Articles: cations.
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Reviews of the effectiveness of medicinal cannabis for chronic pain vary in their conclusions. IASP has identified that a key missing evidence in this debate is data from observational cohort studies, analyzed with comparative effectiveness methods. In a medically supervised context to the use of marijuana for chronic pain, we identified 440 patients certified for medical marijuana by pain specialists in a single healthcare system. ⋯ Using the causal inference method of stratified modeling, logistic regression revealed an odds ratio of 2.6 in favor of medical marijuana vs medication treatment (P < 0.01). Potential harms data were not available in the PORT registry. Medical marijuana was comparatively more effective than prescription medications for the treatment of chronic pain at 3 months, although the populations compared were slightly different.
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Understanding clinical trajectories of sepsis patients is crucial for prognostication, resource planning, and to inform digital twin models of critical illness. This study aims to identify common clinical trajectories based on dynamic assessment of cardiorespiratory support using a validated electronic health record data that covers retrospective cohort of 19,177 patients with sepsis admitted to ICUs of Mayo Clinic Hospitals over eight-year period. Patient trajectories were modeled from ICU admission up to 14 days using an unsupervised machine learning two-stage clustering method based on cardiorespiratory support in ICU and hospital discharge status. ⋯ Four distinct trajectories were identified: fast recovery (27% with a mortality rate of 3.5% and median hospital LOS of 3 (IQR, 2-15) days), slow recovery (62% with a mortality rate of 3.6% and hospital LOS of 8 (IQR, 6-13) days), fast decline (4% with a mortality rate of 99.7% and hospital LOS of 1 (IQR, 0-1) day), and delayed decline (7% with a mortality rate of 97.9% and hospital LOS of 5 (IQR, 3-8) days). Distinct trajectories remained robust and were distinguished by Charlston comorbidity index, Apache III scores, day 1 and day 3 SOFA (p < 0.001 ANOVA). These findings provide a foundation for developing prediction models and digital twin decision support tools, improving both shared decision-making and resource planning.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Jan 2025
Transesophageal echocardiography monitoring for liver transplantation: where are we now?
Intraoperative hemodynamic monitoring is crucial for managing patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) due to their complex cardiovascular and pulmonary abnormalities. Traditionally, pulmonary artery catheterization (PAC) has been the standard for hemodynamic monitoring during OLT. However, the use of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has increased due to its real-time visualization of cardiac and vascular structures, which aids in managing hemodynamic instability during the three surgical phases of OLT: pre-anhepatic, anhepatic, and neo-hepatic. ⋯ Although TEE in patients with ESLD poses risks, particularly in the presence of esophageal varices, studies show a low incidence of complications when performed by experienced operators. Focused TEE protocols have proven effective in detecting common causes of hemodynamic instability with fewer views. This review summarizes the applications and safety considerations of TEE during OLT.
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Trauma and hemorrhagic shock (T/HS) are associated with multiple organ injury. Antithrombin (AT) has anti-inflammatory and organ protective activity through its interaction with endothelial heparan sulfate containing a 3-O-sulfate modification. Our objective was to examine the effects of T/HS on 3-O-sulfated (3-OS) heparan sulfate expression and determine whether AT-heparan sulfate interactions are necessary for its anti-inflammatory properties. ⋯ T/HS causes pronounced reductions in pulmonary expression of 3-OS heparan sulfate, which is essential to AT's anti-thrombotic and anti-inflammatory activity. Blocking the interaction between AT and the endothelium attenuates the anti-thromboinflammatory and organ protective properties of FFP, suggesting that AT-endothelial anticoagulant function and anti-inflammatory signaling is important for organ protection during T/HS.
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Firearm violence in America has been declared a public health crisis. This study investigates variation in firearm injuries by county-level characteristics and intent of firearm use. ⋯ These results suggest that deaths remain a problem in all Florida county communities while hospitalizations are highly influenced by socioeconomic factors and county size. Heatmaps may inform level one trauma hospitals to implement tailored education for high risk surrounding communities.