Minerva anestesiologica
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Minerva anestesiologica · Aug 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyColloids for fluid resuscitation: what is their role in patients with shock?
Fluid therapy is widely used in critically ill patients to restore effective intravascular volume and improve organ perfusion. Recent studies have questioned the administration of colloid-based solutions, especially if containing hydroxyethyl starch (HES), in different ICU populations; however, there is still uncertainty on the use of colloids as initial fluid therapy for early resuscitation. ⋯ These data suggest that mortality was not increased and probably decreased with the use of colloids in different forms of shock requiring early fluid resuscitation. We discussed herein some methodological issues that may explain the discrepancies of this trial with the other studies developed in the same field.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Aug 2014
Multicenter Study Observational StudyClinical utility of preoperative screening with STOP-Bang questionnaire in elective surgery.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disease which increases the risk of perioperative complications. The aim of this study is to assess the clinical utility of preoperative screening for OSA in determining the prevalence of patients at high risk of OSA in a surgical population, the incidence of difficult airway management and the incidence of perioperative complications. ⋯ In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the prevalence of high OSA risk patients in the surgical population is high. The increase in the rates of perioperative complications justifies the implementation of perioperative strategies that use the STOP-Bang as a tool for triage.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Jun 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyHow to target temperature after cardiac arrest: insights from a randomized clinical trial.
Implementation of treatments able to improve survival and neurological recovery of cardiac arrest (CA) survivors is a major clinical challenge. More than ten years ago, two pivotal trials showed that application of therapeutic hypothermia (TH, 32-34 °C) to patients resuscitated from an out-of-hospital CA (OHCA) with an initial shockable rhythm significantly ameliorated their outcome. Since then, TH has been used also for non-shockable rhythms and for in-hospital CA to some extent, even if the quality of evidence supporting TH in such situations remained very low. ⋯ This is the largest study evaluating the effects of two different strategies of temperature management after CA. Some important concerns have been raised on the real benefit of keeping CA patients at 33 °C and major changes in clinical practice are expected. We discussed herein the main differences with previous randomized trials and tried to identify possible explanations for these findings.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Apr 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyEfficacy of a Novel Prewarming System in the Prevention of Perioperative Hypothermia. A prospective, randomized, multi-centre study.
Perioperative hypothermia is a common complication during general anesthesia. Although rewarming of patients before surgery has been used as a preventive measure and some guidelines recommend it, the implementation of prewarming for every surgical patient is cumbersome. Therefore, we sought to determine the efficacy of two novel prewarming methods that could facilitate prewarming in daily practice. ⋯ In our study active prewarming with a forced-air warmer and an insulating prewarming suit achieves significantly higher core temperatures during anesthesia and at the end of surgery and avoids hypothermia at the end of surgery compared to commercial or conventional insulation techniques.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Jan 2014
Multicenter Study Observational StudyAccuracy of leptin serum level in diagnosing ventilator-associated pneumonia: a case-control study.
Undernutrition causes a reduction of body-fat mass and a decrease in the circulating concentration of leptin which impairs the production of proinflammatory cytokines and increases the incidence of infectious diseases. The main objective of this study was to determine whether leptin deficiency is a risk factor for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). ⋯ In our study, leptin level was not associated with VAP occurrence. Further studies are needed to confirm our results, and to define the exact inflammatory role of leptin, and its interest as a biomarker in ICU patients.