CRITICALLY APPRAISING CLINICAL TRIALS

The outstanding quality of submissions in 2022 meant we ran two Late Breaking Clinical Trials sessions, reinforcing the EACTS Annual Meeting as a key event in the calendar for the cardiothoracic community.

Delegates had the opportunity to assess and critically appraise the latest data from over 12 studies designed to further improve outcomes for patients. This included:

• the results of CAST-HF, a potentially practice changing prospective randomised controlled trial exploring shockwave therapy in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy.

• and the preliminary first in human trials results of the Excimer Laser Assisted Non-Occlusive Anastomosis, a robotic device which aims to improve coronary artery bypass grafting.