SummaryBackgroundStents are an alternative treatment to carotid endarterectomy for symptomatic carotid stenosis, but previous trials have not established equivalent safety and efficacy. We compared the safety of carotid artery stenting with that of carotid endarterectomy.MethodsThe International Carotid Stenting Study (ICSS) is a multicentre, international, randomised controlled trial with blinded adjudication of outcomes. Patients with recently symptomatic carotid artery stenosis were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive carotid artery stenting or carotid endarterectomy. Randomisation was by telephone call or fax to a central computerised service and was stratified by centre with minimisation for sex, age, contralateral occlusion, and side of the randomised artery. Patients and investigators were not masked to treatment assignment. Patients were followed up by independent clinicians not directly involved in delivering the randomised treatment. The primary outcome measure of the trial is the 3-year rate of fatal or disabling stroke in any territory, which has not been analysed yet. The main outcome measure for the interim safety analysis was the 120-day rate of stroke, death, or procedural myocardial infarction. Analysis was by intention to treat (ITT). This study is registered, number ISRCTN25337470.FindingsThe trial enrolled 1713 patients (stenting group, n=855; endarterectomy group, n=858). Two patients in the stenting group and one in the endarterectomy group withdrew immediately after randomisation, and were not included in the ITT analysis. Between randomisation and 120 days, there were 34 (Kaplan-Meier estimate 4·0%) events of disabling stroke or death in the stenting group compared with 27 (3·2%) events in the endarterectomy group (hazard ratio [HR] 1·28, 95% CI 0·77–2·11). The incidence of stroke, death, or procedural myocardial infarction was 8·5% in the stenting group compared with 5·2% in the endarterectomy group (72 vs 44 events; HR 1·69, 1·16–2·45, p=0·006). Risks of any stroke (65 vs 35 events; HR 1·92, 1·27–2·89) and all-cause death (19 vs seven events; HR 2·76, 1·16–6·56) were higher in the stenting group than in the endarterectomy group. Three procedural myocardial infarctions were recorded in the stenting group, all of which were fatal, compared with four, all non-fatal, in the endarterectomy group. There was one event of cranial nerve palsy in the stenting group compared with 45 in the endarterectomy group. There were also fewer haematomas of any severity in the stenting group than in the endarterectomy group (31 vs 50 events; p=0·0197).InterpretationCompletion of long-term follow-up is needed to establish the efficacy of carotid artery stenting compared with endarterectomy. In the meantime, carotid endarterectomy should remain the treatment of choice for patients suitable for surgery.FundingMedical Research Council, the Stroke Association, Sanofi-Synthélabo, European Union.
Plasma cfDNA levels are high in recipients indicative of liver injury. Lower cfDNA levels following induction may be attributed to the subduing effect of anaesthetic agents on cell death. High cfDNA levels seen in intra- and post-operative phases reflect cellular trauma and inflammation. This similar pattern of fluctuation of cfDNA level in donors and recipients is suggestive of its possible utility as a surgical stress marker. In addition, comparable cfDNA levels in anhepatic and reperfusion phase reflect less ischemia reperfusion injury during LDLT.
Introduction The effect of sarcopenia, malnutrition, and functional status on immediate post liver transplantation outcome is not well established. Most studies on sarcopenia are related to 1 and 3-year mortality. Studies evaluating the effect of malnutrition are at least a decade old. Project Aims We evaluated the effect of preoperative sarcopenia, malnutrition, and functional status on postoperative length of hospital and ICU stay, incidence of complications, and mortality. Design In this prospective study conducted on living donor liver transplant recipients, sarcopenia and malnutrition were identified using the psoas muscle thickness to height and the Royal Free Hospital- Nutritional Prioritizing Tool respectively. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score was noted. Postoperatively, length-of-hospital stay, ICU stay, duration of mechanical ventilation and incidence of postoperative complications were noted. Results Hospital and ICU length of stay, and duration of mechanical ventilation were greater in sarcopenic versus non-sarcopenic patients (35.9 (14.6) versus 26.7 (10.7) days, P = 0.02; 12.9 (4.8) versus 9.6 (3.8) days, P = 0.02 and 8 [5,23] versus 5 [4,7] days, P = 0.01 respectively). The incidence of acute kidney injury was higher in patients with sarcopenia (53.3% vs 19.4%, P = 0.02). Patients with malnutrition and repeated hospitalizations had higher ICU stays but hospital length of stay duration of mechanical ventilation or the incidence of postoperative complications were not affected. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score did not affect postoperative outcome. Conclusion In living donor liver transplant recipients, sarcopenia increased hospital and ICU stays, and duration of mechanical ventilation postoperatively. Malnutrition increased ICU stays.
Background and Aims: Propofol is a commonly used sedative agent, in a dose of 1.5–4.5 mg.kg –1 .h –1 . Following liver transplantation (LT), drug metabolism may be altered due to liver mass, altered hepatic blood flow, reduced levels of serum proteins, and liver regeneration. Thus, we hypothesized that propofol requirements in this group of patients would be different as compared to the standard dose. This study evaluated the dose of propofol used for sedation in electively ventilated living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) recipients. Material and Methods: After patients were shifted to the postoperative intensive care unit (ICU) following LDLT surgery, propofol infusion was started at a dose of 1 mg.kg –1 .h –1 and titrated to maintain a bispectral index (BIS) value of 60–80. No other sedatives such as opioids or benzodiazepines were used. Dose of propofol, noradrenaline, and arterial lactate levels were noted 2 hourly. Results: The mean propofol dose required in these patients was 1.02 ± 0.26 mg.kg –1 .h –1 . Noradrenaline was gradually tapered off and stopped within 14 h of shifting to ICU. The mean duration between the time of cessation of propofol infusion till extubation was 2.06 ± 1.44 h. Propofol dose did not correlate with respective lactate levels, ammonia levels, or graft-to-recipient weight ratio. Conclusion: The dose range of propofol required for postoperative sedation in LDLT recipients was lower than the conventional dose.
Introduction Urinary incontinence is a prognostic indicator of mortality and functional recovery in stroke. There is a small evidence base that early intervention within the first three months may improve continence status and subsequent physical and psychological consequences. Methods Utilising a proforma and PDSA, data was collected on the identification and assessment of urinary continence status for patients admitted to a stroke unit. Five agreed standards from NICE (2012) and RCP (2016) guidelines formed the basis of audit. Three cycles of prospective data for a total of 66 patients was collected over four months, implementing quality improvement measures after each cycle. Results 22 participants per cycle. Cycle one demonstrated continence status was identified by the nursing team (100%), and the medical team (41%). However, standards regarding further care planning and assessment (22%), MDT input (11%) and subsequent behavioural and practical interventions (11%) was low. Change strategy, i) awareness training, ii) development of MDT prompt sheet. Cycle two, medical identification (82%), MDT discussion (100%), and continence specific interventions (66%), care planning decreased from 22% to 0%. Change strategy, incontinent patients receive an individualised assessment within 7 days by the advanced nurse practitioner, this assessment should consider all available evidence-based interventions, with the aim of reducing urinary incontinence within the early phases of stroke. Cycle three showed an overwhelming improvement to all five standards, nursing and medical identification (100%, 91. Conclusions PDSA style audit led to quality improvement. The identification of urinary continence status post stroke was high, but due to multifactorial elements often did not progress to assessment or intervention from the MDT. Utilising the existing role of the trainee advanced practitioner patients received evidence-based continence reviews in a timely manner, with no additional cost impact to the service.
Background: Chronic kidney disease is a major risk factor for end stage renal disease, cardiovascular events and death. Various studies have shown an association between metabolic syndrome and CKD. Even mild renal insufficiency increases the risk for cardiovascular events. This study was conducted to detect CKD in its early stages which are characterized by mildly reduced GFR in patients with metabolic syndrome.Methods: This is a cross sectional study of 60 patients, 30 with metabolic syndrome diagnosed on the basis of IDF criteria and 30 controls. EGFR was calculated using the CKD-EPI formula and the results between the two groups was analysed using chi square test for statistical significance.Results: In this study conducted on 60 patients, age distribution was between 20 and 60 years. Male to female ratio was 1:1.06. 26.66% of the cases had normal GFR while among the controls, 46.66% had normal GFR. Out of the 30 cases, 53.33% had mildly reduced GFR while out of the controls, 23.33% had mildly reduced GFR. This association between metabolic syndrome and mildly reduced EGFR was found to be significant (p≤0.05).Conclusions: The results of this study showed that metabolic syndrome is associated with a mildly reduced GFR and hence early detection of these risk factors is essential for treatment and prevention of CKD.
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