Citations

ABSTRACT Objective Surgical repair and 3D‐printed customized septal prosthesis (3D‐PCSP) are options for septal perforation treatment. We performed a study to compare the clinical outcomes of surgery and 3D‐PCSP using the NOSE‐Perf Scale (NPfS). Methods A chart review was performed on patients undergoing surgical repair or 3D‐PCSP placement between January 2018 and July 2024. The change in NPfS was used as primary endpoint. Demographics, ASA score, perforation size, etiology, and follow‐up duration were reported. Results Thirty‐five patients, 23 for surgical repairs and 12 for 3D‐PCSP, were included in this review [median (IQR)]. In the surgical repair group, perforation length and height measured 12 (10–18) mm and 10 (8–15) mm, respectively. Baseline NPfS was 24 (16–32), and this decreased to 8 (6–13) following surgical repair ( p < 0.001). Follow‐up time was 12 (5–21) months. In the 3D‐PCSP group, septal perforation length and height measured 25 (15–30) mm and 17 (15–20) mm, respectively. The baseline NPfS was 17 (3–24.5), and this decreased to 9.5 (7–13) following 3D‐PCSP placement ( p = 0.001). The follow‐up was 18.4 (16–23) months. NPfS reduction was greater for surgical repair ( p = 0.018). Conclusions Surgery and 3D‐PCSP offer meaningful symptom relief for NSP patients. Treatment decisions should be individualized through shared decision‐making that considers patient comorbidities, preferences, surgeon experience, and risk tolerance. In this cohort, surgical repair was associated with greater NPfS reduction compared with 3D‐PCSP placement. Level of Evidence 3.

Abstract Echocardiography is the most widely used cardiac imaging modality, yet artificial intelligence-enabled interpretation remains limited by the inability of existing models to integrate visual assessment, quantitative measurement, and clinical reasoning within a unified framework. Here we present EchoAtlas, the first autoregressive vision-language model developed for echocardiographic interpretation. Trained on over 12.9 million question-answer pairs derived from approximately 2 million echocardiogram videos, EchoAtlas achieves 0.966 accuracy on multiple-choice questions in our internal test set and establishes a new state-of-the-art on the public MIMIC-EchoQA benchmark (0.699 vs. 0.508 previously). EchoAtlas also provides accurate quantitative measurements, segment-level regional wall motion assessment, longitudinal comparison, and diagnostic reasoning across diverse question formats — capabilities not previously demonstrated in this domain. These results highlight the potential of autoregressive vision-language models as a foundation for interactive echocardiographic interpretation, representing an early step toward scalable, auditable artificial intelligence systems in cardiology practice.

Abstract Background While immunologic aging impacts immune responses to vaccination, consistent biomarkers associated with aging of the immune system and suboptimal serologic response to influenza vaccination have not been well-studied. Identification of readily measurable biomarkers of immunosenescence may have predictive clinical utility and inform targeted influenza vaccination strategies and future research into aging of the immune system. Methods We quantified multiple serum/plasma and cell-based parameters related to immune aging (CMV serostatus, plasma cytokines/chemokines, TREC, TERT, NK cell functionality, and DNA methylation clock) at baseline in an adult (age range 18-85) cohort of 2019-2020 influenza vaccine recipients (n=337) and evaluated their associations with vaccine-induced HAI response to influenza A/H1N1, A/H3N2 and B/Victoria strains. Results CMV IgG titers were significantly positively correlated with vaccine-induced increases in HAI antibody titers to influenza A/H1N1 ( p= 0.02) and A/H3N2 ( p =0.014). CMV IgG titers ( p= 0.00096) and CMV seropositivity ( p= 0.003) were also associated with Day 28 HAI seropositivity against influenza A/H3N2 in subjects seronegative at baseline. Conversely, plasma MCP-1 levels were negatively associated with HAI responses to the A/H3N2 ( p= 0.04) strain. These findings were significant independent of age, sex or vaccine type received (high vs standard-dose seasonal influenza vaccine) Conclusions Our identification of significant relationships between easily quantifiable immune markers and HAI responses to influenza A vaccine strains across sex and age enhances our knowledge of specific links between immune aging and influenza vaccine-induced immunity. These markers could be leveraged for predicting response to influenza immunization.

Abstract Objectives To address the gap between artificial intelligence (AI) model development and clinical implementation by developing a machine-learning model to predict cochlear implant (CI) eligibility based on routine hearing tests, while illustrating 3 practical lessons: reformulation for clinical utility, selection of problem-specific metrics, and handling input data variability. Materials and Methods Data were extracted from adult patients who underwent behavioral audiometric and subsequent CI candidacy testing (Arizona Biomedical and Consonant-Nucleus-Consonant tests) at Mayo Clinic between 2011 and 2023. Regression models were initially developed to predict AzBio and CNC scores using features from routine audiograms. Models were then reformulated into binary classification tasks using clinical thresholds (AzBio ≤60%; CNC &lt;50%) and reported sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV). Input data variability was assessed by analyzing test-retest differences in isophonemes scores. Results Binary classification models achieved sensitivity of 90.4% with PPV 80.2% at CNC 50/AzBio 60, outperforming referral heuristics (60/60 and 75/40). Applying the models to 50 700 historical audiograms identified 525 patients at PPV 90% (sensitivity 58%), 396 at PPV 94% (sensitivity 44%), and 1582 at PPV 71% (sensitivity 94%). Variability analyses indicated that attainable precision is bounded by noise in key predictors. Conclusion This study demonstrates how AI models can be translated into clinically actionable tools by reformulating regression outputs, selecting metrics aligned with clinical priorities, and addressing data variability. These strategies provide a scalable framework for implementing AI in health care and improving decision-making in diverse clinical contexts.

BACKGROUND: For reasons not fully understood, Black adults experience more socioeconomic disadvantages (SED) than their White counterparts, as well as earlier onset and greater mortality from heart failure (HF). The John Henryism hypothesis predicts that repeated high-effort coping, that is, John Henryism (JH), with socioeconomic adversity can accelerate cardiovascular aging, thus increasing the risk for HF. METHODS: The analysis sample consisted of participants from the JHS (Jackson Heart Study), a cohort of Black adults from the Jackson, Mississippi Metropolitan area. The analysis sample included participants with no cardiovascular disease at baseline (2000–2004) with complete SED and JH scores. Indicators of SED included low household income, low educational attainment, and low maternal educational attainment scores. JH scores (0–36) were categorized as low (<28), moderate (29–32), and high (>32). Effect moderation of JH in the SED and incident HF association was assessed using interaction terms and stratification. Proportional hazards regression determined the hazard ratio and 95% CI, and models adjusted for age, sex, and established lifestyle risk factors. RESULTS: Among 1704 participants (mean age: 52.15 years, 64.3% female), 100 HF events occurred by 2016 (mean follow-up, 10 years). A statistically significant interaction between income and JH was observed for incident HF ( P =0.04). For every 1-unit increase in income disadvantage score, the risk of HF increased 2-fold among those with high JH (hazard ratio, 2.00 [95% CI, 1.39–2.86]) after full adjustment. Among participants with low JH, the corresponding unadjusted association was hazard ratio, 1.40 [95% CI, 1.04–1.90], but this association attenuated after adjusting for age and sex (hazard ratio, 1.19 [95% CI, 0.87–1.63]). CONCLUSIONS: The association between income disadvantage and HF differed by JH level. Because SED and high JH tend to co-occur, both should be considered in future research aiming to decrease the burden of HF in Black Americans.

Objective Asking students to answer 30 + questions in an optional student evaluation of teaching (SET) increases the likelihood that instructors may not receive critical feedback due to survey fatigue. A considerable body of educational research on how to incentivize student completion of SETs offers a variety of suggestions to combat fatigue, perceptions of value, and other issues. Methods This retrospective cohort study from January 2021 to March 2024 investigates the impact of a shortened, 4-question mandatory SET on response rates and qualitative feedback within a Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) program. Unadjusted linear mixed-effects regression models assessed the relationships of SET type (optional SET vs experimental SET) and SET response outcomes. Results Over the course of the study, 844 students completed optional (N = 473) and experimental (N = 371) SETs. Requiring SET completion to access assessments increased both participation (Estimate 62.43, 95% CI: 52.41-72.45; P < .001) and qualitative responses (Est. 43.65, 95% CI: 32.24-55.05; P < .001). Relative to the optional SET, the experimental SET was associated with more blank qualitative responses (Est. 7.28, 95% CI: 4.70-9.86; P < .001) and a higher total word count (Est. 989.59, 95% CI: 513.78-1465.40; P < .001). Course satisfaction scores did not differ significantly between survey types (Est. 0.05, 95% CI: −0.13-0.22; P = .60). Conclusion This study's findings demonstrate that short, mandatory, learning management system-integrated SETs effectively increase qualitative feedback and can offer a feasible model for institutions aiming to gather actionable items to inform course design and delivery.

Abstract Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), an autosomal dominant vasculopathy affecting 1 in 5000 individuals, is the second most common inherited bleeding disorder worldwide. Despite this prevalence, comprehensive data on disease manifestations and complications remain limited. To address this gap, the US Congress allocated funding leading to the Comprehensive HHT Outcomes Registry of the United States (CHORUS), a prospective, 15-center longitudinal registry enrolling unselected patients with confirmed HHT. In this initial report, we describe findings from the first 600 participants, with a median age of 53 (range, 0-88) years and 60% female. Despite most participants developing typical HHT manifestations by age 13 years, the majority (63%) were not diagnosed until mid-to-late adulthood. Recurrent spontaneous epistaxis occurred in 95% of participants, chronic gastrointestinal bleeding in 30%, and heavy menstrual bleeding in 35% of postmenarche females, together resulting in moderate-to-severe mucosal bleeding in 76%. Iron deficiency and/or anemia were diagnosed in 68%, with 41% requiring IV iron and 25% requiring red cell transfusions. Serious complications of solid-organ arteriovenous malformations were frequent, including intracranial hemorrhage (3%), pulmonary hemorrhage (2%), venous thromboembolism (7%), arterial thromboembolism (11%), heart failure (7%), and pulmonary hypertension (7%). These data from CHORUS, the first national US registry of its kind, provide reliable, real-world estimates of the incidence, prevalence, and severity of numerous HHT manifestations and complications. HHT has a high burden of moderate-to-severe bleeding, anemia, thrombosis, and major neurologic and cardiopulmonary complications. There is a mean interval between first symptoms and diagnosis of &gt;2 decades, during which substantial, serious, and preventable HHT morbidity, including early intracranial hemorrhage, may occur. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT06259292.

Post-pulmonary embolism syndrome (PPES) encompasses a diverse spectrum of long-term complications that are associated with persistent dyspnea, exercise intolerance, and a decrease in quality of life. The PPES constellation ranges from life-threatening conditions such as chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) to nonlife-threatening but still debilitating conditions such as chronic thromboembolic pulmonary disease (CTED) or post-PE deconditioning. The safety and efficacy of exercise and cardiopulmonary rehabilitation programs to prevent and manage these symptoms in PPES has not been well established. Herein, we review contributors to PPES and synthesize the evidence for exercise training after PE to treat and prevent PPES.