British journal of anaesthesia
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The recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) has required the treatment of affected patients in the NHS system within the UK. Managing patients with a confirmed viral haemorrhagic fever requires a thorough understanding of treatment options within the confines of an effective biocontainment setting. ⋯ Provision of invasive organ support can be provided in this environment, if considered appropriate, and is achievable without posing additional risk to staff. We report our recent experiences of managing patients with EVD, with particular focus on those aspects of care pertinent to anaesthesia and critical care medicine.
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Multicenter Study
Persistent pain is common 1 year after ankle and wrist fracture surgery: a register-based questionnaire study.
Substantial literature documents that persistent postsurgical pain is a possible outcome of many common surgical procedures. As fracture-related surgery implies a risk of developing neuropathic pain and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), further studies investigating the prevalence and pain characteristics are required. ⋯ Persistent postsurgical pain 1 yr after wrist and ankle fracture surgery is frequent, and a large proportion of patients experience symptoms suggestive of neuropathic pain and CRPS. Patients should be informed about the substantial risk of developing persistent postsurgical pain. Future studies investigating risk factors for persistent postsurgical pain that include both surgically and conservatively treated fractures are required.
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Letter Meta Analysis
Aspirin and coronary artery surgery: an updated meta-analysis.
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Better education of clinicians is expected to enhance patient safety. An important component of education is adherence to standard protocols, which are mainly available in written form. Believing in the potential power of videos, we hypothesized that the introduction of an educational video, based on an institutional standard protocol, would foster adherence to the protocol. ⋯ This study provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of an educational video to enhance adherence to a standard protocol during complex medical procedures. The introduction of a video can reduce failure of adherence to safety-critical tasks and contribute to patient safety. We recommend the introduction of videos to improve protocol adherence.
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Clinical Trial
Using the STOP-BANG questionnaire to predict hypoxaemia in patients recovering from noncardiac surgery: a prospective cohort analysis.
The STOP-BANG questionnaire is a validated, eight-point dichotomized scale used to screen preoperative patients for obstructive sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea causes hypoxaemia, and nocturnal oxygen desaturation is diagnostic in these patients. We tested the hypothesis that STOP-BANG score is associated with hypoxaemia after noncardiac surgery. ⋯ NCT00512109.