A 42-year-old female patient with a history of cervicothoracic junction meningioma World Health Organization grade I, resected in early 2011, was admitted to the hospital with intractable headache and lower extremity weakness. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed an epidural mass compressing the spinal cord at the prior surgical site, which was interpreted as recurrent meningioma. Following surgical resection, histopathological analysis revealed desmoid fibromatosis (desmoid tumor). In retrospect, dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging performed prior to surgery should have allowed for prospective exclusion of meningioma as the recurrent mass and suggested an alternative diagnosis such as post-traumatic desmoid fibromatosis or the need for biopsy to confirm diagnosis.

Background and Objective Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a progressive hemodynamic condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality, especially in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Therefore, the objective of this network meta-analysis (NMA) is to compare the efficacy of various pulmonary vasodilators in perioperative control of PH among patients undergoing mitral valve replacement surgery (MVRS), aiming to address the existing knowledge gap and improve perioperative outcomes. Methods Electronic databases including PubMed, Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science (WOS) from inception to 17 September 2024. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating vasodilators in PH patients undergoing MVRS were included. We used netmeta package in RStudio to analyze the outcome data with their corresponding mean difference (MD) and confidence intervals (CI). Results Seventeen RCTs including 862 patients were analyzed. Prostacyclin, nitric oxide (NO), and sodium nitroprusside (SN) significantly reduced mean pulmonary arterial pressure with effect sizes [MD, 95% confidence interval (CI)] of (11.77, − 18.78; − 4.76; − 8.3, − 15.9; − 0.6; − 11.02, − 20.1; − 3.8, respectively). While no treatment showed significant efficacy on pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, systolic pulmonary arterial pressure, or heart rate, nitroglycerin, NO, and prostacyclin, showed significant increases in cardiac index with effect sizes (MD, 95% CI) of (1, 0.3; 1.7; 1.2 0.8; 1.6; 1.2 0.8; 1.6, respectively). Additionally, NO, prostacyclin, SN, and nitroglycerin demonstrated significant reductions in systemic vascular resistance (SVR), with effect sizes of. (− 0.54, − 0.82; − 0.26, − 0.37, − 0.65; − 0.09; − 0.47, − 0.77; − 0.16; − 0.14, − 0.24; − 0.03, respectively). Conclusions This NMA highlights prostacyclin, nitroglycerin, NO, and SN as consistently effective in improving hemodynamics for patients with PH undergoing MVRS, and provides valuable insights for surgeons to choose the suitable vasodilator for these surgeries. However, limitations and the need for further RCTs are acknowledged.

Background: Severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and has limited treatment options. Surgical intervention is often contraindicated due to high perioperative risk, creating a demand for minimally invasive alternatives like tricuspid transcatheter edge‐to‐edge repair (T‐TEER). The FDA approval of the TriClip G4 System in April 2024 marked a pivotal advancement in TR management. Objective: This study analyzed trends, outcomes, and predictors associated with T‐TEER placement using the National Inpatient Sample database from 2018 to 2021. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 1960 patients undergoing T‐TEER identified via ICD‐10‐CM coding. Patient demographics, comorbidities, procedural complications, in‐hospital mortality, length of stay, and hospitalization costs were analyzed using logistic regression models. Key outcomes included trends in procedural volume, mortality, complications, and economic impact. Results: Over the study period, T‐TEER procedures increased significantly, with improved outcomes and reduced hospital stays. Female patients experienced lower mortality and complications compared to males (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.23–0.83). Patients with comorbidities, including pulmonary hypertension, liver disease, and peripheral vascular disease, demonstrated higher complication rates. Length of hospital stay decreased from three days in 2018–2019 to two days in 2019–2021, while median hospitalization costs remained high, particularly for patients with congestive heart failure and coagulopathy. Conclusions: T‐TEER offers a viable alternative for patients with high‐risk TR, with increasing utilization and subsequent decrease in procedural complications over time. While our study highlights some disparities in outcomes among patients with complex comorbidities, further studies are warranted to assess long‐term procedural efficacy, safety, and outcomes.

In low-gradient aortic stenosis, diagnostic strategies combining cardiac CT–derived aortic valve area with aortic valve calcium (AVC) or AVC density scores showed comparable diagnostic performance to baseline models of AVC alone or AVC with aortic valve area from echocardiography.