Thoracic surgeons may find that accurate coding and billing under ICD-10 may require a higher level of specificity than before. 

The additional use of angioplasty and stents to treat some patients with ischemic stroke appears to be safe and effective, according to a study published online Dec. 11 in Radiology.

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has approved HeartMate II as a bridge-to-transplantation therapy for patients suffering from advanced heart failure.

A randomized clinical trial has confirmed that patients with polycythemia vera benefit from aggressive treatment to lower their hematocrit to less than 45 percent and maintain it at that level. The study was published online Dec. 8 in the New England Journal of Medicine. However, an editorial suggested the drugs should not be recommended for thrombosis prevention in patients with polycythemia vera.

European researchers have demonstrated a significant decline in ischemic stroke mortality in all age and sex classifications from 1980 to 2000; however, incidence of stroke was stable or may have increased slightly between 1997 and 2005. These results were published online Dec. 4 in Stroke.

A heart surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles accidently infected five patients while performing valve replacement surgeries, requiring four to undergo second operations. A hospital spokesperson confirmed reports of the outbreak to Cardiovascular Business. 

Continuing treatment of either low- or high-dose apixaban reduces the risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE), according to results of the AMPLIFY-EXT trial. Patients given extended anticoagulation also were at no higher risk of major bleeding than the placebo group.

A sub-analysis of data from a randomized clinical trial comparing the use of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors plus a diuretic to ACE inhibitors plus a calcium channel blocker found that obese, hypertensive patients receiving the diuretic combination experienced significantly fewer adverse events than normal weight patients taking the same combination of drugs. However, a study commentary argued that the lower risk should not spur physicians to consider body mass index when making hypertension treatment decisions.