Medicine is a rapidly-evolving discipline, with progress picking up pace with each passing decade. This constant evolution results in the introduction of new tools and methods, which in turn occasionally leads to paradigm shifts across the affected medical fields. The following review attempts to showcase how 3D printing has begun to reshape and improve processes across various medical specialties and where it has the potential to make a significant impact. The current state-of-the-art, as well as real-life clinical applications of 3D printing, are reflected in the perspectives of specialists practicing in the selected disciplines, with a focus on pre-procedural planning, simulation (rehearsal) of non-routine procedures, and on medical education and training. A review of the latest multidisciplinary literature on the subject offers a general summary of the advances enabled by 3D printing. Numerous advantages and applications were found, such as gaining better insight into patient-specific anatomy, better pre-operative planning, mock simulated surgeries, simulation-based training and education, development of surgical guides and other tools, patient-specific implants, bioprinted organs or structures, and counseling of patients. It was evident that pre-procedural planning and rehearsing of unusual or difficult procedures and training of medical professionals in these procedures are extremely useful and transformative.
Introduction.The COVID-19 pandemic greatly disrupted the national healthcare system in Poland, resulting in the implementation of new protocols allowing only patients with severe diagnoses to receive immediate treatment. Given that an intracranial aneurysm (IA) is regarded as one of the most severe diagnoses, we planned to assess whether the current protocol has successfully provided the standard treatment for IAs.
Material and methods.Data on all IA cases treated from 2015 to 2020 was extracted from the JGP (a homogeneous group of patients) catalogue provided by the National Health Index of Poland (NFZ, Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia). Poisson regression was used to determine the significance of the change in hospital admissions, and differences between proportions were analysed using the "N-1" Chi-squared test.Results. A total of 21,801 IA patients treated during 2015-2020 were included in this study. The overall number of hospitalisations due to IAs fell in the open surgery group, but not in the endovascular cohort. Mortality rates following IA treatment increased significantly by 21% in 2020 compared to preceding years. The demographics changed as well; the patients were significantly younger during the pandemic.
Conclusions.Our findings show that the current strategy for optimal care for patients diagnosed with IAs in Poland during the pandemic is failing to maintain high quality treatment. New methods to improve the current plan should be implemented to address future crises.
(1) Background: The pandemic of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdown strategies had a profound impact on many aspects of everyday life. During this time the world faced the unprecedented crisis of healthcare disrupting timely care delivery. This study was designed to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on the acute treatment of stroke in Poland. (2) Methods: The national data on hospitalizations with stroke as a primary diagnosis were obtained from the National Health Fund of Poland. Poisson regression was used to determine the significance of the change in hospital admissions. The differences between proportions were analyzed using the “N-1” Chi-squared test. (3) Results: During the COVID-19 period, the number of hospitalizations dropped by 8.28% with a monthly nadir of 22.02 in April. On a monthly scale during 2020, the greatest decrease was 22.02%. The thrombolysis ratio was also affected, with the highest monthly drop of 15.51% in November. The overall number of in-hospital deaths did not change. (4) Conclusions: The pandemic caused a serious disruption of the acute care of stroke. There is no evidence that the quality of care was seriously compromised.
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