Optimizing nutrition in plant-based diets.

ABSTRACT: Diet is increasingly considered a major contributor to the chronic disease burden in Western societies. Plant-based diets are becoming more mainstream as a way to reduce disease risk and improve quality of life. Clinicians who understand the health benefits and risks associated with various plant-based diets can provide helpful advice to their patients. This article discusses six common beliefs about plant-based diets and reviews guidelines for plant-based eating.

Special Operations Medics Test the Novel iView Video Laryngoscope: A Prospective, Randomized, Crossover Trial.

BACKGROUND: Airway compromise is the second leading cause of preventable death on the battlefield. Special operations medic comprise the majority of medics trained to perform endotracheal intubation (ETI), mostly by way of direct laryngoscopy (DL). The iView is a disposable, low-cost video laryngoscopy (VL) device, enabling its distribution to prehospital medical providers. We seek to compare time to intubation between DL and iView VL among special operations combat medics (SOCM). METHODS: We conducted a prospective, randomized, crossover trial. We enrolled special operations medics assigned to Joint Base Lewis McChord, WA. We randomized subjects to first performing VL or DL. Subjects performed a total of 10 ETI, 5 by VL and 5 by DL, on adult airway manikins. The primary outcome was time (in seconds) for ETI completion. RESULTS: A total of 32 medics completed 160 with DL ETIs and 160 VL ETIs. A total of 10 of 32 (31.3%) medics reported no previous experience with VL devices. We found a significant difference in time to intubation between VL and DL (20.4 (95% CI 20.6 - 26.1) seconds versus 23.4 (95% CI 18.7 - 22.2) seconds; p = 0.03) in favor of VL. All VL attempts were successful while 96.9% of DL were successful (p = 0.10). With respect to end-user appraisal of devices, a significant number of medics preferred the iView VL over DL (23 versus 9; p is less than 0.00001). Additionally, medics considered iView VL easier to use (5 [5-6] versus 5 [4-5]; p=0.0004) and easier to learn, remember, and perform by combat medics (5 [5-5] versus 4 [4-5]; p=0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Special operations medics naïve to VL rapidly learned how to effectively utilize iView VL, as evidenced by a significant difference in time to intubation in favor of iView VL. Additionally, most medics favored iView VL and considered it easy to use, learn, and remember.