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OBJECTIVES Aortic root aneurysms often affect younger patients in whom valve-sparing surgery is challenging. Among current techniques, aortic valve-sparing root replacement described by Tirone David has shown encouraging results. The AORTLANTIC registry was instituted for a multicentre long-term evaluation of this procedure. The current initial study evaluates the hospital outcomes of the procedure. METHODS This is a retrospective study of patients operated between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2020 in 6 hospitals in western France. All study data were recorded in the national digital database of the French Society of Cardiac Surgery: EPICARD. RESULTS A total of 524 consecutive patients with a mean age of 53 (15.1) years underwent surgery. 13% (n = 68) of patients presented with acute aortic dissection, 16.5% (n = 86) had associated connective tissue pathology and 7.3% (n = 37) had bicuspid aortic valves. Preoperative aortic regurgitation (AR) ≥2/4 was present in 65.3% (n = 341) of patients. Aortic valvuloplasty was required in 18.6% (n = 95) of patients. At discharge, 92.8% (n = 461) of patients had no or 1/4 AR. The stroke rate was 1.9% (n = 10). Intra-hospital mortality was 1.9% (n = 10). CONCLUSIONS The AORTLANTIC registry includes 6 centres in western France with >500 patients. Despite numerous complex cases (acute aortic dissections, bicuspid aortic valves, preoperative AR), aortic valve-sparing root replacement has a low intra-hospital mortality. The initial encouraging results of this multicentre study warrant further long-term evaluation by future studies.

Background: The role of Chlamydia pneumoniae (CP) and Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) in lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) is still little known in community settings. Methods: In all, 3207 adult cases of LRTI (871 with pneumonia, and 2336 with acute bronchitis) were prospectively included in the${\\rm ETIIC}^{1}$ETIIC: ETude de l'Incidence des Infections respiratoires basses d'origine Communautaire dues à Chlamydia pneumoniae et Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Incidence of CP and MP in LRTI in community settings) program by 303 general practitioners and 24 hospital physicians in France between September 1997 and February 2000. The polymerase chain reaction and immunoassays were used to detect CP or MP in 3198 pharyngeal specimens obtained by gargling. Results: Of these 3198 patients, 232 (7.3%), were PCR-positive for CP and/or MP. Immunoassays were far less sensitive than PCRs (Se = 2 and 13% for MP and CP). Among the 2336 patients with acute bronchitis, PCR was positive for CP in 95 (4.1%), and for MP, in 54 (2.3%). Among the 671 patients with radiologically confirmed pneumonia, PCR was positive for CP in 23 (3.4%), and for MP in 49 (7.3%). CP and MP displayed significant geographic heterogeneity. Independent clinical determinants of positive PCR for CP and/or MP were age below 45 years, previous antimicrobial therapy (especially betalactams). Clinical signs were not of practical use in distinguishing accurately between etiologic diagnoses. Conclusions: CP or MP diagnosed by PCR were found in more than 7% of patients with LRTI in community settings with a significant geographical heterogeneity and significant temporal trends in the incidence.