Sarcopenia measured by tomography as a predictor of morbidity and mortality in thoracic surgery, a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia has been identified as a risk factor for perioperative adverse events. Several studies have shown that tomographic assessment of muscle mass can be an appropriate indicator of sarcopenia associated with morbidity and mortality. The aim of the study was to determine the association between height-adjusted area of ​​the pectoral and erector spinae muscles (haPMA and haESA) and perioperative morbidity and mortality in thoracic surgery. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study. Measurement of muscle areas was performed by tomography. The outcomes were 30-day mortality and postoperative morbidity. The discriminative capacity of the muscle areas was evaluated with an analysis of ROC curves and the Youden index was used to establish a cut-off point. The raw morbidity and mortality risk was determined and adjusted for potential confounders. RESULTS: A total of 509 patients taken to thoracic surgery were included. The incidence of 30-day mortality was 7.3%. An association was found between muscle areas and 30-day mortality and pneumonia, with adequate discriminative power for mortality (AUC 0.68 for haPMA and 0.67 for haESA). An haPMA less than 10 and haESA less than 8.5 cm2/m2 were identified as a risk factor for 30-day mortality with an adjusted OR of 2.34 (95%CI 1.03-5.15) and 2.22 (95%CI 1.10-6.04) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Sarcopenia, defined as low muscle area in the pectoral and erector spinae muscles, is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing thoracic surgery.

Validation in Spanish of the Ottawa scale for non-technical skills in health personnel in crisis situations.

INTRODUCTION: Non-technical skills are related to morbi-mortality in medicine; it has been proposed that 46% of fatal outcomes are explained to limitations in non-technical skills and only 5% to technical skills deficiencies, however, there is no validated instrument or scale in spanish that allows its evaluation in the management of medical crisis. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the psychometric properties of a Spanish-adapted version of the "Ottawa crisis resource management (CRM) global rating scale (GRS)" in medical staff involved in critical decision-making based in high-fidelity simulation, which could be beneficial to impact patient safety and improve clinical outcomes. METHODS: Transversal cultural instrument validation and adaptation study, included 91 participants who simulated a medical crisis between 2018 and 2019, and to whom the Spanish version of the CRM-GRS was applied in order to evaluate its psychometric properties. RESULTS: A cultural adaptation with translation into Spanish of the CRM-GRS was made. Subsequently, the scale was applied to 91 participants. An internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) greater than 0.9 was found in each dimension. The level of inter-rater reliability, evaluated by the interclass coefficient was 0.59 to 0.69, and test-retest reliability with an interclass coefficient greater than 0.7. The validity of the convergent construct was moderate (interclass coefficient between 0.6 and 0.7 for all domains) and the validity of the divergent construct between 0.4 and 0.5 was found adequate. CONCLUSION: The translated and adapted Spanish version of the CRM-GRS in crisis had adequate internal consistency, reliability, and construct validity.

Validation in spanish of the Ottawa scale for non-techical skills in health personnel in crisis situations. / Validación en castellano de la escala de Ottawa para habilidades no técnicas en personal de salud en situación de crisis.

INTRODUCTION: Non-technical skills are related to morbi-mortality in medicine; it has been proposed that 46% of fatal outcomes are explained to limitations in non-technical skills and only 5% to technical skills deficiencies, however, there is no validated instrument or scale in spanish that allows its evaluation in the management of medical crisis. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the psychometric properties of a Spanish-adapted version of the "Ottawa crisis resource management (CRM) global rating scale (GRS)" in medical staff involved in critical decision-making based in high-fidelity simulation, which could be beneficial to impact patient safety and improve clinical outcomes. METHODS: Transversal cultural instrument validation and adaptation study, included 91 participants who simulated a medical crisis between 2018 and 2019, and to whom the Spanish version of the CRM-GRS was applied in order to evaluate its psychometric properties. RESULTS: A cultural adaptation with translation into Spanish of the CRM-GRS was made. Subsequently, the scale was applied to 91 participants. An internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) greater than 0.9 was found in each dimension. The level of inter-rater reliability, evaluated by the interclass coefficient was 0.59 to 0.69, and test-retest reliability with an interclass coefficient greater than 0.7. The validity of the convergent construct was moderate (interclass coefficient between 0.6 and 0.7 for all domains) and the validity of the divergent construct between 0.4 and 0.5 was found adequate. CONCLUSION: The translated and adapted Spanish version of the CRM-GRS in crisis had adequate internal consistency, reliability, and construct validity.

Complications associated with three brachial plexus blocking techniques: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Brachial plexus block has become one of the most widely-used anaesthetic techniques in the world for upper limb anaesthesia. There are three different brachial blocks techniques: supraclavicular, infraclavicular and axillary block. However, its execution is not exempt from possible clinical complications, and it is not clear which of these is associated with a lower complication rate and greater anaesthetic success. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Systematic review and meta-analysis following the Cochrane and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines to identify controlled clinical trials reporting the three techniques. The main outcome was the incidence of anaesthetic complications, and the secondary ones were an anaesthetic success, time of performance and anaesthetic latency. RESULTS: 25 controlled clinical trials, with 2012 patient, were included. The methodological quality of the included studies is moderate to high. For the main outcome, the main complication reported was a vascular puncture, followed by transient neurological injury, symptomatic diaphragmatic paralysis and pneumothorax. No differences were found in complications associated with the three anaesthetic techniques. Additionally, no differences were found regarding anaesthetic success. CONCLUSIONS: Anesthetic complications associated with the three brachial block techniques are low, with no medium and long-term sequelae; however, none of the three techniques seems to be superior among them to reduce these complications. All three techniques are highly successful when performed using ultrasound imaging.