Safe surgery: how accurate are we at predicting intra‐operative blood loss?

Introduction Preoperative estimation of intra‐operative blood loss by both anaesthetist and operating surgeon is a criterion of the World Health Organization's surgical safety checklist. The checklist requires specific preoperative planning when anticipated blood loss is greater than 500 mL. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of surgeons and anaesthetists at predicting intra‐operative blood loss. Methods A 6‐week prospective study of intermediate and major operations in an academic medical centre was performed. An independent observer interviewed surgical and anaesthetic consultants and registrars, preoperatively asking each to predict expected blood loss in millilitre. Intra‐operative blood loss was measured and compared with these predictions. Parameters including the use of anticoagulation and anti‐platelet therapy as well as intra‐operative hypothermia and hypotension were recorded. Results One hundred sixty‐eight operations were included in the study, including 142 elective and 26 emergency operations. Blood loss was predicted to within 500 mL of measured blood loss in 89% of cases. Consultant surgeons tended to underestimate blood loss, doing so in 43% of all cases, while consultant anaesthetists were more likely to overestimate (60% of all operations). Twelve patients (7%) had underestimation of blood loss of more than 500 mL by both surgeon and anaesthetist. Thirty per cent (n = 6/20) of patients requiring transfusion of a blood product within 24 hours of surgery had blood loss underestimated by more than 500 mL by both surgeon and anaesthetist. There was no significant difference in prediction between patients on anti‐platelet or anticoagulation therapy preoperatively and those not on the said therapies. Conclusion Predicted intra‐operative blood loss was within 500 mL of measured blood loss in 89% of operations. In 30% of patients who ultimately receive a blood transfusion, both the surgeon and anaesthetist significantly underestimate the risk of blood loss by greater than 500 mL. Theatre staff must be aware that 1 in 14 patients undergoing intermediate or major surgery will have an unexpected blood loss exceeding 500 mL and so robust policies to identify and manage such circumstances should be in place to improve patient safety.     

Salty-snack eating, television or video-game viewing, and asthma symptoms among 10- to 12-year-old children: the PANACEA study

Background

Salty-snack consumption, as well as the amount of time children spend watching television or playing video games, have been implicated in the development of asthma; however, results are still conflicting.

Objective

The aim of this work was to evaluate the association of salty-snack eating and television/video-game viewing with childhood asthma symptoms.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Settings

Seven hundred children (323 male), 10 to 12 years old, from 18 schools located in the greater area of Athens were enrolled. Children and their parents completed questionnaires, which evaluated, among other things, dietary habits. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was evaluated using the KIDMED (Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for Children and Adolescents) score.

Statistical analysis

The association of children's characteristics with asthma symptoms was performed by calculating the odds ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals.

Results

Overall lifetime prevalence of asthma symptoms was 23.7% (27.6% boys, 20.4% girls; P=0.03). Forty-eight percent of children reported salty-snack consumption (≥1 times/week). Salty-snack consumption was positively associated with the hours of television/video-game viewing (P=0.04) and inversely with the KIDMED score (P=0.02). Consumption of salty snacks (>3 times/week vs never/rare) was associated with a 4.8-times higher likelihood of having asthma symptoms (95% confidence interval: 1.50 to 15.8), irrespective of potential confounders. The associations of salty-snack eating and asthma symptoms were more prominent in children who watched television or played video games >2 hours/day. In addition, adherence to the Mediterranean diet was inversely associated with the likelihood of asthma symptoms.

Conclusions

Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, such as salty-snack eating and television/video-game viewing were strongly associated with the presence of asthma symptoms. Future interventions and public health messages should be focused on changing these behaviors from the early stages of life.     

Masthead,Volume 33, Issue 5

Hypertension is a common systemic disorder affecting the cardiovascular system and kidneys with important morbidity and mortality. However, hypertension is often thought of by radiologists as an “invisible” disease. The aim of this article is to first review hypertension first in terms of its diagnosis, epidemiology and clinical importance. Second, those causes of secondary hypertension that may be diagnosed with MRI techniques are described along with the effects of hypertension on the cardiovascular system and kidneys that are demonstrable with MRI with particular emphasis on renovascular disease. Lastly the use of integrated MRI protocols to evaluate the hypertensive patient and areas for future research are considered. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Case Report: A Technique to Remove a Jammed Locking Screw from a Locking Plate

Background  

Locking titanium plates revolutionized the treatment of osteoporotic and metaphyseal fractures of long bones. However as with any innovation, with time new complications are identified. One of the problems with titanium locking plates is removal of screws, often attributable to cold welding of screw heads into the locking screw holes. Several techniques have been described to overcome this problem. We describe a new easy technique to remove a jammed locking screw in a locking plate that is easily reproducible and suggest an algorithm to determine the method to remove screws from locking plates.     

Stent implantation to relieve native obstructed left partial anomalous pulmonary venous connections

Obstructed partial anomalous pulmonary venous connections (APVC) are rare but may be associated with severe pulmonary hypertension (PHTN) and warrant urgent relief. There are a number of case reports of successful catheter intervention for obstructed total APVC. We present the first reported case of catheter intervention to relieve obstructed, left sided PAPVC in a neonate with Turner syndrome. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Bilateral ductal stenting in a neonate with right isolated pulmonary artery of ductal origin and differential pulmonary vascular resistances

We report our experience with stenting a right ductus arteriosus in a neonate with ductal origin of the right pulmonary artery (PA), who subsequently developed severe pulmonary hypertension in the left PA requiring decompression of the right ventricle with stenting of the left ductus. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.