BMC anesthesiology
-
The incidence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) gram-negative (GN) organisms including Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter spp has increased in the last decade, prompting re-evaluation of colistin for the management of these infections. Aerosolized colistin as an adjunct to intravenous therapy is a current option for the management of MDR-GN pneumonia, although data supporting this practice is limited. This study evaluates the efficacy of adjunctive aerosolized colistin in combination with intravenous colistin in critically ill patients with MDR-GN pneumonia. ⋯ Addition of aerosolized colistin to IV colistin may improve clinical cure and mortality for patients with MDR-GN pneumonia. Larger, prospective trials are warranted to confirm the benefit of adjunctive aerosolized colistin in critically ill patients with MDR-GN pneumonia.
-
Methodologists have proposed the formation of a good research question to initiate the process of developing a research protocol that will guide the design, conduct and analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and help improve the quality of reporting such studies. Five constituents of a good research question based on the PICOT framing include: Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome, and Time-frame of outcome assessment. The aim of this study was to analyze if the presence a structured research question, in PICOT format, in RCTs used within a 2010 meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of femoral nerve blocks after total knee arthroplasty, is independently associated with improved quality of reporting. ⋯ This study showed that PICOT framing of a research question in anesthesia-related RCTs is not often followed. Even though a statistically significant association with higher OQRS was not found, PICOT framing of a research question is still an important attribute within all RCTs.
-
Etiologies of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) mortality are diverse. This study aimed to investigate the pattern of PICU mortality in a regional trauma center, and explore factors associated with prolonged non-survival. ⋯ Death in the PICU is a heterogeneous event that involves infants and children. Resuscitation was not attempted at the time of their deaths in nearly half of the patients in honor of parents' wishes. Parents often make DNAR decision when medical futility becomes evident. They could be reassured that DNAR did not mean "abandoning" care. Instead, DNAR patients had prolonged PICU stay and received the same level of PICU supports as patients who did not respond to cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
-
Perioperative blood transfusions have been associated with poor clinical outcomes in the context of oncological surgery. Current literature is inconclusive whether blood transfusions are linked to shorter recurrence free and overall survival after lung cancer surgery. We hypothesize that blood transfusions in patients undergoing surgery for non-small cell lung cancer are associated with poor oncological survival. ⋯ Perioperative administration of red blood cells appears be associated with a decreased overall survival but not recurrence free survival after lung cancer surgery. Our study has the limitations of a retrospective review. Hence, our results should be confirmed by a prospective randomized control trial.