Publications by authors named "Derek A Riffert"
The standard modality for diagnosis of smoke inhalational injury in burn patients is bronchoscopy with or without bronchoalveolar lavage. However, the risks associated with these procedures are poorly described in established literature. We sought to investigate the association between diagnostic bronchoalveolar lavage at admission and the development of pneumonia in burn patients.
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- Thoracic epidural catheters (TECs) provide effective pain management for traumatic rib fractures, but their use is limited by various factors; in contrast, continuous peripheral infusions of ketamine and/or lidocaine offer a safer alternative.
- A study analyzing 1,647 patients found that those receiving TECs had significantly lower daily morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) and mean pain scores (MPS) compared to those using continuous infusions, especially notable around days 3 and 4 post-injury.
- The findings suggest that drip-only treatment leads to higher pain medication use and pain levels, indicating that TECs might be a more effective pain management option for patients with rib fractures.
Background: Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in patients with cirrhosis complicated by portal hypertension, portosystemic shunts, and chronic portal vein thrombosis (PVT) has long been challenging. Spontaneous spleno-renal shunts (SRS) allow new surgical techniques to restore portal vein patency and hepatopetal flow. Renoportal anastomosis (RPA) has emerged as an accepted method for transplanting these patients, with good long-term patient and graft survival.
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