F1000Research
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Bronchopulmonary dysplasia, or BPD, is the most common chronic lung disease in infants. Genetic predisposition and developmental vulnerability secondary to antenatal and postnatal infections, compounded with exposure to hyperoxia and invasive mechanical ventilation to an immature lung, result in persistent inflammation, culminating in the characteristic pulmonary phenotype of BPD of impaired alveolarization and dysregulated vascularization. In this article, we highlight specific areas in current management, and speculate on therapeutic strategies that are on the horizon, that we believe will make an impact in decreasing the incidence of BPD in your neonatal intensive care units.
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Platelet concentrates are universally prepared with a standard method and stored for 5 days at room temperature (20-24°C) in gentle agitation. Currently, there is a renewed interest in the possibility of storing platelet concentrates below the standard temperatures. In fact, cold platelets might be more effective in bleeding patients and have a lower risk of bacterial transmission. Inventories including platelets at different temperatures may favour patient-centred strategies for prophylactic or therapeutic transfusions.
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Although mechanical ventilation is a life-saving strategy in critically ill patients and an indispensable tool in patients under general anesthesia for surgery, it also acts as a double-edged sword. Indeed, ventilation is increasingly recognized as a potentially dangerous intrusion that has the potential to harm lungs, in a condition known as 'ventilator-induced lung injury' (VILI). ⋯ However, it is uncertain whether higher levels of positive end-expiratory pressure could benefit these patients as well. Finally, recent evidence suggests that patients without ARDS should receive low driving pressures during ventilation.
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With nearly 42 million mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs) occurring worldwide every year, understanding the factors that may adversely influence recovery after mTBI is important for developing guidelines in mTBI management. Extensive clinical evidence exists documenting the detrimental effects of elevated temperature levels on recovery after moderate to severe TBI. However, whether elevated temperature alters recovery after mTBI or concussion is an active area of investigation. ⋯ Preclinical mTBI studies have found that elevating brain temperature to 39°C before mTBI significantly increases neuronal death within the cortex and hippocampus and also worsens cognitive deficits. This review summarizes the pathology and behavioral problems of mTBI that are exacerbated by hyperthermia and discusses whether hyperthermia is a variable that should be considered after concussion and mTBI. Finally, underlying pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for hyperthermia-induced altered responses to mTBI and potential gender considerations are discussed.
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The use of opioid analgesics for postoperative pain management has contributed to the global opioid epidemic. It was recently reported that prescription opioid analgesic use often continued after major joint replacement surgery even though patients were no longer experiencing joint pain. The use of epidural local analgesia for perioperative pain management was not found to be protective against persistent opioid use in a large cohort of opioid-naïve patients undergoing abdominal surgery. ⋯ In the new clinical practice guidelines for back pain, the authors endorsed the use of non-pharmacologic therapies. However, one of the more widely used non-pharmacologic treatments for chronic pain (namely radiofrequency ablation therapy) was recently reported to have no clinical benefit. Therefore, this clinical commentary will review evidence in the peer-reviewed literature supporting the use of electroanalgesia and laser therapies for treating acute pain, cervical (neck) pain, low back pain, persistent post-surgical pain after spine surgery ("failed back syndrome"), major joint replacements, and abdominal surgery as well as other common chronic pain syndromes (for example, myofascial pain, peripheral neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, degenerative joint disease/osteoarthritis, and migraine headaches).