BioMed research international
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Review Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Comparative Efficacy of the Air-Q Intubating Laryngeal Airway during General Anesthesia in Pediatric Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Air-Q® (air-Q) is a supraglottic airway device which can be used as a guidance of intubation in pediatric as well as in adult patients. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of air-Q compared to other airway devices during general anesthesia in pediatric patients by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. A total of 10 studies including 789 patients were included in the final analysis. ⋯ The success rate of intubation was significantly lower than other airway devices. However, fiberoptic view was better through the air-Q than other supraglottic airway devices. Therefore, air-Q could be a safe substitute for other airway devices and may provide better fiberoptic bronchoscopic view.
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Image-guided sensory block and radiofrequency ablation of the nerves innervating the sacro-iliac joint require readily identifiable bony landmarks for accurate needle/electrode placement. Understanding the relative locations of the transverse sacral tubercles along the lateral sacral crest is important for ultrasound guidance, as they demarcate the position of the posterior sacral network (S1-S3 ± L5/S4) innervating the posterior sacro-iliac joint. No studies were found that investigated the spatial relationships of these bony landmarks. ⋯ The mean intertubercular and interforaminal distances decreased from S1 to S4, whereas the distance from the lateral margin of the posterior sacral foramina to the transverse sacral tubercles increased from S1 to S3. The mean intertubercular distance from S1 to S3 was significantly (p < 0.05) larger in males. The interrelationships of the sacral bony landmarks should be taken into consideration when estimating the site and length of an image-guided strip lesion targeting the posterior sacral network.
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Background. Acute appendicitis (AA) associated with acute phase reaction is the most prevalent disease which requires emergency surgery. Its delayed diagnosis and unnecessarily performed appendectomies lead to numerous complications. ⋯ For complicated appendicitis, CRP has the highest degree of diagnostic accuracy. The diagnosis of appendicitis should be made primarily based on clinical examination, and obviously more specific and systemic inflammatory markers are needed. Combined use of cut-off values of WBC (≥13100/μL) and CRP (≥1.17 mg/L) yields a higher sensitivity and NPV for the diagnosis of complicated appendicitis.
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Regenerative medicine is considered an attractive prospect for the treatment of intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. To assess the efficacy of the regenerative approach, animal models of IVD degeneration are needed. Among these animal models, chemonucleolysis based on the enzymatic degradation of the Nucleus Pulposus (NP) is often used, but this technique remains far from the natural physiopathological process of IVD degeneration. ⋯ The enzyme treatment leads to a rapid and acute process of IVD degeneration. Conversely, laser radiation induced more progressive and less pronounced degeneration. It can be concluded that laser treatment provides an instrumental in vivo model of slowly evolving IVD degenerative disease that can be of preclinical relevance for assessing new prophylactic biological treatments of disc degeneration.
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Background. Nosocomial pneumonia due to carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (CRGNB) is a growing concern because treatment options are limited and the mortality rate is high. The effect of tigecycline (TGC) on nosocomial pneumonia due to CRGNB in patients who have received inappropriate initial empiric antibiotic treatment (IIAT) is unclear. ⋯ High-dose TGC therapy had a higher clinical success rate [65.0% (13/20) versus 18.2% (2/11), P = 0.023] and a lower ICU mortality rate [30.0% (6/20) versus 72.7% (8/11), P = 0.031] than the standard-dose therapy. Conclusions. TGC, especially a high-dose regimen, might be a justifiable option for critically ill patients with nosocomial pneumonia due to CRGNB who have received IIAT when the options for these patients are limited.