Clinics
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To ascertain perioperative morbimortality and identify prognostic factors for mortality among patients > or = 55 years who undergo non-cardiac surgery. ⋯ The results indicate that serum albumin, coronary heart disease, valvular heart disease and the American Society of Anesthesiology classification could be prognostic predictors for aged patients in a perioperative setting. In this sample, provided that pulmonary, cardiac and thromboembolic risks were properly controlled, they did not constitute risk factors for mortality. Furthermore, continuous effort to learn more about the preoperative assessment of elderly patients could yield intervention possibilities and minimize morbimortality.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Endoscopic lumbar sympathectomy for women: effect on compensatory sweat.
Plantar hyperhidrosis is present in 50% of patients with hyperhidrosis. Thoracic sympathectomy is an important tool for the treatment of this condition, which is successful in about 60% of patients. For the remaining patients, lumbar sympathectomy is the procedure of choice. As new minimally invasive techniques have been developed, a significant demand for this type of access has led to its adaptation to the lumbar sympathectomy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of endoscopic retroperitoneal lumbar sympathectomy in controlling plantar hyperhidrosis and its effects on compensatory sweat. ⋯ The endoscopic retroperitoneal lumbar sympathectomy diminishes plantar sweat and improves the quality of life of women with plantar hyperhidrosis. However, about half of the patients develop increased compensatory hyperhidrosis in other areas of the body.
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Studies comparing high frequency oscillatory and conventional ventilation in acute respiratory distress syndrome have used low values of positive end-expiratory pressure and identified a need for better recruitment and pulmonary stability with high frequency. ⋯ Utilization of the lower inflection point of the pressure-volume curve in the ventilation strategies considered in this study resulted in comparable efficacy with regards to oxygenation and hemodynamics, a high PaCO2 level and a lower pH. In addition, a greater number of normal alveoli were found after protective conventional ventilation in an animal model of acute respiratory distress syndrome.
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To describe item reduction and its distribution into dimensions in the construction process of a quality of life evaluation instrument for the elderly. ⋯ The sample was heterogeneous and similar to what was expected. The dimensions and items demonstrated the multidimensionality of the construct. The Clinical Impact Method was appropriate to construct the instrument, which was named Elderly Quality of Life Index--EQoLI. An accuracy process will be examined in the future.