Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Apr 2024
Pulmonary superinfection diagnosed with bronchoalveolar lavage at intubation in COVID patients: A Swedish single-centre study.
Patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID) pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (C-ARDS) on invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) have been found to be prone to having other microbial findings than severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-2)-CoV-19 in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid at intubation causing a superinfection. These BAL results could guide empirical antibiotic treatment in complex clinical situations. However, there are limited data on the relationship between microbial findings in the initial BAL at intubation and later ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) diagnoses. ⋯ One fourth of the patients with C-ARDS had a pulmonary superinfection in the lungs that was caused by another microorganism identified at intubation. Routine serum inflammatory markers could not be used to identify this complication. Microorganisms located in BAL at intubation were rarely associated with later VAP development.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Apr 2024
The effects of troponin screening among patients undergoing acute high-risk abdominal surgery: A retrospective cohort study.
Acute high-risk abdominal (AHA) surgery is associated with a high short-term mortality rate. This might be partly attributed to myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery (MINS) defined by elevated postoperative troponin levels. The myocardial injury is often asymptomatic; thus, troponin screening seems to be the best diagnostic method. We aimed to assess whether implementing troponin screening with subsequent individualised interventions as standard care is associated with reduced mortality after AHA surgery. We also explored the treatment implications in the screening period. ⋯ The implementation of postoperative troponin screening was not associated with reduced mortality after AHA surgery. Research on the prevention and treatment of MINS is warranted before the implementation of standard troponin screening.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Apr 2024
Parturients feel capable of giving informed consent for epidural analgesia: A qualitative and quantitative analysis.
The patient's right to autonomy confirmed by informed consent is a cornerstone in modern medicine. Epidural analgesia is increasingly popular in obstetric analgesia, but physicians disagree whether labour pain impairs parturient decision-making. We investigated the fraction of parturients feeling capable of giving informed consent including their knowledge of risks. ⋯ The majority of participants reported the capacity to give informed consent. Our quantitative results show the participants could clearly distinguish genuine risks of epidural labour analgesia from made-up risks. Our qualitative data likewise suggest that participants understood the information and consequently their informed consent was genuine. Accordingly, parturients are able to give informed consent. This is supported by parturients' ability to identify risks from epidural labour analgesia.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Apr 2024
Multicenter Study Observational StudyTransthoracic impedance variability to assess quality of chest compression in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Chest compression is a lifesaving intervention in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), but the optimal metrics to assess its quality have yet to be identified. The objective of this study was to investigate whether a new parameter, that is, the variability of the chest compression-generated transthoracic impedance (TTI), namely ImpCC , which measures the consistency of the chest compression maneuver, relates to resuscitation outcome. ⋯ In this population, consistency of chest compression maneuver, measured by variability in TTI, was an independent predictor of defibrillation outcome. ImpCC may be a useful novel metrics for improving quality of care in OHCA.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Apr 2024
Risk prediction models in emergency surgery: Protocol for a scoping review.
Risk prediction models are used for many purposes in emergency surgery, including critical care triage and benchmarking. Several risk prediction models have been developed, and some are used for purposes other than those for which they were developed. We aim to provide an overview of the existing literature on risk prediction models used in emergency surgery and highlight knowledge gaps. ⋯ The outlined scoping review will summarize the existing literature on risk prediction models used in emergency surgery and highlight knowledge gaps.