Higher Versus Lower Protein Delivery in Critically Ill Patients: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: Recent multicenter trials suggest that higher protein delivery may result in worse outcomes in critically ill patients, but uncertainty remains. An updated Bayesian meta-analysis of recent evidence was conducted to estimate the probabilities of beneficial and harmful treatment effects.

Data Sources: An updated systematic search was performed in three databases until September 4, 2024.

[How to certify death and the cause of death].

In this article 10 important questions for physicians and other health care providers who are confronted with death during practice of their profession are answered. In the vast majority of cases, the attending physician can perform postmortem examination of those deceased. This article describes how an postmortem examination should be carried out correctly, what to do in unclear circumstances surrounding death and when an unnatural death should be considered.

The volume-outcome relation for pulmonary endarterectomy in chronic thrombo-embolic pulmonary hypertension.

Background: We conducted a volume-outcome (V-O) meta-analysis of PEA procedures for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), to objectively determine the minimum required annual case load that can define a high-volume centre.

Methods: Three electronic databases were systematically queried until May 1st, 2024. Centres were divided in volume tertiles (Ts).

Bayesian Analytical Methods in Cardiovascular Clinical Trials: Why, When, and How.

The Bayesian analytical framework is clinically intuitive, characterised by the incorporation of previous evidence into the analysis and allowing an estimation of treatment effects and their associated uncertainties. The application of Bayesian statistical inference is not new to the cardiovascular field, as illustrated by various recent randomised trials that have applied a primary Bayesian analysis. Given the guideline-shaping character of trials, a thorough understanding of the concepts and technical details of Bayesian statistical methodology is of utmost importance to the modern practicing cardiovascular physician.

Defining the optimal annual institutional case volume for minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum through a systematic review of literature and meta-analysis of outcomes.

Background: The Nuss procedure is the accepted standard approach to correct pectus excavatum. Still, is associated with potential major complications that are in part believed to be preventable as they might be the consequence of institutional case-volume differences. The objective is to evaluate the presence of a volume-outcome relation for the Nuss procedure and determine the optimal annual institutional case-volume threshold, defining high-volume centers.