Modelling seasonal and weather dependency of cardiac arrests using the covariate order method

A data set concerning cardiac arrests treated by the Emergency Medical Service in Trondheim during a nine year period is analysed. The relationship between the occurrence of cardiac arrest and covariates related to weather and season is examined. The covariate order method is used in the analysis of the data. It is explained how this method can be extended to recurrent event data, and the practical usefulness and flexibility of the method is demonstrated in these analyses. In the analyses a significant relationship between outdoor air temperature, or factors closely related to outdoor air temperature, and the occurrence of cardiac arrest is found. The incidence of cardiac arrest decreases with increasing temperature. Further a significant effect of snowfall is also found, with increased intensity of cardiac arrest on days with snowfall. A more borderline significant effect of precipitation is also identified.     

Perioperative Cardiac Risk Reduction in Noncardiac Surgery

Major adverse cardiovascular events are a significant source of morbidity and mortality in the perioperative setting, estimated to occur in approximately 5% of patients undergoing nonemergent noncardiac surgery. To minimize the incidence and impact of these events, careful attention must be paid to preoperative cardiovascular assessment to identify patients at high risk of cardiovascular complications. Once identified, cardiovascular risk reduction is achieved through optimization of medical conditions, appropriate management of medication, and careful monitoring to allow for early identification of—and intervention for—any new conditions that would increase the risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. The major cardiovascular and anesthesiology societies in the United States, Europe, and Canada have published guidelines for perioperative management of patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. However, since publication of these guidelines, there has been a practice-changing evolution in the medical literature. In this review, we attempt to reconcile the recommendations made in these 3 comprehensive guidelines, while updating recommendations, based on new evidence, when available.     

A practical guide to the sublingual immunotherapy tablet adverse event profile: implications for clinical practice

Objectives: Treatment with allergy immunotherapy improves allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, but can also improve comorbidities associated with allergic rhinitis such as asthma. Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT)-tablets are a convenient and efficacious method of allergy immunotherapy. They are self-administered after the first tablet has been provided under medical supervision. Therapy may elicit local reactions or, rarely, systemic allergic reactions. The objective of this report is to inform healthcare practitioners about the safety and tolerability profile of SLIT-tablets and use this information to provide practical guidance that may inform patients regarding potential adverse reactions and how to manage them.

Methods: Pooled analyses of safety data from completed randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 and phase 3 US and EU trials of timothy grass, short ragweed, and SQ house dust mite SLIT-tablets were conducted to characterize safety and tolerability.

Results: SLIT-tablets are generally well tolerated. No life-threatening events, serious systemic allergic reactions, or events that compromised the airway have been reported. The most common treatment-related adverse events (AEs) are oral site reactions, most of which begin on day 1 of treatment, recur for less than 2 weeks, and resolve after approximately 30–60 minutes. Systemic allergic reactions have been managed with conventional pharmacotherapy. Reactions treated with epinephrine are uncommon, but have been reported. Treatment of AEs, treatment discontinuation considerations, and patient FAQs regarding SLIT-tablet safety/tolerability are discussed.

Conclusions: This report gives healthcare providers valuable information to educate patients regarding what to expect in terms of SLIT-tablet safety and tolerability. Practical guidance is also provided to ensure proper treatment of any adverse reactions.     

药物流产对再次妊娠影响的系统评价

目的 随着未育妇女采用药物流产终止非计划妊娠的人数增加，药物流产的远期安全性受到广泛重视。本将评价药物流产对妇女再次妊娠孕期和分娩期的母儿影响。方法用Cochrane协作网系统评价方法收集全世界有关药物流产对再次妊娠妇女的孕期和分娩期母儿影响的随机对照试验，临床对照试验(RCT／CCT)及前瞻性的队列研究，两个研究独立进行献质量评价及证据合成。Meta-分析用Revman4．1软件。结果 共纳入8篇前瞻性队列研究，2934例。与手术流产后再次妊娠比较，除药物流产后再次妊娠的先兆流产(OR0．42，95％CI0．22～0．83)，产后出血(OR0．58，95％CI0．39～0．85)和胎盘异常(OR0．68，95％CI．54～0．87)的发生率较低外，其他高危妊娠发生率差异无统计学意义。药物流产后再次妊娠比初孕妇的先兆流产、妊娠期胎盘异常、早产以及产后出血的发生率高，但无统计学意义。结论 任何方式的人工流产对再次妊娠可能有一定影响，故应尽可能避免不必要的人工流产。药物流产可能优于手术流产，可以作为终止非意愿妊娠的首选。纳入献均是二级设计方案，且没有提到是否严格控制了其他引起高危妊娠的混杂因素，故论证强度相对低，需要设计高质量、大样本的随机对照试验进一步证实。     

手术室女护士职业相关生活事件与工作倦怠关系的研究

[目的]了解手术室女护士职业相关生活事件与工作倦怠关系。[方法]采用一般情况调查表、马氏倦怠问卷和杨德森等编制的生活事件量表对中南大学3所附属医院在职手术室163名女护士进行调查。[结果]手术室女护士的工作倦怠主要表现在个人成就感丧失,而情感枯竭和去人格化维度倦怠程度较轻;手术室女护士前10位生活事件均为职业相关事件。[结论]手术室女护士存在一定的工作倦怠,特别是个人成就感丧失比较明显。职业相关生活事件对工作倦怠有明显影响。     

中频电疗仪使用不良事件发生率及相关因素

目的:调查中频电疗仪临床使用过程中不良事件发生情况及其影响因素。方法:对北京市8家医疗机构63台中频电疗仪进行为期2个月的医疗器械不良事件横断面调查,同时收集设备情况、维护情况、患者特征、操作情况、设备运行情况等相关因素,用logistic回归模型进行单因素分析和多因素分析。结果:收集调查表3075人次,其中出现中频电疗仪医疗器械不良事件55人次,百分比为1.8%。按损坏或无法使用来进行电极板更换,相比按使用时间更换电极板的风险更高OR=7.383,95%CI:1.661—32.819,P=0.009;对于导电橡胶电极板来说,电极板下不使用衬垫对比使用来讲,风险增加3.966倍,95%CI:1.707—9.215,P=0.001;不配合药物治疗更安全,OR=0.307,95%CI:0.148—0.636,P=0.001。结论:设备情况、维护情况、患者特征、操作情况、设备运行情况等是中频电疗仪医疗器械不良事件发生主要影响因素,提出风险控制建议,提高中频电疗仪使用安全性,保障患者治疗安全。     

Randomized single blind trial of two low-volume bowel preparations for screening computed tomographic colonography

Background Bowel preparation is an important part of computed tomographic colonography (CTC); we evaluated two small-volume preparations for screening CTC with regard to quality of preparation and patient acceptability.Methods Asymptomatic subjects at average risk for colorectal cancer from a community-based CTC screening program were randomized to bowel preparation comprising magnesium/bisacodyl/picolax or polyethylene glycol (PEG)/picolax. CTC images were evaluated by a blinded investigator for residual feces and fluid; subjects completed a questionnaire regarding acceptability of the preparation.Results In 176 subjects randomized to magnesium/bisacodyl/picolax (n=82) or PEG/picolax (n=94), the former preparation was discontinued because of syncope or presyncope in four (5%) subjects. Another 137 subjects received PEG/picolax without a significant adverse event. There were no other major differences in acceptability of the preparations as reported by subjects. The quality of bowel preparations for reporting CTC was similar.Conciusion For subjects having screening CTC, both small-volume bowel preparations are generally well tolerated and result in minimal fluid and fecal residue; however, the magnesium/bisacodyl/picolax preparation was accompanied by an unacceptable incidence of syncope and is no longer used by us.     

Investigation of the incidence of immunisation stress-related response following COVID-19 vaccination in healthcare workers

IntroductionSafe vaccination worldwide is critical to end the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We aimed to evaluate adverse reactions to vaccination using a web-based questionnaire and examine the risk factors for the occurrence of immunisation stress-related response (ISRR).MethodsWe conducted a questionnaire survey using Google Form® among the employees of St. Marianna University Hospital who had received the COVID-19 vaccine between April 2021 and May 2021, 1 week after the first and second vaccinations. We developed and used a questionnaire to identify individuals with ISRR according to the World Health Organization diagnostic criteria. A generalised linear mixed model was constructed with ISRR onset as the dependent variable, subjects as the random factor, and each parameter as a fixed factor. A multivariate model was constructed using the forced imputation method with factors that were significant in the univariate analysis.ResultsWe enrolled 2,073 and 1,856 respondents in the first and second questionnaire surveys, respectively. Fifty-five and 33 ISRR cases were identified in the first and second vaccinations, respectively. In the univariate analysis, strong pre-vaccination anxiety (odds ratio [OR], 2.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.30–4.12, p = 0·004) and history of allergy (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.14–2.24, p = 0·007) were significant risk factors. Multivariate analysis also showed that strong pre-vaccination anxiety (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.15–3.80, p = 0.016) and history of allergy (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.09–2.15, p = 0.014) were significant risk factors.ConclusionsConfirmation of allergy prior to vaccination and subsequent action are essential for addressing ISRR.     

Age-Related 2-Year Mortality After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: the YOUNG TAVR Registry

ObjectiveTo comparatively assess the natural history of patients of different ages undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).Patients and MethodsFor this study, we used the YOUNG TAVR, an international, multicenter registry investigating mortality trends up to 2 years in patients with aortic valve stenosis treated by TAVR, classified according to 3 prespecified age groups: 75 years or younger (n=179), 76 to 86 years (n=602), and older than 86 years (n=221). A total of 1002 patients undergoing TAVR were included. Demographic, clinical, and outcome data in the youngest group were compared with those of patients 76 to 86 years and older than 86 years. Patients were followed up for up to 2 years.ResultsCompared with patients 75 years or younger (reference group), patients aged 76 to 86 years and older than 86 years had nonsignificantly different 30-day mortality (odds ratio, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.41-1.38; P=.37 and odds ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 0.62-2.60; P=.51, respectively) and 1-year mortality (hazard ratio (HR), 0.72; 95% CI, 0.48-1.09; P=.12 and HR, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.88-1.40; P=.34, respectively). Mortality at 2 years was significantly lower among patients aged 76 to 86 years (HR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.42-0.90; P=.01) but not among the older group (HR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.68-1.67; P=.79). The Society of Thoracic Surgeons 30-day mortality score was lower in younger patients who, however, had a significantly higher prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (P=.005 vs the intermediate group and P=.02 vs the older group) and bicuspid aortic valves (P=.02 vs both older groups), larger left ventricles, and lower ejection fractions.ConclusionIn the present registry, mortality at 2 years after TAVR among patients 75 years or younger was higher compared with that of patients aged 75 to 86 years and was not markedly different from that of patients older than 86 years. The findings are attributable at least in part to a greater burden of comorbidities in the younger age group that are not entirely captured by current risk assessment tools.