Empowering the Nurse Practitioner With the Reproductive Justice Framework

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled to strike down Roe v. Wade (1973), a landmark decision that legalized access to abortion under the right to privacy. By overturning Roe, the decision now leaves the regulation of abortion up to each individual state. Consideration of the consequences that will affect vulnerable populations is paramount now that Roe v. Wade is overturned. Nurse practitioners who are impartial toward abortion should be introduced to Reproductive Justice, which can help them better understand the lived experiences of people with the capacity for pregnancy and the complexities surrounding abortion.     

Prospective Study of Radial Artery Occlusion Following Transradial Arterial Access during IR Procedures

PurposeTo prospectively determine the rate of radial artery occlusion (RAO) in patients undergoing transradial access for intra-arterial interventions.Materials and MethodsSeventy-seven patients undergoing transradial access from August 2019 to March 2021 for 120 intra-arterial procedures (yttrium-90 mapping [n = 39] and radioembolization [n = 38], uterine artery embolization [n = 19], transarterial chemoembolization [n = 10], active bleed embolization [n = 8], angiomyolipoma embolization [n = 4], and other [n = 2]) were enrolled. The average patient age was 59 years ± 13.1 (range, 30–90 years), and 43 (55.8%) of the 77 patients were men. The patients underwent radial artery (RA) palpation, ultrasound evaluation, the Barbeau test, and the reverse Barbeau test prior to and following the intervention. Verapamil, nitroglycerin, and heparin were administered in a total of 114 (95%) of the 120 procedures prior to starting the procedure. The incidence of RAO and radial artery spasm (RAS) was calculated, and univariate logistic regression was performed to analyze the predictors of RAS.ResultsThe preprocedural RA diameter (3.0 mm ± 0.67) was not significantly different from the postprocedural RA diameter (3.0 mm ± 0.65, P = .904). The RAO rate was determined to be 0.8% (1/120), and this artery recanalized within 1 week. Due to the small number of occlusions, statistical analysis of predictors of RAO was not performed. The rate of RAS was 22.7% (27/119). None of the variables tested—including age, sex, RA diameter, initial versus repeat access, operator experience, and artery puncture technique—showed significant prediction for RAS. Patients were seen for follow-up after 111 (92.5%) of the 120 procedures.ConclusionsTransradial access resulted in a <1% rate of RAO.     

Tiroidectomía endoscópica transoral por vía vestibular: TOETVA

Transoral Endoscopic Thyroidectomy Vestibular Approach (TOETVA) is a novel technique that allows the thyroid to be approached without visible scars, as it is performed through a natural orifice. It was first described and developed in Asia where due to sociocultural reasons neck scars are considered a stigma. This technique, as we now nowadays, and its preliminary results, were first reported by Angkoon Anuwong in August 2015 at the International Association of Endocrine Surgeons (IAES) world surgery congress held in Bangkok.Here we present the TOETVA approach, step-by-step, in order it could be safely replicated, aiming also it can be spread within the therapeutic framework of endocrine surgery. However, it is important to remark that, as happens in most of remote approaches, it is only suitable for a small percentage of patients.