In the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2021, the results of six clinical trials related to cardiovascular surgery were revealed. The PALACS trial demonstrated that posterior left pericardiotomy during open heart surgery was associated with a significant reduction in postoperative atrial fibrillation; the EPICCURE study found that injection of mRNA encoding vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A mRNA) directly into the myocardium of patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) improved patients’ heart function; the VEST trial once again proved the safety and potential value of external stent for vein graft. This article will interpret the above-mentioned three studies.
The Universal Definition and Classification of Heart Failure consensus has proposed the universal definition, classification and staging criteria of heart failure. The prevalence of heart failure is still increasing, and the phenotype of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is becoming more and more common. Neuro-endocrine antagonists are effective in treating patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, there is no effective drug that can improve the clinical prognosis of patients with HFpEF. The pathophysiological mechanism of HFpEF involves metabolic-inflammatory mechanism disorders, epicardial fat tissue accumulation, and coronary microvascular dysfunction. The exploratory treatment of these mechanisms requires further research to confirm whether it is beneficial to patients with HFpEF. In addition, the improvement of ejection fraction and the recovery of cardiac function in patients with HFrEF after treatment cannot interrupt the drug treatment of heart failure.
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) of the lower extremities, which poses a major challenge in the field of global public health, has seen a rising trend in its incidence and disability rate year by year. With the continuous innovation of new diagnostic techniques, imaging evaluation methods, and treatment strategies, profound changes have taken place in the diagnosis and treatment paradigm in this field. Based on the “European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS) 2024 Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management of Asymptomatic Lower Limb Peripheral Arterial Disease and Intermittent Claudication” issued by the European Society for Vascular Surgery in 2024, we systematically reviewed the relevant international guidelines in recent years and conducted horizontal comparisons. Combining with the latest clinical research evidence, we conducted an in-depth analysis from the perspective of evidence-based medicine on the strategic evolution, technical key point updates, and clinical evidence levels of endovascular treatment for lower extremity PAD. The aim is to provide an evidence-based medical basis for clinical decision-making.
Brain injury after cardiopulmonary resuscitation is closely related to the survival rate and prognosis of neurological function of cardiac arrest (CA) patients. Recently, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) published a practice guideline which had updated the evaluation of different treatments for reducing brain injury following cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In order to master and transmit AAN 2017 practice guideline on reducing brain injury following cardiopulmonary resuscitation, this paper interprets the new AAN clinical practice guideline to assist Chinese clinicians for better studying the guideline.
Based on peer-reviewed systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials published from January 1990 to April 2016 with regards to the management of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) developed the clinical practice guideline for the treatment of hip OA. This guideline provided practice recommendations including risk factors for hip OA, oral drugs and intraarticular injectables, physical therapies, perioperative hemostatic drug, anesthetic types, approach exposures, etc. The evidence of guideline was graded according to it’s strength. This article interpreted this guideline so as to provide reference for Chinese medical staffs and guideline developers.
The 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCO-GI) was held in San Francisco, the USA from January 18th to 20th, 2024 (local time). The multiple studies presented in this symposium will have a significant impact on the clinical practice of esophageal cancer. This article will focus on the surgical methods of esophageal cancer, perioperative immunotherapy, drug therapy for advanced esophageal cancer, rescue treatment after immunotherapy resistance, and other relevant aspects. It aims to summarize and interpret the significant advancements in the field of esophageal cancer presented in this symposium.
Cardiovascular disease and cancer are the two leading chronic conditions contributing to global mortality. With the rising incidence of cancer, the prevalence of cancer therapy-related cardiovascular complications has also increased, driving the development of the emerging field of cardio-oncology. The advancement of precision medicine offers new opportunities for the individualized and targeted management of cardiovascular toxicities associated with cancer treatment. Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to overcome traditional limitations in medical data integration, dynamic monitoring, and interdisciplinary collaboration, thereby accelerating the application of precision medicine in cardio-oncology. By enabling personalized treatment and reducing cardiovascular complications in cancer patients, AI serves as a critical tool in this domain. This article provides an in-depth interpretation of the “Artificial intelligence to enhance precision medicine in cardio-oncology: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association” aiming to inform the integration of AI into precision medicine in China. The goal is to promote its application in the management of cardiovascular diseases related to cancer therapy and to achieve precision management in this context.
According to new clinical evidence, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) updated and published 2021 ESC/EACTS guidelines for the management of valvular heart disease. This new guideline gives recommendation for clinical assessment, internal treatment and intervention for patients with valvular heart disease with/without comorbidities, which is a globally approbatory reference for clinical practice. This article summarized the updated contents of the new guideline in terms of transcatheter therapy for valvular heart disease.
The “Expert consensus on the standardized procedure of selective internal radiation therapy with yttrium-90 microspheres for liver malignancies (2024 edition)” is China’s first comprehensive technical guideline document on yttrium-90 microsphere selective internal radiation therapy (90Y-SIRT), developed collaboratively by domestic experts in interventional radiology, hepatobiliary surgery, nuclear medicine, and other related fields. This consensus systematically outlines the standardized requirements for the entire process of 90Y-SIRT, including patient selection, preoperative assessment, dosage calculation, procedural techniques, and postoperative management. This section provides an in-depth interpretation of the consensus's core elements, with a focus on analyzing its innovations and differences compared to international guidelines and previous domestic practices. It highlights the consensus’s guiding value in promoting the safe, standardized, and efficient implementation of this technology in China, offering a reference for clinical practice to physicians across multiple disciplines, including hepatobiliary surgery, interventional radiology, medical oncology, and nuclear medicine, etc.
Lung cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death in China. Early screening of lung cancer proves to be effective in improving its prognosis. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has updated and released version 2, 2022 NCCN clinical practice guidelines for lung cancer screening in July, 2022. Based on high-quality clinical evidence and the latest research progress, the guidelines have developed and updated criteria for lung cancer screening which have been widely recognized by clinicians around the world. Compared with Chinese lung cancer screening guidelines, this article will interpret the updated content of the brand new 2022 NCCN screening guidelines, providing some reference for the current lung cancer screening practice in our country.
