The role of sealants for achieving anastomotic hemostasis in vascular surgery.

BACKGROUND: During vascular interventions, connections that link arteries, veins, or synthetic grafts, which are known as an 'anastomosis', may be necessary. Vascular anastomoses can bleed from the needle holes that result from the creation of the anastomoses. Various surgical options are available for achieving hemostasis, or the stopping of bleeding, including the application of sealants directly onto the bleeding vessels or tissues. Sealants are designed for use in vascular surgery as adjuncts when conventional interventions are ineffective and are applied directly by the surgeon to seal bleeding anastomoses. Despite the availability of several different types of sealants, the evidence for the clinical efficacy of these hemostatic adjuncts has not been definitively established in vascular surgery patients. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the benefits and harms of sealants as adjuncts for achieving anastomotic site hemostasis in patients undergoing vascular surgery. SEARCH METHODS: The Cochrane Vascular Information Specialist conducted systematic searches of the following databases: the Cochrane Vascular Specialised Register via the Cochrane Register of Studies; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); MEDLINE via Ovid; Embase via Ovid ; and CINAHL via EBSCO. We also searched ClinicalTrials.gov and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform for clinical trials. Reference lists of included trials and relevant reviews were also searched. The latest search date was 6 March 2023. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomized controlled trials that compared fibrin or synthetic sealant use with alternative interventions (e.g. manual compression, reversal of anticoagulation) for achieving anastomotic-site hemostasis in vascular surgery procedures. We included participants who underwent the creation of an anastomosis during vascular surgery. We excluded non-vascular surgery patients. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We have used standard Cochrane methods. Our primary outcomes were time to hemostasis, failure of hemostatic intervention, and intraoperative blood loss. Our secondary outcomes were operating time, death from bleeding complications up to 30 days, postoperative bleeding up to 30 days, unplanned return to the operating room for bleeding complications management up to 30 days, quality of life, and adverse events. We used GRADE to assess the certainty of evidence for each outcome. MAIN RESULTS: We found 24 randomized controlled trials that included a total of 2376 participants who met the inclusion criteria. All trials compared sealant use with standard care controls, including oxidized cellulose, gelatin sponge, and manual compression. All trials were at high risk of performance bias, detection bias, and other sources of bias. We downgraded the certainty of evidence for risk of bias concerns, inconsistency, imprecision and possible publication bias. Combining data on time to hemostasis showed that sealant use may reduce the mean time to hemostasis compared to control (mean difference (MD) -230.09 seconds, 95% confidence interval (CI) -329.24 to -130.94; P < 0.00001; 7 studies, 498 participants; low-certainty evidence). Combining data on failure of hemostatic intervention showed that sealant use may reduce the rate of failure compared to control, but the evidence is very uncertain (risk ratio (RR) 0.46, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.61; P < 0.00001; 17 studies, 2120 participants; very low-certainty evidence). We did not detect any clear differences between the sealant and control groups for intraoperative blood loss (MD -32.69 mL, 95% CI -96.21 to 30.83; P = 0.31; 3 studies, 266 participants; low-certainty evidence); operating time (MD -18.72 minutes, 95% CI -40.18 to 2.73; P = 0.09; 4 studies, 436 participants; low-certainty evidence); postoperative bleeding (RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.59 to 1.04; P = 0.09; 9 studies, 1216 participants; low-certainty evidence), or unplanned return to the operating room (RR 0.27, 95% CI 0.04 to 1.69; P = 0.16; 8 studies, 721 participants; low-certainty evidence). No studies reported death from bleeding or quality of life outcomes. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Based on meta-analysis of 24 trials with 2376 participants, our review demonstrated that sealant use for achieving anastomotic hemostasis in vascular surgery patients may result in reduced time to hemostasis, and may reduce rates of hemostatic intervention failure, although the evidence is very uncertain, when compared to standard controls. Our analysis showed there may be no differences in intraoperative blood loss, operating time, postoperative bleeding up to 30 days, and unplanned return to the operating room for bleeding complications up to 30 days. Deaths and quality of life could not be analyzed. Limitations include the risk of bias in all studies. Our review has demonstrated that using sealants may reduce the time required to achieve hemostasis and the rate of hemostatic failure. However, a significant risk of bias was identified in the included studies, and future trials are needed to provide unbiased data and address other considerations such as cost-effectiveness and adverse events with sealant use.

Key performance indicators to inform evaluation of wound care programmes for people with complex wounds: a protocol for systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the systematic review is to examine and summarise the available evidence in the literature of the use of key performance indicators (KPIs) to inform evaluation of wound care programmes and services for people with hard-to-heal (complex) wounds. The need for wound care is expected to grow with the continued ageing of the population and the resulting increased development of chronic conditions. This expected increase necessitates improvement of wound care programmes and services and their ability to deliver quality, evidence-based and cost-effective practice. The current literature lacks a systematic assessment of KPIs to inform evaluation of wound care services and programmes across various settings, and how the KPIs are used to improve the quality of wound care and achieve desired outcomes. This protocol sets out how the systemtic review will be undertaken. METHOD: Primary studies will be screened from databases such as MEDLINE, CINAHL and Scopus, with unpublished studies and grey literature retrieved from Google Scholar and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. The study titles and abstracts will be screened by two independent reviewers, using Covidence systematic review software to ensure they meet the inclusion criteria, who will then proceed with data extraction of the full-text using the standardised data extraction instrument. The reference lists of all studies selected for critical appraisal will be screened for additional publications. The two independent reviewers will critically appraise all studies undergoing full-text data extraction using the appropriate checklist from JBI SUMARI. At all stages, differences between reviewers will be resolved through discussion, with adjudication by a third, independent reviewer. RESULTS: Data points will be analysed with descriptive statistics and grouped, based on programme characteristics and publication status. Grey literature and peer-reviewed publications will form separate analyses. To answer review questions, the data will be summarised in a narrative format. A meta-analysis is not planned. At the time of writing, this protocol has been implemented up to the preliminary literature search. CONCLUSION: This review will address a current literature gap and systematically identify KPIs in wound care, allowing for programmes to evaluate their quality of care and improve their services in a methodical manner.

Pediatric Esophageal Foreign Bodies: The Role of Socioeconomic Status in Ingestion Patterns.

OBJECTIVE: Pediatric esophageal foreign bodies (EFBs) are common and can result in serious complications. Little is known about the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) on EFB ingestion in children. The goal was to study SES as a risk factor for dangerous foreign body ingestion and in-hospital complications in children. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of children presenting to a tertiary care pediatric hospital with an esophageal foreign body from 2010 to 2021. SES was assessed for each patient by linking their postal code to the Ontario Marginalization Index to determine a quintile score across four dimensions of deprivation: residential instability, material deprivation, dependency, and ethnic concentration. Dangerous EFBs were defined as magnets, batteries, sharp objects, or bones. In-hospital complications included: intensive care unit admission, prolonged length of stay, and postoperative sequelae. RESULTS: A total of 680 patients were included. Dangerous EFB ingestion was higher for children with increased residential instability (odds ratio [OR], 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2-3.6) and increased material deprivation (OR, 2.2; CI, 1.9-2.8), which was similarly true for odds of complications. Odds of dangerous EFB ingestion were higher in older children (OR, 1.1; CI, 1.0-1.1) and odds of complications were higher in children with comorbidities (OR, 1.1; CI, 1.0-1.3). CONCLUSION: Higher levels of housing instability and material deprivation are associated with dangerous EFB ingestion and complications related to EFB ingestion. These findings emphasize the role that SES plays on child health outcomes and the need for initiatives to mitigate these disparities. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 Laryngoscope, 134:2945-2953, 2024.

Evaluation of the Efficacy of an Online Learning Module to Increase Wound Care Theoretical Knowledge Amongst Medical Students.

OBJECTIVE: We developed and evaluated an online learning module for teaching wound care basics to junior medical learners, which was assessed for its ability to increase theoretical knowledge of wound care, and medical learners' perceptions on the use of an online module to teach wound care practices. DESIGN: Between February 2022 to November 2022, participants were enrolled into our unblinded, matched-pair single-arm study. Participants completed a pre- and postquiz prior to and after completing the online module, respectively. Scores on the pre- and postquiz were matched by participant and evaluated for improvement. The online module was composed of free text, animated videos with voiceovers, pictorial examples, and tables, as well as unscored knowledge checks, covering the categories of i) normal wound healing physiology, ii) describing wounds/assessment of wounds, iii) choosing dressings for wounds, and iv) addressing and understanding wound aetiologies, including diabetic, arterial, and venous ulcers. SETTING: Participants were enrolled at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were recruited from the undergraduate medicine and physician assistant programs at the University of Toronto. Students were provided with information on how to participate in the study through email and in-person recruitment. Thirty-three participants entered the study, and 23 participants completed the study. RESULTS: Across all participants, the prequiz to postquiz score increase averaged 13.29%, representing a statistically significant increase (p = 0.0000013). Ten of the 20 questions and all question categories had a statistically significant increase in the postquiz scores. All respondents found the module very useful (67%) or extremely useful (33%) for learning wound care, and 67% were very satisfied overall with the quality of the module, with the remainder (33%) of respondents somewhat satisfied. CONCLUSIONS: Online learning modules are effective at increasing wound care knowledge in junior medical learners, with high satisfaction amongst learners.

Qualitative research in vascular surgery.

Qualitative research aims to understand and describe subjective experiences and perceptions. Qualitative and mixed-methods research, in which quantitative and qualitative research methods are combined, is playing an increasingly bigger role in vascular surgery research. The aim of this review was to describe the fundamentals of qualitative research methods and its application in vascular surgery.

Correlating incidence densities and point-prevalence for the surveillance of catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

We aimed to validate the use of point-prevalence to identify catheter-associated urinary tract infections against the gold standard of incidence densities. We did not find a significant association, and hence our findings do not support the common practice of using point-prevalence as a less resource intensive method for catheter-associated urinary tract infections surveillance.