Publications by authors named "Joseph Bednarczyk"

Background: Immunotherapy, including the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors such as nivolumab, is increasingly common in cancer treatment and can lead to various immune-related adverse effects, including rare cases of diabetic ketoacidosis. This case report highlights an unique instance of nivolumab-induced diabetic ketoacidosis in a patient without prior history of diabetes, emphasizing the importance of careful monitoring even in those without traditional risk factors.

Case Presentation: We report a case of a 70-year-old Caucasian male with metastatic esophageal adenocarcinoma who developed diabetic ketoacidosis 3 weeks after stopping nivolumab therapy.

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Objective: Dynamic tests of fluid responsiveness have been developed and investigated in clinical trials of goal-directed therapy. The impact of this approach on clinically relevant outcomes is unknown. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate whether fluid therapy guided by dynamic assessment of fluid responsiveness compared with standard care improves clinically relevant outcomes in adults admitted to the ICU.

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Consensus regarding the management of massive pulmonary embolism (PE) and persistent shock after thrombolysis is lacking. A 30-year-old man collapsed with massive PE 3 days after an exploratory laparotomy for penetrating trauma, and he remained hypoxic and hypotensive despite thrombolytic therapy. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was instituted as a bridge to surgical embolectomy, and placement of a right ventricular assist device (RVAD) was used to facilitate separation from cardiopulmonary bypass.

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Numerous series, propensity-matched trials, and meta-analyses suggest that appropriate use of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (E-CPR) for in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) can be lifesaving. Even with an antecedent cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) duration in excess of 45 minutes, 30-day survival with favourable neurologic outcome using E-CPR is approximately 35%-45%. Survival may be related to age, duration of CPR, or etiology.

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Unlabelled: Introduction Online educational resources (OERs) are increasingly available for emergency medicine (EM) education. This study describes and compares the use of free OERs by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) EM residents and program directors (PDs) and investigates the relationship between the use of OERs and peer-reviewed literature.

Methods: A bilingual, online survey was distributed to RCPSC-EM residents and PDs using a modified Dillman method.

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Purpose: Blastomyces dermatitidis is a dimorphic fungus endemic to North America capable of causing fatal respiratory failure. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) complicates up to 10% of pulmonary blastomycosis in hospitalized patients and carries a mortality of 50-90%. This report describes the clinical course of four consecutive patients with blastomycosis-related ARDS treated with venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) during 2009-2014.

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Background: Among patients with reversible conditions who sustain cardiac arrest, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) may support end organ perfusion while bridging to definitive therapy.

Methods: A single center retrospective review (February 2008–September 2013) of adults receiving ECMO for cardiac arrest ≥15 min duration refractory to conventional management (E-CPR) or profound cardiogenic shock following IHCA (E-CS) was conducted. The primary outcome was 30-day survival with good neurologic function defined as a cerebral performance category (CPC) of 1–2.

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Background: Recent surveys suggest few emergency medicine (EM) training programs have formal evidence-based medicine (EBM) or journal club curricula. Our primary objective was to describe the methods of EBM training in Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) EM residencies. Secondary objectives were to explore attitudes regarding current educational practices including e-learning, investigate barriers to journal club and EBM education, and assess the desire for national collaboration.

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The limited regenerative capacity of postnatal ventricular myocytes coupled with their meager ability for genetic manipulation has presented a major technical obstacle for deciphering apoptosis initiation and execution signals in the heart. In this report, we describe the technical approaches used to study the intrinsic death pathways in postnatal ventricular myocytes during acute hypoxic injury. Discussed are methods for hypoxia, recombinant adenovirus-mediated gene transfer, cellular viability assays using the vital dyes calcein acetomethoxyester and ethidium homodimer-1, analysis of nuclear morphology by use of Hoechst dye 33258, and assessment of the state of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore.

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