Cerebral NIRS as a marker of superior vena cava oxygen saturation in neonates with congenital heart disease.

Objectives: To investigate the correlation between cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) (rSO2c) and superior vena cava venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) in newborn patients with congenital heart disease (CHD).

Background: NIRS is a noninvasive method to monitor hemoglobin oxygen saturation using nonpulsatile oximetry.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed perioperative data from 100 newborn patients who underwent cardiac surgery for CHD.

Impact of a functional restoration program on pain and health-related quality of life in patients with chronic low back pain.

Objective: Functional restoration programs for chronic low back pain (CLBP) have been shown to be successful in improving function and, to a lesser extent, in reducing pain. The Munich Functional Restoration Program (MFRP) is a 4-week outpatient program designed to reduce pain and to improve health-related quality of life in patients with a long history of CLBP.

Design: In a retrospective matched concurrent-controls therapeutic study, 44 patients with CLBP, who had either undergone MFRP or received an outpatient standard treatment (control) after initial evaluation at the pain center, completed questionnaires 1 year after the respective therapy (t1).