The Cost of Downstream Adverse Outcomes Associated with Allogeneic Blood Transfusion: A Retrospective Observational Cohort Study.

'Downstream' adverse outcomes associated with transfusion-related immune modulation (TRIM) occur postoperatively. The potential associations between these outcomes (and costs) and perioperative transfusion are often not considered by clinicians and therefore underestimated. When considering TRIM, many advantages of intraoperative cell salvage (ICS) were previously confirmed.

A cross-sectional study of the relationship between iron deficiency anaemia and chronic pain.

Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia are frequently under-recognised in chronic conditions with non-specific symptoms, including fatigue. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of iron deficiency with or without anaemia in chronic pain patients, and the association between iron deficiency status, fatigue and health-related quality of life. Eighty-two patients attending chronic pain outpatient appointments were recruited into this cross-sectional study.

Rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM ) in gestational diabetes mellitus and coagulation in healthy term pregnancy: A prospective observational study in Australia.

Background: Rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM ) is a point-of-care test of coagulation. ROTEM -defined hypercoagulability has been identified in pregnant women and in non-pregnant patients with diabetes mellitus. Pregnancy is known to be a hypercoagulable state, but the influence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on coagulation is unknown.

Sustained Clinical Improvement in a Subset of Patients With Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Treated With Epstein-Barr Virus-Specific T Cell Therapy.

Increasing evidence indicates a role for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). EBV-infected autoreactive B cells might accumulate in the central nervous system because of defective cytotoxic CD8 T cell immunity. We have previously reported results of a phase I clinical trial of autologous EBV-specific T cell therapy in MS 6 months after treatment.

Intraoperative Cell Salvage as an Alternative to Allogeneic (Donated) Blood Transfusion: A Prospective Observational Evaluation of the Immune Response Profile.

Allogeneic blood transfusion (ABT) is associated with transfusion-related immune modulation (TRIM) and subsequent poorer patient outcomes including perioperative infection, multiple organ failure, and mortality. The precise mechanism(s) underlying TRIM remain largely unknown. During intraoperative cell salvage (ICS) a patient's own (autologous) blood is collected, anticoagulated, processed, and reinfused.

The influence of obesity on coagulation in healthy term pregnancy as assessed by rotational thromboelastometry.

Background: Rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM ) is a point-of-care coagulation test which has been used to demonstrate hypercoagulability in pregnant populations and obese populations.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the combined effect of pregnancy and obesity on coagulation using ROTEM in healthy pregnant women of varying body mass indices (BMIs) presenting for elective caesarean delivery.

Materials And Methods: Ethics approval was granted for recruitment of women presenting for elective caesarean delivery.

A prospective randomized comparison of airway seal using the novel vision-guided insertion of LMA-Supreme® and LMA-Protector®.

The laryngeal mask airways supreme (LMA-Supreme™) and protector (LMA-Protector™) are generally placed blindly, often resulting in a less than optimal position and vision-guided placement has been recommended. This prospective, randomized controlled study compared the efficacy of airway seal by measuring the oropharyngeal leak pressure in 100 surgical patients who underwent a variety of non-thoracic surgery under general anaesthesia, suitable with a supraglottic airway device. Patients were allocated to either the LMA-Supreme (n = 50) or LMA-Protector (n = 50) group.

Operating room greening initiatives - the old, the new, and the way forward: A narrative review.

Healthcare waste is a rampant issue in Australian hospitals. The operating room (OR) contributes disproportionately to total hospital waste. There has been considerable research in the literature concentrating on strategies to improve OR and hospital waste accumulation, in an attempt to provide guidance and direction on how to reduce the healthcare ecological footprint.

The Gold in Garbage: Implementing a Waste Segregation and Recycling Initiative.

Generally, ORs produce approximately one-fifth to one-third of all waste in a hospital. Before our quality improvement project was performed in our tertiary care facility, all OR waste was disposed of as clinical waste. Disposal of clinical waste is more costly than disposal of general waste.