Unplanned readmissions after heart valve surgery are common, and constitute a significant burden for the patient and the health care system. The objective was to investigate the effect of individualised follow-up after open heart valve surgery on a composite endpoint of first unplanned cardiac hospital readmission or all-cause mortality within 180 days of discharge. The study is a prospective cohort study comparing the composite endpoint in patients undergoing early, individualised and intensified follow-up after heart valve surgery with a propensity matched historical control group. A total of 308 consecutive patients were enrolled in the prospective cohort study, 980 consecutive patients comprised the control group. The propensity matched group consisted of n = 300 (intervention) and n = 580 (controls). Time to first event was analysed using uni- and multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were constructed to assess the probability of survival without readmission. After 180 days, the proportion of patients experiencing the composite endpoint was significantly lower in the intervention group compared with the controls for the overall, unmatched population (23% vs. 38%; HR 0.55; 95% CI, 0.42 to 0.73; P < 0.001). The effect did not change in the propensity matched population (HR 0.57; 95% CI 0.43;0.75, P < 0.001). The difference was related to reduction in readmission rates, whereas death rates were similar in intervention and control group (1.6% vs. 1.8%). An intervention consisting of early, individualised and intensified follow-up after open heart valve surgery reduced the risk of a composite endpoint of first, unplanned cardiac hospital readmission or all-cause mortality within 180 days.

Objectives The objective was to assess differences in healthcare costs within 180 days after discharge from open heart valve surgery in an intervention group receiving early, individualised and intensified follow-up compared with a historical control group. Methods A cost-minimisation analysis comparing costs from a consecutive prospective cohort compared with a propensity matched cohort. Costs related to the intervention, hospital (outpatient visits and readmissions) and general practitioners (all contacts) were included. Data were obtained from electronic patient records and registry data. A logistic propensity model was used to identify the historical control group. Main results are presented as mean differences and 95% CIs based on bootstrapping. Results After matching, the analysis included 300 patients from the intervention group and 580 controls. The mean intervention cost was €171 (SD 79) per patient. After 180 days, the mean healthcare costs were €1284 (SD 2567) for the intervention group and €2077 (SD 4773) for the controls. The cost of the intervention group was €793 (p<0.001) less per patient. The cost differences were explained mainly by fewer readmissions, fewer overall emergency visits and fewer contacts to the general practitioner during out-of-hours in the intervention group. Conclusions The intervention consisting of early, individualised and intensified follow-up after open heart valve surgery significantly reduced the healthcare costs within 180 days after discharge.

In experimental research, animal welfare should always be of the highest priority. Currently, physical in-person observations are the standard. This is time-consuming, and results are subjective. Video-based machine learning models for monitoring experimental pigs provide a continuous and objective observation method for animal misthriving detection. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a pig tracking technology, using video-based data in a machine learning model to analyze the posture and activity level of experimental pigs living in single-pig pens. A research prototype was created using a microcomputer and a ceiling-mounted camera for live recording based on the obtained images from the experimental facility, and a combined model was created based on the Ultralytics YOLOv8n for object detection trained on the obtained images. As a second step, the Lucas–Kanade sparse optical flow technique for movement detection was applied. The resulting model successfully classified whether individual pigs were lying, standing, or walking. The validation test showed an accuracy of 90.66%, precision of 90.91%, recall of 90.66%, and correlation coefficient of 84.53% compared with observed ground truth. In conclusion, the model demonstrates how machine learning can be used to monitor experimental animals to potentially improve animal welfare.

Previous studies have demonstrated superior patency of no-touch as compared to conventional saphenous vein grafts in coronary artery bypass grafting. We aimed to compare mid-term clinical outcomes of both techniques in a large cohort of routine patients. We identified all patients undergoing nonemergent primary coronary artery bypass grafting with either no-touch or conventional saphenous vein grafts at our institution between 2000 and 2020. Propensity score matching was used to create adjusted cohorts based on 5288 eligible patients. The primary outcome was the combined endpoint of all-cause mortality and repeat revascularization. Secondary outcomes were individual rates of all-cause mortality and repeat revascularization, surgical complications, and short-term mortality. Propensity score matching resulted in cohorts of no-touch (n = 923) and conventional (n = 923) saphenous vein grafted patients with comparable baseline characteristics. Mean follow-up time was significantly shorter for the no-touch compared to the conventional cohort (4.9 ± 2.3 vs 8.3 ± 2.6 years, P < 0.001). Up to 7-year follow-up, neither the rate of the primary composite endpoint nor death differed significantly between the cohorts. The rate of repeat revascularization was significantly higher in patients in the no-touch cohort (12.9% vs 9.3% at 7-year follow-up, P = 0.022. Post-hoc analysis of percutaneous coronary intervention during follow-up revealed comparable rates of saphenous vein graft failure (no-touch 42/923 (4.6%) vs conventional 32/923 (3.5%), P = 0.286). In this large propensity score matched registry study, coronary artery bypass with no-touch compared to conventional saphenous vein grafting did neither enhance mid-term survival nor reduce the rate of repeat revascularization.

Data describe supplementary tables and figures related to the research article; Effect of early, individualised and intensified follow-up after open heart valve surgery on unplanned cardiac hospital readmissions and all-cause mortality [1]. Data on patients undergoing open heart valve surgery were presented in 308 patients in a prospective cohort and compared with 980 patients in a historical cohort. Included figures show inclusion and exclusion of patients (flowchart) and the specific elements of the intervention. Tables show causes of readmission and sensitivity analyses of differences among patients in the prospective intervention group compared with patients in the historical control group. Further results, interpretation and discussion of the included data can be found in the main research paper.