Principles of environmentally-sustainable anaesthesia: a global consensus statement from the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists

The Earth’s mean surface temperature is already approximately 1.1°C higher than pre-industrial levels. Exceeding a mean 1.5°C rise by 2050 will make global adaptation to the consequences of climate change less possible. To protect public health, anaesthesia providers need to reduce the contribution their practice makes to global warming. We convened a Working Group of 45 anaesthesia providers with a recognised interest in sustainability, and used a three-stage modified Delphi consensus process to agree on principles of environmentally sustainable anaesthesia that are achievable worldwide. The Working Group agreed on the following three important underlying statements: patient safety should not be compromised by sustainable anaesthetic practices; high-, middle- and low-income countries should support each other appropriately in delivering sustainable healthcare (including anaesthesia); and healthcare systems should be mandated to reduce their contribution to global warming. We set out seven fundamental principles to guide anaesthesia providers in the move to environmentally sustainable practice, including: choice of medications and equipment; minimising waste and overuse of resources; and addressing environmental sustainability in anaesthetists’ education, research, quality improvement and local healthcare leadership activities. These changes are achievable with minimal material resource and financial investment, and should undergo re-evaluation and updates as better evidence is published. This paper discusses each principle individually, and directs readers towards further important references.     

Association of TPH1 and TPH2 Gene Polymorphisms with the Risk of Developing Psychoneurological Disorders

Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology - The question of the involvement of impairments to the metabolism of melatonin and its precursors (tryptophan and serotonin) in the development of...     

Veno-arterial CO2 difference and lactate for prediction of early mortality after cardiac arrest

Patients admitted to intensive care after cardiac arrest are at risk of circulatory shock and early mortality due to cardiovascular failure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of the veno-arterial pCO₂ difference (∆pCO₂; central venous CO₂ – arterial CO₂) and lactate to predict early mortality in postcardiac arrest patients. This was a pre-planned prospective observational sub-study of the target temperature management 2 trial. The sub-study patients were included at five Swedish sites. Repeated measurements of ∆pCO₂ and lactate were conducted at 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 48, and 72 h after randomization. We assessed the association between each marker and 96-h mortality and their prognostic value for 96-h mortality. One hundred sixty-three patients were included in the analysis. Mortality at 96 h was 17%. During the initial 24 h, there was no difference in ∆pCO₂ levels between 96-h survivors and non-survivors. ∆pCO₂ measured at 4 h was associated with an increased risk of death within 96 h (adjusted odds ratio: 1.15; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02–1.29; p = .018). Lactate levels were associated with poor outcome over multiple measurements. The area under the receiving operating curve to predict death within 96 h was 0.59 (95% CI: 0.48–0.74) and 0.82 (95% CI: 0.72–0.92) for ∆pCO₂ and lactate, respectively. Our results do not support the use of ∆pCO₂ to identify patients with early mortality in the postresuscitation phase. In contrast, non-survivors demonstrated higher lactate levels in the initial phase and lactate identified patients with early mortality with moderate accuracy.     

Calculation of the Biological Efficiency of the Proton Component from 14.8 MeV Neutron Irradiation in Computational Biology with Help of Video Cards

Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine - Fast neutron therapy, which previously has demonstrated effective results, but along with a large number of complications, can again be considered a...     

Global colorectal cancer research, 2007-2021: Outputs and funding

The purpose of this study was to provide an evidence base for colorectal cancer research activity that might influence policy, mainly at the national level. Improvements in healthcare delivery have lengthened life expectancy, but within a situation of increased cancer incidence. The disease burden of CRC has risen significantly, particularly in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Research is key to its control and reduction, but few studies have delineated the volume and funding of global research on CRC. We identified research papers in the Web of Science (WoS) from 2007 to 2021, and determined the contributions of the leading countries, the research domains studied, and their sources of funding. We identified 62 716 papers, representing 5.7% of all cancer papers. This percentage was somewhat disproportionate to the disease burden (7.7% in 2015), especially in Eastern Europe. International collaboration increased over the time period in almost all countries except in China. Genetics, surgery and prognosis were the leading research domains. However, research on palliative care and quality-of-life in CRC was lacking. In Western Europe, the main funding source was the charity sector, particularly in the UK, but in most other countries government played the leading role, especially in China and the USA. There was little support from industry. Several Asian countries provided minimal contestable funding, which may have reduced the impact of their CRC research. Certain countries must perform more CRC research overall, especially in domains such as screening, palliative care and quality-of-life. The private-non-profit sector should be an alternative source of support.