,” she said. “Once we were able to show our community that . . . we are seeing significant improvements, there’s [been] a lot of enthusiasm for learn[ing] more about this [and being] part of this effort.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;To those looking to start a similar quality improvement initiative at their institution, Vinogradsky recommends starting small. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“When you’re starting out, you have limited manpower, limited resources, limited buy-in, and then a myriad of other things that you can be choosing to focus on to improve about your program overall,” she said. “Identify something actionable, measurable, and concrete where you can have a specific intervention.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;A challenge with implementing and assessing bundles is “you can’t really identify what specific factors are responsible for success,” Vinogradsky continued. “And when you’re first starting out, I think it’s easier in the sense that it’s more effective to focus on specific things that you think are relevant to your experience.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
      </description>
      <link>https://www.tctmd.com/news/quality-improvement-effort-decreases-deep-sternal-wound-infections-after-surgery</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.tctmd.com/news/quality-improvement-effort-decreases-deep-sternal-wound-infections-after-surgery</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 18:27:04 GMT</pubDate>
      <author>Yael L. Maxwell</author>
      <enclosure url="https://d14d5nk8lue86f.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/styles/editors_pick_teaser_210x370/public/2026-02/Quality-Improvement%20Effort%20Decreases%20Deep%20Sternal%20Wound%20Infections%20After%20Surgery_0.jpg?itok=bFCq_TCo" type="image/jpeg"></enclosure>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Latest STS Compensation Data Show Pay Is Up but Still Lags for Female Surgeons</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Transparency is needed to improve equity, though it can be awkward to talk about salary, says Thomas MacGillivray.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;NEW ORLEANS, LA—The third annual survey of member compensation conducted by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) shows increases in median take-home pay across the board, with tiny strides made in shrinking previously identified gender disparities.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Congenital surgeons reported the highest median total compensation from 2025 at $1.06 million (9,366 relative value units [RVUs]), followed by cardiac surgeons and those in a hybrid practice—both at $1 million (11,000 and 11,250 RVUs, respectively). General thoracic surgeons reported earning $700,000 (7,300 RVUs). Compared with &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.tctmd.com/news/second-annual-sts-compensation-survey-finds-gaps-persist-gender&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;2024 data&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;, these salaries represent increases of between 4.5% and 7.5%.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;When broken down by gender, female surgeons made 84%, 89%, 80%, and 83% of what their male colleagues earned in 2025 when looking at cardiac, general thoracic, hybrid, and congenital practice groups, respectively. These are up from the 67%-89% reported last year. New in the 2025 survey, cardiothoracic surgeons collectively said they would consider accepting considerations like more flexible schedules, autonomy, and working with better colleagues in lieu of monetary compensation.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“The purpose of this survey was to address the challenge of understanding different values and to better translate it into fair market compensation,” said former STS President Thomas MacGillivray, MD (MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC), who presented the findings over the weekend at the 2025 STS Annual Meeting. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;A second aim, he added, “is to collect accurate data that included the many nuances that comprise compensation in our diverse specialty, including subspecialty, stage of career, gender, race, geographic location, service area, and employment model.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The field took a “punch in the nose” in 2023 when Cherie Erkmen, MD (Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA), presented and eventually &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.annalsthoracicsurgery.org/article/S0003-4975(23)00822-6/fulltext&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;published&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; data showing stark gender gaps in pay for cardiothoracic surgeons, MacGillivray said, explaining the origins of the survey.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“I do think it’s getting better,” he told TCTMD. “It’s not getting better as fast as many of us want it to, but it’s getting better. And there is a commitment to fix it.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Survey Findings&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The 84-question survey was sent to the entire membership of the STS between September 8 and November 2, 2025. The 1,128 people who answered represent a 35% response rate, up 7.5% from the 1,049 respondents from the year before.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Cardiac surgeons made up more than half of respondents (51%), with general thoracic surgeons (24%), those in a hybrid practice (15%), and congenital surgeons (10%) making up the rest. The survey did receive a few responses from transplant surgeons this year, but there were not enough data to accurately present, according to MacGillivray.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The demographics of respondents closely reflect current STS membership. About 12% of respondents to the 2025 survey were female, and the majority identified as white/Caucasian (67%), followed by Asian/Pacific Islander (23%), Hispanic/Latino (6%), multiple ethnicities/other (2%), and Black or African American (3%). Just over half (58%) were employed by a hospital/health system, with 37% employed in academic practice and the remaining 5% in private practice or self-employed.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Surgeon experience was well balanced among respondents, with 21%, 18%, 27%, 25%, and 8% having completed training 0-5, 6-10, 11-20, 21-30, or 31 or more years ago, respectively.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Median compensation was roughly similar across regions, though it was slightly lower for those practicing cardiac surgery, general thoracic surgery, or a hybrid in the northeast US. As was seen before, surgeons employed by a hospital/healthcare system generally took home the highest compensation.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Looking at organizational ownership, 13% of respondents said they worked for a for-profit entity, including 1% at facilities owned or financed by private equity.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Starting salaries also ticked upward. For those 2 years or less out of training, median compensation ranged from $475,000 (up from $441,000 in 2024) in general thoracic surgery to $710,000 (up from $600,000) in cardiac surgery. For those 3-5 years out of training, these figures jumped to $578,000 (up from $500,000 in 2024) in general thoracic surgery and $850,000 (up from $838,000) in cardiac surgery.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, the average response rate for physicians when asked about their compensation satisfaction was 3.47, up from 3.38 last year. This figure was largely similar across practice specialties and years in practice.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;When asked to rank 11 considerations they would accept in lieu of compensation, the respondents’ top three were flexibility of schedule, more autonomy of work effort, and working with better colleagues. At the bottom of the list were more mentorship, greater prestige, and childcare/tuition support.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;This section of the survey surprised MacGillivray the most, he told TCTMD. “Mentorship is priceless, . . . and maybe people just take it for granted and they don’t necessarily see the value of it,” he said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Further, on a scale of 1 to 5, surgeons said they largely had clarity about their compensation model, with an average response rate of 3.33, and this increased with time in practice: 3.19 for those less than 2 years out to 3.70 for those with more than 31 years of practice.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Lastly, when asked if they receive compensation benchmarks from employers, the average response on a scale of 1 (never) to 5 (always) was 2.32.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;MacGillivray stressed the purpose of the survey is primarily to increase transparency and “educate members on the importance of using data to make independent decisions about compensation in other terms of employment.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;‘If I Were Getting Paid Like a Man’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;During the discussion, panelist Shanda Blackmon, MD, MPH (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX), commented on the importance of educating early-career surgeons on what they can ask for in addition to compensation when signing a contract. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“Many contracts include things like whether or not cases can be bumped, whether or not your nurse can be taken from the OR, whether or not you were allowed to have access to two ORs so that you can flip-flop between rooms, how much access you have to other types of support and what percent of administrative time is protected for you,” she explained. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Also important to note is that most surgeons are “anchored” to their first base salary, as promotions and raises are often tied to that for the length of their tenure, said panelist Linda Martin, MD (University of Virginia, Charlottesville). “When you think about how much that adds up over the course of your career, I’m sure that I could retire right now if I were getting paid like a man,” she commented.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;blockquote&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;If I am doing the same work as someone else, I should be compensated exactly the same. Period. And if that’s not happening, it needs to be fixed. &lt;strong&gt;Thomas MacGillivray&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/blockquote&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;To TCTMD, STS program chair Marc Pelletier, MD (Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT), said, a critique from hospital administrators over the last few years about the survey data is that it is self-reported. He suggested a “selective audit” of 10% of respondents to allow for strengthening of future survey data.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;MacGillivray pointed out that this wouldn’t be in the spirit of what the organization originally set out to do with creating a totally anonymous survey, but when he asked for a show of hands in the room during the session of who would be open to submitting a W-2 tax form along with their response, more than half of the room showed support.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;While he admitted how “uncomfortable” it can be to discuss compensation when cardiothoracic surgeons are paid much higher than many other important professionals, MacGillivray stressed the importance of using the data to promote equity in the field. “If I am doing the same work as someone else, I should be compensated exactly the same. Period. And if that’s not happening, it needs to be fixed,” said MacGillivray.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; Also, he continued, the awkwardness around the conversation “shouldn’t b

TonyRL · 2026-02-06T11:38:45Z

lib/routes/tctmd/conference-news.ts

+            source: ['tctmd.com/news/conference-news'],
+        },
+    ],
+    name: 'Conference News',
+    maintainers: ['ChuYinan2023'],
+    handler,
+    url: 'tctmd.com/news/conference-news',


Suggested change

source: ['tctmd.com/news/conference-news'],

},

],

name: 'Conference News',

maintainers: ['ChuYinan2023'],

handler,

url: 'tctmd.com/news/conference-news',

source: ['www.tctmd.com/news/conference-news'],

},

],

name: 'Conference News',

maintainers: ['ChuYinan2023'],

handler,

url: 'www.tctmd.com/news/conference-news',

TonyRL · 2026-02-06T11:39:01Z

lib/routes/tctmd/namespace.ts

+
+export const namespace: Namespace = {
+    name: 'TCTMD',
+    url: 'tctmd.com',


Suggested change

url: 'tctmd.com',

url: 'www.tctmd.com',

TonyRL · 2026-02-06T11:44:05Z

lib/routes/tctmd/conference-news.ts

+    const currentUrl = `${rootUrl}/news/conference-news`;
+
+    const response = await got({
+        method: 'get',
+        url: currentUrl,
+    });


Use the article list from SEE ALL which provides 20 latest articles insted of 6.

TonyRL · 2026-02-06T11:47:12Z

lib/routes/tctmd/conference-news.ts

+                    const content = load(detailResponse.data);
+
+                    // Extract article body
+                    const articleBody = content('.field--name-field-body-content').html() || content('.field--name-body').html() || content('.node__content .field--name-field-body').html() || '';


Please provide an URL that .field--name-body or .node__content .field--name-field-body can match the main article.

TonyRL · 2026-02-06T11:48:02Z

lib/routes/tctmd/conference-news.ts

+                    const articleBody = content('.field--name-field-body-content').html() || content('.field--name-body').html() || content('.node__content .field--name-field-body').html() || '';
+
+                    // Extract intro text / summary
+                    const subhead = content('.field--name-field-intro-text').text().trim() || content('.field--name-field-subhead').text().trim();


Please provide an URL that .field--name-field-subhead can match the intro.

TonyRL · 2026-02-06T11:58:58Z

lib/routes/tctmd/conference-news.ts

+    const fullItems = await Promise.all(
+        items.map((item) =>
+            cache.tryGet(item.link, async () => {
+                try {


Handle errors properly instead of wrapping everything in try-catch

TonyRL · 2026-02-06T11:59:14Z

lib/routes/tctmd/radar.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+export const radar = [


Redundant file

- Use www.tctmd.com instead of tctmd.com in url and radar source - Fetch from search page (SEE ALL) to get 20 articles instead of 6 - Remove unused selector fallbacks (.field--name-body, .field--name-field-body, .field--name-field-subhead) - Remove try-catch wrapper, let errors propagate properly - Delete redundant radar.ts (radar rules already in route definition) Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

ChuYinan2023 · 2026-02-07T03:38:09Z

Addressed all feedback. Thanks for the review!

github-actions · 2026-02-07T03:40:45Z

Successfully generated as following:

http://localhost:1200/tctmd/conference-news - Success ✔️

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    <title>TCTMD - Conference News</title>
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    <atom:link href="http://localhost:1200/tctmd/conference-news" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"></atom:link>
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    <webMaster>contact@rsshub.app (RSSHub)</webMaster>
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      <url>https://www.tctmd.com/themes/tctmd/logo.svg</url>
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    <lastBuildDate>Sat, 07 Feb 2026 03:40:44 GMT</lastBuildDate>
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    <item>
      <title>CHOICE-2 Bolsters Intra-arterial Lytics After Stroke Thrombectomy</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;With the study adding to a mix of conflicting trial results, it’s not yet time to update guidelines, Shyam Prabhakaran says.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;NEW ORLEANS, LA—Administering intra-arterial alteplase after successful endovascular thrombectomy in patients with acute ischemic stroke improves functional outcomes and reduces persistent hypoperfusion, according to the results of the CHOICE-2 trial.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;That was achieved without increasing the risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), Ángel Chamorro, MD, PhD (Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Spain), reported here at the International Stroke Conference. All-cause mortality was higher when intra-arterial therapy was added, although the difference may have been related to a lower-than-expected rate in the control group rather than an increase with the intervention.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The trial investigators “believe that CHOICE-2 supports the administration of intra-arterial alteplase after successful thrombectomy in selected patients,” Chamorro said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Several prior trials have explored the impact of intra-arterial thrombolytics after successful thrombectomy, with mixed results. The first &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.tctmd.com/news/choice-intra-arterial-tpa-enhances-benefit-stroke-thrombectomy&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;CHOICE&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; trial made headlines when it showed an absolute 18% increase in the proportion of patients with an excellent functional outcome with use of intra-arterial alteplase. The findings were not, however, considered definitive because the study was stopped prematurely. Over the next several years, three trials—&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.tctmd.com/news/intra-arterial-lytics-dont-help-after-stroke-thrombectomy-questions-persist&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;POST-UK and POST-TNK&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;, along with &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj-2024-080489&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;ATTENTION-IA&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;—failed to find a benefit with intra-arterial lytics, while another two, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.tctmd.com/news/two-trials-boost-intra-arterial-lytics-after-stroke-thrombectomy&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;ANGEL-TNK and PEARL&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;, yielded positive results.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;In the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.tctmd.com/news/ahaasa-release-new-comprehensive-acute-ischemic-stroke-guideline&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;latest guideline&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; on the early management of acute ischemic stroke, released last week by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, the conflicting evidence has been distilled into a class 2b recommendation stating that it may be reasonable to use adjunctive intra-arterial thrombolytics to improve cerebral perfusion and 90-day functional outcomes in patients who undergo thrombectomy that results in complete or near-complete reperfusion.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Shyam Prabhakaran, MD (University of Chicago Medicine, IL), chair of the guideline writing group, told TCTMD the magnitude of the improvement in functional outcome seen in CHOICE-2 “opens the door” to this adjunctive treatment approach. “We know that small clots in the distal vasculature are very hard to approach mechanically and that lytic agents could get into that microcirculation and dissolve them, Prabhakaran commented.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;That said, he cautioned against interpreting CHOICE-2 as guideline-changing, pointing to the other conflicting trial results.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“I think maybe the debate will rage on a bit more, and this gives people more ammunition to do this type of study on a larger scale. Probably an international study is needed,” he said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The CHOICE-2 Trial&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Even with a successful angiographic result, fewer than one-third of patients who undergo stroke thrombectomy achieve an excellent functional outcome, defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 0 to 1, Chamorro noted, adding that the main hypothesis to explain that phenomenon is that microvascular hypoperfusion persists after opening up the vessel.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“Back in 2020, we were the first to propose that the outcome of a patient with a stroke could improve beyond angiographic success [following thrombectomy] with the administration of intra-arterial alteplase,” Chamorro said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Because the results of CHOICE were considered preliminary, the investigators designed CHOICE-2 to validate the findings in a larger phase III population. The trial, conducted at 14 stroke centers in Spain, included adults with acute ischemic stroke caused by a large-vessel occlusion who were treated with thrombectomy within 24 hours of onset and achieved successful reperfusion (eTICI 2b-3).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;After confirmation of successful reperfusion, 440 patients were randomized to intra-arterial alteplase 0.225 mg/kg (maximum dose 20 mg) given in a 15-minute infusion or no intra-arterial lytics. The primary analysis included 436 patients (median age about 76 years; 51% women) who adhered to the protocol. Median NIHSS score at baseline was 15.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Nearly two-thirds of patients (63%) received IV thrombolysis before thrombectomy. More than half of patients (57%) achieved complete reperfusion after the procedure (eTICI 3), with another 20% achieving 90% to 99% reperfusion (eTICI 2c).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;An excellent functional outcome at 90 days, the primary endpoint, was observed in 57.5% of patients who received adjunctive intra-arterial alteplase and 42.9% of those who underwent thrombectomy alone, with an adjusted risk difference of 15.0%. That equates to a number need to treat of 7. The findings were consistent across subgroups.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;CT perfusion imaging performed at 36 hours showed that patients who received intra-arterial treatment were less likely to have persistent hypoperfusion (29% vs 51%; &lt;em&gt;P&lt;/em&gt; &amp;lt; 0.001).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Among secondary outcomes, adjunctive therapy was associated with significantly better self-reported quality of life based on the EQ-5D-5L assessment (&lt;em&gt;P&lt;/em&gt; = 0.02) and, among survivors, an increased likelihood of having a &lt;a&gt;Barthel index &lt;/a&gt;of 95 to 100 at 90 days (72% vs 62%; &lt;em&gt;P&lt;/em&gt; = 0.04).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;There was no difference between the intervention and control arms in sICH (1.4% vs 0.5%; &lt;em&gt;P&lt;/em&gt; = 0.33). The rate of all-cause death was “very low” in the alteplase arm and “extremely low” in the control arm, Chamorro said, leading to a significantly higher rate among those who receive intra-arterial lytics (12.1% vs 6.4%; &lt;em&gt;P&lt;/em&gt; = 0.04).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The mortality finding “isn’t directionally related to the symptomatic hemorrhage rates, because they were equivalent,” Prabhakaran said. “It’s hard to understand what could have been causing the deaths if it’s not hemorrhage. So it is puzzling, but it also makes you want to see more of these studies done. Because when you have mixed signals like that, you definitely want to make sure that you’re not overenthusiastic after one study.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://www.tctmd.com/news/choice-2-bolsters-intra-arterial-lytics-after-stroke-thrombectomy</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.tctmd.com/news/choice-2-bolsters-intra-arterial-lytics-after-stroke-thrombectomy</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 19:32:44 GMT</pubDate>
      <author>Todd Neale</author>
      <enclosure url="https://d14d5nk8lue86f.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/styles/teaser/public/2026-02/CHOICE-2%20Bolsters%20Intra-arterial%20Lytics%20After%20Stroke%20Thrombectomy_tier1.jpg?itok=woM7QyKn" type="image/jpeg"></enclosure>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Hearts Donated After Circulatory vs Brain Death Tied to More Graft Dysfunction but Similar Survival</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The procurement and perfusion method, areas that are rapidly evolving, will likely play a role in the success of DCD transplants.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;NEW ORLEANS, LA—Hearts derived from donors following circulatory death (DCD) have a higher rate of primary graft dysfunction (PGD) following transplantation than those donated after brain death (DBD), according to new data. That said, the patients who receive the organs see similar survival through 5 years.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The findings, though retrospective, support the expansion of DCD heart transplantation with “thoughtful donor selection,” said Tal Kibel (Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA), a medical student who presented the findings at the recent 2025 Society of Thoracic Surgeons&amp;nbsp; Annual Meeting.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;In the US, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) says,&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://unos.org/news/understanding-donation-after-circulatory-death-dcd/&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;DCD accounted for 43%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;of all deceased organ donors in 2024, but only a minority of cardiac transplantations are done using hearts obtained after circulatory death. Cardiac DCD transplant is growing, however, and several studies have now shown the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.tctmd.com/news/large-study-bolsters-feasibility-heart-donation-after-circulatory-death&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;feasibility&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;of using these hearts as well as satisfactory &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.tctmd.com/news/randomized-trial-supports-using-hearts-donated-after-circulatory-death&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;longer-term outcomes&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Cardiac DCD transplant is growing, however, and several studies have now shown the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.tctmd.com/news/large-study-bolsters-feasibility-heart-donation-after-circulatory-death&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;feasibility&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; of using these hearts as well as satisfactory &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.tctmd.com/news/randomized-trial-supports-using-hearts-donated-after-circulatory-death&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;longer-term outcomes&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;For the current study, researchers reviewed data from UNOS on 2,706 and 18,872 patients who received DCD and DBD heart transplant in the US, respectively, between December 2019 and September 2025. Those in the DCD group were more likely to be male but less likely to have pulmonary hypertension or be on an intra-aortic balloon pump or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) compared to those in the DBD arm. Procurement distance was on average longer for DCD versus DBD hearts (380.9 vs 299.3 miles).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Following transplantation, more than twice as many of those who received DCD hearts experienced PGD compared to their DBD counterparts (10.2% vs 5.0%; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;&amp;lt; 0.001). Additionally, there was more need for dialysis (21.9% vs 17.3%; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;&amp;lt; 0.001) with DCD but no difference in the rate of mortality at 30 days (2.9% vs 2.8%; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.83) or hospital length of stay (24 vs 25 days; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.06).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;At 5 years, there was no difference in the adjusted rate of all-cause mortality between the groups (76.5% vs 76.9%; HR 1.07; 95% CI 0.93-1.24).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;With DCD, the hearts are preserved in two ways: the normothermic regional perfusion (NRP)&amp;nbsp;technique, which involves restoring partial circulation in the donor’s body after circulatory death is declared, and direct procurement and perfusion (DPP), where the heart is reanimated on an extracorporeal perfusion machine and assessed.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;When the DCD patients were stratified by use of NRP (n = 839) or DPP (n = 1,867), there was no difference in the rates of PGD (10.1% vs 10.3%; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.9) or need for dialysis (21.2% vs 22.2%; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.55). However, the recipients of DCD hearts taken with NRP had half the mortality of the DPP arm, both in the hospital (2.4% vs 5.4%; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;&amp;lt; 0.001) and at 30 days (1.7% vs 3.4%; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.018). Survival was similar at 5 years (81.8% vs 75.2%; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.1).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Kibel acknowledged that the dataset was sometimes inconsistent and incomplete, without information on preservation strategy or intraoperative variables. Lastly, NRP and DPP classifications were based on time and not necessarily accurate.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;In an email, senior author Masaki Tsukashita, MD (Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA), told TCTMD that ECMO use has been previously linked to PGD, though the etiology of this outcome is “multifactorial.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“Our speculation is that PGD in DCD is mostly driven by donor factors (warm ischemic time, long transport, myocardial edema, etc), which can be reversible if the donor heart was [a] relatively healthy, good functioning one without major structural valve [or] coronary artery disease,” he explained. “Whereas PGD in DBD is mostly driven by recipient factors, [including] sick recipients on VA ECMO [or] mechanical ventilator, bleeding/massive transfusions during transplant, [and] high pulmonary vascular resistance.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;As far as procurement goes, several nonrandomized &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.tctmd.com/news/donor-hearts-fare-better-novel-method-after-circulatory-death&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;studies&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; have already shown a lower PGD rate with NRP compared with DPP, but the former has been plagued by &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.tctmd.com/news/cardiac-transplant-midst-revolution-public-trust-fragile&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;ethical concerns&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;, with many states imposing a moratorium on the practice&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;. A new technique called rapid recovery with extended ultraoxygenated preservation (REUP) is &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.tctmd.com/news/cardioprotective-flush-without-reanimation-safe-and-effective-dcd-transplant&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;showing promise&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;, but it’s not yet used widely.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“It is well known that longer the cold ischemic time, the higher the PGD rate,” Tsukashita said. REUP “may be a breakthrough. . . . However, the data is still limited to a single institution experience. I would like to see wider adoption of the method and data based on multicenter experience.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://www.tctmd.com/news/hearts-donated-after-circulatory-vs-brain-death-tied-more-graft-dysfunction-similar-survival</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.tctmd.com/news/hearts-donated-after-circulatory-vs-brain-death-tied-more-graft-dysfunction-similar-survival</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 14:59:13 GMT</pubDate>
      <author>Yael L. Maxwell</author>
      <enclosure url="https://d14d5nk8lue86f.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/styles/teaser/public/2026-02/Hearts%20Donated%20After%20Circulatory%20vs%20Brain%20Death%20Tied%20to%20More%20Graft%20Dysfunction%20but%20Similar%20Survival_0.jpg?itok=uXPrXSCB" type="image/jpeg"></enclosure>
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      <title>FASTEST Hints at Benefits of Hemostatic Therapy for Acute ICH in Select Groups</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Though recombinant factor VIIa didn’t improve outcomes overall, treating very early and in those with a spot sign on CT may help.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;NEW ORLEANS, LA—Recombinant factor VIIa slowed hematoma growth in patients with a spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) when administered within 2 hours of onset, but treatment significantly increased the risk of life-threatening thromboembolic complications and failed to improve functional outcomes, according to the overall FASTEST findings reported here at the International Stroke Conference.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;In subgroup analyses, there were suggestions of better clinical outcomes and greater impacts on limiting bleeding expansion when the hemostatic therapy was administered very early after ICH onset (within 90 minutes) and in patients with a positive spot sign—a biological marker of ongoing bleeding—on CT angiography.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“The enhanced biological effect in stopping bleeding in these two subgroups was associated with efficacy at 90 days . . . and borderline efficacy at 180 days,” said Joseph Broderick, MD (University of Cincinnati, OH), who presented the findings along with Kazunori Toyoda, MD, PhD (National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Broderick noted that the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07227246&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;FASTEST Part 2&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; trial is evaluating recombinant factor VIIa in patients treated within 90 minutes or, in those who have a positive spot sign, within 120 minutes. “We think we now have a very clear road map to the first hemostatic therapy for intracerebral hemorrhage,” he said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Steven Greenberg, MD, PhD (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston), who commented on the study for TCTMD, pointed out that its logistics were demanding and that getting all patients enrolled and treated within 2 hours of ICH onset was “remarkable.” The signal of benefit in the subgroups also appears to be a reasonable finding. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“Sometimes when people do subgroup analyses, it’s kind of suspect because it seems like they’ve sliced and diced the data to find something that had a positive result, but I think here . . . the analysis was very thoughtful,” he said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Having indications of benefit in patients treated within 90 minutes and those with a positive spot sign “makes sense because you’re getting the process when it’s most active or earliest,” Greenberg said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;He added, “the way it correlates with the amount of enlargement that you’re preventing supports that mechanism that if we can find a subgroup where we’re not preventing just a slight enlargement of bleeding but a sizable enlargement of bleeding, that’s going to show up as a clinical benefit.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The FASTEST results were &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00097-8/abstract&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;published simultaneously online&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; in the &lt;em&gt;Lancet&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Stopping Bleeding Early&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;In spontaneous ICH, nearly all the bleeding expansion occurs in the first 2 to 3 hours, Toyoda said. Prior studies have shown that recombinant factor VIIa stems bleeding when given within the first 3 hours, with even greater effects when it’s administered in the first 2 hours.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The phase III FASTEST trial, conducted at 103 sites in the United States, Japan, Canada, Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom, was designed to evaluate the treatment’s impact when administered early after acute ICH onset. Investigators enrolled patients who were ages 18 to 80 years, had a baseline ICH volume of 2 to 60 mL, and had no or small volume of intraventricular hemorrhage. All were treated within 2 hours of stroke onset or when they were last known to be well, with the time to drug administration shortened through the use of mobile stroke units and other measures.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The initial plan called for 860 patients, but the study was stopped for futility after the second interim analysis. The data and safety monitoring board, however, recommended reconfiguring the trial to enroll only those with a positive spot sign on CT angiography.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Ultimately, 626 patients (mean age 61 years, 35% women) were randomized to intravenous recombinant factor VIIa at a dose of 80 µg/kg (maximum dose 10 mg) or placebo on top of best standard therapy (including a target systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg); the mean time from ICH onset to administration of study drug was 100 minutes. At baseline, mean ICH volume was 16.7 mL, mean IVH volume was 1.5 mL, and median NIHSS score was 13.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The primary outcome—the distribution of ordinal modified Rankin Scale scores at 180 days—was not significantly different between the treatment and control arms (adjusted common OR 1.09; 95% CI 0.79-1.51).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;There was no impact on functional outcomes despite the hemostatic therapy leading to smaller increases from baseline to 24 hours in ICH volume (mean 3.68 mL less) and ICH plus IVH volume (mean 5.23 mL less; &lt;em&gt;P&lt;/em&gt; = 0.0011 for both) compared with placebo.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;On the safety side, use of recombinant factor VIIa increased the rate of life-threatening thromboembolic complications during the first 4 days (4.6% vs 1.3%; relative risk 3.41; 95% CI 1.14-10.15), with no significant differences in other endpoints, including 180-day mortality (6.1% vs 7.4%; RR 0.83; 95% CI 0.46-1.48).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Eyeing an Eventual ‘Big Step Forward’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The increase in thromboembolic events with recombinant factor VIIa is very real, and not trivial, but ideally that risk can be offset by a therapy that will improve long-term functional outcomes, said Greenberg. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“The hope is that we get to that point. We’re obviously not there yet,” he acknowledged.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Overall, the findings are encouraging and provide a good rationale for continuing with FASTEST Part 2, he said, indicating, however, that there’s a need for other potential therapies as well. “We’ve got to get much better. This can’t be our only treatment for bleeding strokes,” Greenberg said. “But if we get to the point where we’ve got a hemostatic therapy that benefits patients, it’s [going to be] a big step forward.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://www.tctmd.com/news/fastest-hints-benefits-hemostatic-therapy-acute-ich-select-groups</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.tctmd.com/news/fastest-hints-benefits-hemostatic-therapy-acute-ich-select-groups</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 05 Feb 2026 17:59:39 GMT</pubDate>
      <author>Todd Neale</author>
      <enclosure url="https://d14d5nk8lue86f.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/styles/teaser/public/2026-02/FASTEST%20Hints%20at%20Benefits%20of%20Hemostatic%20Therapy%20for%20Acute%20ICH%20in%20Select%20Groups_0.jpg?itok=Coy90UZI" type="image/jpeg"></enclosure>
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      <title>Carotid Revascularization Doesn’t Improve Cognition: CREST-2</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Neither stenting nor endarterectomy provided a boost versus medical therapy alone in patients with asymptomatic stenosis.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;NEW ORLEANS, LA—Revascularization with either stenting or endarterectomy does not improve cognitive function compared with medical management alone in patients who have asymptomatic high-grade carotid artery stenosis, a CREST-2 analysis shows.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;There were no significant differences between the revascularization and control arms in the trajectories of scores on five cognitive tests evaluating learning, attention, memory, and executive function or of a composite of those scores, Ronald Lazar, PhD (University of Alabama at Birmingham), reported here at the International Stroke Conference.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“Given the results of reperfusion in the setting of acute stroke in improving neurologic function, many people began to think that if we revascularize these patients, not only would you prevent stroke, but perhaps you can improve cognition as well,” Lazar said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The new results, however, “suggest that those with greater than 70% stenosis and diminished cognition may already have irreversible neurologic injury,” he concluded. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Prior studies have shown that patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis have reduced cognitive function before undergoing revascularization. Lazar and his colleagues, for instance, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.032972&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;demonstrated&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; that patients entering the CREST-2 trial had cognitive deficits, particularly in memory, at baseline.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Studies exploring the possibility that carotid revascularization might improve cognitive function have yielded mixed results, though they’ve been subject to various limitations related to the types of screening instruments used, control groups, length of follow-up, and sample size.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The cognitive function analysis of the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.tctmd.com/news/long-awaited-crest-2-results-bolster-stents-asymptomatic-carotid-stenosis&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;CREST-2&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; trial, which was conducted at 155 sites and included 2,485 patients, strengthens the evidence in this area. The study—which encompasses two separate trials of stenting and endarterectomy, each compared with intensive medical management alone—showed that stenting, but not surgery, significantly reduced long-term stroke risk.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The impact on cognition was a prespecified secondary outcome, with 2,165 patients providing data for this analysis. The cognitive test battery, administered by telephone at baseline and then annually up to 4 years of follow-up, included five neuropsychological assessments:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Word list learning (learning)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
        &lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Digit Span (attention)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
        &lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Word list delayed recall (memory)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
        &lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Animal naming (executive function)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
        &lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Controlled oral word association (executive function)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
        &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The investigators calculated Z-scores, which place each individual result in reference to scores from all patients in the cohort, for each test and for the composite of all five.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Unadjusted trajectories in mean composite Z-score over time, based on 7,060 tests during the trial, showed no differences between the revascularization and control arms for either the stenting or endarterectomy studies.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The researchers then used linear mixed models to adjust for covariates, confirming that the slopes for all five cognitive measures as well as the composite were not significantly influenced by revascularization versus intensive medical management.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The findings were consistent in patients with the poorest cognitive function at baseline.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;To assess whether the telephone-based test battery was sensitive enough to detect neurological status, the researchers performed an additional analysis showing that when patients had a stroke during follow-up, there was a significant and measurable dip in cognitive function. That “confirms to us the sensitivity of our cognitive battery,” Lazar said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;blockquote&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;We need to look at the overall landscape of things that can impact cognition. &lt;strong&gt;Seemant Chaturvedi&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/blockquote&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Commenting for TCTMD, Seemant Chaturvedi, MD (University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore), a member of the CREST-2 executive committee, congratulated Lazar and his team for completing the cognitive analysis, noting that “this was certainly the biggest study ever of this type in patients with asymptomatic carotid disease.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;He added that “the battery that they used was appropriate in that it was able to evaluate some key cognitive domains and yet it was still practical enough to be done within 30 minutes during a large-scale trial.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;That revascularization did not provide a boost in cognitive function is not unexpected, “because we know that cognition is very complex and there are many factors that can impact cognitive ability,” Chaturvedi said, pointing, for example, to the burden of small-vessel disease, changes related to Alzheimer’s disease, APOE status, and sleep apnea. “When you consider the complexity of those factors, it is maybe not that surprising.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;It’s also possible, he said, that some patients with asymptomatic carotid narrowing don’t have a true flow-limiting stenosis, which could have influenced the results seen here.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;These findings won’t necessarily change how he counsels patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis when they’re considering revascularization, because most are focused on the potential for reducing stroke risk, said Chaturvedi. “I haven’t had too many patients inquire as to whether there’ll be any cognitive benefit.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;That said, “if patients ask about it, I think we can say that as of now, there’s no definite proof that it will improve cognition,” he added.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;He also advocated for a more holistic approach to managing cognitive function in patients with carotid stenosis. “We need to look at the overall landscape of things that can impact cognition,” Chaturvedi said. “For these patients, we’re seeing them at one point in time, but over the next 5, 10 years, we want to optimize their brain health.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://www.tctmd.com/news/carotid-revascularization-doesnt-improve-cognition-crest-2</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.tctmd.com/news/carotid-revascularization-doesnt-improve-cognition-crest-2</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 20:41:17 GMT</pubDate>
      <author>Todd Neale</author>
      <enclosure url="https://d14d5nk8lue86f.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/styles/teaser/public/2026-02/Carotid%20Revascularization%20Doesn%E2%80%99t%20Improve%20Cognition%20CREST-2_0.jpg?itok=R3iJQZHU" type="image/jpeg"></enclosure>
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      <title>Quality-Improvement Effort Decreases Deep Sternal Wound Infections After Surgery</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A bundle of protocols including patient education, skin prep, and glove changes reduced infections at a large US surgical center.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;NEW ORLEANS, LA—A standardized initiative to prevent deep sternal wound infections in patients undergoing cardiac surgery more than halved the rate of this risky complication over 4 years, according to results from a single US hospital.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The team reduced the rate from 2.1% in 2021-2022 to 0.7% in 2023-2024 (&lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.04) by introducing and adopting a bundle of interventions and processes to be followed for each cardiac surgery.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“What really made the big difference is our commitment to standardized perioperative care—in terms of how patients are prepared for surgery, both physically in terms of the CHG [chlorhexidine gluconate] baths that they get and the specific timing of those baths, but also how we’re caring for the wounds after surgery,” Alice Vinogradsky, MD (NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY), who presented the results at the recent 2025 Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Annual Meeting, told TCTMD.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;It’s been a multidisciplinary initiative and commitment—one that was developed after physicians at NewYork-Presbyterian-Columbia University Medical Center identified a “persistently elevated” rate of infections compared to other area hospitals—but Vinogradsky credited the nurses with enforcing the bundle and ensuring its success. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“We have nurses who are champions of their aspects of the care protocol,” she said. “In the operating room, our circulating nurses really take it upon themselves to make sure that whatever component of the intraoperative checklist we’re adhering to, that’s being documented and recognized, and whatever component we’re not adhering to, that’s also being documented and recognized and highlighted.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Sternal wound infections are known to be associated with increased morbidity, mortality, healthcare costs, and prolonged hospitalizations after cardiac surgery. Core components of the bundle include preoperative patient education on preventing infection, skin preparation protocols, a standardized intraoperative checklist printed in pink, and postoperative wound care. Some of the biggest differences with the protocol, Vinogradsky said, included glove changes—every 2 hours and after specific surgical maneuvers—and adhering to standardization in general.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;“There definitely was an intraoperative checklist, but it wasn’t a checklist that was printed and circulated,” she said, adding that it didn’t specify things like when and how to clean dressings and which dressings to use. “When you’re trying all these different things iteratively, there’s not really a standardized protocol for which patient gets what, and then I think that keeps you from being able to home in on what the actual root causes were of these infections.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Commenting on the findings for TCTMD, Maria Alcina Fonseca, DNP, RN (Morristown Medical Center, NJ), who has previously implemented a similar initiative at her hospital, said the Columbia program was “very well done.” Further, she added, “I am a true believer that a bundle and an interdisciplinary approach [as] has been demonstrated previously is the most successful way to reduce infections.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Clear Results&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;To assess the effectiveness of the intervention, Vinogradsky and colleagues conducted a propensity score-matched analysis of two groups of 802 patients (mean age 66 years; 74%) undergoing isolated CABG, isolated valve, or combined valve/CABG surgery from before (2021-2022) and after (2023-2024) their hospital instituted the initiative to prevent sternal wounds.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Surgical times and the number of bypass grafts remained similar between the time periods, but bilateral internal thoracic artery harvest increased (36.2% vs 46.0%) as did the percentage of patients transfused with platelets (26.8% vs 34.3%) and those extubated in the OR (3.1% vs 9.0%; all &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;&amp;lt; 0.01). Also, after the bundle was implemented, ICU stay length decreased (56.1 vs 51.9 hours; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.02), more patients were discharged early (9.7% vs 14.0%; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.01), and total ventilation time went down (8.2 vs 5.4 hours; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;&amp;lt; 0.01). Notably, the rate of postoperative atrial fibrillation increased (27.8% vs 33.7%; &lt;em&gt;P &lt;/em&gt;= 0.01).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Infection rates dropped, save for superficial ones, as did rates of readmission over 30 days.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Infection Rates Over Time: Before vs After Bundle*&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;div class=&quot;table-responsive&quot;&gt;&lt;table class=&quot;Table&quot; style=&quot;width:468px; border-collapse:collapse&quot; width=&quot;468&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:none; width:234px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:none; width:84px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#943634&quot;&gt;Before&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:none; width:90px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:none; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#943634&quot;&gt;After&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:none; width:60px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#943634&quot;&gt;P&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#943634&quot;&gt; value&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:234px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:84px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:none; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#943634&quot;&gt;(n = 802)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:90px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#943634&quot;&gt;(n = 802)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:60px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:234px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#953735&quot;&gt;Any SWI&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:84px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;22.7%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:90px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;1.1%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:60px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;0.03&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:234px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#953735&quot;&gt;Superficial SWI&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:84px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;0.6%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:90px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;0.3%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:60px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;0.87&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:234px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:#953735&quot;&gt;Deep SWI&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:84px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;2.1%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:90px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align:center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Arial&amp;quot;,sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color:black&quot;&gt;0.7%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/td&gt;
        &lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom:1px solid black; width:60px; padding:0in 7px 0in 7px; height:19px; background-color:#f2f2f2; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot; styl

feat(route): add TCTMD conference news

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Add RSS route for TCTMD (tctmd.com) Conference News section, covering interventional cardiology conference coverage. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

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feat(route): add TCTMD conference news#21072

feat(route): add TCTMD conference news#21072
TonyRL merged 2 commits intoDIYgod:masterfrom
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ChuYinan2023 commented Feb 6, 2026

Involved Issue / 该 PR 相关 Issue

Example for the Proposed Route(s) / 路由地址示例

New RSS Route Checklist / 新 RSS 路由检查表

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Route: /tctmd/conference-news

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