Authors: de Jong W-JJ et al., J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2014 May 76:1282 A Blunt Abdominal Trauma in Children score of greater than 6 had a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 87% for intra-abdominal injury. Investigators retrospectively validated the Blunt Abdominal Trauma in Children (BATiC) score in children less than 18 years of […]
Read MoreAuthors: Joseph B et al., JAMA Surg 2014 Jun 11; Older trauma patients who were frail were more likely to have in-hospital complications and adverse discharge dispositions than those who were not frail. Although advancing age is associated with worse outcomes in trauma patients (NEJM JW Emerg Med Oct 27 2004 and NEJM JW Emerg […]
Read MoreAll healthcare stakeholders are on the same page when it comes to using value-based payments, two leaders fromCigna said yesterday at the National Bundled Payment Summit in the District of Columbia. But insurers can’t have only one type of value-based program. Providers have different capabilities, ownership and risk tolerance, so payers must meet doctors where […]
Read MoreThis is for our followers who practice in the ICU. Authors: Jabre P et al., Intensive Care Med 2014 May 23; Grief, post-traumatic stress, and depression at 1 year were reduced when family members were permitted to witness resuscitation of loved ones. Despite data that suggest benefit to family members from allowing them to observe […]
Read MoreThere’s new evidence of the “weekend effect and it’s worth examining a phenomenon of why patients don’t want to get sick on a Saturday: The increased chance they’ll face complications. New research published this week from a Johns Hopkins Children’s Center team found simple emergency surgeries can be deadlier for kids on the weekends, raising […]
Read MoreAuthors: Donnino MW et al., BMJ 2014 May 20; 348:g3028 Inpatients who experience nonshockable cardiac arrest are more likely to survive when epinephrine is administered early. A large and increasing percentage of patients with cardiac arrests exhibit initial nonshockable rhythms (asystole or pulseless electrical activity [PEA]; 82% in 2009 vs. 69% in 2000; NEJM JW […]
Read MorePublished in Anesth Analg. 2014 May;118(5):981-6 Authors: Short TG et al., BACKGROUND: Deep general anesthesia has been associated with increased mortality in 5 observational studies. The association may be causal or an epiphenomenon due to increased anesthetic sensitivity in high-risk patients. We conducted a pilot study to assess the feasibility of performing a definitive randomized […]
Read MoreAdults with migraine have an increased risk for ischemic silent brain infarction relative to their migraine-free peers, a new study confirms. “Migraine is a neurovascular condition of the brain, with a small increased risk of silent brain infarctions, a risk factor for clinical stroke,” lead author Teshamae Monteith, MD, assistant professor of clinical neurology and […]
Read MoreThis is important because decreasing length of stay can make the anesthesia department more important to the hospital’s administration. Miller TE, Thacker JK, White WD, et al; Enhanced Recovery Study Group Anesth Analg. 2014;118:1052-1061 Study Summary This study investigated the feasibility, clinical effectiveness, and cost savings of a multimodal approach to enhanced recovery after surgery, […]
Read MoreThe color of a person’s eyes may predict how that person responds to pain. “There may be certain phenotypes that predict or indicate a person’s response to pain stimuli or drug treatment for pain,” Inna Belfer, MD, PhD, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania said. “Human pain is correlated with multiple […]
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