Improved survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest outside critical care areas

Background: The in‐hospital Utstein Guidelines may be used to evaluate resuscitation strategies. This study utilized the Utstein template prospectively to examine changes in outcome and outcome‐related factors after resuscitation outside critical care areas over a 10‐year period. Methods: Seinäjoki Central Hospital (460 beds) is a secondary hospital in Finland with acute care activities. In 1993, the in‐hospital cardiac arrest management was remodelled; an intensive care unit‐based resuscitation team was formed and prospective data collection began (modified according to the Utstein Guidelines in 1997). An analysis of resuscitation attempts outside critical care areas between 1993 and 2002 was performed. To monitor developments, the patients were divided into two groups (first period, 1993–97; second period, 1998–2002). Variables independently associated with survival were identified using multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: During the 10‐year period, resuscitation was attempted in 183 patients. Survival to discharge was 6% during the first period and 16% during the second (P = 0.048). The corresponding figures for survival at 1 year from the event were 3% and 10% (P = 0.064). Independent predictors of survival were ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia as the initial rhythm [odds ratio (OR), 9.8; confidence interval (CI), 3.2–30.3] and cardiac arrest occurring during the second period (OR, 3.3; CI, 1.1–10.1). Conclusion: Prospective Utstein style data collection proved to be a valuable tool for the evaluation of management and outcome following in‐hospital cardiac arrest. Increased survival was seen over 10 years outside critical care areas. Organizational changes, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation training for ward personnel and standardized resuscitation management, may have contributed to this change.     

The use of undiluted amiodarone in the management of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Introduction: The Resuscitation 2000 Guidelines recommends amiodarone as the antiarrhythmic drug of choice in treatment of resistant ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT). Amiodarone has been associated with side‐effects and difficulty of administration, due to recommended dilution, rendering it suboptimal for out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest (CA) management. In the present study we report experiences and side‐effects of the use of undiluted amiodarone in CA management in Helsinki Emergency Medical Service (EMS) during a 2‐year period. Methods: On October 1, the Resuscitation 2000 Guidelines were put into practice in Helsinki EMS. Thus, in the cardiac arrest treatment protocol, after three ineffective shocks and 1 mg of adrenaline (epinephrine), a bolus of 300 mg of undiluted amiodarone (Cordarone^® 50 mg ml^?1, Sanofi‐Synthelabo, Helsinki, Finland) was administered into a vein located as centrally as possible. The Helsinki EMS performs systematic data collection according to the Utstein Guidelines. The blood pressure levels, heart rates and the need for vasopressors, of the patients with sustained return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), were collected from the ambulance charts. Results: During October 1, 2000 and September 30, 2002, 712 patients were considered for resuscitation and 566 were resuscitated. The initial rhythms were as follows: 32% had VF/VT, 36% had asystole and 32% had pulseless electrical activity (PEA). Of the 180 patients with VF/VT, 75 (42%) received undiluted amiodarone in addition to other resuscitative measures. Of the patients with asystole or PEA, 12 (6%) and 18 (10%), respectively, received amiodarone. The blood pressure levels and the need vasopressors after ROSC and during transportation to the hospital were similar among the patients who received and those who did not receive amiodarone. Conclusions: The present study suggests that amiodarone can be administered undiluted without unmanageable haemodynamical side‐effects in the treatment of out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest. This is likely to save time and simplifies the treatment protocol in the prehospital setting.     

计算机辅助导航在脊柱脊髓手术中的应用

目的 对计算机辅助导航系统在椎管内肿瘤及内固定手术应用中的精确性、安全性、易行性等进行了分析。方法2001年3月至2003年12月期间共在计算机辅助导航系统下实施了41例脊柱导航手术：椎管内外占位性病变37例,内固定手术4例。其中男29例,女12例,年龄14～69岁,平均43岁。病变位于颈段9例,胸段17例,腰段13例,骶尾段2例。结果本组37例椎管内外占位患者中19例病变位于髓内,18例位于髓外,其中4例侵及椎管内外。其中神经鞘瘤9例,室管膜瘤10例,血管网织细胞瘤5例,脊膜瘤7例,星形细胞瘤4例,囊虫1例,骨母细胞瘤1例。占位性病变中手术镜下全切33例(89．2％),2例近全切除,2例大部切除。内固定手术4例,共植入26枚螺钉,未发生螺钉穿破皮质及损伤脊髓和神经根。术后患者恢复良好34例(82．9％),无术后感染及死亡病例。结论计算机辅助导航系统作为一种手术辅助方法为医生实施脊柱脊髓手术提供了重要的帮助,它在精确性、安全性、易行性等方面达到了微创手术的要求,并且在术前计划、减少手术损伤、降低手术并发症及手术教学等方面有着巨大的潜力。     

Frameless image guidance improves accuracy in three-dimensional interstitial brachytherapy needle placement

PURPOSE: The aim of this work was to adapt a computer-assisted real-time three-dimensional (3D) navigation system for interstitial brachytherapy procedures. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The 3-D navigation system Surgical Planning and Orientation Computer System (SPOCS; Aesculap, Tuttlingen, Germany) was adapted for use in interstitial brachytherapy. A special needle holder with mounted infrared-emitting diodes (IRED) for 3D navigation-based needle implantation was developed. Measurements were made on a series of different phantoms to study the feasibility and the overall accuracy and precision of the navigation system with regard to single-needle application and volume implants (multiple-needle implantations). In all, 250 single implants and 20 volume implants were performed. Accuracy was measured as the target registration error (TRE) between the preoperatively defined and the achieved target position. RESULTS: Analyses of the 250 different targets showed a mean TRE for single-needle applications of 1.1 mm (SD +/- 0.4 mm), 0.9 mm (SD +/- 0.3 mm), and 0.7 mm (SD +/- 0.3 mm) in the x, y, and z direction, respectively. The maximal deviation was 2.3 mm. The corresponding TRE in the x, y, and z direction for volume implants was 1.6 mm (SD +/- 0.4 mm), 1.9 mm (SD +/- 0.6 mm), and 1.0 mm (SD +/- 0.4 mm), respectively. The maximum deviation was 2.9 mm. CONCLUSIONS: The adaptation of a commercially available surgical planning and navigation system to interstitial brachytherapy is feasible. It enables virtual planning and improved accuracy in 3D interstitial needle implantation.     

Precision of transfer of preoperative planning for oral implants based on cone-beam CT-scan images through a robotic drilling machine

In this study, an image-guided system for oral implant placement was assessed. A specially designed mechanical tool has been elaborated to transfer the preoperative implant axis planned on 3-dimensional imagery into a surgical template by a numerically controlled drilling machine. The main drawback of image-guiding systems is the use of preoperative computed tomography, which is expensive and delivers high radiation doses. Therefore, in this study the image-guiding system was coupled with a cone-beam tomograph that significantly decreased both cost and radiation doses. Three edentulous models were used. To determine the accuracy of the system, the ability of a 1.8-mm diameter drill to enter a 2.0-mm diameter, 10-mm-long titanium tube inserted on the model with no contact was verified. Because the drill entered the tubes with no contact and went beyond the end of the tube, the transfer error was less than 0.2 mm for translation and less than 1.1 degrees for rotation. The method presented here is low cost and high precision compared to other technological solutions such as tracking. Further assessment in the surgical field should lead to daily use of this system for flapless surgery, to prepare a prosthesis prior to surgery for immediate loading, to reduce risk of injuring critical anatomical structures and to eliminate manual placement error.     

Comparative Evaluation of Dimension and Surface Detail Accuracy of Models Produced by Three Different Rapid Prototype Techniques

Rapid prototyping (RP) is a technology that produces physical models by selectively solidifying ultra violet (UV) sensitive liquid resin using a laser beam. These models can be formed using various techniques. A study was undertaken to compare the dimensional accuracy and surface details of three prototype models with a 3D STL (standard template library) image. In this study the STL file was used to produce three different rapid prototype models namely; model 1—fused deposition model (FDM) using ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), model 2—Polyjet using a clear resin and model 3—a 3 dimensional printing using a composite material. Measurements were made at various anatomical points. For surface detail reproductions the models were subjected to scanning electron microscopy analysis. The dimensions of the model created by Polyjet were closest to the 3D STL virtual image followed by the 3DP model and FDM. SEM analysis showed uniform smooth surface on Polyjet model with adequate surface details.     

Construction of a stereotaxic DTI atlas with full diffusion tensor information for studying white matter maturation from childhood to adolescence using tractography‐based segmentations

Reconstruction of white matter (WM) fiber tracts based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is increasingly being used in clinical and research settings to study normal and pathological WM tissue as well as the maturation of this WM tissue. Such fiber tracking (FT) methodology, however, is highly dependent on the manual delineation of anatomical landmarks and the algorithm settings, often rendering the reproducibility and reliability questionable. Predefining these regions of interest on a fractional anisotropy (FA) atlas in standard space has already been shown to improve the reliability of FT results. In this paper, we constructed a new DTI atlas, which contains the complete diffusion tensor information in ICBM152 coordinates. From this high‐dimensional DTI atlas, and using robust FT protocols, we reconstructed a large number of WM tracts. Subsequently, we created tract masks from these fiber tract bundles and evaluated the atlas framework by comparing the reproducibility of the results obtained from our standardized tract masks with regions‐of‐interest labels from the conventional FA‐based WM atlas. Finally, we assessed laterality and age‐related WM changes in 42 normal subjects aged 0 to 18 years using these tractography‐derived tract segmentations. In agreement with previous literature, we observed an FA increase with age, which was mainly due to the decrease of perpendicular diffusivity. In addition, major functional pathways in the language, motor, and limbic system, showed a significant asymmetry in terms of the observed diffusion metrics. Hum Brain Mapp, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

THE ELIÁN GONZÁLEZ DISCURSIVE TEMPLATE

In this essay we return to the Elián González custody battle of 1999/2000 in order to investigate the lessons the case poses for understanding the conflicted mediation of childhood, and to ask why Elián's particular childhood continues to resonate widely years after his return to Cuba. Detailing how the Elián case ruptured the myth of Cuban exile exceptionalism, thereby ensuring that US Cubans became prey to the nativist discourses that historically targeted other US Latina/o groups, we also attend to the media, popular‐cultural, and international cooptions of the Elián story. Those cooptions indicate that the enduring and evolving Elián icon has come to provide an adaptable, differentially applied, and contradictory template by which numerous children have been pressed into symbolic service as “other Eliáns.” With this focus, we track the evolution of the Elián discursive template and its applications in cognate custody conflicts centred on the border‐crossing child as potential citizen.     

Navigated versus conventional drilling of the knee in a model of obesity

Core decompression by exact drilling into ischemic lesions of the femoral condyle stays a challenging procedure, particularly in obese patients. The precision of fluoroscopically-based drilling compared to conventional drilling was evaluated in an in-vitro model for obesity. 40 sawbones were prepared mimicking osteonecrosis in obese patients. 20 sawbones were drilled by guidance of an intraoperative navigation system VectorVision® (BrainLAB, Munich, Germany); the other 20 sawbones were conventionally drilled by fluoroscopic control only. Regarding the distance to the desired mid-point of the lesion, a statistically significant difference with 0.55 mm in the navigated group and 1.19 mm in the control group could be stated (p<0.001). Significant differences were further found for the number of drilling corrections (p<0.001) and radiation time needed (p<0.001). Even in difficult circumstances as in obese patients, the drilling guided by the VectorVision®-navigation system shows high precision with simultaneous enormous reduction of radiation time.