European Society of Cardiology guidance for the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease during the COVID-19 pandemic: part 1-epidemiology, pathophysiology, and diagnosis.

peer reviewed[en] AIMS: Since its emergence in early 2020, the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has reached pandemic levels, and there have been repeated outbreaks across the globe. The aim of this two-part series is to provide practical knowledge and guidance to aid clinicians in the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in association with COVID-19. METHODS AND RESULTS: A narrative literature review of the available evidence has been performed, and the resulting information has been organized into two parts. The first, reported here, focuses on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and diagnosis of cardiovascular (CV) conditions that may be manifest in patients with COVID-19. The second part, which will follow in a later edition of the journal, addresses the topics of care pathways, treatment, and follow-up of CV conditions in patients with COVID-19. CONCLUSION: This comprehensive review is not a formal guideline but rather a document that provides a summary of current knowledge and guidance to practicing clinicians managing patients with CVD and COVID-19. The recommendations are mainly the result of observations and personal experience from healthcare providers. Therefore, the information provided here may be subject to change with increasing knowledge, evidence from prospective studies, and changes in the pandemic. Likewise, the guidance provided in the document should not interfere with recommendations provided by local and national healthcare authorities

Treatment of Hypertension in the Inpatient Setting: Use of Intravenous Labetalol and Hydralazine

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73529/1/j.1751-7176.2009.00196.x.pd

European guideline for imaging in paediatric and adolescent rhabdomyosarcoma - joint statement by the European Paediatric Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group, the Cooperative Weichteilsarkom Studiengruppe and the Oncology Task Force of the European Society of Paediatric Radiology

Appropriate imaging is essential in the treatment of children and adolescents with rhabdomyosarcoma. For adequate stratification and optimal individualised local treatment utilising surgery and radiotherapy, high-quality imaging is crucial. The paediatric radiologist, therefore, is an essential member of the multi-disciplinary team providing clinical care and research. This manuscript presents the European rhabdomyosarcoma imaging guideline, based on the recently developed guideline of the European Paediatric Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group (EpSSG) Imaging Committee. This guideline was developed in collaboration between the EpSSG Imaging Committee, the Cooperative Weichteilsarkom Studiengruppe (CWS) Imaging Group, and the Oncology Task Force of the European Society of Paediatric Radiology (ESPR). MRI is recommended, at diagnosis and follow-up, for the evaluation of the primary tumour and its relationship to surrounding tissues, including assessment of neurovascular structures and loco-regional lymphadenopathy. Chest CT along with [F-18]2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/CT or PET/MRI are recommended for the detection and evaluation of loco-regional and distant metastatic disease. Guidance on the estimation of treatment response, optimal long-term follow-up, technical imaging settings and standardised reporting are described. This European imaging guideline outlines the recommendations for imaging in children and adolescents with rhabdomyosarcoma, with the aim to harmonise imaging and to advance patient care

Increasing Implementation and Delivery of Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Key Messages from the New ATS/ERS Policy Statement.

In December 2015 the Official ATS/ERS Policy Statement on Enhancing Implementation, Use and Delivery of Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) was published [1] with the aim of providing policy recommendations to increase implementation and delivery of PR worldwide. Major areas addressed included increasing healthcare professional, payer and patient awareness and knowledge of PR, increasing patient access to PR, improving quality of PR programs and future research directions to advance evidence-based policy in PR. This ATS/ERS document was developed via an iterative consensus process by an ad hoc Task Force on Policy in PR comprised of experts from the ATS Pulmonary Rehabilitation Assembly, the ERS Rehabilitation and Chronic Care Group, the ATS and ERS Documents Development and Implementation Committees, representatives from the European Lung Foundation (ELF) and primary care representatives from the USA and Europe between May 2013 and January 2015. Input was obtained via informal surveys from patients, patient advocacy groups, (including the ATS Public Advisory Roundtable and ELF), insurance payers, as well as primary and pulmonary specialty healthcare providers. The Policy Statement was approved by the Board of Directors of the ATS and the Science Council and Executive Committee of the ERS. This editorial provides ERJ readers with a concise reflection on the key issues addressed and summarizes the policy recommendations made in the ATS/ERS Policy Statement[1] to enhance implementation, use and delivery of PR

Heart Rate Variability in Men with Erectile dysfunction

Purpose The objective of this study is to investigate alteration of autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity in patients suffering from erectile dysfunction (ED) by comparing parameters of heart rate variability (HRV) between men with ED and healthy subjects. Methods A retrospective review was performed on 40 ED patients (mean age, 46.0±8.49 years) without any disease and 180 healthy control people (mean age, 44.4±7.83 years) without ED in our institution from June 2008 to July 2010. And electrocardiographic signals were obtained to measure HRV parameters for both patients and controls in a resting state. Results For the time domain analysis, square root of the mean differences between successive RR intervals (RMSSD) representing parasympathetic activity was lower in patients than controls although P-value was not statistically significant (P=0.060). For the frequency domain analysis, high frequency (HF) representing parasympathetic activity was lower in patients than controls (P=0.232) and low frequency (LF) representing mainly sympathetic activity was higher in patients than controls (P=0.416). Lastly, LF/HF ratio reflecting sympathetic/parasympathetic activity ratio was statistically higher in patients than controls (P=0.027). Conclusions Patients with ED exhibited different HRV parameters compared with normal controls. This suggests that the patients with ED may have some kind of imbalance in the ANS and it may be possible that general imbalance of the ANS is one of the causes of ED. Thus, HRV analysis may give valuable diagnostic information and serve as a rapid screening tool to evaluate altered ANS activity in patients with ED

Measurements on hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces using a porous gamma alumina nanoparticle aggregate mounted on Atomic Force Microscopy cantilevers

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) measurements are extensively used for a detailed understanding ofmolecular and surface forces. In this study, we present a technique for measuring such forces, using an AFM cantilever attached with a porous gamma alumina nanoparticle aggregate. The modified cantilever was used to measure the forces of interaction of the aggregate with hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. A strong force of attraction was observed between the aggregate and hydrophilic surfaces when the aggregate was kept dry. However, the force of interaction on the aggregate in wet form (water filled in pores) was larger when the adjoining surface had hydrophobic characteristics. The results presented in this study show the versatility of the current technique and indicate its usefulness in directly characterizing hydrophilic/ hydrophobic properties of nano-scale surfaces and patterns

Assessing the Current Role of Platelet Function Testing

In vitro platelet function tests are commonly applied in research and offer justification for using antiplatelet therapy. However, studies assessing the ability of standardized platelet function tests to predict patients' clinical response to aspirin or clopidogrel have generated contradictory results. At this time, there is no standardized definition for resistance to antiplatelet therapy, and the appropriate treatment of patients who are hyporesponsive to these agents is not known. Although such tests have a role in research, their place in guiding therapy remains to be established, and prospective trials are urgently needed. The ideal platelet function test for clinical practice would be rapid, easy-to-use, inexpensive, and reliable. Copyright © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/58555/1/20361_ftp.pd