Proof of Concept of Telemedicine-Assisted Abdominal Ultrasound Examinations to Improve the Quality of Patient Care in Rural Areas.

(1) Unclear sonographic findings without adequate specialist expertise in abdominal ultrasound (AU) may harm patients in rural areas, due to overlooked diagnoses, unnecessary additional imaging (e.g., CT scan), and/or patient transport to referral expert centers.

Ultrasound evaluation of gastric emptying time of standardized high-calorie liquid meals in healthy adults: A double-blind cross-over randomized study.

Background And Aims: Commercially available high-calorie drinks containing fat and protein can be used as dietary supplements in surgical patients. According to preoperative fasting guidelines, high-calorie drinks are non-clear fluids and should not be consumed 6 h before elective procedures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the gastric emptying time of commercially available high-calorie drink formulations in healthy adults using gastric ultrasound.

Highly efficient visible light active ZnO/Cu-DPA composite photocatalysts for the treatment of wastewater contaminated with organic dye.

Industrial effluents are a leading major threat for water contamination, subsequently which results in severe health associated risks. Hence, purifying wastewater before releasing into the water resources is essential to avoid contamination. In this study, ZnO/Cu-DPA nano-composites were prepared by altering the percentage of Cu-DPA (20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% which are denoted to be ZnO/20%Cu-DPA, ZnO/30%Cu-DPA, ZnO/40%Cu-DPA and ZnO/50%Cu-DPA) using a simple mechanical grinding process.

Water hyacinth plant extract mediated green synthesis of CrO/ZnO composite photocatalyst for the degradation of organic dye.

The CrO/ZnO composite catalysts with varying the amount of chromium precursors abbreviated as 0.02CrZn, 0.04CrZn, 0.

NT-proBNP in young healthy adults undergoing non-cardiac surgery.

Objectives: N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), a standard marker for diagnosis and treatment guidance of heart failure, has previously been investigated in high-risk patients undergoing cardiac and non-cardiac surgery. However, the kinetics of NT-proBNP in healthy patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery are unknown.

Design & Methods: A secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study was conducted.

Medical care at a mass gathering music festival : Retrospective study over 7 years (2011-2017).

Background: Knowledge about longitudinal changes in epidemiological data at mass gathering events is sparse. The goal of this study was to determine and compare the type, severity and frequency of illnesses at a large music festival over 7 consecutive years (2011-2017).

Methods: Prospectively collected data from the rescue operation protocols of an Austrian music festival were retrieved and analyzed.

Expert consensus on peri-operative myocardial injury screening in noncardiac surgery: A literature review.

Peri-operative myocardial injury, detected by dynamic and elevated cardiac troponin (cTn) concentrations, is a common complication of noncardiac surgery that is strongly associated with 30-day mortality. Although active screening for peri-operative myocardial injury has been suggested in recent guidelines, clinical implementation remains tentative due to a lack of examples on how to tackle such an interdisciplinary project at a local level. Moreover, consensus on which assay and cTn cut-off values should be used has not yet been reached, and guidance on whom to screen is lacking.

Generalisability of randomised trials evaluating perioperative β-blocker therapy in noncardiac surgery.

Background: The limited applicability of evidence from RCTs in real-word practice is considered a potential bottleneck for evidence-based practice but rarely systematically assessed. Using our failure to recruit patients into a perioperative beta-blocker trial, we set out to analyse the restrictiveness and generalisability of trial eligibility criteria in a real-world cohort.

Methods: We prospectively included adult patients (≥18 yr) scheduled for elective noncardiac surgery at an academic tertiary care facility who were screened for inclusion in a planned perioperative beta-blocker RCT, which was terminated owing to recruitment failure.

Impact of Infant Positioning on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Performance During Simulated Pediatric Cardiac Arrest: A Randomized Crossover Study.

Objectives: The primary objective was to determine the impact of infant positioning on cardiopulmonary resuscitation performance during simulated pediatric cardiac arrest.

Design: A single-center, prospective, randomized, unblinded manikin study.

Setting: Medical university-affiliated simulation facility.

Evaluation of Genotype and Vascular Risk Factors As Prognostic and Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease and Their Influence On Age of Symptoms Onset.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia, is evolving to become a threatening epidemy of the 21 century. Only 21% of the predicted number of AD patients in Macedonia have been diagnosed and treated, which means that almost 80% are underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Apolipoprotein E gene () is recognised as the strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic AD.

Feasibility of ultrasound measurement in a human model of acute compartment syndrome.

Background: Early diagnosis of acute compartment syndrome (ACS) of the leg is essential to improve the outcome. Direct invasive measurement is currently recommended to measure intracompartmental pressure. A non-invasive and reproducible means of making the diagnosis would be a step forward.

Major Adverse Cardiac Events and Mortality Associated with Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Cardiac events after electroconvulsive therapy have been reported sporadically, but a systematic assessment of the risk is missing. The goal of this study was to obtain a robust estimate of the incidence of major adverse cardiac events in adult patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy.

Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that investigated electroconvulsive therapy and reported major adverse cardiac events and/or mortality.

High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T in young, healthy adults undergoing non-cardiac surgery.

Background: It is unclear if isolated postoperative cardiac-troponin elevation, often referred to as myocardial injury, represents a pathological event, as control studies in otherwise healthy adults are lacking.

Methods: In this single-centre prospective observational cohort study, serial high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hscTnT) plasma concentrations were obtained from young, healthy adults undergoing elective orthopaedic surgery at three time points: before operation, 2-6 h, and 18-30 h after surgery. End points were hscTnT increases after surgery: ≥20% (exceeding analytical variability), ≥50% (exceeding short-term biological variability), and ≥85% (exceeding long-term biological variability).

Pharmacokinetics and Bioavailability of Inhaled Esketamine in Healthy Volunteers.

Background: Esketamine is traditionally administered via intravenous or intramuscular routes. In this study we developed a pharmacokinetic model of inhalation of nebulized esketamine with special emphasis on pulmonary absorption and bioavailability.

Methods: Three increasing doses of inhaled esketamine (dose escalation from 25 to 100 mg) were applied followed by a single intravenous dose (20 mg) in 19 healthy volunteers using a nebulizer system and arterial concentrations of esketamine and esnorketamine were obtained.

High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T Improves the Diagnosis of Perioperative MI.

Background: The diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI) after noncardiac surgery has traditionally relied on using relatively insensitive contemporary cardiac troponin (cTn) assays. We hypothesized that using a recently introduced novel high-sensitivity cTnT (hscTnT) assay would increase the detection rate of perioperative MI.

Methods: In this ancillary study of the Vitamins in Nitrous Oxide trial, readjudicated incidence rates of myocardial injury (new isolated cTn elevation) and MI were compared when diagnosed by contemporary cTnI versus hscTnT.

High-sensitivity Cardiac Troponin Elevation after Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Prospective, Observational Cohort Study.

Background: While electroconvulsive therapy is widely regarded as a lifesaving and safe procedure, evidence regarding its effects on myocardial cell injury is sparse. The objective of this investigation was to determine the incidence and magnitude of new cardiac troponin elevation after electroconvulsive therapy using a novel high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I assay.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study in adult patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy in a single academic center (up to three electroconvulsive therapy treatments per patient).

Improving Prediction of Postoperative Myocardial Infarction With High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T and NT-proBNP.

Background: This study sought to determine whether preoperatively measured high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) improve cardiac risk prediction in patients undergoing major noncardiac surgery compared with the standard risk indices.

Methods: In this ancillary study to the Vitamins in Nitrous Oxide trial, patients were included who had preoperative hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP measured (n = 572). Study outcome was the incidence of postoperative myocardial infarction (MI) within the first 3 postoperative days.

High-Fidelity Analysis of Perioperative QTc Prolongation.

Background: Prolongation of the QTc interval indicates abnormal cardiac repolarization. A recent study has shown that postoperative QTc prolongation is common. However, it is unknown whether QTc prolongation is an isolated postoperative phenomenon or occurs regularly during surgery, or whether the type of anesthesia influences its incidence.

The hematological effects of nitrous oxide anesthesia in pediatric patients.

Background: Prolonged administration of nitrous oxide causes an increase in plasma homocysteine in children via vitamin B12 inactivation. However, it is unclear whether nitrous oxide doses used in clinical practice cause adverse hematological effects in pediatric patients.

Methods: This retrospective study included 54 pediatric patients undergoing elective spinal surgery: 41 received nitrous oxide throughout anesthesia (maintenance group), 9 received nitrous oxide for induction and/or emergence (induction/emergence group), and 4 did not receive nitrous oxide (nitrous oxide-free group).

Nitrous Oxide for Treatment-Resistant Major Depression: A Proof-of-Concept Trial.

Background: N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists, such as ketamine, have rapid antidepressant effects in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). We hypothesized that nitrous oxide, an inhalational general anesthetic and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, may also be a rapidly acting treatment for TRD.

Methods: In this blinded, placebo-controlled crossover trial, 20 patients with TRD were randomly assigned to 1-hour inhalation of 50% nitrous oxide/50% oxygen or 50% nitrogen/50% oxygen (placebo control).

Mitochondrial DNA control region analysis of three ethnic groups in the Republic of Macedonia.

A total of 444 individuals representing three ethnic groups (Albanians, Turks and Romanies) in the Republic of Macedonia were sequenced in the mitochondrial control region. The mtDNA haplogroup composition differed between the three groups. Our results showed relatively high frequencies of haplogroup H12 in Albanians (8.

Reliable and durable Golgi staining of brain tissue from human autopsies and experimental animals.

Background: Golgi stains are notoriously capricious, particularly when applied to human brain. The well-known difficulties, which include complete failure of impregnation, patchy staining, unstable staining, and extensive crystalline deposits in superficial sections, have discouraged many from attempting to use these techniques. A reliable method that produces uniform impregnation in tissue from human autopsies and experimental animals is needed.