Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography for Detecting Nonexudative Macular Neovascularization in Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Purpose: To compare the efficacy of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) for detecting nonexudative macular neovascularization (MNV) in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: In this prospective study, patients with a new diagnosis of exudative AMD in 1 eye were imaged using OCTA, fluorescein angiography (FA), and ICGA in both eyes. The rates at which these imaging modalities detected nonexudative MNV in the nonexudative fellow eye were then compared. Results: This study comprised 41 eyes with a mean follow-up was 14 months. Nonexudative MNV was found in 3 eyes using OCTA and ICGA. No MNV exudation was detected on FA or structural OCT. One of 3 eyes with MNV progressed to exudative disease 6 months after the initial visit. During the follow-up, 5 of the 38 eyes without MNV developed exudation at 4 to 18 months. Conclusions: OCTA is similarly effective as ICGA at detecting nonexudative MNV patterns.

Back to basics with newer technology: Should we focus on reducing work of breathing earlier?

The typical approach to management of respiratory distress is focused on oxygen supplementation. However, additional oxygen alone does not improve outcomes, particularly in critically ill patients. Instead, supplemental oxygen can be associated with increased morbidities. We present the hypothesis that clinicians should focus on reducing the work of breathing early in the course of critical illness. Rather than simply supplementing oxygen, newer technologies including high flow nasal oxygen, may be utilized to increase the efficiency of gas exchange. By reducing the work of breathing, the cardiac workload can be reduced, thus relieving some excess physiologic stress and supporting the critically ill patient. To illustrate this point, we provided three clinical cases of respiratory failure from non-pulmonary origins; all cases displayed hemodynamic improvement due to reducing the work of breathing through high-velocity therapy prior to receiving definitive therapy for underlying pathologies.

Supplementation of High Velocity Nasal Insufflation with a Nonrebreather Mask for Severe Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure in Adult Patients with COVID-19.

The unique clinical features of COVID-19-related acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, as well as the widespread impact leading to resource strain, have led to reconsiderations of classic approaches to respiratory support. HFNO includes high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) and high velocity nasal insufflation (HVNI). There are currently no widely accepted criteria for HFNO failure. We report a series of three patients who experienced COVID-19-related acute severe hypoxemic respiratory failure. Each patient was initially managed with HVNI and had a ROX index < 3.85, suggesting HFNO failure was likely. They were subsequently managed with a nonrebreather mask (NRM) overlying and in combination with HVNI at maximal settings and were able to be managed without the need for invasive mechanical ventilation.

Regression of Keratoconus After Gastric Sleeve Surgery.

PURPOSE: To report a case of regression of keratoconus by corneal topography after gastric sleeve surgery. METHODS: Case report. RESULTS: A patient with a history of bilateral progressive keratoconus was observed before and after bariatric surgery for morbid obesity. His left eye had a history of penetrating keratoplasty for advanced keratoconus, and his right eye had active progression of keratoconus in the years before sleeve gastrectomy. After the surgery, the right eye showed significant corneal flattening over a period of 2 years. This was especially pronounced at the apex of the cone (∼5 D). The patient's best spectacle-corrected visual acuity also improved along with management of his obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of regression of keratoconus after bariatric surgery.

You Get What You Pay For: Three Years of Applied Behavior Analysis in Hong Kong With Relative Cost.

There are decades of research literature that support the effective application of applied behavior analysis (ABA) in schools that have students with special needs, including autism spectrum disorder. Students ranging in age from preschool through secondary have benefited from ABA and its effectiveness. In light of the global economic downturn over the last decade, the costs of services for children with special needs has been analyzed and scrutinized across many levels of bureaucratic systems. Through its evidence-based methods, its focus on relevant outcome data, and its systematic measurement practices, ABA has offered many educational stakeholders the best way forward for one of modern society's biggest behavioral health problems. The present study replicates a cost-benefit analysis and shows the outcomes of instruction in terms of cost in dollars. We reviewed 3 years of outcome data from an international school for students with special needs in Hong Kong. Special instruction with ABA was provided in individual, group, and inclusive classroom settings using learn units as the basic unit of instruction. A cost-benefit analysis showed the relative dollar amounts of the learn unit and instructional objectives, adjusted for inflation and compared across previous studies.

Difficult Airway Characteristics Associated with First-Attempt Failure at Intubation Using Video Laryngoscopy in the Intensive Care Unit.

RATIONALE: Video laryngoscopy has overcome the need to align the anatomic axes to obtain a view of the glottic opening to place a tracheal tube. However, despite this advantage, a large number of attempts are unsuccessful. There are no existing data on anatomic characteristics in critically ill patients associated with a failed first attempt at laryngoscopy when using video laryngoscopy. OBJECTIVES: To identify characteristics associated with first-attempt failure at intubation when using video laryngoscopy in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: This is an observational study of 906 consecutive patients intubated in the ICU with a video laryngoscope between January 2012 and January 2016 in a single-center academic medical ICU. After each intubation, the operator completed a data collection form, which included information on difficult airway characteristics, device used, and outcome of each attempt. Multivariable regression models were constructed to determine the difficult airway characteristics associated with a failed first attempt at intubation. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: There were no significant differences in sex, age, reason for intubation, or device used between first-attempt failures and first-attempt successes. First-attempt successes more commonly reported no difficult airway characteristics were present (23.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 20.7-27.0% vs. 13.3%; 95% CI, 8.0-18.8%). In logistic regression analysis of the entire 906-patient database, blood in the airway (odds ratio [OR], 2.63; 95% CI, 1.64-4.20), airway edema (OR, 2.85; 95% CI, 1.48-5.45), and obesity (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.08-2.32) were significantly associated with first-attempt failure. Data collection on limited mouth opening and secretions began after the first 133 intubations, and we fit a second logistic model to examine cases in which these additional difficult airway characteristics were collected. In this subset (n = 773), the presence of blood (OR, 2.73; 95% CI, 1.60-4.64), cervical immobility (OR, 3.34; 95% CI, 1.28-8.72), and airway edema (OR, 3.10; 95% CI, 1.42-6.70) were associated with first-attempt failure. CONCLUSIONS: In this single-center study, presence of blood in the airway, airway edema, cervical immobility, and obesity are associated with higher odds of first-attempt failure, when intubation was performed with video laryngoscopy in an ICU.

Failure to achieve first attempt success at intubation using video laryngoscopy is associated with increased complications.

The purpose of this investigation was to investigate the association between first attempt success and intubation-related complications in the Intensive Care Unit after the widespread adoption of video laryngoscopy. We further sought to characterize and identify the predictors of complications that occur despite first attempt success. This was a prospective observational study of consecutive intubations performed with video laryngoscopy at an academic medical Intensive Care Unit. Operator, procedural, and complication data were collected. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between the intubation attempts and the occurrence of one or more complications. A total of 905 patients were intubated using a video laryngoscope. First attempt success occurred in 739 (81.7 %), whereas >1 attempt was needed in 166 (18.3 %). One or more complications occurred in 146 (19.8 %) of those intubated on the first attempt versus 107 (64.5 %, p < 0.001) of those requiring more than one attempt. Logistic regression analysis shows that >1 attempt is associated with 6.4 (95 % CI 4.4-9.3) times the adjusted odds of at least one complication. Pre-intubation predictors of at least one complication despite first attempt success include vomit or edema in the airway as well as the presence of hypoxemia or hypotension. There are increased odds of complications with even a second attempt at intubation in the Intensive Care Unit. Complications occur frequently despite a successful first attempt, and as such, the goal of airway management should not be simply first attempt success, but instead first attempt success without complications.

Diagnostic Utility of Neuregulin for Acute Coronary Syndrome.

The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic test characteristics of serum neuregulin-1ß (NRG-1ß) for the detection of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We recruited emergency department patients presenting with signs and symptoms prompting an evaluation for ACS. Serum troponin and neuregulin-1ß levels were compared between those who had a final discharge diagnosis of myocardial infarction (STEMI and NSTEMI) and those who did not, as well as those who more broadly had a final discharge diagnosis of ACS (STEMI, NSTEMI, and unstable angina). Of 319 study participants, 11% had evidence of myocardial infarction, and 19.7% had a final diagnosis of ACS. Patients with MI had median neuregulin levels of 0.16 ng/mL (IQR [0.16-24.54]). Compared to the median of those without MI, 1.46 ng/mL (IQR [0.16-15.02]), there was no significant difference in the distribution of results (P = 0.63). Median neuregulin levels for patients with ACS were 0.65 ng/mL (IQR [0.16-24.54]). There was no statistical significance compared to those without ACS who had a median of 1.40 ng/mL (IQR [0.16-14.19]) (P = 0.95). Neuregulin did not perform successfully as a biomarker for acute MI or ACS in the emergency department.