Publications by authors named "Caroline Bublitz"
Objective: This study aims to investigate the ability of the six-minute walk distance (6MWD) as a prognostic marker for midterm clinical outcomes three months after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), to identify possible predictors of fall in 6MWD in the early postoperative period, and to establish the percentage fall in early postoperative 6MWD, considering the preoperative baseline as 100%.
Methods: A prospective cohort of patients undergoing elective CABG were included. The percentage fall in 6MWD was assessed by the difference between preoperative and postoperative day (POD) five.
Introduction: We investigated the clinical course and outcomes of patients submitted to cardiovascular surgery in Brazil and who had developed symptoms/signs of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the perioperative period.
Methods: A retrospective multicenter study including 104 patients who were allocated in three groups according to time of positive real time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2): group 1, patients who underwent cardiac surgery > 10 days after positive RT-PCR; group 2, patients with a positive RT-PCR within 10 days before or after surgery; group 3, patients who presented positive RT-PCR > 10 days after surgery. The primary outcome was mortality and secondary outcomes were postoperative complications, intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay, and postoperative days of hospitalization.
Background: Inflammation may be an important factor contributing to the progression of Eisenmenger syndrome (ES). The purpose of the current study was to: characterize the inflammatory profile in ES patients and compare measures to reference values for congenital heart disease and pulmonary arterial hypertension (CHD-PAH); and investigate whether inflammatory markers are associated with other clinical markers in ES.
Methods: Twenty-seven ES patients were prospectively selected and screened for systemic inflammatory markers, including interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and IL-10.
Introduction: In heart transplantation (HT) recipients, several factors are critical to promptly adopting appropriate rehabilitation strategies and may be important to predict outcomes way after surgery. This study aimed to determine preoperative patient-related risk factors that could adversely affect the postoperative clinical course of patients undergoing HT.
Methods: Twenty-one hospitalized patients with heart failure undergoing HT were evaluated according to respiratory muscle strength and functional capacity before HT.
Placement of a mediastinal drain is a routine procedure following heart surgery. Postoperative bed rest is often imposed due to the fear of potential risk of drain displacement and cardiac injury. We developed an encapsulating stitch as a feasible, effective and low-cost technique, which does not require advanced surgical skills for placement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: We aimed to investigate the ability of oxygen uptake kinetics to predict short-term outcomes after off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.
Methods: Fifty-two patients aged 60.9 ± 7.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a cycle ergometer exercise program on exercise capacity and inspiratory muscle function in hospitalized patients with heart failure awaiting heart transplantation with intravenous inotropic support.
Methods: Patients awaiting heart transplantation were randomized and allocated prospectively into two groups: 1) Control Group (n=11) - conventional protocol; and 2) Intervention Group (n=7) - stationary cycle ergometer exercise training. Functional capacity was measured by the six-minute walk test and inspiratory muscle strength assessed by manovacuometry before and after the exercise protocols.
The objective of the present study is to evaluate the acute effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on functional capacity, perceived exertion, and blood lactate in hospitalized patients with heart failure (HF). Patients diagnosed with systolic HF (left ventricular ejection fraction <45 %) were randomized and allocated prospectively into two groups: placebo LLLT group (n = 10)-subjects who were submitted to placebo laser and active LLLT group (n = 10)-subjects who were submitted to active laser. The 6-min walk test (6MWT) was performed, and blood lactate was determined at rest (before LLLT application and 6MWT), immediately after the exercise test (time 0) and recovery (3, 6, and 30 min).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of an exercise training protocol and low-level laser therapy (and the association of both treatments) on musculoskeletal atrophy using an experimental model of knee osteoarthritis (OA).
Design: Fifty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: control group, knee OA control group, OA plus exercise training group, OA plus low-level laser therapy group, and OA plus exercise training associated with low-level laser therapy group. The exercise training and the laser irradiation started 4 wks after the surgery, 3 days per week for 8 wks.
The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on the prevention of cartilage damage after the anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) in knees of rats. Thirty male rats (Wistar) were distributed into three groups (n = 10 each): injured control group (CG); injured laser-treated group at 10 J/cm(2) (L10), and injured laser-treated group at 50 J/cm(2) (L50). Laser treatment started immediately after the surgery and it was performed for 15 sessions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: 1. To determine if there are differences in the classes of antihypertensive agents prescribed for the elderly population as compared with younger patients. 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The purpose of this study was to track trends in the use of anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation (AF) over the past decade and identify predictors of use.
Background: Atrial fibrillation is common and associated with significant morbidity. Previous studies suggest underuse of anticoagulant therapy in patients with AF.
Background: Tar Wars is a national school-based tobacco-free education program operated by the American Academy of Family Physicians. The Tar Wars lesson uses an interactive 45-min session taught by volunteer family physicians in 4th- and 5th-grade classrooms and focuses on the short-term image-based consequences of tobacco use. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of the Tar Wars program in Colorado with both quantitative and qualitative measures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: (1) To characterize the demographics and external causes of pediatric sports injury-related visits (SIRVs) to emergency departments (EDs). (2) To analyze the effect of race/ethnicity and insurance on SIRVs to EDs.
Methods: A stratified random-sample cross-sectional survey of EDs in the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey was conducted from 1997-2001; for patients younger than 19 years, we used all visits [n = 33,654; injury-related visits (IRVs) = 13,496, SIRVs = 2990].
Objective: To describe the pattern of sports-related injuries (SRIs), healthcare obtained for these injuries, and factors associated with obtaining healthcare.
Design And Setting: Retrospective analysis of the adult subgroup within the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey dataset from 1996 to 2001, which is weighted to represent all noninstitutionalized US residents.
Participants: Survey participants (2996) aged 0 to 64 years reporting an SRI.
Background: The birth outcomes of undocumented women have not been systematically studied on a large scale. The growing number of undocumented women giving birth in the United States has important implications for clinical care and public health policy. The objective of this study was to describe birth outcomes of undocumented immigrants in Colorado.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: The coordinating function of primary care is information-intensive and may be impeded by missing clinical information. However, missing clinical information has not been explicitly investigated in the primary care setting.
Objective: To describe primary care clinicians' reports of missing clinical information.
Objectives: To characterize the types and external causes of pediatric injury-related visits (IRVs) to emergency departments (EDs), in particular, sports-related injuries. To compare the characteristics of children with IRVs with those with non-IRVs, specifically, differences in IRV rates by race and ethnicity and by health insurance.
Methods: This was a stratified random-sample survey of EDs in the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), including all IRVs for patients less than 19 years of age in 1998 (n = 2,656).
Background: Confusion is common among ill patients and has broad consequences for their care and well-being. The prevalence of confusion in hospice patients is unknown.
Objectives: Describe the prevalence, severity, and manifestations of nurse-identified confusion and estimate the prevalence of delirium in hospice patients.