Publications by authors named "Paul Mertes"

Background: Biliary contamination significantly correlates with major comorbidities during pancreatic head resection. Recently, a piperacillin-tazobactam prophylaxis demonstrated a lower rate of infectious complications (IC) and postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) in this population. However, bacterial contamination is rare in patients without a preoperative biliary drainage (PBD) and probably could not benefit from this antibiotic.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Reporting and analysis of adverse events (AE) is associated with improved health system learning, quality outcomes, and patient safety. Manual text analysis is time-consuming, costly, and prone to human errors. We aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of novel machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) approaches for early predictions of adverse events and provide input to direct quality improvement and patient safety initiatives.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Anaphylactic shock (AS) is a severe allergic reaction that can be life-threatening, and while epinephrine is typically used to manage it, additional treatments like NButGT may enhance recovery by affecting heart function.
  • - In an experiment with ovalbumin-sensitized rats, various treatment groups were established, including those receiving NButGT before or after AS onset, and combinations of NButGT with epinephrine to evaluate effects on heart function and other physiological parameters.
  • - Results showed that NButGT pre-treatment increased O-GlcNAcylation in the heart and improved cardiac output and mitochondrial function, while also reducing blood lactate levels when used alongside epinephrine, suggesting it could be a beneficial
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A study conducted in France updated the epidemiology of perioperative anaphylaxis, a rare but serious allergic reaction occurring during surgeries, highlighting its changing nature influenced by clinical practices and environment.* -
  • Out of 765 cases analyzed, a significant portion (56%) were severe reactions, mainly caused by neuromuscular blocking agents (60%), with antibiotics like cefazolin also being a notable trigger.* -
  • The study emphasizes the need for ongoing surveillance of perioperative anaphylaxis, particularly due to the increasing frequency of reactions to antibiotics and the unknown reasons behind cefazolin sensitization.*
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CS-AKI) affects up to 30% of patients, increasing morbidity and healthcare costs. This condition results from complex factors like ischemia-reperfusion injury and renal hemodynamic changes, often exacerbated by surgical procedures. Norepinephrine, commonly used in cardiac surgeries, may heighten the risk of CS-AKI.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Perioperative anaphylaxis (PA) is a severe condition that can be fatal, but data on PA mortality are scarce. The aim of this article is to review the epidemiology, elicitors and risk factors for PA mortality and identify knowledge gaps and areas for improvement regarding the management of severe PA. PA affects about 100 cases per million procedures.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Opioid-free anaesthesia (OFA) is general anaesthesia based on the use of several non-opioid molecules that aim to have an analgesic effect, decrease the sympathetic response, decrease hormonal stress, and decrease the inflammatory response during surgery. Although this approach to anaesthesia is regularly used in clinical practice, it remains a novel approach. The literature on this anaesthesia modality finds a number of positive effects on cardiac, respiratory, and cognitive function but no randomised study evaluated these effects during cardiac surgery where there is a high incidence of postoperative complications.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Unfractionated heparin (UFH) is used as an anticoagulant during the atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation procedure to prevent the occurrence of thromboembolic events. Guidelines recommend an activated clotting time (ACT) greater than 300 s (s) based on studies of patients treated with vitamin K antagonist (VKA) for their AF. However, direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have supplanted VKAs in AF and are now used as first-line therapy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) are among the leading cause of perioperative anaphylaxis, and most of these reactions are IgE mediated. Allergic sensitisation induced by environmental exposure to other quaternary ammonium-containing compounds, such as pholcodine, has been suggested. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between pholcodine exposure and NMBA-related anaphylaxis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Perioperative hypersensitivity (POH) is an uncommon, potentially life-threatening event. Identification of POH can be difficult given the lack of familiarity, physiological effects of anesthesia, draping of the patient during surgery, and potential nonimmunological factors contributing to signs and symptoms. Given the unique nature and large number of medications administered in the perioperative setting, evaluation of POH can be challenging.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Severe COVID-19 has been associated with a high rate of thrombotic events but also of bleeding events, particularly when the level of prophylactic anticoagulation was increased. Data on the contribution of platelets to these thrombotic events are discordant between reports, while the involvement of platelets in bleeding events has never been investigated. The objective of the present study was to assess platelet function during the first week of ICU hospitalization in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The mechanism of anaphylactic shock (AS) remains incompletely understood. The potassium channel blocker 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), the inhibitors of cystathionine γ-lyase (ICSE), dl-propargylglycine (DPG) or β-cyanoalanine (BCA), and the nitric oxide (NO) synthase produce vasoconstriction and could be an alternative for the treatment of AS. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the ability of L-NAME, ICSE alone or in combination with 4-AP to restore blood pressure (BP) and improve survival in ovalbumin (OVA) rats AS.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Early diagnosis and prompt management of acute mesenteric ischaemia (AMI) are key to survival but remain extremely difficult, due to vague and non-specific symptoms. Serum lactate (SL) is commonly presented as a useful biomarker for the diagnosis or prognosis of AMI. The aim of our study was test SL (1) as a diagnostic marker and (2) as a prognostic marker for AMI.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nitric oxide (NO) induces vasodilation in various types of shock. The effect of pharmacological modulation of the NO pathway in anaphylactic shock (AS) remains poorly understood. Our objective was to assess, through a systematic review, whether inhibition of NO pathways (INOP) was beneficial for the prevention and/or treatment of AS.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Few data are currently available on hypersensitivity transfusion reactions (HTRs) after exposure to fresh frozen plasma (FFP). Between 2000 and 2018, three different FFP production strategies have been used in France, leading to the concomitant use of different types of FFP. The objective of this study was to describe the rate of FFP-related HTRs and to assess the relative risk of each type of FFP.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aims: Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is increasingly being used in circulatory failure. The main indications are cardiogenic shock, post-cardiotomy cardiac failure, and refractory cardiac arrest. However, VA-ECMO weaning is particularly challenging, and weaning failure is reported to be as high as 50%, with increased related mortality.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Because of the high risk of thrombotic complications (TCs) during SARS-CoV-2 infection, several scientific societies have proposed to increase the dose of preventive anticoagulation, although arguments in favor of this strategy are inconsistent.

Research Question: What is the incidence of TC in critically ill patients with COVID-19 and what is the relationship between the dose of anticoagulant therapy and the incidence of TC?

Study Design And Methods: All consecutive patients referred to eight French ICUs for COVID-19 were included in this observational study. Clinical and laboratory data were collected from ICU admission to day 14, including anticoagulation status and thrombotic and hemorrhagic events.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Neurological manifestations are common in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but little is known about pathophysiological mechanisms. In this single-center study, we examined neurological manifestations in 58 patients, including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis and neuroimaging findings.

Methods: The study included 58 patients with COVID-19 and neurological manifestations in whom severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction screening and on CSF analysis were performed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To describe neuroimaging findings and to report the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with neurologic manifestations.

Methods: In this retrospective multicenter study (11 hospitals), we included 64 patients with confirmed COVID-19 with neurologic manifestations who underwent a brain MRI.

Results: The cohort included 43 men (67%) and 21 women (33%); their median age was 66 (range 20-92) years.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A 56-year-old man presented a particularly severe and multisystemic case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In addition to the common lung and quite common pulmonary embolism and kidney injuries, he presented ocular and intestinal injuries that, to our knowledge, have not been described in COVID-19 patients. Although it is difficult to make pathophysiological hypotheses about a single case, the multiplicity of injured organs argues for a systemic response to pulmonary infection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF