Plos One
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Rapid and substantial increases in anticoagulant use and expenditure in Australia following the introduction of new types of oral anticoagulants.
To quantify changes in anticoagulant use in Australia since the introduction of Non-vitamin K antagonist anticoagulants (NOACs) and to estimate government expenditure. ⋯ The introduction of the NOACs led to substantial increases in anticoagulant use and expenditure in Australia.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of palonosetron for prophylaxis of postoperative nausea and vomiting in high-risk patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty: A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
The preemptive multimodal pain protocols used in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) often cause emesis postoperatively. We investigated whether palonosetron prophylaxis reduces postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in high-risk patients after TKA. ⋯ Palonosetron prophylaxis reduced the incidence and severity of PONV in high-risk patients managed with multimodal pain protocol for 48 h, notably 2-24 h after TKA.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
An evaluation of hemoglobin measurement tools and their accuracy and reliability when screening for child anemia in Rwanda: A randomized study.
Blood hemoglobin (Hb) is a common indicator for diagnosing anemia and is often determined through laboratory analysis of venous samples. One alternative to laboratory-based methods is the handheld HemoCue® Hb 201+ device, which requires a finger prick and wicking of blood into a pretreated cuvette for analysis. An alternative HemoCue® gravity method is being investigated for improved accuracy. ⋯ Both HemoCue® sampling methods correctly classified patients' anemic status in 80% or more of instances, whereas the Pronto® device had a correct classification rate of only 69%. The HemoCue® gravity method was more accurate than the traditional HemoCue® wicking method in this study, but its accuracy and operational feasibility should be confirmed by future studies. The Pronto® DCI-mini™ devices showed considerable promise but require further improvements in sensitivity and specificity before wider adoption.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Pressure-support ventilation or T-piece spontaneous breathing trials for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - A randomized controlled trial.
Little is known about the best strategy for weaning patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from mechanical ventilation. Spontaneous breathing trials (SBT) using a T-piece or pressure-support ventilation (PSV) have a central role in this process. Our aim was to compare T-piece and PSV SBTs according to the duration of mechanical ventilation (MV) in patients with COPD. ⋯ The SBT technique did not influence MV duration for patients with COPD. For the difficult/prolonged weaning subgroup, the T-piece may be associated with a longer time to liberation, although this should be clarified by further studies.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Prehospital ultrasound-guided nerve blocks improve reduction-feasibility of dislocated extremity injuries compared to systemic analgesia. A randomized controlled trial.
Out-of-hospital analgosedation in trauma patients is challenging for emergency physicians due to associated complications. We compared peripheral nerve block (PNB) with analgosedation (AS) as an analgetic approach for patients with isolated extremity injury, assuming that prehospital required medical interventions (e.g. reduction, splinting of dislocation injury) using PNB are less painful and more feasible compared to AS. ⋯ Prehospital ultrasound-guided PNB is rapidly performed in extremity injuries with high success. Compared to the commonly used AS in trauma patients, PNB significantly reduces pain intensity and severity.