Nutrition Therapy for the Critically Ill Surgical Patient With Aortic Aneurysmal Rupture

Background: Our goal is to define nutrition therapy in critically ill patients after surgical repair of acute ruptured or dissecting aortic aneurysm to identify opportunities for quality improvement. Methods: International, prospective studies in 2007–2009 and 2011 were combined. Sites provided institutional and patient characteristics including from intensive care units (ICUs) admission to ICU discharge for a maximum of 12 days. We selected patients with aortic aneurysmal rupture or acute dissection staying in the ICU for ≥ 3 days. Results: There were 104 eligible patients from 72 distinct ICUs analyzed. Overall, 86.5% received artificial nutrition. There were 50.0% patients who received enteral nutrition (EN) only, 29.8% patients received a combination of EN and parenteral nutrition (PN), 6.7% patients received PN only, and 13.5% did not receive any nutrition. The mean time from admission to initiation of EN was 3.0 days (SD ± 2.4 days). The adequacy of calories from nutrition support was 46.8% (range 0%‐111%) with a mean of 10.0 kcal/kg/day. Of the total of 83 patients who received EN, 53 patients (63.8%) had interruption of EN. The reasons included fasting, intolerance, patients deemed too sick for enteral feeding, and loss of enteral feeding route. For patients with gastrointestinal intolerance, 3/30 patients (10%) received small bowel feeding and 23/30 patients (76.7%) of patients received motility agents. Conclusion: Postoperative critically ill patients with aortic aneurysmal rupture or acute dissection are at high risk for inadequate nutrition therapy, and there may be inadequate utilization of strategies to improve nutrition uptake.     

急性白血病患者雌激素受体多药耐药相关蛋白的检测及临床意义

目的 :探讨雌激素受体 (ER)、多药耐药相关蛋白 (MRP)表达与临床疗效的关系 ,为耐药白血病寻找新的治疗途径。方法 :采用免疫组化ABC法检测了 37例急性白血病 (AL)复发难治患者骨髓单个核细胞的ER与MRP表达。结果 :①ER阳性组CR率为 91.6 7% (11/ 12 ) ,阴性组为 2 8.0 0 % (7/ 2 5 ) ,ER阳性组CR率显著优于阴性组 (P <0 .0 1)。②MRP阳性组CR率为 2 3.81% (5 / 2 1) ,MRP阴性组为 81.2 5 % (13/ 16 ) ,MRP阳性组CR率明显差于阴性组 (P <0 .0 1)。③ 37例AL患者中 ,8例ER +/MRP -与 17例ER - /MRP +患者其ER与MRP表达的一致性很好 (Kappa系数 =0 .83,P <0 .0 1)。另有ER +/MRP +4例 ,ER - /MRP - 8例 ,其ER与MRP表达缺乏一致性。结论 :ER与MRP表达有一定的一致性 ,且与临床疗效有一定关系 ;ER与MRP检测有助于疗效和预后的判定     

Effect of “Speak Up” educational tools to engage patients in advance care planning in outpatient healthcare settings: A prospective before-after study

BackgroundTools for advance care planning (ACP) are advocated to help ensure patient values guide healthcare decisions. Evaluation of the effect of tools introduced to patients in clinical settings is needed.ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of the Canadian Speak Up Campaign tools on engagement in advance care planning (ACP), with patients attending outpatient clinics.Patient involvement: Patients were not involved in the problem definition or solution selection in this study but members of the public were involved in development of tools. The measurement of impacts involved patients.MethodsThis was a prospective pre-post study in 15 primary care and two outpatient cancer clinics. The outcome was scores on an Advance Care Planning Engagement Survey measuring Behavior Change Process on 5-point scales and Actions (0?21-point scale) administered before and six weeks after using a tool, with reminders at two or four weeks.Results177 of 220 patients (81%) completed the study (mean 68 years of age, 16% had cancer). Mean Behavior Change Process scores were 2.9 at baseline and 3.5 at follow-up (mean change 0.6, 95% confidence interval 0.5 to 0.7; large effect size of 0.8). Mean Action Measure score was 3.7 at baseline and 4.8 at follow-up (mean change 1.1, 95% confidence interval 0.6–1.5; small effect size of 0.2).Practical valuePublicly available ACP tools may have utility in clinical settings to initiate ACP among patients. More time and motivation may be required to stimulate changes in patient behaviors related to ACP.     

The impact of preoperative imaging for atypical atrial myxoma locations

Background:

Atrial myxomas are the most common primary cardiac neoplasm. The majority (75%–80%) are located in the left atrium at the base of the foramen ovalis. Surgical removal can prevent dangerous obstructive or thromboembolic sequelae.

Hypothesis:

Atypically located tumors may present technical challenges requiring case‐specific surgical adaptations when visualization or surrounding cardiac structures are compromised.

Methods:

We describe 3 cases of atypically located atrial myxomas that required preoperative transesophageal echocardiography and computed tomography to afford the optimal surgical approach.

Conclusions:

These cases highlight the potential need for multimodality imaging of atypically located atrial myxomas to determine the optimal technical approach for excision. Clin. Cardiol. 2012 doi: 10.1002/clc.22027 The authors have no funding, financial relationships, or conflicts of interest to disclose.     

Malpositioned Osseointegrated Implants Relocated with Segmental Osteotomies: A Retrospective Analysis of a Multicenter Case Series with a 1‐ to 15‐Year Follow‐Up

Purpose: This multicenter case series evaluates retrospectively the clinical outcomes of malpositioned implants surgically relocated in a more convenient position by segmental osteotomies. Materials and Methods: Authors who published, on indexed journals or books, works about malpositioned implant correction by segmental osteotomies were contacted. Five centers, out of 11 selected, accepted to participate in this study. The dental records of patients who underwent implant relocation procedures were reviewed. Implant survival rates were analyzed and a blinded assessor examined clinical photos and periapical radiographs to evaluate esthetic outcome (pink esthetic score [PES]) and changes of marginal bone level over time. Patients were requested to fill a verbal rating scale form about discomfort, compliance, and satisfaction related to the procedure. Results: Fifteen malpositioned implants relocated by segmental osteotomies were followed for a period ranging from 1 to 15 years (mean 6.0 ± 3.9 years). The overall implant survival rate from baseline to the last follow‐up visit was 100%. The mean marginal bone loss was 0.36 mm at the 12‐month follow‐up visit and no relevant further changes were observed at the following examinations. Significant esthetic improvement was recorded at 1‐year examination with PES evaluation (p < .0001). Patients' feedback described this procedure as not excessively invasive and uncomfortable, reporting a high final satisfaction rate. Conclusions: The present study suggests that implant relocation with segmental osteotomies could be an effective alternative method to correct the position of unrestorable malpositioned implants in a single‐stage surgery.     

Refinement, scoring, and validation of the Family Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit (FS-ICU) survey

OBJECTIVES: To refine the Family Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit (FS-ICU) survey and develop a validated method for scoring the instrument. DESIGN: Instrument development study, using data from two prospective cohort studies. SETTING: Intensive care units in seven university-affiliated hospitals (six Canadian, one United States). SUBJECTS: Family members of ICU patients. INTERVENTIONS: Based on a priori criteria, items were tagged for potential removal and discussed with the FS-ICU developers. Factor analysis was used to test the conceptual structure of the instrument and develop a scoring method based on scales and subscales. The new scoring method was validated in the U.S. cohort using the Quality of Dying and Death (QODD) instrument and nurse-assessed quality indicators. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A total of 1,038 family members completed the FS-ICU across seven sites. Fifteen items were initially tagged for possible removal. After consensus with the developers, ten items were dropped (and 24 were retained in the final instrument). Factor analysis explained 61.3% of the total variance using a two-factor model. The first factor pertained to satisfaction with care (14 items). The second factor encompassed satisfaction with decision making (10 items). A scoring method was developed based on this conceptual model. In validity testing, the FS-ICU was significantly correlated with the Family-QODD total score (Spearman's .56, p < .001) as well as individual QODD items such as quality of care by all providers (.64, p < .001). The FS-ICU also correlated significantly with multiple nurse-assessed quality indicators. CONCLUSIONS: The shortened FS-ICU measures two main conceptual domains-satisfaction with care and satisfaction with decision making. Scores on the FS-ICU show good validity against other indicators of ICU quality. The instrument holds promise as a useful outcome measure in studies that attempt to improve this component of ICU care.     

Bedside Ultrasound Is a Practical and Reliable Measurement Tool for Assessing Quadriceps Muscle Layer Thickness

Background: Critically ill patients commonly experience skeletal muscle wasting that may predict clinical outcome. Ultrasound is a noninvasive method that can measure muscle quadriceps muscle layer thickness (QMLT) and subsequently lean body mass (LBM) at the bedside. However, currently the reliability of these measurements are unknown. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the intra‐ and interreliability of measuring QMLT using bedside ultrasound. Methods: Ultrasound measurements of QMLT were conducted at 7 centers on healthy volunteers. Trainers were instructed to perform measurements twice on each patient, and then a second trainee repeated the measurement. Intrarater reliability measured how consistently the same person measured the subject according to intraclass correlation (ICC). Interrater reliability measured how consistently trainer and trainee agreed when measuring the same subject according to the ICC. Results: We collected 42 pairs of within operator measurements with an ICC of .98 and 78 pairs of trainer‐to‐trainee measurements with an ICC of .95. There were no statistically significant differences between the trainer and trainee results (trainer and trainee mean = ?0.028 cm, 95% CI = ?0.067 to ?0.011, P = .1607). Conclusions: Excellent intra‐ and interrater reliability for ultrasound measurements of QMLT in healthy volunteers was observed when performed by a range of providers with no prior ultrasound experience, including dietitians, nurses, physicians, and research assistants. This technique shows promise as a method to evaluate LBM status in ICU or hospital settings and as a method to assess the effects of nutrition and exercise‐based interventions on muscle wasting.