Complémentation ou supplémentation en oligo-éléments : qui,pourquoi, comment ?

Trace elements (TE) are essential for biological and physiological functions. They come from food or artificial nutrition. Maintaining or restoring an optimal status is an objective that participates in the nutritional prevention of chronic pathologies. In the hospitalized patient, detecting and fighting deficits will promote faster recovery and reduce infectious complications. In the case of deficient dietary intakes which cannot be corrected by the one nutrition or artificial feeding, the use of suitable trace element supplements is essential. This review presents the main causes and consequences of trace element deficiencies in the general population and in hospital patient, as well as the biological and clinical markers of these deficits. It provides, on the basis of the current recommendations, a practical overview of the conditions for complementation or repletion by oral, enteral or parenteral route, avoiding toxicity with proposals for diagnostic methods and therapeutic interventions.     

Efficacy of urinary guidelines in the management of post-stroke incontinence

Urinary incontinence (UI) is common occurrence among stroke survivors and impacts their recovery. This mixed method study examined the effects of implementation of evidence-based urinary guidelines by the Interdisciplinary (ID) team in the management of post-stroke UI in stroke survivors in an acute rehabilitation hospital in Southern California. Essential elements of the guidelines included assessment of the bladder pattern, the urinary WBC's, the implementation of a scheduled toileting program, pelvic floor exercises, and the administration of Vitamin C 500 mg. by mouth. Functional Independent Measure (FIM) scores and urinary white blood cells (WBC's) were used to evaluate the efficacy the guidelines. Post guideline implementation FIM scores and urinary WBC's demonstrated improvement over the pre-scores. These results indicate that positive stroke outcomes were achieved following implementation. In addition, the ID team, comprised of nurses, physical therapists, speech pathologists, and occupational therapists, was queried as to the member's knowledge and perceptions of their roles in the implementation of the guidelines. Highlighted themes from the ID focus groups were communication and structure, relating that the guidelines were useful in promoting collaborative practice among the ID team members.     

An evaluation of the impact of a tracheostomy weaning protocol on extubation time

Background:  To avoid the possible complications of prolonged intubation, it is necessary and advisable to attempt weaning from the tracheostomy tube at the earliest opportunity. However, while weaning protocols have proven successful in reducing ventilation time of critical care patients, there is little evidence of their use and impact on tracheostomy tube weaning time.
Aims:  This pilot study sought to determine if the introduction of a new tracheostomy weaning protocol would reduce the time to extubation of the tracheostomy.
Method:  A quasi-experimental design used two groups of patients. A retrospective control group of patients ( n  = 20) who had been weaned using standard practice were identified by a search of medical records. A prospective experimental group ( n  = 20) had care planned using a new tracheostomy weaning protocol. Data relating to time to extubation were collected on both groups who were all patients in an eight-bedded Critical Care Unit of a District General Hospital. The same inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to both groups.
Results:  The results revealed a reduction of 1·35 days from commencement of weaning to extubation in the prospective (experimental) group. This was not statistically significant ( P  = 0·181)
Conclusion:  Although the findings from the study were not statistically significant, they can be seen as clinically significant in terms of patient comfort and reduced dependency in care by a reduction of time with a tracheostomy. It is recommended that a larger scale study be carried out to determine if a tracheostomy weaning protocol does make an impact on length of time to extubation in wider care settings.     

Guidelines for the management of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy 2008

This is the Executive Summary of updated guidelines developed by the Society of Obstetric Medicine of Australia and New Zealand for the management of hypertensive diseases of pregnancy. They address a number of challenging areas including the definition of severe hypertension, the use of automated blood pressure monitors, the definition of non-proteinuric pre-eclampsia and measuring proteinuria. Controversial management issues are addressed such as the treatment of severe hypertension and other significant manifestations of pre-eclampsia, the role of expectant management in pre-eclampsia remote from term, thromboprophylaxis, appropriate fluid therapy, the role of prophylactic magnesium sulfate and anaesthetic issues for women with pre-eclampsia. The guidelines stress the need for experienced team management for women with pre-eclampsia and mandatory hospital protocols for treatment of hypertension and eclampsia. New areas addressed in the guidelines include recommended protocols for maternal and fetal investigation of women with hypertension, preconception management for women at risk of pre-eclampsia, auditing outcomes in women with hypertensive diseases of pregnancy and long-term screening for women with previous pre-eclampsia.     

Comorbidities Drive the Majority of Overall Mortality in Low-Risk Mucinous Pancreatic Cysts Under Surveillance

Background & AimsThe Charlson Comorbidity Index (CACI) has been suggested as a tool to determine comorbidity burden and guide management for patients with mucinous pancreatic cysts (Intrapapillary Mucinous Neoplasms and Mucinous Cystic Neoplasms), but has not been studied well among “low-risk” mucinous pancreatic cysts i.e. without worrisome features (WF) and high-risk stigmata (HRS). This study sought to determine the comorbidity burden among surveillance population of low-risk pancreatic cysts and provide their follow-up mortality outcomes.MethodsA single center study retrospectively reviewed a prospective pancreatic cyst database and included individuals with low-risk cysts undergoing serial imaging during 2016. Electronic medical records were reviewed to determine their baseline age-adjusted CACI (age-CACI). After 4 years, their progression to WF, disease specific (pancreatic malignancy-related, DSM), extra-pancreatic (EPM), and overall mortalities (OM) were determined using Kaplan-Meir Survival Analysis.Results502 individuals underwent prospective surveillance. The study included 440 individuals with low-risk suspected or presumed mucinous cysts and excluded 50 and 12 individuals with WF and HRS respectively. Over a median follow-up of 56 months, 12 WF progressions, 2 DSMs, 42 EPMs, and 44 OMs were observed. Baseline age-CACI had good predictive capacity for 4-year EPM (Area-Under Curve: 0.87; p< .0001). The median age-CACI of 4 enabled cohort stratification into Low (age-CACI <4) and High CACI (age-CACI ≥4) groups. A significantly higher OM (p< .001) was observed among the High CACI group as compared to the Low CACI group.ConclusionThrough real-time application of CACI to patient outcomes, our analysis supports incorporation of this comorbidity assessment tool in making shared surveillance decisions among low-risk pancreatic cyst population.     

Meet EBE: The Development of an Evidence-Based Endoscopy Simulator

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