British journal of anaesthesia
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The response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the approach to patient safety share three important concepts: the challenges of preventing rare events, use of rules, and tolerance for uncertainty. We discuss how each of these ideas can be utilised in perioperative safety to create a high-reliability system.
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Multicenter Study
Factors associated with failed epidural blood patch after accidental dural puncture in obstetrics: a prospective, multicentre, international cohort study.
Unsuccessful epidural blood patch is associated with higher lumbar levels, shorter time between puncture & patch, and with patients with migraine history.
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Review Meta Analysis
Bayesian analysis of a systematic review of early versus late tracheostomy in ICU patients.
A recent systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs of early vs late tracheostomy in mechanically ventilated patients suggest that early tracheostomy reduces the duration of ICU stay and mechanical ventilation, but does not reduce short-term mortality or ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Meta-analysis of randomised trials is typically performed using a frequentist approach, and although reporting confidence intervals, interpretation is usually based on statistical significance. To provide a robust basis for clinical decision-making, we completed the search used from the previous review and analysed the data using Bayesian methods to estimate posterior probabilities of the effect of early tracheostomy on clinical outcomes. ⋯ Bayesian meta-analysis suggests a high probability that early tracheostomy compared with delayed tracheostomy has at least some benefit across all clinical outcomes considered.