TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you are given a passage which has a question and the context. You have to generate an answer to the question based on the information present in the context.
PROBLEM: Context: To evaluate the superiority of transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO2) before, during and after peripheral transluminal angioplasty (PTA) in comparison with ankle brachial index (ABI) in patients with diabetes.', '40 consecutive patients with diabetes treated by PTA where included. This study shows results before, during and after PTA and their progression for 8 weeks.', 'The TcPO2 increased from 28.118.1 to 48.038.4mmHg, 8 weeks after PTA (p<0.001). The ABI increased from 0.480.38 to 0.770.39 after PTA (p<0.001). After PTA, the stenosis of the vessel decreased from 58.3320.07% to 21.8713.57% (p<0.001). TcPO2 was determined in all the patients, but ABI could not be determined in all patients. Furthermore, we determined patients with "false negatives" with an improvement in ABI and "false positives" in 12.5% of patients. Additionally, in this study, we monitored TcPO2 while performing PTA, revealing variations in each phase of the radiological procedure.\Question: Does transcutaneous oxygen tension measurements following peripheral transluminal angioplasty procedure have more specificity and sensitivity than ankle brachial index?

SOLUTION: The increase in TcPO2 measurements following PTA procedure has more specificity and sensitivity than does ABI. The use of TcPO2 may represent a more accurate alternative than traditional methods (ABI) used in assessing PTA results. The TcPO2 also allows the radiologist to assess changes in tissue oxygenation during PTA, allowing changes to the procedure and subsequent treatment.

PROBLEM: Context: To determine the effect of introducing a rapid enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) D-dimer on the percentage of emergency department (ED) patients evaluated for pulmonary embolism (PE), the use of associated laboratory testing, pulmonary vascular imaging, and the diagnoses of PE.', 'Patients evaluated for PE during three 120-day periods were enrolled: immediately before (period 1), immediately after (period 2), and one year after the introduction of a rapid ELISA D-dimer in the hospital. The frequency of ED patients evaluated for PE with any test, with D-dimer testing, and with pulmonary vascular imaging and the frequency of PE diagnosis during each time period were determined.', 'The percentage of patients evaluated for PE nearly doubled; from 1.36% (328/24,101) in period 1 to 2.58% (654/25,318) in period 2 and 2.42% (583/24,093) in period 3. The percentage of patients who underwent D-dimer testing increased more than fourfold; from 0.39% (93/24,101) in period 1 to 1.83% (464/25,318) in period 2 and 1.77% (427/24,093) in period 3. The percentage of patients who underwent pulmonary vascular imaging increased from 1.02% (247/24,101) in period 1 to 1.36% (344/25,318) in period 2 and to 1.39% (334/24,093) in period 3. There was no difference in the percentage of patients diagnosed as having PE in period 1 (0.20% [47/24,101]), period 2 (0.27% [69/25,318]), and period 3 (0.24% [58/24,093]).\Question: Does a highly sensitive ELISA D-dimer increase testing but not diagnosis of pulmonary embolism?

SOLUTION: In the study's academic ED, introduction of ELISA D-dimer testing was accompanied by an increase in PE evaluations, D-dimer testing, and pulmonary vascular imaging; there was no observed change in the rate of PE diagnosis.

PROBLEM: Context: Ex vivo heart perfusion (EVHP) provides the opportunity to resuscitate unused donor organs and facilitates assessments of myocardial function that are required to demonstrate organ viability before transplantation. We sought to evaluate the effect of different oxygen carriers on the preservation of myocardial function during EVHP.', 'Twenty-seven pig hearts were perfused ex vivo in a normothermic beating state for 6 hours and transitioned into working mode for assessments after 1 (T1), 3 (T3), and 5 (T5) hours. Hearts were allocated to 4 groups according to the perfusate composition. Red blood cell concentrate (RBC, n = 6), whole blood (RBC+Plasma, n = 6), an acellular hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (HBOC, n = 8), or HBOC plus plasma (HBOC+Plasma, n = 7) were added to STEEN Solution (XVIVO Perfusion, Goteborg, Sweden) to achieve a perfusate hemoglobin concentration of 40 g/liter.', 'The perfusate composition affected the preservation of systolic (T5 dP/dtmax: RBC+Plasma = 903 99, RBC = 771 77, HBOC+Plasma = 691 82, HBOC = 563 52 mm Hg/sec; p = 0.047) and diastolic (T5 dP/dtmin: RBC+Plasma = -574 48, RBC = -492 63, HBOC+Plasma = -326 32, HBOC = -268 22 mm Hg/sec; p < 0.001) function, and the development of myocardial edema (weight gain: RBC+Plasma = 6.6 0.9, RBC = 6.6 1.2, HBOC+Plasma = 9.8 1.7, HBOC = 16.3 1.9 g/hour; p < 0.001) during EVHP. RBC+Plasma hearts exhibited less histologic evidence of myocyte damage (injury score: RBC+Plasma = 0.0 0.0, RBC = 0.8 0.3, HBOC+Plasma = 2.6 0.2, HBOC = 1.75 0.4; p < 0.001) and less troponin-I release (troponin-I fold-change T1-T5: RBC+Plasma = 7.0 1.7, RBC = 13.1 1.6, HBOC+Plasma = 20.5 1.1, HBOC = 16.7 5.8; p < 0.001). Oxidative stress was minimized by the addition of plasma to RBC and HBOC hearts (oxidized phosphatidylcholine compound fold-change T1-T5: RBC+Plasma = 1.83 0.20 vs RBC = 2.31 0.20, p < 0.001; HBOC+Plasma = 1.23 0.17 vs HBOC = 2.80 0.28, p < 0.001).\Question: Does a whole blood-based perfusate provide superior preservation of myocardial function during ex vivo heart perfusion?

SOLUTION:
A whole blood-based perfusate (RBC+Plasma) minimizes injury and provides superior preservation of myocardial function during EVHP. The beneficial effect of plasma on the preservation of myocardial function requires further investigation.