Duration of antibiotics for penetrating spine trauma: a systematic review.

Penetrating trauma to the spine with resultant spinal and paraspinal infection represents a potentially devastating injury for which there is little consensus regarding management. The duration, route and type of antibiotics required to prevent infections such as epidural abscess, vertebral osteomyelitis, and discitis is remain controversial. Several studies support standard prophylactic antimicrobial treatment for 48 hours following penetrating spinal trauma while others demonstrate that extended therapy for one week or greater is necessary to reduce risk of infection.

Protocolized Based Management of Cerebrospinal Fluid Drains in Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repair Procedures.

Background: Spinal cord ischemia (SCI) resulting in paraplegia is a devastating complication associated with thoracic endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (TEVAR) whose incidence has significantly declined over time. In this review, we present our experience with a multidisciplinary clinical protocol for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drain management in patients undergoing TEVAR. Furthermore, we aimed to characterize complications of CSF drain placement in a large, single center experience of patients who underwent TEVAR.

Handheld Point-of-Care Ultrasound Probes: The New Generation of POCUS.

Recent advances in ultrasound technology have made ultrasound equipment more versatile, portable, and accessible than ever. Modern handheld, ultra-portable ultrasound devices have been developed by multiple companies and are contributing to make bedside ultrasound evaluation a practice available to all physicians. The significance of making point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) a common practice that all physicians eventually can use in the evaluation of their patients is changing the way medicine is practiced, allowing physicians to quickly obtain valuable information to complement the traditional physical examination.

Cardiopulmonary Bypass Suppresses Forkhead Box O3 and Downstream Autophagy in the Diabetic Human Heart.

Background: Autophagy is an integral component of cellular homeostasis and metabolism. The exact mechanism of impaired autophagy in diabetes mellitus is unknown. Forkhead Box O3 (FOXO3α) is a key regulator of oxidative stress-related responses.