ABSTRACT
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the ability to completely transform the healthcare industry by enhancing diagnosis, treatment, and resource allocation. To ensure patient safety and equitable access to healthcare, it also presents ethical and practical issues that need to be carefully addressed. Its integration into healthcare is a crucial topic. To realize its full potential, however, the ethical issues around data privacy, prejudice, and transparency, as well as the practical difficulties posed by workforce adaptability and statutory frameworks, must be addressed. While there is growing knowledge about the advantages of AI in healthcare, there is a significant lack of knowledge about the moral and practical issues that come with its application, particularly in the setting of emergency and critical care. The majority of current research tends to concentrate on the benefits of AI, but thorough studies that investigate the potential disadvantages and ethical issues are scarce. The purpose of our article is to identify and examine the ethical and practical difficulties that arise when implementing AI in emergency medicine and critical care, to provide solutions to these issues, and to give suggestions to healthcare professionals and policymakers. In order to responsibly and successfully integrate AI in these important healthcare domains, policymakers and healthcare professionals must collaborate to create strong regulatory frameworks, safeguard data privacy, remove prejudice, and give healthcare workers the necessary training.
ABSTRACT
Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) refers to new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) that develops after surgery and is associated with an increased risk of mortality and thromboembolic events. The optimal management and treatment methods for POAF complications are not yet fully established. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the various treatment and management approaches currently available in terms of their suitability, efficacy, and side effects in handling POAF incidence post-surgery. Google Scholar and PubMed electronic databases were searched extensively for relevant articles examining the various management techniques currently used to manage POAF and published between 2018 and 2023. Data were collected on the type of surgery the patients underwent, POAF definition period, intervention, and outcome of interest. Following a systematic assessment guided by the inclusion criteria, 10 of the 579 studies retrieved were included in this study, and 293,417 POAF cases were recorded. Three of these studies used different rhythm control and rate control treatments to manage POAF cases, while seven studies used various anticoagulation therapies to manage POAF incidence. For asymptomatic patients within one to three days of surgery, rate control is sufficient to manage POAF, and routine rhythm control is not needed; rhythm control should be reserved for patients who develop complications such as hemodynamic instability. Anticoagulation was performed in patients whose POAF exceeded four days after surgery. Anticoagulation was associated with an increased risk of mortality, stroke, thromboembolic events, and major bleeding in patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. In contrast, in a few other studies, anticoagulation treatment led to improved outcomes in patients who developed POAF. A wide range of management methods are available for POAF after different types of surgery. However, there is only limited evidence to guide the clinical practice. The data available are mainly retrospective and insufficient to accurately evaluate the efficacy of the various management methods available for POAF. Future research should make efforts to standardize the treatment for this condition.
ABSTRACT
Heart failure remains a leading cause of hospitalization and death, and presents a significant challenge for healthcare providers despite the advancements in its management. This umbrella review aimed to pool the results of meta-analyses on the use of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors in the treatment of heart failure patients. A literature search was done on five databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Global Index Medicus, and Science Direct for articles with full texts available online. Meta-analyses of five or more randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included; the assessment of multiple systematic reviews (AMSTAR) was used to assess the quality of included studies. A systematic search identified 10 relevant meta-analyses of RCTs, with primary analyses including outcome data from 171,556 heart failure patients. A pooled review showed that SGLT-2 inhibitors significantly reduced the risk of heart failure hospitalization, cardiovascular death, mortality, serious adverse events, and improved quality of life. SGLT-2 inhibitors are likely safe and effective in managing patients with heart failure especially considering the acute outcomes.
ABSTRACT
Electrocardiography (ECG) parameters are significant in the prognosis of ischemia and other cardiovascular conditions. Reperfusion or revascularization techniques are essential in reestablishing blood flow to ischemic tissues. This study aims to demonstrate the association between percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a revascularization technique, and the electrocardiography (ECG) parameter, QT dispersion (QTd). We conducted a systematic review of the association between PCI and QTd through a literature search in three electronic databases, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Google Scholar, for empirical studies published in English. Review Manager (RevMan) 5.4 (Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, England) was used for statistical analysis. Of 3,626 studies, 12 articles met the inclusion criteria, enrolling a total of 1,239 patients. After a successful PCI procedure, QTd and corrected QT (QTc) tremendously reduced at various time intervals with statistical significance in most of the studies. There was a clear association between ECG parameters QTd, QTc, and corrected QT dispersion (QTcd), and PCI, in that there is a considerable reduction in these ECG parameters after PCI treatment.
ABSTRACT
Electrolyte disorders in alcohol-dependent patients can be due to a multitude of reasons. We discuss a patient with diabetes mellitus, seizure disorder, and alcoholism who presented with seizure episodes and vomiting following a binge alcohol intake. The evaluation showed life-threatening metabolic derangements that included hyponatremia, hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, hypocalcemia, hypochloremia, hypophosphatemia with elevated blood glucose, and metabolic alkalosis with a normal anion gap. Subsequently, a detailed urinary analysis revealed a urinary loss of electrolytes. We emphasize that alcohol-induced tubular injury is a possibility when such a clinical presentation is seen in the emergency room. The complex interplay of various electrolytes in homeostasis posed a great challenge in the management of this patient. Our case reiterates this intricate electrolyte correction policy.
ABSTRACT
Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is a surgical procedure that treats the narrowed carotid arteries, which may be narrowed by atherosclerosis. Stenting is the insertion of a wire mesh scaffold into the narrowed portion of the carotid artery to keep it open by preventing blood from clotting. Using the study done over 10 years back as a point of reference, this study will seek an update on an assessment comparing CEA and stenting in studies carried out between 2015 and to date. The PICOS (population, intervention, control, outcome, and study designs) criteria were used to construct a set of inclusion and exclusion guidelines. This meta-analysis and systematic review used two forms of investigative analysis; both quantitative and qualitative assessments. From the studies, stroke (95% CI: 0.51-0.71, P < 0.001), myocardial infarction (95% CI: 1.49-3.42, P = 0.001), and stroke or death analysis (95% CI: 0.53-0.77, P < 0.001) were noted to be significant. From the analysis, CEA was observed as having better treatment results in terms of stroke events and stroke or death incidences when compared to stenting. Carotid stenting was observed as having lower cases of myocardial infarctions when compared to endarterectomy.
