Combination of Intranasal Dexmedetomidine and Midazolam for Sedation in Pediatric Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Retrospective Observational Study.

Background: Intranasal dexmedetomidine associated with midazolam has been used for pediatric magnetic resonance imaging studies because immobility is a fundamental requirement for correct execution. Many studies have shown dexmedetomidine to be a good option for non-operating room sedation. However, identifying the optimal dose remains a key challenge, especially for pediatric patients.

Relationship between sonorheometry parameters and laboratory values in a critical care setting in Italy: a retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: This preliminary retrospective cohort study analyzed the relationship between the parameters provided by sonorheometry device Quantra and the coagulation values obtained from standard venous blood samples in patients admitted in intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: We reviewed medical charts of 13 ICU adult patients in whom at least one coagulation study with Quantra was performed. The relationship between Quantra and laboratory data was analyzed with the Spearman rank correlation coefficient (rho).

Advance in hyperbaric oxygen therapy in spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe lesion comporting various motor, sensory and sphincter dysfunctions, abnormal muscle tone and pathological reflex, resulting in a severe and permanent lifetime disability. The primary injury is the immediate effect of trauma and includes compression, contusion, and shear injury to the spinal cord. A secondary and progressive injury usually follows, beginning within minutes and evolving over several hours after the first ones.

[Digital and forehead pulse oximetry in Intensive Care Unit. A comparison].

Pulse oximetry is now a widely available technology that provides easy and continuous reliable measurements of oxygen saturation, the percentage of O2 bound to Hb (SpO2). Pulse oximetry has become a standard monitoring not only in intensive care, but also in other clinical settings, although several factors can interfere with a correct reading, as low perfusion conditions, such as low cardiac output, vasoconstriction, hypothermia. We performed a prospective observational study in two groups of twenty-eight patients admitted to the ICU, in which we compared the values ​​obtained (SpO2) with digital and forehead pulse oximetry, with arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) obtained from blood gas analysis (EGA).

Does brachial blood pressure need to predict cardiovascular outcomes in end stage renal disease? An update.

Hypertension is responsible for a significantly increased burden of cardiovascular events and it is cause and a consequence of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and a determinant factor in its progression to End Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD). Therefore, nephrologists have been focusing their attention on hypertension control to prevent CKD progression, delaying it but with poor results on cardiovascular mortality reduction. An important effect is the difficulty to adequately reduce BP levels in CKD patients and especially in dialysis patients despite the polipharmacological therapy.

[The Macklin effect in the etiology for pneumediastinum in chest trauma].

This case report has the scope to review the etiology and pathophysiology of pneumomediastinum in severe blunt trauma, with a special interest to its more frequent origin: the Macklin effect. The Macklin effect is a pathophysiologic process characterized by the blunt traumatic alveolar ruptures, air dissection along bronchovascular sheaths, with the formation of blunt pulmonary interstitial emphysema, radiologic marker, until the formation of a pneumomediastinum. Its premature diagnostic acknowledgment is important in the managing of the blunt chest trauma.