Improving appropriate use of intravenous albumin: results of a single-centre audit and multifaceted intervention.

Background: Intravenous albumin has limited indications supported by randomised controlled trials, yet it is often prescribed for indications not supported by evidence.

Aim: To reduce unnecessary transfusion of albumin.

Interventions: Under the leadership of a multidisciplinary quality improvement team, evidence-based recommendations were disseminated in tandem with a new electronic order set, an educational strategy, qualitative interviews with prescribers and a return policy change to reduce wastage.

Comprehensive Training Model for Procedural Guidance of Transcatheter Mitral Valve Edge-to-Edge Repair: Divide and Conquer Approach.

Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) of the mitral valve is a complex procedure requiring continuous image guidance with 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography. In this context, the role of the echocardiographer is of paramount importance. Training in interventional echocardiography for procedures such as TEER requires comprehending the complicated workflow of the hybrid operating room and advanced imaging skills that go beyond traditional echocardiography training to guide the procedure.

Median sternotomy pain after cardiac surgery: To block, or not? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Inadequate pain control after median sternotomy leads to reduced mobilization, increased respiratory complications, and longer hospital stays. Typically, postoperative pain is controlled by opioid analgesics that may have several adverse effects. Parasternal intercostal block (PSB) has emerged as part of a multimodal strategy to control pain after median sternotomy.

Mapping multicenter randomized controlled trials in anesthesiology: a scoping review.

Background: Evidence suggests that there are substantial inconsistencies in the practice of anesthesia. There has not yet been a comprehensive summary of the anesthesia literature that can guide future knowledge translation interventions to move evidence into practice. As the first step toward identifying the most promising interventions for systematic implementation in anesthesia practice, this scoping review of multicentre RCTs aimed to explore and map the existing literature investigating perioperative anesthesia-related interventions and clinical patient outcomes.

Decomposition-based quantitative electromyography in the evaluation of muscular dystrophy severity.

Introduction: Electromyography is useful in the diagnosis of myopathies, but its utility in determining disease severity requires further investigation. In this study we aimed to determine whether decomposition-based quantitative electromyography (DQEMG) could indicate the severity of involvement in a cohort of patients with muscular dystrophies (MDs).

Methods: Fifteen patients with facioscapulohumeral (FSHD), limb-girdle (LGMD), and Becker (BMD) muscular dystrophy, and 7 healthy controls, participated in this investigation.

Percutaneous muscle biopsies: review of 900 consecutive cases at London Health Sciences Centre.

Objective: In the present study we review our experience with 900 consecutive percutaneous muscle biopsies over the period 1993 to 2007. We examined the advantages and limitations of the procedure, biopsy site preferences, diagnostic range, frequency of diagnoses and quality of histopathology. Demographics, referral patterns and patients' perceptions of the procedure were also assessed.