Blood microbial signatures associated with mortality in patients with sepsis: A pilot study.

Sepsis is a life-threatening illness caused by the dysregulated host response to infection. Nevertheless, our current knowledge of the microbial landscape in the blood of septic patients is still limited. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a sensitive method to quantitatively characterize microbiomes at various sites of the human body.

Cathelicidin preserves intestinal barrier function in polymicrobial sepsis.

Objectives: The intestinal epithelium compartmentalizes the sterile bloodstream and the commensal bacteria in the gut. Accumulating evidence suggests that this barrier is impaired in sepsis, aggravating systemic inflammation. Previous studies reported that cathelicidin is differentially expressed in various tissues in sepsis.

Clostridium difficile toxin B induces autophagic cell death in colonocytes.

Toxin B (TcdB) is a major pathogenic factor of Clostridum difficile. However, the mechanism by which TcdB exerts its cytotoxic action in host cells is still not completely known. Herein, we report for the first time that TcdB induced autophagic cell death in cultured human colonocytes.

Exploring the scope of communication content of mechanically ventilated patients.

Purpose: Ineffective communication during mechanical ventilation (MV) and critical illness is distressing to many patients. This study aimed to describe the scope of communication content of ventilated critically ill patients.

Materials And Methods: We performed a prospective qualitative interview study in a multidisciplinary intensive care unit.

Eosinophilia and clinical outcome of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a meta-analysis.

Numerous studies have investigated the association between eosinophilia and clinical outcome of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) but the evidence is conflicting. We conducted a pooled analysis of outcome measures comparing eosinophilic and non-eosinophilic COPD patients. We searched articles indexed in four databases using Medical Subject Heading or Title and Abstract words including COAD, COPD, eosinophil, eosinophilia, eosinopenia from inception to December 2016.

Are high nurse workload/staffing ratios associated with decreased survival in critically ill patients? A cohort study.

Background: Despite the central role of nurses in intensive care, a relationship between intensive care nurse workload/staffing ratios and survival has not been clearly established. We determined whether there is a threshold workload/staffing ratio above which the probability of hospital survival is reduced and then modeled the relationship between exposure to inadequate staffing at any stage of a patient's ICU stay and risk-adjusted hospital survival.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from a cohort of adult patients admitted to two multi-disciplinary Intensive Care Units was performed.

Motor-assisted chip-in-a-tube (MACT): a new 2- and 3-dimensional centrifugal microfluidic platform for biomedical applications.

Currently, centrifuge apparatus is primarily an end-point sample processing piece of equipment. The lack of real-time active control has imposed an inherent limitation such that many delicate sample processing steps requiring immediate and accurate intervention have never been possible. We report herein a motor-assisted chip-in-a-tube (MACT) platform in which a microfluidic chip placed inside a common centrifuge canister can be rotated through wireless control in order to manipulate the centrifugal force vector in a 3-dimensional (3D) manner.

Pathological Role and Diagnostic Value of Endogenous Host Defense Peptides in Adult and Neonatal Sepsis: A Systematic Review.

Background: Sepsis is a systemic host response to an infection leading to organ failure. This is associated with dynamic expression of endogenous host defense peptides. Dysregulation of these peptides is associated with septic morbidity and mortality.

The involvement of regulatory non-coding RNAs in sepsis: a systematic review.

Background: Sepsis coincides with altered gene expression in different tissues. Accumulating evidence has suggested that microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs are important molecules involved in the crosstalk with various pathways pertinent to innate immunity, mitochondrial functions, and apoptosis.

Methods: We searched articles indexed in PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE and Europe PubMed Central databases using the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) or Title/Abstract words ("microRNA", "long non-coding RNA", "circular RNA", "sepsis" and/or "septic shock") from inception to Sep 2016.

The Effect of a Freely Available Flipped Classroom Course on Health Care Worker Patient Safety Culture: A Prospective Controlled Study.

Background: Patient safety culture is an integral aspect of good standard of care. A good patient safety culture is believed to be a prerequisite for safe medical care. However, there is little evidence on whether general education can enhance patient safety culture.

Ad Hoc Influenza Vaccination During Years of Significant Antigenic Drift in a Tropical City With 2 Seasonal Peaks: A Cross-Sectional Survey Among Health Care Practitioners.

We evaluated the acceptability of an additional ad hoc influenza vaccination among the health care professionals following seasons with significant antigenic drift.Self-administered, anonymous surveys were performed by hard copy questionnaires in public hospitals, and by an on-line platform available to all healthcare professionals, from April 1st to May 31st, 2015. A total of 1290 healthcare professionals completed the questionnaires, including doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals working in both the public and private systems.

Autophagy in sepsis: Degradation into exhaustion?

Autophagy is one of the innate immune defense mechanisms against microbial challenges. Previous in vitro and in vivo models of sepsis demonstrated that autophagy was activated initially in sepsis, followed by a subsequent phase of impairment. Autophagy modulation appears to be protective against multiple organ injuries in these murine sepsis models.

Analgesic effects of preoperative gabapentin after tongue reconstruction with the anterolateral thigh flap.

Objective: To investigate gabapentin's role in head and neck cancer surgery following the demonstration of the effectiveness of gabapentin in reducing postoperative pain.

Design: Non-randomised open-label trial.

Setting: Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong.