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Thanks to Erika Janik for her intellectual curiosity and lively writing, both of which grace your April issue ('Think Positive'). And a comment to wrestle with from a fellow historian: [...]

IMPORTANCE: Patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) can choose open repair or endovascular repair (EVAR). While EVAR is less invasive, it requires lifelong surveillance and more frequent aneurysm-related reinterventions than open repair. A decision aid may help patients receive their preferred type of AAA repair. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of a decision aid on agreement between patient preference for AAA repair type and the repair type they receive. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In this cluster randomized trial, 235 patients were randomized at 22 VA vascular surgery clinics. All patients had AAAs greater than 5.0 cm in diameter and were candidates for both open repair and EVAR. Data were collected from August 2017 to December 2020, and data were analyzed from December 2020 to June 2021. INTERVENTIONS: Presurgical consultation using a decision aid vs usual care. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who had agreement between their preference and their repair type, measured using χ2 analyses, κ statistics, and adjusted odds ratios. RESULTS: Of 235 included patients, 234 (99.6%) were male, and the mean (SD) age was 73 (5.9) years. A total of 126 patients were enrolled in the decision aid group, and 109 were enrolled in the control group. Within 2 years after enrollment, 192 (81.7%) underwent repair. Patients were similar between the decision aid and control groups by age, sex, aneurysm size, iliac artery involvement, and Charlson Comorbidity Index score. Patients preferred EVAR over open repair in both groups (96 of 122 [79%] in the decision aid group; 81 of 106 [76%] in the control group; P = .60). Patients in the decision aid group were more likely to receive their preferred repair type than patients in the control group (95% agreement [93 of 98] vs 86% agreement [81 of 94]; P = .03), and κ statistics were higher in the decision aid group (κ = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.60-0.95) compared with the control group (κ = 0.53; 95% CI, 0.32-0.74). Adjusted models confirmed this association (odds ratio of agreement in the decision aid group relative to control group, 2.93; 95% CI, 1.10-7.70). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Patients exposed to a decision aid were more likely to receive their preferred AAA repair type, suggesting that decision aids can help better align patient preferences and treatments in major cardiovascular procedures. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03115346

An introduction is presented in which the author discusses articles within the issue on topics including return of the bourgeois in fashion, popularity of erotic fiction, and fashion accessories.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues including a review by author Peter Onuf of the book "John Quincy Adams: American Visionary" by Fred Kaplan in the June 2014 edition, "The Spirit of '74" in the June 2014 edition, and "Think Positive" by Erika Janik in the April 2014 edition.