Articles: function.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Trial of N-Acetyl-l-Leucine in Niemann-Pick Disease Type C.
Niemann-Pick disease type C is a rare lysosomal storage disorder. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of N-acetyl-l-leucine (NALL), an agent that potentially ameliorates lysosomal and metabolic dysfunction, for the treatment of Niemann-Pick disease type C. ⋯ Among patients with Niemann-Pick disease type C, treatment with NALL for 12 weeks led to better neurologic status than placebo. A longer period is needed to determine the long-term effects of this agent in patients with Niemann-Pick disease type C. (Funded by IntraBio; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT05163288; EudraCT number, 2021-005356-10.).
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Although team-based care has been shown in many sectors to improve outcomes, very little work has been done with the thoracic surgical patient. This review article focuses on this and, extrapolating from other closely related surgical fields, teamwork in thoracic surgery will be reviewed for outcome efficacy and substance. ⋯ To improve outcome, the thoracic surgical team, centered on the anesthesiologist and surgeon, will display the 'Big 5' attributes of highly effective teams. There are attributes of poor teams, which the dyad should avoid in order to increase the team's function and thus outcome.
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Postoperative delirium (POD) remains a common, dangerous and resource-consuming adverse event but is often preventable. The whole peri-operative team can play a key role in its management. This update to the 2017 ESAIC Guideline on the prevention of POD is evidence-based and consensus-based and considers the literature between 01 April 2015, and 28 February 2022. ⋯ Recent literature confirmed the pathogenic role of surgery-induced inflammation, and this concept reinforces the positive role of multicomponent strategies aimed to reduce the surgical stress response. Although some putative precipitating risk factors are not modifiable (length of surgery, surgical site), others (such as depth of anaesthesia, appropriate analgesia and haemodynamic stability) are under the control of the anaesthesiologists. Multicomponent preoperative, intra-operative and postoperative preventive measures showed potential to reduce the incidence and duration of POD, confirming the pivotal role of a comprehensive and team-based approach to improve patients' clinical and functional status.
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Review
Right ventricle: current knowledge of echocardiographic evaluation of this "forgotten" chamber.
In the past the right ventricle (RV) has been traditionally regarded as a simple conduit between the venous system and the pulmonary circulation and it has aroused little interest in both clinical and echocardiographic cardiologists to such an extent that it has been defined as the "forgotten chamber." Subsequently it was clearly shown that the right heart (RH) plays an important physiologic role in cardiac activity, and that congenital or acquired alterations in its structure and function have an important prognostic value. Aim of this review is to shed the light on the echocardiographic approach to this cardiac chamber. ⋯ However, RV may now be evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively in many ways, and some new methods can partially overcome some of the limits imposed by its complex anatomy, thereby yielding a quantitative evaluation. Furthermore, due to the wide range of pathologies which may involve the RV a disease-oriented approach should be considered in the echocardiographic investigation of right heart disease.
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Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is the end-stage treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA), and approximately 20% of patients experience chronic postoperative pain. Studies indicate that inflammatory biomarkers might be associated with pain in OA and potentially linked to the development of chronic postoperative pain after TKA. This study aimed to (1) evaluate preoperative serum levels of inflammatory biomarkers in patients with OA and healthy control subjects, (2) investigate preoperative differences of inflammatory biomarker profiles in subgroups of patients, and (3) compare subgroups of patients with and without postoperative pain 12 months after surgery. ⋯ The 12-months postoperative VAS and KOOS scores were significantly different between subgroups of patients ( P < 0.05). This study identified differences in specific inflammatory biomarker profiles when comparing patients with OA and control subjects. Cluster analysis identified 2 subgroups of patients with OA, with one subgroup demonstrating comparatively worse 12-month postoperative pain intensity and function scores.