AIMS In this study, we investigated the characteristics and underlying mechanisms of the electrocardiographic (ECG) morphology during left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP), which have not been systematically described. METHODS Patients with indications for permanent cardiac pacing underwent LBBAP attempts. The ECGs of patients with confirmed left bundle branch (LBB) capture were compared with those of individuals with right bundle branch block (RBBB) on 12-lead ECG. Intracardiac electrograms recorded during implantation were analyzed in all patients who underwent pacing. RESULTS LBBAP was successfully achieved in 87.5% (56/64) of patients. The QRS morphologies in lead V1 during LBBAP, which typically demonstrated Qr (60.7%), qR (19.6%), rSR’ (7.1%), or QS (12.5%) patterns, differed from those of native RBBB, which featured rsR’ (57.5%), M shape (23.7%), or monophasic R patterns (18.7%). The terminal R’ wave duration in lead V1 was significantly shorter during LBBAP than during native RBBB (51 ± 12 ms vs 85 ± 19 ms, p  less then  0.001). LBB potentials were recorded in 66.1% (37/56) of the LBBAP patients. No significant differences in ECG characteristics were found between LBBAP with and without recorded LBB potentials. read more The presence of bundle branch block during LBBAP significantly prolonged QRS duration, R wave peak time, and terminal R’ wave duration in lead V1 . CONCLUSION LBBAP-ECG patterns are characterized by a shorter terminal R’ wave duration in lead V1 compared with that of native RBBB configurations. Bundle branch conduction integrity has an impact on ECG characteristics during LBBAP. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Susac syndrome is an autoimmune disease characterized by the clinical triad of encephalopathy, branch retinal artery occlusions and sensorineural hearing loss. It most commonly affects young women. Susac syndrome is most likely underdiagnosed, not the least since only 13% have the clinical triad upon presentation. Many are misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis or another neuroinflammatory entity. Susac syndrome is a microangiopathy affecting the precapillary arterioles causing infarcts of the brain, retina and inner ear. Beside the clinical symptoms, Susac syndrome is diagnosed by typical radiological features on magnetic resonance imaging and branch retinal artery occlusions, which are best evaluated using fluorescein angiography. Early diagnosis and correct immunosuppressive therapy are of utmost importance for clinical improvement and prevention of permanent disability. Diagnosis and treatment of Susac syndrome requires close cooperation between neurologists, radiologists, ophthalmologists and otorhinologists. Here, we present three cases and a review of the literature.Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a common differential diagnosis in patients with a swollen lower limb and the suggested method of investigation with pre-test probability including Wells score and D-dimer is well established. We have conducted a retrospective descriptive directory study to examine how DVT-investigations are being conducted and a retrospective cohort study to compare correctly and incorrectly investigated patients regarding missed DVT and the usage of imaging. Our study has been conducted though chart reviews of 398 patients with suspected DVT at the emergency department (ED) at Södersjukhuset in Stockholm during 2016. A total of 74/398 cases of DVT were verified. More than half of the investigations were not conducted according to the current guidelines. These investigations did not miss any DVTs but did use significantly more imaging (86,2 % vs 49,6 %, p less then 0,01). ED admissions could be avoided for approximately one out of three referred patients if stricter diagnostics were conducted by the referring doctor.Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) caused by the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis is a zoonosis presenting with focal liver lesions and has a poor prognosis without treatment. The disease is common in Central and Eastern Europe but has been highly unusual in Sweden. A suspicion of AE usually arises through radiology and the diagnosis may be confirmed by histology and/or serological antibody detection. AE is treated with radical surgery in combination with anti-helminthic drug therapy. During the last two years six cases of AE have been diagnosed in Sweden. In no case was AE suspected clinically before biopsy. A heightened awareness of AE is needed among Swedish physicians, including radiologists, surgeons and pathologists.Listeria monocytogenes is a potential hazard for food safety and therefore public health. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of L. monocytogenes in Polish ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products in retail. Among the 184 439 food samples collected within the framework of national official control and monitoring program only 0.3% were  positive for L. monocytogenes. A significant group of products that did not meet the criteria were RTE meat products. This group accounted for 40% of all non compliant samples. A total of 70 L. monocytogenes isolates from RTE meat products (meat, sausages and delicatessen products with meat) were examined. The majority of the tested isolates (51%) belonged to serogroup 1/2a-3a, followed by 1/2c-3c (21%), 1/2b-3b-7 (14%) and 4ab-4b-4d-4e (13%). Serogroup 4a-4c was not present among the tested isolates. All L. monocytogenes isolates harbored the virulence-associated genes inlA, inlC, inlJ and lmo2672 . The llsX marker was detected in twelve of 70 (17%) isolates. Ampicillin resistance was the most common resistance phenotype and was identified in 83% of L. monocytogenes isolates. A low incidence of resistance to amoxicillin/clavunate acid (6% isolates)  was also detected. All L. monocytogenes isolates were susceptible to chloramphenicol, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, meropenem, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, tetracycline and erythromycin. This work provides useful information regarding contamination of RTE meat products with L. monocytogenes, which may have implications for food safety risk.OBJECTIVES Refreshing, or the act of briefly foregrounding recently presented but now perceptually absent representations, has been identified as a possible source of age differences in working memory and episodic memory. We investigated whether the refreshing deficit contributes to the well-known age-related deficit for retrieving nonsemantic associations, but has no impact on existing semantic associations. METHOD Younger and older adults judged the relatedness of stimulus word pairs (e.g., pink-blue or pink-cop) after repeating or refreshing one of the words. During a later source recognition memory test, participants determined whether each item recognized as old was presented on the left or right (nonsemantic source memory) and presented in a related or unrelated pair (semantic source memory). The data were analyzed using a hierarchical Bayesian implementation of a multinomial model of multidimensional source memory. RESULTS Neither age group exhibited a refreshing benefit to nonsemantic or semantic source memory parameters.