UNASSIGNED: Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty is the preferred treatment of stenosed failing arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) but is hampered by increasing rates of vascular restenosis because of development of myointimal hyperplasia.
UNASSIGNED: This multicenter observational study of polymer-coated low-dose paclitaxel-eluting stents (ELUvia stents by Boston Scientific) in stenosed AVF undergoing hemoDIAlysis (ELUDIA) was jointly conducted in three tertiary hospitals from Greece and Singapore. Failure of AVF was defined according to K-DOQI criteria and significant fistula stenosis (>50%DS by visual estimate) was determined with subtraction angiography. Patients were considered for ELUVIA stent insertion based on significant elastic recoil following balloon angioplasty for the treatment of a single vascular stenosis within a native AVF. The primary outcome measure was sustained long-term patency of the treated lesion/fistula circuit defined as successful stent placement with resumption of uninterrupted hemodialysis and without significant vascular restenosis (50%DS threshold) or other secondary interventions during follow-up.
UNASSIGNED: Some 23 patients received the ELUVIA paclitaxel-eluting stent (eight radiocephalic, 12 brachiocephalic, and three transposed brachiobasilic native AVFs). Mean AVF age at the time of failure was 33.9 ± 20.4 months. Treated lesions included 12 stenoses at the juxta-anastomotic segment, nine at the outflow veins, and two cephalic arch lesions with a mean diameter stenosis of 86 ± 8%. Median stent diameter and length used were 7 mm and 40 mm, respectively. After a median follow-up period of 20 months, some 18 stents out of 23 cases remained patent (cumulative rate 78.3%) without any clinical or imaging evidence of recurrent stenosis. Estimated primary patency of the ELUVIA stents was 80.6% and of the corresponding fistula circuit 65.1% at 2 years by Kaplan-Meier methods.
UNASSIGNED: This observational study has shown promising long-term results of polymer-coated paclitaxel-eluting stents for the treatment of failing arteriovenous fistulas. Large-scale controlled studies are necessary.

UNASSIGNED: Epicutaneo-Caval Catheters (ECCs) are critical for good neonatal care. No previous studies have evaluated which insertion method provides the highest likelihood of success.
UNASSIGNED: This study aimed to compare the success rates and cost of modified Seldinger technique (MST) and split needle technique (SNT). MST was introduced to St Michael\'s Neonatal Unit, SNT was already in use. Routinely documented data on ECC insertion was retrospectively collected from the clinical notes. Practitioners were able to use their preferred insertion method. A sub-group analysis of success rates in patients born at ⩾35-weeks GA was performed.
UNASSIGNED: There was a significantly higher first pass (53% vs 26%; p = 0.014) and overall (72% vs 40%; p = 0.0046) successful ECC insertion rate with fewer venipunctures per successful ECC with MST (2.5 vs 6.5; p = 0.002). Logrank test demonstrated a significantly higher successful ECC insertion with MST for patients of all GA (p = 0.003) and for neonates born at ⩾35 weeks (p = 0.015). The cost per successful MST ECC was £156.41 versus £152.51 for SNT.
UNASSIGNED: In this uncontrolled retrospective study, there was a higher chance of successful ECC insertion with MST, with a reduced number of venipunctures and similar costs per successful ECC. Further work in randomised studies is needed to verify this finding and should focus on other clinical outcomes, including rates in central line associated blood stream infections.

BACKGROUND: Vascular access for central venous catheter placement is technically challenging in children. Ultrasound guidance is recommended for pediatric central venous catheter placement, yet many practitioners rely on imprecise anatomic landmark techniques risking procedure failure due to difficulty mastering ultrasound guidance. A novel navigation system provides a visual overlay on real-time ultrasound images to depict needle trajectory and tip location during cannulation. We report the first pediatric study assessing feasibility and preliminary safety of using a computer-assisted needle navigation system to aid in central venous access.
METHODS: A prospective, institutional review board-approved feasibility study was performed. All participants provided written informed consent. Ten patients (mean age: 11.4 years, five males) underwent central venous catheter placement with ultrasound and navigation system guidance. All procedures were performed by interventional radiologists expert in vascular access. Feasibility was measured through binary (yes/no) responses from participating users assessing device usability and feasibility. The number of needle passes and procedure time measures were also recorded.
RESULTS: Internal jugular veins (seven right sided, three left sided) were cannulated in all patients with no complications. Users confirmed navigation system feasibility in all 10 participants. Mean vein diameter and depth was 13.3 × 9.8 ± 3.4 × 2.1 and 7.0 ± 1.7 mm, respectively. Successful cannulation occurred in all patients and required only a single needle pass in 9 of 10 patients. Mean device set-up and vascular access times were 5:31 ± 2:28 and 1:48 ± 2:35 min, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study suggests that it is feasible to use a novel computer-assisted needle navigation system to safely obtain central venous access under ultrasound guidance in pediatric patients.

To assess the safety and efficacy of the Wattson temporary pacing guidewire.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) requires a guidewire for device delivery and generally requires temporary pacing wire for burst and back-up pacing. The Wattson wire provides concomitant support and bipolar pacing without the need to place a temporary venous pacemaker (TVP).
This was a single-center nonrandomized prospective clinical trial enrolling 20 patients. The primary endpoint was defined as successful rapid pacing and transcatheter heart valve (THV) delivery with no loss of capture. Safety, qualitative and quantitative secondary outcomes were also analyzed.
Mean age was 77.4 ± 9.0 years. Mean Society of Thoracic Surgery (STS) score was 3.0 ± 1.5%. All patients received a balloon-expandable valve via a transfemoral approach. All patients met the primary end-point. One patient (5%) had balloon predilatation and six patients (30%) had postdilatation, all using the wire. Mean pacing threshold was 2.2 ± 1.2 mA that was evaluated prior to placing an insulating catheter over the wire. One patient required TVP placement and subsequent permanent pacemaker implantation due to complete heart block post THV deployment. There were no incidences of cardiac perforation or tamponade. One patient required valve reintervention, which was not related to the device.
The Wattson wire offered predictable guidewire support with concomitant reliable bipolar pacing at low thresholds to allow safe THV delivery in this patient cohort. It has the potential to make TAVR a safer and more efficient procedure.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an established therapy for patients who are inoperable or at high risk for open heart surgery. The retrograde transfemoral approach is the most widely used and is the first choice in TAVI. However, existence of peripheral vascular disease or a small iliofemoral artery often limits the application of the transfemoral approach. Transvenous antegrade transseptal TAVI is an attractive option, but has already been abandoned due to its technical complexities.
We have previously described a novel technique to simplify antegrade transseptal balloon aortic valvuloplasty, which utilizes a custom-made Inoue balloon catheter with two stylets. The technique is named as the looped Inoue balloon technique, and its feasibility and efficacy were proven in an animal model and a clinical case. We applied this technique to TAVI. The present study aimed to assess the feasibility of the looped Inoue balloon technique for TAVI in two healthy pigs. The valve implantation was successful in both pigs, although the pigs died soon after the implantation (2 and 24h). The causes of death were access site bleeding (Case 1) and migration of the prosthetic valve (Case 2).
Although several improvements and further studies are required, the study results indicate that antegrade TAVI using the looped Inoue balloon technique is feasible.