The Journal of international medical research
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To evaluate the relationship between plasma N-terminal prohormone B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and weaning outcomes, and the ability of NT-proBNP level to predict weaning success, in cancer patients with pulmonary complications undergoing noncardiac major surgeries. ⋯ Measuring NT-proBNP at the end of a spontaneous breathing trial may assist in predicting weaning success, as a noninvasive, quantitative and repeatable indicator of cardiac stress in patients with postsurgical respiratory failure.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Tracheal intubation in intellectually disabled patients: clinical usefulness of remifentanil and sevoflurane without a muscle relaxant.
To compare two remifentanil doses (1 µg/kg and 2 µg/kg) in order to determine the preferred dose in intellectually disabled patients undergoing day care dental surgery under sevoflurane-induced general anaesthesia. ⋯ Successful tracheal intubation in intellectually disabled patients can be accomplished with a combination of 1 µg/kg or 2 µg/kg remifentanil and 8% sevoflurane anaesthesia induction, without the requirement for neuromuscular blocking drugs.
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To assess retrospectively the diagnostic value of procalcitonin (PCT) in excluding suspected bloodstream infection, establish cut-off values for PCT levels, and compare PCT with other clinical markers. ⋯ The serum PCT level can potentially be used as surrogate marker to exclude bacteraemia and to inform critical management decisions regarding antibiotic usage, in patients admitted with suspected bloodstream infection.
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Mutations in the high-temperature requirement A serine peptidase 1 (HTRA1) gene were studied in a Chinese family with cerebral autosomal recessive arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CARASIL). ⋯ Discovery of a novel missense mutation (c.854C>T) associated with CARASIL expands the known CARASIL-related mutations in HTRA1.