The Association Between Obesity and the Development and Severity of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Systematic Review.

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, accompanied by a parallel rise in the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The systematic study aims to assess the association between obesity and the onset and severity of OSA. A comprehensive computerized search of pertinent databases was done to find studies that fit the inclusion requirements.

National Trends for Temporary Mechanical Circulatory Support Utilization in Patients With Cardiogenic Shock From Decompensated Chronic Heart Failure: Incidence, Predictors, Outcomes, and Cost.

Background: Trends in temporary mechanical circulatory support (tMCS) use with associated outcomes and cost in cardiogenic shock secondary to decompensated chronic heart failure (HF-CS) remains poorly understood. We describe trends in tMCS use, associated outcomes, and cost in HF-CS.

Methods: We included adults enrolled in a national insurance claims dataset with HF-CS who received intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP), Impella, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) without acute coronary syndrome, or postcardiotomy shock.

Evaluation of the Hemocompatibility of the Direct Oral Anticoagulant Apixaban in Left Ventricular Assist Devices: The DOAC LVAD Study.

Background: Patients receiving left ventricular assist device (LVAD) support require long-term anticoagulation to reduce the risk of thromboembolic complications. Apixaban is a direct oral anticoagulant that has become first-line therapy; however, its safety in LVAD recipients has not been well described.

Objectives: This study sought to investigate whether, in patients with a fully magnetically levitated LVAD, treatment with apixaban would be feasible and comparable with respect to safety and freedom from the primary composite outcome of death or major hemocompatibility-related adverse events (HRAEs) (stroke, device thrombosis, major bleeding, aortic root thrombus, and arterial non-central nervous system thromboembolism) as compared with treatment with warfarin.

Mathematical modeling of cholera dynamics with intrinsic growth considering constant interventions.

A mathematical model that describes the dynamics of bacterium vibrio cholera within a fixed population considering intrinsic bacteria growth, therapeutic treatment, sanitation and vaccination rates is developed. The developed mathematical model is validated against real cholera data. A sensitivity analysis of some of the model parameters is also conducted.

The impact of moderate versus deep neuromuscular blockade on the recovery characteristics following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: A randomized double blind clinical trial.

Background: Anesthesia with deep neuromuscular block for laparoscopic surgery may result in less postoperative pain with lower intra-abdominal pressure. However, the results in the existing literature are controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of deep versus moderate neuromuscular block (NMB) on the postoperative recovery characteristics after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) for weight loss surgery.

Design and Rationale for the Direct Oral Anticoagulant Apixaban in Left Ventricular Assist Devices (DOAC LVAD) Study.

Implantable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy is used to improve quality of life, alleviate symptoms and extend survival rates in patients with advanced heart failure. Patients with LVADs require chronic anticoagulation to reduce the risk of thromboembolic complications, and they commonly experience bleeding events. Apixaban is a direct oral anticoagulant that has become first-line therapy for patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism; however, its safety in patients with LVADs has not been well characterized.

Procedural sedation analgesia in the elderly patient.

Elderly patients are perceived as a high-risk group for procedural sedation. Procedural sedation analgesia (PSA) is generally safe in older adults. What is not acceptable is undertreating pain or inadequately sedating a stable patient.

Training Pathways in Critical Care Cardiology: Competencies and Considerations for Cardiologists.

Purpose Of Review: Critical care cardiology (CCC) is a rapidly developing field undergoing a renaissance of interest and growth to meet the well-documented population shift in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU). With this has come the emergence of novel training paradigms that seek to combine specialties with meaningful overlap.

Recent Findings: The benefit of having critical care expertise in the CICU has been clearly established; however, there is no formal or uniform CCC training pathway.

Mechanical Circulatory Support and Critical Care Management of High-Risk Acute Pulmonary Embolism.

Hemodynamically significant pulmonary embolism (PE) remains a widely prevalent, underdiagnosed condition associated with mortality rates as high as 30%. The main driver of poor outcomes is acute right ventricular failure that remains clinically challenging to diagnose and requires critical care management. Treatment of high-risk (or massive) acute PE has traditionally included systemic anticoagulation and thrombolysis.

Road map toward establishing fellowship programs in an academic anesthesia department.

An impactful fellowship management should provide fellows with: Strong commitments and engagement from senior teams, ample and diverse opportunities to interact with mentors, strong exposure and sufficient access to the latest in academic training and experience, flexibility to fit the fellow's area of specialty and research, and extensive opportunities for professional development. One of the important features of our fellowship programs curriculum will be the use of simulation based training programs for the courses and workshops of the target fellowship.

Atypical Antipsychotic Safety in the CICU.

Atypical antipsychotics are used in cardiac intensive care units (CICU) to treat delirium despite limited data on safety in patients with acute cardiovascular conditions. Patients treated with these agents may be at higher risk for adverse events such as QTc prolongation and arrhythmias. We performed a retrospective cohort study of 144 adult patients who were not receiving antipsychotics before admission and received olanzapine (n = 50) or quetiapine (n = 94) in the Michigan Medicine CICU.

Considerations for Inotrope and Vasopressor Use in Critically Ill Patients With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare and progressive cardiopulmonary disease, characterized by pulmonary vasculopathy. The disease can lead to increase pulmonary arterial pressures and eventual right ventricle failure due to elevated afterload. The prevalence of PAH in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) is unknown, and pulmonary hypertension (PH) in the ICU is more commonly the result of left heart disease or hypoxic lung injury (PH due to left heart disease and PH due to lung diseases and/or hypoxia, respectively), as opposed to PAH.

Characteristics of Heart Failure Patients With or Without Hypotension When Transitioning From Nitroprusside to Sacubitril-Valsartan.

Background: Sacubitril-valsartan is an angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor indicated for the treatment of patients with symptomatic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Little is known about outcomes of HFrEF patients transitioned from sodium nitroprusside (SNP) to sacubitril-valsartan during an admission for acute decompensated heart failure. We sought to describe characteristics of patients initiated on sacubitril-valsartan while receiving SNP and, in particular, those patients who did and did not experience hypotension requiring interruption or discontinuation of sacubitril-valsartan.

The effect of low versus high tidal volume ventilation on inflammatory markers in animal model undergoing lung ventilation: A prospective study.

Background And Aims: Mechanical ventilation (MV) with high tidal volume (Vt.) may induce or aggravate lung injury in critically ill patients. It might also cause an overwhelming systemic inflammation leading to acute lung injury (ALI), diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) and multiple organ failure (MOF) with subsequent high mortality.

Safety of dexmedetomidine in the cardiac intensive care unit.

Aims: Dexmedetomidine is one of the sedative agents recommended by the Society of Critical Care Medicine as a preferred option over benzodiazepines in critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients. Little data exists describing sedation in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU). The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of adverse events in CICU patients treated with dexmedetomidine.

Mathematical model for the dynamics of Savanna ecosystem considering fire disturbances.

In this article, the stability of equilibrium solutions of a recently formulated mathematical model of Savanna ecosystem is analytically and numerically analyzed. The mathematical model is formulated by generalizing all plant life into three components; trees, tree saplings, and grass under ecologically valid effects of fire, rainfall and competition for space. Fire has a considerable effect on trees by delaying the recruitment of saplings to trees and the recruitment rate is a piecewise linear decreasing function of grass with a sigmoidal shape.

Efficacy of height-based formula to predict insertion depth of left-sided double lumen tube: A prospective observational study.

The insertion depth of the left-sided double-lumen tube needs careful positioning and bronchoscopic confirmation. Several formulae based on body height have been used for estimating the optimal insertion depth of a left-sided double-lumen tube. We conducted this prospective study to test the hypothesis that our earlier developed height-based formula (0.

Airway management and COVID-19 patient -Saudi Anesthesia Society guidelines.

The Saudi Anesthesia Society (SAS) in line with the Mission and Vision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to contain the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is pleased to develop a statement regarding airway management of suspected/confirmed patients with this virus, to ensure the safe practice in dealing with the patient as well as protecting the medical staff from getting the infection. In this report, we have summarized the guidelines necessary for airway management of suspected/confirmed COVID-19 patient. Since the COVID-19 outbreak is up to date existed, therefore this report is considered as interim guidelines for airway management of the suspected/confirmed patients.

Anesthesia management of thoracic surgery in a patient with suspected/confirmed COVID-19: Interim Saudi Anesthesia Society guidelines.

The Saudi Anesthesia Society (SAS) has developed interim guidelines on perioperative care of COVID-19 patients who undergo surgery and anesthesia.[1] Patients with "" COVID-19 might be scheduled for emergency thoracic procedures either during the acute or convalescence phases of the disease. There is a demanding need to develop the SAS recommendations on the perioperative care of thoracic surgery patients during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Anesthesia management of ophthalmic surgery for patient with suspected/confirmed COVID-19 -Saudi Anesthesia Society guidelines.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been declared a global pandemic. With a mortality rate reaching up to 5%, healthcare professionals treating patients with COVID-19 are at a significantly higher risk for exposure themselves. Given the rapidly progressing rate of COVID-19, there is an urgent need for developing guidelines within each specialty.

Coronavirus Disease-2019 in Heart Transplant Recipients in Southeastern Michigan: A Case Series.

Background: Since coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the number of cases has risen exponentially. Clinical characteristics and outcomes among patients with orthotopic heart transplant (OHT) with COVID-19 remain poorly described.

Methods: We performed a retrospective case series of patients with OHT with COVID-19 admitted to 1 of 2 hospitals in Southeastern Michigan between March 21 and April 22, 2020.

Lifestyle Therapy for the Management of Atrial Fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. There is evidence that lifestyle interventions may serve as complementary treatments to reduce AF burden. The objective of this review was to summarize the efficacy of lifestyle interventions for the management of AF.

Appearance of Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome as research question in the title of articles of three different anesthesia journals: A pilot study.

Background: It is well known in the evidence-based medicine practice that framing the research question is the most important and crucial part of the research integrity. Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) is a specialized framework used by most researchers to formulate a research question and to facilitate literature review. The aim of this study is to investigate the representation of the PICO frame in the title of published articles in three different anesthesia journals.