Is incomplete revascularization during OPCAB surgery associated with reduced mid-term event-free survival?
Compared with off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery patients with complete revascularizations, those with IRs have reduced survival, but only in the first 4 to 6 months after surgery. Patients' preoperative condition, rather than IR itself, may explain these findings because IRs should have mid-term as well as early effects.
Graduating medical students are not ready to use the NIH Stroke Scale without specific training. The magnitude of the mistakes found in this study is enough to inappropriately include or exclude patients from rt-PA treatment. Training programs should be considered a sine qua non for qualification for rt-PA use in daily clinical practice.