When two pandemics collide: providing quality cirrhosis care in the age of COVID

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has shattered the processes meticulously developed over years by which physicians delivered quality care for patients with cirrhosis. COVID-19 has exposed deep flaws in the structural and process measures developed to follow patients, evaluate disease status and response to therapy, and screen for complications, each of which depends upon frequent physical patient-physician interaction.

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Systemwide ECMO quality collaborative improves patient outcomes

For critically ill patients with advanced heart or lung failure, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is available at Baylor University Medical Center and three other Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH) medical centers. A systemwide coordinated care initiative that aligned the services at these hospitals in North and Central Texas has improved ECMO outcomes across all sites, including a 32 percent reduction in overall mortality.

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New research from BSWRI offers model to identify progression mechanism of, and therapies for, α-Synucleinopathic neurodegenerative disorders

Baylor Scott & White Research Institute researcher Erxi Wu, Ph.D. recently co-authored a paper published in Nature Communications, demonstrating the successful creation of a mouse model of pure autonomic dysfunction caused by α-Syn pathology. Researchers believe this model could help establish mechanistic links between the transmission of pathological α-Syn and the cardinal features of autonomic dysfunction in α-Synucleinopathy.

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PARTNER 3 Low-Risk Trial: Co-Principal Investigator Examines 2-Year Outcomes With TAVR

Two-year outcomes data on Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) in low-risk patients were recently presented at the American College of Cardiology 2020 Annual Scientific Session. PARTNER 3 demonstrated that TAVR with the Sapien 3 valve was as safe and effective as traditional open surgical replacement for low risk patients with aortic stenosis (AS). The primary outcome of the study—the risk of death, stroke or rehospitalization at two years—was comparable between the two groups.

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