International journal of clinical and experimental medicine
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Concept mapping is an effective method in teaching and learning, however this strategy has not been evaluated among electrocardiogram (ECG) diagnosis learning. This study explored the use of concept maps to assist ECG study, and sought to analyze whether this method could improve undergraduate students' ECG interpretation skills. There were 126 undergraduate medical students who were randomly selected and assigned to two groups, group A (n = 63) and group B (n = 63). ⋯ Difficult to learn at the beginning and time consuming are the two problems in using this method, nevertheless most of the students indicated to continue using it. Concept maps could be a useful pedagogical tool in enhancing undergraduate medical students' ECG interpretation skills. Furthermore, students indicated a positive attitude to it, and perceived it as a resource for learning.
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Sufentanil-induced cough is a common phenomenon during the induction of anesthesia. This double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled study was designed to investigate the effects of prophylactic magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) on the incidence and severity of sufentanil-induced cough. A total of 165 patients who were scheduled for elective surgery under general anesthesia were allocated into three groups (I, II, and III; n = 55 each) that were injected with either 50 ml of normal saline, 30 or 50 mg/kg of MgSO4 (diluted with normal saline into 50 ml). ⋯ Compared with group I, group III had the lowest incidence of mild cough and both groups II and III had lower incidence of moderate and severe cough (P < 0.05). There were no differences in the hemodynamic data at three timepoints among the three groups. In conclusion, sufentanil-induced cough may be suppressed effectively and safely by prophylactic use of 30 mg/kg of MgSO4 during anesthetic induction.
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Vasospasm is one of the most common complications after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Statins have been proven to be effective to reduce the incidence of vasospasm both in experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage and several clinical trials before. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the efficacy of statins for patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. ⋯ There were in total 1031 patients in six RCTs with 504 patients received statins and 527 patients in placebo group. 561 patients with statins compared with 1579 patients in no statin-use group were finally included in 8 observational studies. Outcomes included in this meta-analysis (cerebral vasospasm, DIC and poor outcome) all indicated no statistical significance between two groups both in RCTs and observational studies. No benefits of statins-use for patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage were observed in both RCTs and observational studies, which was quite different from the results of several previous meta-analysis.
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To estimate the efficacy and safety of adding bevacizumab to cetuximab- or panitumumab-based therapy in the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), using a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. ⋯ The addition of bevacizumab to cetuximab- or panitumumab-based therapy did not improve PFS and OS resulting in better ORR. Thus, the combined therapy of bevacizumab with cetuximab or panitumumab is not recommended for the treatment of mCRC. However, larger scale RCTs are needed to confirm these findings.
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The ischemia necrosis of limb frequently requires surgery of amputation. Lumbar plexus and sciatic nerve block is an ideal intra-operative anesthetic and post-operative antalgic technique for patients of amputation, especially for high-risk patients who have severe cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. However, the duration of analgesia of peripheral nerve block is hardly sufficient to avoid the postoperative pain and the usage of opioids. ⋯ The sensory function was blocked fully for surgery and the duration of analgesia maintained 26 hours with haemodynamic stability and moderate sedation. The patient did not complain pain and require any supplementary analgesics after surgery. This case showed that adding 1 μg/kg dexmedetomidine to ropivacaine for lumbar plexus and sciatic nerve block may be a feasible and safe technique for high-risk patients for lower limb surgery of amputation.