Anesthesiology
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Over 600 operating room fires occur annually although many cases go unreported. Over 81% of operating room fires involve surgical drapes, yet limited data exist on the differing degrees of flammability of drapes and other surgical fuel sources in varying oxygen concentrations. The purpose of this study is to assess the flammability characteristics of fuels in the operating room under varying oxygen concentrations. ⋯ Operating room personnel should be aware that common materials in the operating room support rapid combustion in oxygen-enriched environments. The risk of ignition and speed of fire propagation increase as oxygen exposure increases. Advances in material science may reduce perioperative fire risk.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Individually Optimized Hemodynamic Therapy Reduces Complications and Length of Stay in the Intensive Care Unit: A Prospective, Randomized Controlled Trial.
The authors hypothesized that goal-directed hemodynamic therapy, based on the combination of functional and volumetric hemodynamic parameters, improves outcome in patients with cardiac surgery. Therefore, a therapy guided by stroke volume variation, individually optimized global end-diastolic volume index, cardiac index, and mean arterial pressure was compared with an algorithm based on mean arterial pressure and central venous pressure. ⋯ Early goal-directed hemodynamic therapy based on cardiac index, stroke volume variation, and optimized global end-diastolic volume index reduces complications and length of ICU stay after cardiac surgery.
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Editorial Comment
A Burning Issue: Preventing Patient Fires in the Operating Room.