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In this study, we construct a paddle positioning system for defibrillation training simulators. The system consists of a chest manikin fabricated based on the standard somatotype of Koreans and simulator paddles similar to those of commercial defibrillators. Multiple coils are arranged orthogonally in both the chest manikin and paddles; their positioning is based on electromagnetic induction, such that the positions of the paddles can be successfully detected across the chest. The calculated and actual positions are compared using the measured signals. We find a mean error of 0.0891 mm for all positions, with a standard deviation of 0.6611 mm. In addition, we connect our paddle positioning system to a graphical user interface that enables visualization of the paddles’ current locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Data concerning the effect of current smoking on solely new-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) are limited. We investigated the impact of current smoking on 2-year clinical outcomes between durable-polymer (DP)-coated DES (zotarolimus-eluting [ZES] and everolimus eluting [EES]) and biodegradable-polymer (BP)-coated biolimus-eluting stent (BES) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients after successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: Finally, a total of 8357 AMI patients with current smoking underwent successful PCI with new-generation DES (ZES, EES, and BES) were enrolled and divided into three groups as ZES (n = 3199), EES (n = 3987), and BES group (n = 1171). The primary endpoint was the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) defined as all-cause death (cardiac death [CD] or non-cardiac death), recurrent AMI (re-MI), any revascularization (target lesion revascularization [TLR], target vessel revascularization [TVR], and non-TVR). The secondary endpoint was the incidence of definite or probable stent thrombosis (ST). Results: The 2-year adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of MACE for ZES vs. EES (1.055; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.843–1.321; p = 0.638), ZES vs. BES (HR, 0.885; 95% CI, 0.626–1.251; p = 0.488), EES vs. BES (HR, 0.889; 95% CI, 0.633–1.250; p = 0.499), and ZES/EES vs. BES (HR, 0.891; 95% CI, 0.648–1.126; p = 0.480) were similar. The occurrence of ST after adjustment were also comparable. In addition, the 2-year adjusted HR for all-cause death, CD, re-MI, TLR, TVR, and non-TVR were not different. Conclusions: In this study, DP-DES and BP-DES showed comparable safety and efficacy during 2-year follow-up periods. Therefore, DP-DES or BP-DES are equally acceptable in AMI patients with current smoking undergoing PCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inflammation is an important factor in the pathogenesis of calcific aortic stenosis (AS). We aimed to evaluate the association between an inflammatory marker, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with severe calcific AS. Methods: A total of 336 patients with isolated severe calcific AS newly diagnosed between 2010 and 2015 were enrolled in this study. Using Cox proportional hazards (PH) regression models, we investigated the prognostic value of NLR adjusted for baseline covariates including logistic European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation score (EuroSCORE-I) and undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR). We also evaluated the clinical relevance of NLR risk groups (divided into low, intermediate, high risk) as categorized by NLR cutoff values. MACE was defined as a composite of all-cause mortality, cardiac death and non-fatal myocardial infarction during the follow-up period. Results: The inflammatory marker NLR was an independent prognostic factor most significantly associated with MACE [hazard ratio (HR), 1.06; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04–1.09; p-value <0.001]. The goodness-of-fit and discriminability of the model including EuroSCORE-I and AVR (loglikelihood difference, 15.49; p-value <0.001; c-index difference, 0.035; p-value = 0.03) were significantly improved when NLR was incorporated into the model. The estimated Kaplan-Meier survival rates at 5 years for the NLR risk groups were 84.6% for the low risk group (NLR ≤ 2), 67.7% for the intermediate risk group (2 < NLR ≤ 9), and 42.6% for the high risk group (NLR > 9), respectively. Conclusion: The findings of the present study demonstrate the potential utility of NLR in risk stratification of patients with severe calcific AS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims No data exist regarding the relationship between aspirin/clopidogrel resistance and intra-stent thrombi on follow-up optical coherence tomography (OCT) after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between aspirin/clopidogrel resistance and intra-stent thrombi on the follow-up OCT in DES-treated patients. Methods and results A total of 308 DES-treated patients who underwent follow-up OCT and simultaneous measurement of aspirin reaction unit (ARU) and P2Y12 reaction unit (PRU) using the VerifyNow assay system were selected for the study. Aspirin and clopidogrel resistance were defined as ARU ≥550 and PRU ≥275, respectively. Intra-stent thrombi were detected in 29 patients (9.4%). The mean time interval from DES implantation to OCT was 195 ± 133 days (202.9 ± 103.0 days for patients with intra-stent thrombi vs. 194.7 ± 136.0 days for patients without intra-stent thrombi; P = 0.750). There were no significant differences between patients with and without intra-stent thrombi with regard to the incidence of aspirin resistance (13.8 vs. 11.1%, respectively; P = 0.630) or clopidogrel resistance (72.4 vs. 50.5%, respectively; P = 0.056). The percentage of uncovered struts was 17.9 ± 15.8% in patients with intra-stent thrombi and 12.7 ± 17.3% in patients without intra-stent thrombi (P = 0.098). Stent length was significantly longer in patients with intra-stent thrombi (22.9 ± 6.0 vs. 19.4 ± 5.0 mm, P = 0.006). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that stent length (odds ratio = 1.152, 95% confidential interval 1.025–1.295; P = 0.017) was the only independent risk factor for the presence of intra-stent thrombi on OCT. Conclusion This OCT study suggested that the presence of intra-stent thrombi may not be associated with aspirin/clopidogrel resistance in DES-treated patients. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]