Teamwork in the operating theatre: cohesion or confusion?

RATIONALE: The aim of the research that we report here was to empirically assess the cohesiveness of the multidisciplinary operating theatre (OT) team. METHOD: We used concepts from the team performance and team mental models literature to assess OT professionals' perceptions of their teamwork, the structure of their teams and their respective roles within them and their teams' performance. RESULTS: Team structure: OT professionals would welcome a change from the current structure of the team, although there was no agreement on what that structure is. Nurses perceived the team as unitary, surgeons and anaesthetists perceived it as comprising multiple subteams. Team roles: OT professionals tended to overrate their own understanding of their colleagues' role in the OT relative to the role understanding that the colleagues attributed to them. This tendency was especially marked for the surgeons. Team communication and team performance: OT professionals agreed on the relative importance of the various communicating pairs in the OT. Moreover, they were satisfied with the quality of communication among them, except for the communication between the surgeon and the anaesthetist, which received lower ratings. Finally, the quality of the teamwork in the OT was deemed acceptable, although there is room for improvement. CONCLUSIONS: The OT environment need not be as cohesive as previously assumed--a finding that carries implications for the effectiveness of team training interventions. Further research is needed in order to fully comprehend the dynamics of the OT as a working environment and, most importantly, their relation to patient safety.     

Teamwork in primary care: How much do we know about it?

This is the first of a series of occasional articles in which doctors, nurses and other therapists will be ‘coming clean’ about their own lifestyles. To launch the series, Sir Douglas Black, former President of the Royal College of Physicians, writes about the responsibility of doctors to set an example to others, but explains how in reality they are often thwarted by the pressures of their work. Sir Douglas goes on to write about his own lifestyle which, he admits, does not conform to any particular model     

Public-access defibrillation: Where do we place the aeds?

Background. Many prehospital cardiac arrests occur in public places. Even the best EMS systems have a finite response time. Therefore, it has been recommended that automated external defibrillators (AEDs) be placed in public areas for immediate access by trained members of the general public. Objective. To determine the locations of multiple cardiac arrests in order to plan for placement of public-access AEDs. Methods. Retrospective review of all primary cardiac arrests in calendar year 1997. Cardiac arrests in which resuscitation was not attempted (DOA), traumatic cases, pediatric cases, and those due to “other” causes were excluded. Location of the cardiac arrest was obtained from the ambulance run ticket. The EMS system is an urban, Midwestern, all-ALS, public-utility model system with fire department first re-sponders that transports approximately 58,000 patients annually. Results. There was scene response to 922 cardiac arrests. 377 DOAs and 219 nonprimary cardiac arrests were excluded. There were 326 primary cardiac arrests. Sixteen locations had more than one cardiac arrest: ll locations had two cardiac arrests, four locations had three cardiac arrests, and one location had four cardiac arrests. The airport, an airline overhaul facility, a casino, and two hotels each had two cardiac arrests; the other Iocations of multiple cardiac arrests were in nursing homes. The Professional sports stadiums had no cardiac arrests. Conclusions. Since very few locations had more than one cardiac arrest, it may be difficult to identify high-yield public places in which to place an AED. Nursing homes may want to consider AED availability.     

Where in the Brain do Strokes Occur? A Pilot Study and Call for Data

Background: Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke, and each year about 140,000 Americans die from strokes. Although there is abundant information on the epidemiology, risk factors, pathophysiology, and many clinical features of strokes, there is a lack of specific numerical quantitation on the neuroanatomical distribution of strokes.Methods: This retrospective study utilized de-identified reports of radiologic imaging to determine the neurovascular anatomical location of acute ischemic cerebral infarcts in a 637-bed regional hospital in a rural area during the one-year interval from October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019.Results: During the one-year study period, there were 418 acute ischemic strokes, and 54.6% (228/418) were in the territory of a single large vessel. Of the single large vessel strokes, 62.3% (142/228) were in a middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory, 12.1% (29/228) in a posterior cerebral artery (PCA) territory, 8.8% (20/228) in a basilar artery distribution, 7.5% (17/228) in a posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) distribution, 6.6% (15/228) in an anterior cerebral artery (ACA) distribution, 1.8% (4/228) in a superior cerebellar artery (SCA) distribution, and 0.4% (1/228) in an anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) territory. Internal capsule lacunar strokes accounted for 17.7% (74/418) of the total, brainstem lacunar strokes for 8.1% (34/418) and thalamic lacunar strokes for 5% (21/418) of the infarctions. Watershed infarctions accounted for 2.9% (12/418) of the strokes, 9 in the MCA/PCA watershed area and 3 in the MCA/ACA watershed area.Conclusions: This pilot study illustrates a methodology for collecting data to substitute specific numerical quantitation for vague generalities about the neuroanatomical distribution of strokes. Such quantification can enable evidence-based data-driven improvements in the care of stroke patients.     

Overview of the relationship between pain and obesity: What do we know? Where do we go next?

Overweight/obesity and pain are significant problems of increasing prevalence; understanding the relationship between the two is the focus of a growing body of research. Findings from this review support a likely relationship between increasing weight and pain conditions such as osteoarthritis and low back pain. Longitudinal studies suggest overweight/obesity early in life is a risk factor for pain, and the co-occurrence of pain and overweight/obesity negatively affects quality of life. The mechanism of relationship is unknown but is hypothesized to include mechanical and metabolic abnormalities, possibly secondary to lifestyle choices. Observations from a few studies demonstrate that treatments for obesity reduce pain secondary to weight loss. Few studies examine both pain and weight as primary outcomes, and variability in measurement makes comparisons and conclusions difficult. Research should focus on expanding knowledge about mechanisms of the relationship between pain and obesity, testing explanatory models addressing their co-occurrence, and developing treatments that most effectively target this comorbidity.     

Phage Therapy in the Resistance Era: Where Do We Stand and Where Are We Going?

PurposeWidespread antibiotic-resistant bacteria are threatening the arsenal of existing antibiotics. Not only are antibiotics less likely to be effective today, but their extensive use continues to drive the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens. A new-old antibacterial strategy with bacteriophages (phages) is under development, namely, phage therapy. Phages are targeted bacterial viruses with multiple antibacterial effector functions, which can reduce multidrug-resistant infections within the human body. This review summarizes recent phage therapy clinical trials and patient cases and outlines the fundamentals behind phage treatment strategies under development, mainly through bench-to-bedside approaches. We discuss the challenges that remain in phage therapy and the role of phages when combined with antibiotic therapy.MethodsThis narrative review presents the current knowledge and latest findings regarding phage therapy. Relevant case reports and research articles available through the Scopus and PubMed databases are discussed.FindingsAlthough recent clinical data suggest the tolerability and, in some cases, efficacy of phage therapy, the clinical functionality still requires careful definition. The lack of well-controlled clinical trial data and complex regulatory frameworks have driven the most recent human data generation on a single-patient compassionate use basis. These cases often include the concomitant use of antibiotics, which makes it difficult to draw conclusions regarding the effectiveness of phages alone. However, human data support using antibiotics as phage potentiators and resistance breakers; thus, phage adjuvants are a promising avenue for near-term clinical development. Current knowledge gaps exist on the appropriate routes of administration, phage selection, frequency of administration, dosage, phage resistance, and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of the phages. In addition, we highlight that some phage therapies have mild adverse effects in patients.ImplicationsAlthough more translational research is needed before the clinical implementation is feasible, phage therapy may well be pivotal in safeguarding humans against antibiotic-resistant infections.