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According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, trauma is the leading cause of death in children aged >1 year in the United States (US). Although vascular injuries occur in only 0.6–1% of pediatric patients with trauma, they are a major mortality contributor. This study aims to examine epidemiology and outcomes after pediatric vascular injuries (PedVIs) in the US.

There are conflicting data about the effect of heparin use on perioperative outcomes during upper extremity arteriovenous (AV) access creation. Our goal was to assess the effect of the use and degree of intraoperative heparin on perioperative outcomes after AV access creation.

There is a documented learning curve when adopting ultrasound guidance (UG) to aid vascular access. In the Vascular Study Group of New England (VSGNE), routine UG during percutaneous femoral artery access was shown to protect against the complication of groin hematoma. We sought to confirm this finding in the Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI), a data set with a larger sample size and broader geographic distribution, and to evaluate the effects of ultrasound usage and interventionalist volume on hematoma rates following peripheral vascular interventions (PVIs).

We aggregated coding variant data for 81,412 type 2 diabetes cases and 370,832 controls of diverse ancestry, identifying 40 coding variant association signals (P< 2.2 × 10−7); of these, 16 map outside known risk-associated loci. We make two important observations. First, only five of these signals are driven by low-frequency variants: even for these, effect sizes are modest (odds ratio ≤1.29). Second, when we used large-scale genome-wide association data to fine-map the associated variants in their regional context, accounting for the global enrichment of complex trait associations in coding sequence, compelling evidence for coding variant causality was obtained for only 16 signals. At 13 others, the associated coding variants clearly represent ‘false leads’ with potential to generate erroneous mechanistic inference. Coding variant associations offer a direct route to biological insight for complex diseases and identification of validated therapeutic targets; however, appropriate mechanistic inference requires careful specification of their causal contribution to disease predisposition.

To examine variation in safe sleep and breastfeeding practices among US non-Hispanic black (NHB) mothers according to birth country.

To determine predictors of maternal trust in doctors about advice on infant care practices.

To describe the prevalence of breastfeeding and sleep location practices among US mothers and the factors associated with these behaviors, including advice received regarding these practices.

Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) has been associated with insulin resistance. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of fasting insulin (FI) identified single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) near the IGF1 gene, raising two hypotheses: (1) these associations are mediated by IGF-I levels and (2) these noncoding variants either tag other functional variants in the region or are directly functional. In our study, analyses including 5141 individuals from population-based cohorts suggest that FI associations near IGF1 are not mediated by IGF-I. Analyses of targeted sequencing data in 3539 individuals reveal a large number of novel rare variants at the IGF1 locus and show a FI association with a subset of rare nonsynonymous variants (PSKAT=5.7 × 10−4). Conditional analyses suggest that this association is partly explained by the GWAS signal and the presence of a residual independent rare variant effect (Pconditional=0.019). Annotation using ENCODE data suggests that the GWAS variants may have a direct functional role in insulin biology. In conclusion, our study provides insight into variation present at the IGF1 locus and into the genetic architecture underlying FI levels, suggesting that FI associations of SNVs near IGF1 are not mediated by IGF-I and suggesting a role for both rare nonsynonymous and common functional variants in insulin biology.

The option to retrieve inferior vena cava (IVC) filters has resulted in an increase in the utilization of these devices as stopgap measures in patients with relative contraindications to anticoagulation. These retrievable IVC filters, however, are often not retrieved and become permanent. Recent data from our institution confirmed a historically low retrieval rate. Therefore, we hypothesized that the implementation of a new IVC filter retrieval protocol would increase the retrieval rate of appropriate IVC filters at our institution.

Since the 2004 approval of carotid artery angioplasty and stenting (CAS), there have been 2 seminal publications about CAS reimbursement (Center for Medicaid and Medicare Several guidelines [CMSG]; 2008) and clinical outcomes (Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy versus Stent Trial [CREST]; 2010). We explored trends in CAS utilization after these publications nationally.

Iloprost, an inhaled synthetic prostacyclin analogue, improves hemodynamic and clinical status with minimal systemic adversity in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. Our single-site, prospective case series aimed to determine the effects of iloprost in subjects with group 2 pulmonary hypertension and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Patients referred to Boston Medical Center for initial evaluation of suspected pulmonary hypertension received a test dose of 2.5 μg inhaled iloprost, followed by two subsequent doses of 5 μg. Hemodynamic measurements were recorded for each inhalation after 15, 30, 60, and 90 minutes. Results were analyzed via paired ttest and signed-rank test. Eight subjects fulfilled criteria and elected to enter the study. There was a reduction of pulmonary arterial pressure (by an average of 7.0 mmHg [P= 0.005] and 4.7 mmHg [P= 0.021] with the first and second 5-μg inhalations, respectively) and pulmonary vascular resistance (by an average of 161.9 dyn·s/cm5[P= 0.019] and 95.0 dyn·s/cm5[P= 0.014] with the first and second 5-μg inhalations, respectively). There were trends for increased cardiac output and decreased oxygen saturation. There were no changes in other vital or hemodynamic parameters, including pulmonary capillary wedge pressure. All patients completed each cycle of iloprost administration without preestablished termination criteria. In patients with pulmonary hypertension and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, inhaled iloprost resulted in acute reduction of pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance. Further evaluation of iloprost in this subset of patients is warranted.