ABSTRACT
Background: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is the most common cardiac complication in patients with coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD), yet its underlying pathways remain unclear. Aortic pulse-wave velocity (aPWV) is an indicator of large artery stiffness and a predictor for cardiovascular disease. However, aPWV in CMD and HFpEF is not well characterized and may provide understanding of disease progression. Methods: Among participants without obstructive coronary artery disease, we evaluated 51 women with suspected CMD and 20 women and men with evidence of HFpEF. All participants underwent aPWV measurement (SphygmoCor, Atcor Medical) with higher aPWV indicating greater vascular stiffness. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) assessed left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, CMD via myocardial perfusion reserve index (MPRI), and ventricular remodeling via LV mass-volume ratio. . Statistical analysis was performed using Wilcoxon rank sum tests, Pearson correlations and linear regression analysis. Results: Compared to the suspected CMD group, the HFpEF participants were older (65 ± 12 vs 56 ± 11 yrs., p = 0.002) had higher BMI (31.0 ± 4.3 vs 27.8 ± 6.7 kg/m2, p = 0.013), higher aPWV (10.5 ± 2.0 vs 8.0 ± 1.6 m/s, p = 0.05) and lower MPRI (1.5 ± 0.3 vs1.8 ± 0.3, p = 0.02), but not remodeling. In a model adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors, the HFpEF group had a lower LVEF (estimate -4.78, p = 0.0437) than the suspected CMD group. Conclusions: HFpEF participants exhibit greater arterial stiffness and lower myocardial perfusion reserve, with lower LVEF albeit not remodeling, compared to suspected CMD participants. These findings suggest arterial stiffness may contribute to progression from CMD to HFpEF. Prospective work is needed and ongoing.
ABSTRACT
In the changing legal environment of obstetric care in the USA, with laws in many states banning termination at all stages of pregnancy with narrow exemptions, healthcare providers are encountering cases in which risk to maternal safety is increased. This report presents a case of a 28-year-old primigravida with an anencephalic fetus who was legally unable to pursue termination in her home state. She traveled to another state in order to pursue safe and legal abortion of a non-viable fetus. Due to an unrecognized cornual ectopic gestation, the delivery resulted in uterine rupture, the need for hysterectomy, and significant morbidity in a patient with a strong desire for future fertility.
Subject(s)
Pregnancy, Ectopic , Pregnancy , Female , Humans , Adult , Pregnancy, Ectopic/surgery , Abortion, Legal , HysterectomyABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Latent grade group ≥2 prostate cancer can impact the performance of active surveillance protocols. To date, molecular biomarkers for active surveillance have relied solely on RNA or protein. We trained and independently validated multimodal (mRNA abundance, DNA methylation, and/or DNA copy number) biomarkers that more accurately separate grade group 1 from grade group ≥2 cancers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer patients were assigned to training (n=333) and validation (n=202) cohorts. We profiled the abundance of 342 mRNAs, 100 DNA copy number alteration loci, and 14 hypermethylation sites at 2 locations per tumor. Using the training cohort with cross-validation, we evaluated methods for training classifiers of pathological grade group ≥2 in centrally reviewed radical prostatectomies. We trained 2 distinct classifiers, PRONTO-e and PRONTO-m, and validated them in an independent radical prostatectomy cohort. RESULTS: PRONTO-e comprises 353 mRNA and copy number alteration features. PRONTO-m includes 94 clinical, mRNAs, copy number alterations, and methylation features at 14 and 12 loci, respectively. In independent validation, PRONTO-e and PRONTO-m predicted grade group ≥2 with respective true-positive rates of 0.81 and 0.76, and false-positive rates of 0.43 and 0.26. Both classifiers were resistant to sampling error and identified more upgrading cases than a well-validated presurgical risk calculator, CAPRA (Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Two grade group classifiers with superior accuracy were developed by incorporating RNA and DNA features and validated in an independent cohort. Upon further validation in biopsy samples, classifiers with these performance characteristics could refine selection of men for active surveillance, extending their treatment-free survival and intervals between surveillance.
Subject(s)
Prostatic Neoplasms , Watchful Waiting , Male , Humans , Prostatic Neoplasms/genetics , Prostatic Neoplasms/surgery , Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology , Neoplasm Grading , Prostatectomy , Prostate-Specific Antigen , Biomarkers , RNA , RNA, MessengerABSTRACT
Study Objective: Cold Pressor Testing (CPT) is a known stimulus of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). To better understand sympathetic contribution to coronary blood flow regulation in women with suspected ischemia and no obstructive coronary arteries (INOCA), we compared myocardial perfusion reserve during CPT stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging between women with suspected INOCA and reference subjects. Design: Prospective cohort. Setting: Academic hospital. Participants: 107 women with suspected INOCA and 21-age-matched reference women. Interventions: CPT stress CMR was performed with measurement of myocardial perfusion reserve index (MPRI), adjusted for rate pressure product (MPRIRPP). Invasive coronary function testing in a subset of INOCA women (n=42) evaluated for endothelial dysfunction in response to acetylcholine, including impaired coronary diameter response ≤0% and coronary blood flow response (ΔCBF) <50%. Main Outcome Measure: MPRIRPP. Results: Compared to reference women, the INOCA group demonstrated higher resting RPP (p=0.005) and CPT MPRIRPP (1.09±0.36 vs 0.83±0.18, p=0.002). Furthermore, INOCA women with impaired ΔCBF (n=23) had higher CPT MPRIRPP (p=0.044) compared to reference women despite lower left ventricular ejection fraction (64±7 % vs 69±2 %, p=0.005) and mass-to-volume ratio (0.79±0.15 vs 0.62±0.09, p<0.0001). These differences in CPT MPRIRPP did not persist after adjusting for age, body mass index, and history of hypertension. CPT MPRIRPP among INOCA women did not differ based on defined acetylcholine responses. Conclusions: Myocardial perfusion reserve to CPT stress is greater among women with INOCA compared to reference subjects. CPT induced a higher MPRIRPP also in women with coronary endothelial dysfunction, suggesting a greater contribution of the SNS to coronary flow than endothelial dysfunction. Further investigation in a larger cohort is needed.
ABSTRACT
We aimed to develop a novel deep-learning based method for automatic coronary artery calcium (CAC) quantification in low-dose ungated computed tomography attenuation correction maps (CTAC). In this study, we used convolutional long-short -term memory deep neural network (conv-LSTM) to automatically derive coronary artery calcium score (CAC) from both standard CAC scans and low-dose ungated scans (CT-attenuation correction maps). We trained convLSTM to segment CAC using 9543 scans. A U-Net model was trained as a reference method. Both models were validated in the OrCaCs dataset (n=32) and in the held-out cohort (n=507) without prior coronary interventions who had CTAC standard CAC scan acquired contemporarily. Cohen's kappa coefficients and concordance matrices were used to assess agreement in four CAC score categories (very low: <10, low:10-100; moderate:101-400 and high >400). The median time to derive results on a central processing unit (CPU) was significantly shorter for the conv-LSTM model- 6.18s (inter quartile range [IQR]: 5.99, 6.3) than for UNet (10.1s, IQR: 9.82, 15.9s, p<0.0001). The memory consumption during training was much lower for our model (13.11Gb) in comparison with UNet (22.31 Gb). Conv-LSTM performed comparably to UNet in terms of agreement with expert annotations, but with significantly shorter inference times and lower memory consumption.
ABSTRACT
Four adult dogs weighing <10 kg presented for the evaluation of severe mitral valve stenosis with clinical signs. Owing to the size of the dogs, a hybrid surgical and interventional approach was utilized for balloon valvuloplasty. A left lateral thoracotomy was performed to allow direct entry through the left atrial wall. Transesophageal echocardiography was utilized for the entirety of the procedure in all dogs, and fluoroscopy was additionally used in two dogs. One dog had mild to moderate intra-operative bleeding from the left atrial wall during the procedure, but no other intra-operative complications were observed. No dogs developed a clinically relevant amount of worsened mitral regurgitation. Based on mitral leaflet mobility and transmitral flow profiles, there was perceived improvement in all four dogs. One dog died 6 h after extubation due to respiratory arrest. The remaining dogs survived to discharge and had resolution of clinical signs at home and discontinuation of heart failure medications. One dog died of an unknown cause at five months and another developed atrial fibrillation, and the owners elected to euthanize at ten months after the procedure. One dog continues to do well six months after the procedure as of the time of this writing. Hybrid balloon valvuloplasty can be a viable management option for small breed dogs with severe mitral stenosis exhibiting clinical signs, and both transesophageal echocardiography and fluoroscopy can be used intra-operatively to assist in successful procedural outcomes.
Subject(s)
Atrial Fibrillation , Balloon Valvuloplasty , Mitral Valve Stenosis , Animals , Atrial Fibrillation/complications , Atrial Fibrillation/veterinary , Balloon Valvuloplasty/veterinary , Echocardiography, Transesophageal/veterinary , Heart Atria/diagnostic imaging , Mitral Valve Stenosis/diagnostic imaging , Mitral Valve Stenosis/surgery , Mitral Valve Stenosis/veterinaryABSTRACT
The Siberian wood frog Rana amurensis Boulenger, 1886 is the most hypoxia-tolerant amphibian. It can survive for several months in an almost complete absence of oxygen. Little is known about the mechanisms of this remarkable resilience, in part because studies of amphibian genomes are impeded by their large size. To make the Siberian wood frog more amenable for genetic analysis, we performed transcriptome sequencing and de novo assembly for the R. amurensis brain under hypoxia and normoxia, as well as for the normoxic heart. In order to build a de novo transcriptome assembly of R. amurensis, we utilized 125-bp paired-end reads obtained from the brain under normoxia and hypoxia conditions, and from the heart under normoxia. In the transcriptome assembled from about 100,000,000 reads, 81.5 % of transcripts were annotated as complete, 5.3 % as fragmented, and 13.2 % as missing. We detected 59,078 known transcripts that clustered into 22,251 genes; 11,482 of them were assigned to specific GO categories. Among them, we found 6696 genes involved in protein binding, 3531 genes involved in catalytic activity, and 576 genes associated with transporter activity. A search for genes encoding receptors of the most important neurotransmitters, which may participate in the response to hypoxia, resulted in a set of expressed receptors of dopamine, serotonin, GABA, glutamate, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine. Unexpectedly, no transcripts for histamine receptors were found. The data obtained in this study create a valuable resource for studying the mechanisms of hypoxia tolerance in the Siberian wood frog, as well as for amphibian studies in general.
ABSTRACT
A 1.2-year-old male-intact Standard Poodle underwent transvenous placement of an Amplazter™ atrial septal occluder for correction of a large secundum atrial septal defect. Thirty-six hours post-operatively, the dog developed high-grade Mobitz type II second-degree atrioventricular block, which resolved with time and corticosteroid administration by 12 days after the procedure. This case report outlines the observation, treatment, and resolution of high-grade Mobitz type II second-degree atrioventricular block, a known complication of atrial septal occluder placement in humans, not previously reported in veterinary literature.
Subject(s)
Atrioventricular Block , Dog Diseases , Heart Septal Defects, Atrial , Septal Occluder Device , Animals , Atrioventricular Block/complications , Atrioventricular Block/veterinary , Cardiac Catheterization/adverse effects , Cardiac Catheterization/veterinary , Dog Diseases/etiology , Dogs , Heart Septal Defects, Atrial/complications , Heart Septal Defects, Atrial/surgery , Heart Septal Defects, Atrial/veterinary , Male , Septal Occluder Device/adverse effects , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to assess the efficacy of encapsulated allogeneic islets transplanted in diabetic NOD mice and streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic nonhuman primates (NHPs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Murine or NHP islets were microencapsulated and transplanted in non-immunosuppressed mice or NHPs given clinically-acceptable immunosuppressive regimens, respectively. Two NHPs were treated with autologous mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and peri-transplant oxygen therapy. Different transplant sites (intraperitoneal [i.p.], omental pouch, omental surface, and bursa omentalis) were tested in separate NHPs. Graft function was monitored by exogenous insulin requirements, fasting blood glucose levels, glucose tolerance tests, percent hemoglobin A1c (% HbA1c), and C-peptide levels. In vitro assessment of grafts included histology, immunohistochemistry, and viability staining; host immune responses were characterized by flow cytometry and cytokine/chemokine multiplex ELISAS. RESULTS: Microencapsulated islet allografts functioned long-term i.p. in diabetic NOD mice without immunosuppression, but for a relatively short time in immunosuppressed NHPs. In the NHPs, encapsulated allo-islets initially reduced hyperglycemia, decreased exogenous insulin requirements, elevated C-peptide levels, and lowered % HbA1c in plasma, but graft function diminished with time, regardless of transplant site. At necropsy, microcapsules were intact and non-fibrotic, but many islets exhibited volume loss, central necrosis and endogenous markers of hypoxia. Animals receiving supplemental oxygen and autologous MSCs showed improved graft function for a longer post-transplant period. In diabetic NHPs and mice, cell-free microcapsules did not elicit a fibrotic response. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence suggested that hypoxia was a major factor for damage to encapsulated islets in vivo. To achieve long-term function, new approaches must be developed to increase the oxygen supply to microencapsulated islets and/or identify donor insulin-secreting cells which can tolerate hypoxia.
Subject(s)
Allografts , Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/therapy , Islets of Langerhans Transplantation , Animals , Capsules/chemistry , Mice , Mice, Inbred NODABSTRACT
A 32-year-old G2P1 woman presented for induction of labor at term. Her past medical history included polysubstance use disorder and methadone maintenance, scant prenatal care, morbid obesity, and intimate partner violence. Her induction was progressing smoothly until the acute onset of altered mental status near to the time of delivery, several minutes after a clinician-administered epidural local anesthetic bolus for significant pain. Given concern about local anesthetic systemic toxicity, lipid emulsion was administered and resulted in an immediate and drastic clinical response. The epidural infusion bag and pump system were evaluated and found to be correct and there was no clinical suspicion of an intravascular epidural catheter. The woman remained stable and was transferred to the postpartum unit, where she experienced a similar episode of altered mental status approximately 12â¯h postpartum. This episode self-resolved and she was managed conservatively. Shortly after this event, it was discovered that the patient had been self-administering benzodiazepines throughout the course of her labor, in addition to her hospital staff-administered medications. Presumably, her intrapartum altered mental status was a result of self-administered benzodiazepine that was then "rescued" with lipid emulsion. This case illustrates the potential for lipid emulsion as a reversal agent for medications other than local anesthetics.
Subject(s)
Anesthetics, Local , Benzodiazepines/poisoning , Drug Overdose/diagnosis , Drug Overdose/drug therapy , Fat Emulsions, Intravenous/therapeutic use , Labor, Obstetric , Adult , Female , Humans , PregnancyABSTRACT
A 2-year-old intact female mixed breed dog was presented for ascites. Echocardiography demonstrated severe obstruction at the level of the caudal right atrium. Initially, a variant of cor triatriatum dexter was diagnosed, and balloon catheter dilation was performed. However, ascites recurred within a week. Further imaging revealed an obstruction at the entrance of the caudal vena cava into the right atrium rather than a dividing membrane in the right atrium. The diagnosis was revised to suprahepatic obstruction of the caudal vena cava because of remnant Eustachian valve tissue. Deployment of a balloon-expandable biliary stent was performed relieving the obstruction. Fifteen months after stent deployment, the patient is doing well without reaccumulation of ascitic fluid.
Subject(s)
Dog Diseases/therapy , Heart Defects, Congenital/veterinary , Stents/veterinary , Animals , Ascites/veterinary , Cineangiography/veterinary , Cor Triatriatum/therapy , Dog Diseases/congenital , Dog Diseases/diagnostic imaging , Dogs , Echocardiography/veterinary , Female , Heart Atria/abnormalities , Heart Defects, Congenital/therapy , Vena Cava, Inferior/abnormalitiesABSTRACT
The Martian outflow channels comprise some of the largest known channels in the Solar System. Remote-sensing investigations indicate that cataclysmic floods likely excavated the channels ~3.4 Ga. Previous studies show that, in the southern circum-Chryse region, their flooding pathways include hundreds of kilometers of channel floors with upward gradients. However, the impact of the reversed channel-floor topography on the cataclysmic floods remains uncertain. Here, we show that these channel floors occur within a vast basin, which separates the downstream reaches of numerous outflow channels from the northern plains. Consequently, floods propagating through these channels must have ponded, producing an inland sea, before reaching the northern plains as enormous spillover discharges. The resulting paleohydrological reconstruction reinterprets the 1997 Pathfinder landing site as part of a marine spillway, which connected the inland sea to a hypothesized northern plains ocean. Our flood simulation shows that the presence of the sea would have permitted the propagation of low-depth floods beyond the areas of reversed channel-floor topography. These results explain the formation at the landing site of possible fluvial features indicative of flow depths at least an order of magnitude lower than those apparent from the analyses of orbital remote-sensing observations.
ABSTRACT
Background: PTEN loss is observed in 2030% of prostate cancers and is associated with a poor outcome, but clinical details of the impact of this biomarker are unclear for intermediate grade tumors. Methods: We investigated 43 radical prostatectomy-derived grade 7 prostate tumors from the Clinics Hospital of Ribeirão Preto. Tissue microarray (TMA) blocks were constructed and PTEN copy number status was determined for all patients through fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). To determine the presence of PTEN protein loss in our study cohort, we performed immunohistochemistry (IHC) in TMA sections. We then developed an automated algorithm in HALO™ to identify regions of PTEN protein loss in whole prostate scanned sections from ten patients with known PTEN deletion status by FISH. Clinical analyses were conducted to determine the associations between PTEN loss and patient outcome. All statistical analyses were conducted in R v3.4.3 with P-values below 0.05 being considered statistically significant. Results: In this study of 43 grade 7 tumors, we found PTEN deletions by FISH in 18.9% of tumors, and PTEN protein loss by IHC in 16.3% of tumors. Both techniques were highly concordant and complementary. Clinical analysis demonstrated that PTEN deletion by FISH was significantly associated with positive margin invasion (P = 0.04) and Gleason score upgrade (P = 0.001). Digital image analysis of ten representative tumors demonstrated distinct intratumoral heterogeneity for PTEN protein loss in four tumors. Conclusions: This study shows that PTEN loss in Gleason grade 7 tumors can be heterogeneous and that a systematic analysis of this biomarker using a combination of FISH, IHC, and digital imaging may identify patients with a greater risk of poor outcome (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology , PTEN Phosphohydrolase/metabolism , Prognosis , Prostatectomy , Prostatic Neoplasms/genetics , Immunohistochemistry , Biomarkers, Tumor , Cohort Studies , In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence , Genetic Heterogeneity , Neoplasm GradingABSTRACT
We present the case of a 26-year-old postpartum patient who presented with an episode of desaturation and hemoptysis on postpartum day three after an uncomplicated spontaneous vaginal delivery. The patient came to our attention in the postpartum area after she experienced massive hemoptysis and we were called by the obstetric team. The patient was subsequently intubated, mechanically ventilated, and underwent bronchoscopy, demonstrating diffuse alveolar hemorrhage. She was brought to the intensive care unit, placed on high-dose steroids and plasmapheresis was initiated. Her intensive care unit course was complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute kidney injury and a pulmonary embolism, but she recovered well and was discharged on postpartum day 23. This report describes a rare case of medium vessel vasculitis diagnosed in the peripartum period, and describes the diagnostic dilemmas underlying making a rare diagnosis, and the difficulties initiating appropriate therapy in a postpartum patient.
Subject(s)
Hemoptysis/etiology , Microscopic Polyangiitis/complications , Microscopic Polyangiitis/diagnosis , Puerperal Disorders/diagnosis , Adrenal Cortex Hormones/therapeutic use , Adult , Biopsy , Bronchoscopy , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Hemoptysis/diagnosis , Hemoptysis/therapy , Humans , Hypoxia/diagnosis , Hypoxia/etiology , Hypoxia/therapy , Immunologic Factors/therapeutic use , Intubation, Intratracheal , Microscopic Polyangiitis/drug therapy , Plasmapheresis/methods , Postpartum Period , Puerperal Disorders/therapy , Respiration, Artificial , Rituximab/therapeutic use , Vasculitis/complications , Vasculitis/diagnosis , Vasculitis/drug therapyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To compare pupil responses in depressed patients with a seasonal pattern, depressed patients without a seasonal pattern and healthy controls as a function of daylight hours on the testing day. METHOD: Patients suffering from a major depressive episode were included in wintertime. The pupil light reflex was measured at inclusion and in the following summer using a binocular pupillometer. A protocol of low (1 lux) and high (400 lux) intensity red and blue lights was used to assess rod, cone and melanopsin-containing intrinsic photosensitive retinal ganglion cell input to the pupil reflex. RESULTS: The mean group pupil responses associated with a melanopsin-mediated sustained pupil response at 400 lux blue light were significantly reduced in the depressed subjects (N = 39) as compared to the healthy controls (N = 24) (P = 0.023). Across all groups, a reduction in number of daylight hours was significantly associated with a reduction in sustained pupil response (P = 0.007). All groups showed an equal effect of daylight hours on the melanopsin-mediated sustained pupil response. CONCLUSION: The melanopsin-mediated sustained pupil contraction to offset of high-intensity blue light is reduced in depressed patients. These results further emphasize the interaction of light exposure with depression.
Subject(s)
Depressive Disorder, Major/physiopathology , Pupil/physiology , Reflex, Pupillary/physiology , Retinal Ganglion Cells/physiology , Seasonal Affective Disorder/physiopathology , Seasons , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Photic Stimulation , Rod Opsins , Time FactorsABSTRACT
ããBACKGROUND: The relationship between cold resistance of widespread invertebrate species and overwintering temperatures has not been studied; however, this knowledge could have high prognostic value. OBJECTIVE: Using an ant species Camponotus herculeanus to investigate whether there is a relationship between cold resistance and overwintering temperatures in two climatically distinct regions (coastal and continental). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We determined seasonal changes in SCP and LТ for overwintering ant stages, as well as winter temperatures in the nests. RESULTS: In the watershed of Upper Kolyma River (Aborigen field station), minimal temperature in the nests dropped to -26С. Average SCP of the ants was -40С, and LТ was -37С. At the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk (Magadan) the minimum in the nest was -14С, SCP was -19C to -27С and LТ was -32С. CONCLUSION: We have established a relationship between cold tolerance and overwintering conditions for geographically separate populations in the two areas with different climatic regimes.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Physiological/physiology , Ants/physiology , Animals , Asia , Cold Temperature , SeasonsABSTRACT
Morphological characterization of valley networks in three exposures of ancient cratered highlands (Nhc1) in the greater Meridiani Planum region yields insight into the Martian aqueous history. From our mapping, key regional differences are apparent in fine-scale valley network attributes including morphologic type, planimetric form, density, and links to candidate paleolakes. This information, combined with crater retention age (inferred exposure age), provides new details on the relative timing and nature of aqueous processes in the region. Newly identified pitted-type valley networks have morphological similarity to terrestrial pitted landforms in an evaporite setting. We interpret the pitted valley networks to reflect late-stage groundwater processes concentrated along the former fluvial conduits. Evidence from this study indicates that localized reactivation of valley networks occurred during or after exhumation of eastern Nhc1 unit.
ABSTRACT
Frozen Siberian salamander safely tolerates long (45 days) stay at-35°C. Short-term (3 days) cooling down to-50°C was tolerable for 40% of adult individuals; down to-55°C, for 80% of the underyearlings. Generally, the salamanders lose about 28% of the body mass during the pre-hibernating period (before winter, at temperatures as low as 0°C) and during the process of freezing (as low as-5°C). The body weight remained constant upon further cooling (to-35°C). The frozen salamanders have no physiological mechanisms protecting from sublimation.
Subject(s)
Acclimatization/physiology , Body Weight/physiology , Freezing , Hibernation/physiology , Urodela/physiology , Animals , SiberiaABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Decision-making for pregnancies complicated by severe congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract (CAKUT) are ethically challenging, partly because the outcomes are not well studied. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of severe cases of CAKUT over 14 years. RESULTS: Seventy-one of the 108 cases could be completely analyzed. Forty-six percent (n=33) infants were live-born; one-third (n=11) survived to 12 months. Twice as many non-surviving infants received a trial of therapy vs comfort care only. Two-thirds of non-survivors who received a trial of therapy died within the first 9 h of life. Live-born infants faced morbidities such as pneumothorax and neonatal dialysis. CONCLUSIONS: Over half of pregnancies complicated by severe CAKUT ended in termination or stillbirth, but one-third of live-born infants survived to 12 months and the majority of non-survivors died within hours. This may allay concerns about prolonged and futile intensive care for parents considering a trial of therapy.
Subject(s)
Decision Making/ethics , Kidney/abnormalities , Quality of Life/psychology , Urinary Tract/abnormalities , Abortion, Eugenic/statistics & numerical data , Adult , Female , Gestational Age , Humans , Infant , Infant Death/etiology , Infant, Newborn , Live Birth/epidemiology , Male , Palliative Care/statistics & numerical data , Perinatal Death/etiology , Pregnancy , Retrospective Studies , Stillbirth/epidemiology , Ultrasonography, Prenatal , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Non-operating room (non-OR) airway management has previously been identified as an area of concern because it carries a significant risk for complications. One reason for this could be attributed to the independent practice of residents in these situations. The aim of the present study was to ascertain whether differences in performance exist between residents working alone vs with a resident partner when encountering simulated non-OR airway management scenarios. METHODS: Thirty-six anaesthesia residents were randomized into two groups. Each group experienced three separate scenarios (two scenarios initially and then a third 6 weeks later). The scenarios consisted of one control scenario and two critical event scenarios [i.e. asystole during laryngoscopy and pulseless electrical activity (PEA) upon post-intubation institution of positive pressure ventilation]. One group experienced the simulated non-OR scenarios alone (Solo group). The other group consisted of resident pairs, participating in the same three scenarios (Team group). RESULTS: Although the time to intubation did not differ between the Solo and Team groups, there were several differences in performance. The Team group received better overall performance ratings for the asystole (8.5 vs 5.5 out of 10; P<0.001) and PEA (8.5 vs 5.8 out of 10; P<0.001) scenarios. The Team group was also able to recognize asystole and PEA conditions faster than the Solo group [10.1 vs 23.5 s (P<0.001) and 13.3 vs 36.0 s (P<0.001), respectively]. CONCLUSIONS: Residents who performed a simulated intubation with a second trained provider had better overall performance than those who practised independently. The residents who practised in a group were also faster to diagnose serious complications, including peri-intubation asystole and PEA. Given these data, it is reasonable that training programmes consider performing all non-OR airway management with a team-based method.