Medicine
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Observational Study
World Health Organization (WHO) surgical safety checklist implementation and its impact on perioperative morbidity and mortality in an academic medical center in Chile.
Health care organizations are unsafe. Numerous centers have incorporated the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist in their processes with good results; however, only limited information is available about its effectiveness in Latin America. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the checklist implementation on the in-hospital morbidity and mortality rate in a tertiary health care center. ⋯ The median length of stay was 3 days [interquartile range (IQR), 1-5] and 2 days (IQR, 1-4) for the pre and postchecklist period, respectively (P < 0.01). This is the first Latin American study reporting a decrease in mortality after the implementation of the WHO Surgical Checklist in adult surgical patients. This is a strong and simple tool to make health care safer, especially in developing countries.
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Case Reports
Prolonged hemidiaphragmatic paresis following continuous interscalene brachial plexus block: A case report.
Interscalene brachial plexus block provides effective anesthesia and analgesia for shoulder surgery. One of the disadvantages of this technique is the risk of hemidiaphragmatic paresis, which can occur as a result of phrenic nerve block and can cause a decrease in the pulmonary function, limiting the use of the block in patients with reduced functional residual capacity or a preexisting pulmonary disease. ⋯ Nerve injuries associated with peripheral nerve blocks may be caused by several mechanisms. Our findings suggest that perioperative nerve injuries can occur as a result of combined mechanical and chemical injuries.
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Porous polyethylene is a widely used implants in orbital reconstruction, on which comprehensive clinical analysis, various treatments, and different prognosis according to specific classification principles on long-term complications have not been reported. To investigate the new clinical symptoms, intraoperative findings, treatments, and outcomes of complications long period after previous surgery, resulting from the use of porous polyethylene mesh for orbital fracture reconstruction. A retrospective study was conducted on 21 patients at the Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital with orbital complications after orbital fracture reconstruction with porous polyethylene mesh for 4 ± 2.2 years from 2011 to 2013. ⋯ In the last follow-up, 19 patients (90.5%) were cured or improved according to our assessment principle. The follow-up ranged from 3 to 45 months (35 months in average). According to specific classification for orbital complications resulting from the use of porous polyethylene mesh for orbital fracture reconstruction, various medical treatments should be carried out, and the prognosis may be different.
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Chinese rural-to-urban migrant workers (MWs) who are employed in service industry are a rapidly growing population in urban China. Like other MWs, service industry MWs (SIMWs) are generally excluded from the mainstream of city societies, but unlike other MWs, they are more marginalized in cities. Social isolation increases the feelings of loneliness; however, there are little empirical data on the epidemiology of loneliness of SIMWs. ⋯ Being aged 60 years or older (odds ratio [OR] = 2.30), marital status of "others" (OR = 2.77), being physically ill in the last 2 weeks (OR = 1.46), migrating alone (OR = 1.97), working >8 hours/day (OR = 1.06), MSPSS inside family subscale score ≤18 (OR = 1.80), and MSPSS outside family subscale score ≤38 (OR = 1.50) were significantly associated with increased risk of loneliness in SIMWs. Loneliness is prevalent in Chinese SIMWs and should be seen as a major public health issue. The high prevalence and many negative health consequences of loneliness highlight the importance of routine screening, evaluation, and treatment of loneliness in this vulnerable population.
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A positive correlation between albuminuria and severity of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) has been demonstrated, as indexed by urine albumin-to-creatinine ratios (UACRs). However, the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment on albuminuria in OSAS patients has not been established. Sixty subjects, with apnea-hypopnea indices >15 events per hour and no other diagnoses associated with albuminuria, underwent overnight polysomnography for sleep apnea and were examined for UACR at baseline and after 6 months of CPAP therapy. ⋯ Baseline UACR, good CPAP compliance, and body mass index were independent predictors of changes in UACR. Adequate CPAP treatment improves albuminuria in OSAS patients. In addition to monitoring CPAP adherence and subjective sleepiness, UACR may offer an objective physiological index of CPAP therapeutic effectiveness.