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(1) Background: Percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are performed with titanium-nitride-oxide-coated stents (TiNOSs) or drug-eluting stents (DESs). The initial completion of this prospective systematic literature review (SLR) of prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs) showed that TiNOSs are non-inferior to DESs in major adverse cardiac event (MACE) rates and present a lower risk of recurrent myocardial infarction (MI) at 1-year follow-up. This iteration of the SLR protocol performs the critical assessment of 5-year follow-up outcomes with clinical validity and generalizability assessments. (2) Methods: The previously described SLR and meta-analysis protocol, per PRISMA, Cochrane methods, and GRADE, was applied to 5-year follow-up outcomes. (3) Results: Three RCTs were eligible, comprising 1620 patients with TiNOS vs. 1123 with DES. The pooled risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals were MACE 0.82 [0.68, 0.99], MI 0.58 [0.44, 0.78], cardiac death (CD) 0.46 [0.28, 0.76], ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization (TLR) 1.03 [0.79, 1.33], probable or definite stent thrombosis (ST) 0.32 [0.21, 0.59], and all-cause mortality (TD) 0.84 [0.63, 1.12]. The evidence certainty was high in MACE, CD, MI, and ST, and moderate in TLR and TD. (4) Conclusions: TiNOSs in ACS at 5-year follow-up appear safer than DESs and equally efficacious. The pooled RRs stratified by clinical presentation and stent type will be required to test this meta-analysis's clinical validity and generalize its results to patient populations with varying proportions of clinical presentations and DES options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Practice guidelines define drug-eluting stents (DES) as the standard of care in coronary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), including in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This is based on comparisons with bare-metal stents (BMS). However, non-drug-eluting titanium-nitride-oxide-coated stents (TiNOS) have not been taken into account. The objective of this study is to determine whether TiNOS can be used as an alternative to DES in ACS. (2) Methods: A prospective systematic literature review (SLR), conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines, was performed, wherein multiple literature databases from 2018 and 2022 were searched. Prospective, randomised, controlled trials comparing outcomes after PCI with TiNOS vs. DES in any coronary artery disease (CAD) were searched. Clinical outcomes were meta-analytic pooled risk ratios (RR) of device-oriented Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE) and their components. The analysis stratified outcomes reported with ACS-only vs. ACS jointly with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS). (3) Results: Five RCTs were eligible, comprising 1855 patients with TiNOS vs. 1363 with DES at a 1-year follow-up. Three enrolled patients presented with ACS only and two with ACS or CCS. The latter accounted for most of the patients. The one-year pooled RRs in those three RCTs were as follows: MACE 0.93 [0.72, 1.20], recurrent myocardial infarction (MI) 0.48 [0.31, 0.73], cardiac death (CD) 0.66 [0.33, 1.31], clinically driven target lesion revascularization (TLR) 1.55 [1.10, 2.19], and stent thrombosis (ST) 0.35 [0.20, 0.64]. Those results were robust to a sensitivity analysis. The evidence certainty was high in MACE and moderate or low in the other endpoints. (4) Conclusions: TiNOS are a non-inferior and safe alternative to DES in patients with ACS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a rare case of transitional cell papillary carcinoma of the bladder in a 10-year-old girl who had hematuria. The tumor was diagnosed and assessed through VCUG and ultrasound. The tumor protruded into the urethra during micturition and its mobility was observed by both diagnostic procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coating of stent surface with a biocompatible material is suggested to improve stent safety profile. A proprietary process was developed to coat titanium-nitride-oxide on the stent surface, based on plasma technology that uses the nano-synthesis of gas and metal. Preclinicalin vitroandin vivoinvestigation confirmed blood compatibility of titanium (nitride-) oxide films. Titanium-nitride-oxide-coated stents demonstrated a better angiographic outcome, compared with bare-metal stents at mid-term follow-up; however, they failed to achieve non-inferiority for angiographic outcome versus second-generation drug-eluting stents. Observational studies showed adequate clinical outcome at mid-term follow-up. Non-randomized studies showed an outcome of titanium-nitride-oxide-coated stents comparable to – or better than – first-generation drug-eluting stents at long-term follow-up. Two randomized controlled trials demonstrated comparable efficacy outcome, and a better safety outcome of titanium-nitride-oxide-coated stents versus drug-eluting stents at long-term follow-up. Evaluation by optical coherence tomography at mid-term follow-up revealed better neointimal strut coverage associated with titanium-nitride-oxide-coated stents versus drug-eluting stents; yet, neointimal hyperplasia thickness was greater.Key messagesStents coated with titanium-nitride-oxide demonstrated biocompatibility in preclinical studies: they inhibit platelet and fibrin deposition, and reduce neointimal growth.In observational and non-randomized studies, titanium-nitride-oxide-coated stents were associated with adequate safety and efficacy outcome.In randomized trials of patients with acute coronary syndrome, titanium-nitride-oxide-coated stents were associated with a better safety outcome, compared with drug-eluting stents; efficacy outcome was comparable. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We report a series of thirteen patients with nervous system complications out of a total of thirty AIDS patients admitted to our hospital over the last two years for which CT and/or MRI have been performed. Five were homosexual men and eight patients (5 men, 3 women) were of African origin (Zaïre and Rwanda) ( n=5) or had had sexual intercourse with the local African population ( n=3). The nervous system complications encountered included: toxoplasma gondii brain abscess (2 patients); cryptococcus neoformans meningitis+toxoplasmosis (1 patient); toxoplasmosis+lymphoma (2 patients); progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy (1 patient); lymphocytic meningitis or encephalitis (3 patients); lymphoma (1 patient); polyradiculoneuritis (3 patients). Three of thirteen patients had multiple intracranial abnormalities: one had concomitant intraparenchymal toxoplasma abscess and cryptococcal meningitis; in one patient a lymphoma developed after the successful medical treatment of a toxoplasma abscess; conversely, one patient developed a toxoplasma abscess two years after mediastinal radiotherapy for a systemic non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In conclusion, in our experience, nervous system toxoplasmosis is the most frequent AIDS related CNS complication. Our series demonstrates the high frequency of a second neurological disease occurring either concomitantly or separately. In these cases, while CT may readily identify the intracranial abnormalities, it contributes little towards an etiological diagnosis. Finally, our series illustrates the importance of a central African endemic focus for AIDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the characteristics of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of cystic intradural extramedullary spinal cord tumors (cystic neurilemmoma, epidermoid cyst, and enterogeneous cyst). T1-weighted MRI enhanced with gadolinium-DTPA clearly demonstrated the rim morphology of these tumors. The comparison between the rim enhancement pattern and histopathological findings offered possible qualitative diagnosis of these cystic spinal cord tumors by MRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]