British journal of anaesthesia
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Prevalence and factors associated with high-risk gastric contents in women admitted to the maternity unit for childbirth: a prospective multicentre cohort study on 1003 parturients.
This multicentre prospective observational study sought to determine the prevalence and the factors associated with high-risk gastric contents in women admitted to the maternity unit for childbirth, and to identify the clinical situations in which ultrasound assessment of gastric contents would be most helpful (i.e. when the prevalence of high-risk gastric contents is close to 50%). ⋯ Around two-thirds of parturients had high-risk gastric contents within the first hour after admission to the maternity unit. Our results suggest that gastric emptying for solids continues in labouring women, and that gastric ultrasound would be most helpful when fasting duration is ≥8 h.
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Observational Study
Impact of continuous and wireless monitoring of vital signs on clinical outcomes: a propensity-matched observational study of surgical ward patients.
Continuous and wireless vital sign monitoring is superior to intermittent monitoring in detecting vital sign abnormalities; however, the impact on clinical outcomes has not been established. ⋯ Patients who received continuous ward monitoring were less likely to die or be admitted to ICU than those who received intermittent monitoring. These findings should be confirmed in prospective randomised trials.
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Preoperative knowledge of surgical risks can improve perioperative care and patient outcomes. However, assessments requiring clinician examination of patients or manual chart review can be too burdensome for routine use. ⋯ FLEX utilises information from a wider range of medical diagnostic and procedural codes than previously possible and can adapt to different coding practices to accurately predict adverse postoperative outcomes.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Changes in information integration and brain networks during propofol-, dexmedetomidine-, and ketamine-induced unresponsiveness.
Information integration and network science are important theories for quantifying consciousness. However, whether these theories propose drug- or conscious state-related changes in EEG during anaesthesia-induced unresponsiveness remains unknown. ⋯ The three anaesthetics caused changes in information integration patterns and network functions. Thus, it is possible to build a quantifying framework for anaesthesia-induced conscious state changes on the EEG scale using PCMI and network science.
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Persistent Inflammation, Immunosuppression, and Catabolism Syndrome (PICS) is a clinical endotype of chronic critical illness. PICS consists of a self-perpetuating cycle of ongoing organ dysfunction, inflammation, and catabolism resulting in sarcopenia, immunosuppression leading to recurrent infections, metabolic derangements, and changes in bone marrow function. There is heterogeneity regarding the definition of PICS. ⋯ The field would benefit from a consensus definition of PICS using biologically based cut-off values. Future research should focus on expanding knowledge on underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of PICS to identify and validate other potential endotypes of chronic critical illness and subsequent treatable traits. There is unlikely to be a universal treatment for PICS, and a multimodal, timely, and personalised therapeutic strategy will be needed to improve outcomes for this growing cohort of patients.