BACKGROUND: Innominate artery aneurysms (IAAs) are rare and may result in rupture, distal arterial embolization, or local compression without timely treatment. Rupture is the most dangerous of these complications. This article reports a case of innominate artery bifurcation pseudoaneurysm.
METHODS: The patient was a 45-year-old man who was admitted to the emergency department due to chest discomfort. The computed tomographic angiography (CTA) imaging indicated the presence of a 3.6*2.4 cm saccular aneurysm in the bifurcation of the innominate artery, involving both the right proximal subclavian and common carotid arteries. The patient\'s vital signs were normal, there was equal blood pressure in the upper arms and no neurological dysfunction was observed. Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography indicated that the circle of Willis was intact. The treatment involved open surgery combined with endovascular therapy. The external carotid artery was first transposed to the right subclavian artery (RSA) and an 8-mm woven Dacron graft was inserted in the middle. The covered stent graft was then placed in the proximal part of the innominate artery to close the entrance of the aneurysm. Lastly, an occluder was implanted at the origin of the RSA. There were no perioperative or postoperative complications. At 1-year follow-up, no aneurysm was observed on CTA and the right vertebral artery was patent.
CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that the combined use of endovascular therapy and open repair surgery is an effective strategy to treat innominate artery bifurcation pseudoaneurysm.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to validate the efficiency of Doppler ultrasonography for predicting the innominate, subclavian, and common carotid artery stenosis.
METHODS: This retrospective multicenter study between 2013 and 2022 enrolled 636 patients who underwent carotid Doppler ultrasonography and subsequent digital subtraction angiography. And 58 innominate artery stenosis, 147 common carotid artery stenosis, and 154 subclavian artery stenosis were included. The peak systolic velocity at innominate, subclavian, and common carotid artery, and velocity ratios of innominate artery to common carotid artery, innominate artery to subclavian artery, and common carotid artery to internal carotid artery were measured or calculated. The threshold values were determined using receiver operating characteristic analysis.
RESULTS: The threshold values of innominate artery stenosis were peak systolic velocity >206 cm/s (sensitivity: 82.8%; specificity: 91.4%) to predict ≥50% stenosis and >285 cm/s (sensitivity: 89.2%; specificity: 94.9%) to predict ≥70% stenosis. The threshold values of common carotid artery stenosis were peak systolic velocity >175 cm/s (sensitivity: 78.2%; specificity: 91.9%) to predict ≥50% stenosis and >255 cm/s (sensitivity: 87.1%; specificity: 87.2%) to predict ≥70% stenosis. The threshold values of subclavian artery stenosis were peak systolic velocity >200 cm/s (sensitivity: 68.2%; specificity: 84.4%) to predict ≥50% stenosis and >305 cm/s (sensitivity: 57.9%; specificity: 91.4%) to predict ≥70% stenosis.
CONCLUSIONS: Symptomatic patients with ultrasonic parameters of velocity at innominate artery ≥206 cm/s, velocity at common carotid artery ≥175 cm/s, or velocity at subclavian artery ≥200 cm/s need to be considered for further verification and whether revascularization is necessary.

UNASSIGNED: Thromboembolic events secondary to rupture or erosion of advanced atherosclerotic lesions is the global leading cause of death. The most common and effective means to reduce these major adverse cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction and stroke, is aggressive lipid lowering via a combination of drugs and dietary modifications. However, we know little regarding the effects of reducing dietary lipids on the composition and stability of advanced atherosclerotic lesions, the mechanisms that regulate these processes, and what therapeutic approaches might augment the benefits of lipid lowering.
UNASSIGNED: Smooth muscle cell lineage-tracing Apoe-/- mice were fed a high-cholesterol Western diet for 18 weeks and then a zero-cholesterol standard laboratory diet for 12 weeks before treating them with an IL (interleukin)-1β or control antibody for 8 weeks. We assessed lesion size and remodeling indices, as well as the cellular composition of aortic and brachiocephalic artery lesions, indices of plaque stability, overall plaque burden, and phenotypic transitions of smooth muscle cell and other lesion cells by smooth muscle cell lineage tracing combined with single-cell RNA sequencing, cytometry by time-of-flight, and immunostaining plus high-resolution confocal microscopic z-stack analysis.
UNASSIGNED: Lipid lowering by switching Apoe-/- mice from a Western diet to a standard laboratory diet reduced LDL cholesterol levels by 70% and resulted in multiple beneficial effects including reduced overall aortic plaque burden, as well as reduced intraplaque hemorrhage and necrotic core area. However, contrary to expectations, IL-1β antibody treatment after diet-induced reductions in lipids resulted in multiple detrimental changes including increased plaque burden and brachiocephalic artery lesion size, as well as increasedintraplaque hemorrhage, necrotic core area, and senescence as compared with IgG control antibody-treated mice. Furthermore, IL-1β antibody treatment upregulated neutrophil degranulation pathways but downregulated smooth muscle cell extracellular matrix pathways likely important for the protective fibrous cap.
UNASSIGNED: Taken together, IL-1β appears to be required for the maintenance of standard laboratory diet-induced reductions in plaque burden and increases in multiple indices of plaque stability.

BACKGROUND: Aortic arch (AA) branching patterns vary among different mammalian species. Most previous studies have focused on dogs, whereas those on raccoon dogs remain unexplored.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe the AA branching pattern in raccoon dogs and compare their morphological features with those of other carnivores.
METHODS: We prepared silicone cast specimens from a total of 36 raccoon dog carcasses via retrograde injection through the abdominal aorta. The brachiocephalic trunk (BCT) branching patterns were classified based on the relationship between the left and right common carotid arteries. The subclavian artery (SB) branching pattern was examined based on the order of the four major branches: the vertebral artery (VT), costocervical trunk (CCT), superficial cervical artery (SC), and internal thoracic artery (IT).
RESULTS: In most cases (88.6%), the BCT branched off from the left common carotid artery and terminated in the right common carotid and right subclavian arteries. In the remaining cases (11.4%), the BCT formed a bicarotid trunk. The SB exhibited various branching patterns, with 26 observed types. Based on the branching order of the four major branches, we identified the main branching pattern, in which the VT branched first (98.6%), the CCT branched second (81.9%), the SC branched third (62.5%), and the IT branched fourth (52.8%).
CONCLUSIONS: The AA branching pattern in raccoon dogs exhibited various branching patterns with both similarities and differences compared to other carnivores.

Vascular variations are prevalent among the human population. However, the occurrence of anatomical variations in the inferior thyroid artery originating directly from the brachiocephalic trunk (BCT) is exceptionally rare, as confirmed by numerous research studies. In addition, reliable departmental statistics reveal that the incidence rate of retrosternal goiter is approximately 19%. In this case study, the variation blood vessels in the neck were accidentally found and analyzed. Simultaneously, we conducted an analysis on the clinical significance of a rare anatomical variation. The study focused on a 60-year-old female patient who underwent a surgery for retrosternal goiter, during which it was discovered that the inferior thyroid artery originated from the BCT. Our report presented a unique case involving this particular combination of anatomical variations within the BCT. The anatomical variation reported in our study will effectively reduce the risk of patients and enhance our comprehension of this anatomy\'s characteristics, thereby avoiding the occurrence of iatrogenic complications.

The patient is a 56-year-old man. He fell while playing golf and sustained a contusion on his right chest. He fell into hemorrhagic shock during surgery for a right clavicle fracture at a nearby hospital and required cardiac resuscitation. Computed tomography( CT) scan revealed left pneumothorax and right hemothorax, and a contrast-enhanced CT scan revealed a pseudoaneurysm at the brachiocephalic artery origin. He underwent surgery three weeks later. Surgery was performed through a median sternotomy and partial arch replacement (zone 2) with antegrade cerebral perfusion under moderate hypothermia. He was discharged on postoperative day 10 without significant complications.

Encountering and managing an unanticipated difficult airway are among the many challenges faced by anaesthesiologists. Due to the intimate anatomical relationship between the thoracic vasculature and the trachea, an anatomical variation could potentially lead to airway compression. This clinical case report documents a failed intubation in an adult patient caused by undiagnosed extrinsic tracheal compression from the brachiocephalic arterial trunk, a rare condition. After a thorough investigation and diagnostic clarification, a safe anaesthetic plan following the predictable difficult airway guidelines was established to enable surgery. Anaesthesiologists should consider rare vascular causes as potential contributors to difficult airway scenarios, thereby enhancing their expertise.

OBJECTIVE: Here, we report a case of the right-sided aortic arch with isolation of the left innominate artery and hypoplasia of the left internal carotid artery.
METHODS: A 42-year-old male patient underwent a whole-body computed tomography angiography (CTA) examination upon the clinical suspicion of vasculitis.
RESULTS: CTA revealed a right-sided aortic arch with the isolation of the left innominate artery and hypoplasia of the left internal carotid artery.
CONCLUSIONS: The right-sided aortic arch, with the isolation of the left innominate artery, is a scarce vascular variation that may occur with other cardiovascular anomalies such as ventricular septal defect. It can be asymptomatic or can present with symptoms of subclavian steal syndrome. Although its association with the agenesis of the left internal carotid artery has been reported, its association with the hypoplasia of the left internal carotid artery has not been reported previously to the best of our knowledge.

The thyroidea ima artery (TIA) is a highly variable arterial deviation of the blood supply to the thyroid gland with critical implications for surgical neck procedures such as tracheostomy. Though relatively common in the population at large (~ 4%), most TIA variations are related to the origin of the artery and whether it emerges from the common sites of the brachiocephalic trunk, aortic arch, and right common carotid artery, or another more unique vessel-as opposed to its dispersion pattern. TIA variants generally supply the thyroid gland, occasionally co-occurring with absent thyroid arteries. Here, we report on a unique case of a four-pronged variation of the TIA discovered during an anatomy laboratory dissection of first-year medical students. This variant originated from the brachiocephalic trunk and had three branches terminating in the thyroid gland and a fourth branch traveling into the thorax to provide accessory circulation in the mediastinum. Specifically, small arterial branches from the inferior TIA branch supplied the anterior pericardium and surrounding adipose tissue, in addition to normal pericardiacophrenic circulation. We discuss the potential embryological and clinical relevance of this unique variation and voice further support for imaging as a requirement before surgical neck procedures to prevent catastrophic bleeding in the event of a TIA variant.

OBJECTIVE: Tracheoinnominate artery fistulas (TIFs) are a rare but deadly complication of tracheostomy. Tracheoinnominate artery fistula cases in the literature were summarized in order to understand mortality associations.
METHODS: MEDLINE was searched for studies reporting individual characteristics of patients with TIFs after tracheostomy, excluding cases without tracheostomy or with additional procedures at the tracheostomy site. This study followed PRISMA guidelines.
RESULTS: 121 TIF patients from 18 case series and 46 case reports were included. The median age was 40 years, and 52.9% were male. The overall mortality rate was 64.5%. There were differences in mortality between cases that presented initially with vs without sentinel bleeding (odds ratio [OR] .34; CI [confidence interval] .16-.73; P = .006). The mortality rate also differed in whether or not the tracheostomy cuff was over-inflated for temporary hemostasis during resuscitation (OR 3.57 (CI 1.57-8.09); P = .002). Treatment compared to no treatment had lower mortality rates (OR .11 (CI 0.04-.32); P < .001); no differences were found if treatment was endovascular vs open surgical.
CONCLUSIONS: Mortality is a major concern after detection of a TIF and resuscitation paired with endovascular or open surgical intervention is imperative. Rapidly investigating sentinel bleeds and intervening upon hemorrhage with temporary cuff over inflation may lead to improved outcomes.