Effectiveness, Safety, and Predictive Potential in Ultrasound-Guided Stellate Ganglion Blockades for the Treatment of Sympathetically Maintained Pain.

Background: Evaluating the effectiveness of stellate ganglion blockades (SGBs) proves challenging, since the criteria defining a successful blockade are controversial. This may be one reason for the scarcity of studies on this topic, thus forcing clinical guidelines to remain conservative in recommending SGBs. Moreover, factors to predict which patients will benefit from blockade series are not yet available.

Association Between the Cerebral Autoregulation Index (Pressure Reactivity), Patient's Clinical Outcome, and Quality of ABP(t) and ICP(t) Signals for CA Monitoring.

: The aim of this study was to explore the association between the cerebral autoregulation (CA) index, the pressure reactivity index (PRx), the patient's clinical outcome, and the quality of arterial blood pressure (ABP(t)) and intracranial blood pressure (ICP(t)) signals by comparing two filtering methods to derive the PRx. : Data from 60 traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients were collected. Moving averaging and FIR (Finite Impulse Response) filtering were performed on the ABP(t) and ICP(t) signals, and the PRx was estimated from both filtered datasets.

Essential Role of Patient Blood Management in a Pandemic: A Call for Action.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a pandemic. Global health care now faces unprecedented challenges with widespread and rapid human-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and high morbidity and mortality with COVID-19 worldwide. Across the world, medical care is hampered by a critical shortage of not only hand sanitizers, personal protective equipment, ventilators, and hospital beds, but also impediments to the blood supply.

Dissociation proneness and pain hyposensitivity in current and remitted borderline personality disorder.

Background: Stress-related dissociation has been shown to negatively co-vary with pain perception in current borderline personality disorder (cBPD). While remission of the disorder (rBPD) is associated with normalized pain perception, it remains unclear whether dissociation proneness is still enhanced in this group and how this feature interacts with pain sensitivity.

Methods: Twenty-five cBPD patients, 20 rBPD patients and 24 healthy controls (HC) participated in an experiment using the script-driven imagery approach.

Effects of Treating an Overactive Urinary Bladder in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the anticholinergic therapy with oxybutynin and the effects of daily transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) on the quality of life of patients with an overactive bladder (OAB) and multiple sclerosis (MS).

Patients And Methods: The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial. The patients who suffer from MS underwent urodynamic tests which showed that they had an OAB.

Hyperoxia Alters Ultrastructure and Induces Apoptosis in Leukemia Cell Lines.

Oxygenation conditions are crucial for growth and tumor progression. Recent data suggests a decrease in cancer cell proliferation occurring after exposure to normobaric hyperoxia. Those changes are associated with fractal dimension.

Oxidant/Antioxidant Status of Breast Cancer Patients in Pre- and Post-Operative Periods.

Background And Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the level of oxidative stress before and after breast cancer surgery.

Materials And Methods: Malondialdehyde (MDA) level was tested using a thiobarbituric acid (TBA) assay based on the release of a color complex due to TBA reaction with MDA. The glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity was evaluated by enzymatic conjugation of reduced glutathione (GSH) with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene.

Preoperative Depression and Plasma Cortisol Levels as Predictors of Delirium after Cardiac Surgery.

Background: Delirium is common in old patients who undergo cardiac surgery, and it is associated with adverse outcomes. The genesis of delirium is thought to be multi-factorial, but it is still not well understood. Symptoms of depression and elevated cortisol level have been described in some previous studies as factors associated with delirium, suggesting a shared pathophysiology.

Tissue oxygen saturation changes and postoperative complications in cardiac surgery: a prospective observational study.

Background: Cardiac surgery with extracorporeal circulation (ECC) can induce microvascular dysfunction and tissue hypoperfusion. We hypothesized that the alterations in near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)-derived parameters would be associated with post-operative complications in cardiac surgery patients.

Methods: Prospective observational study performed at two University Hospitals.

Corticosteroids for treating sepsis in children and adults.

Background: Sepsis occurs when an infection is complicated by organ failure. Sepsis may be complicated by impaired corticosteroid metabolism. Thus, providing corticosteroids may benefit patients.

Levetiracetam as preventive treatment in adults with migraine: an up-to-date systematic review and quantitative meta-analysis.

Purpose: The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate current evidence on the efficacy and safety of levetiracetam as migraine prophylaxis in adult patients suffering from migraine attacks.

Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and International Web of Science were searched (last search in August 2018) for studies investigating levetiracetam for migraine prophylaxis in adults. Both randomized and non-randomized trials were eligible.

THE ROLE OF PARAVERTEBRAL BLOCKS IN AMBULATORY SURGERY: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.

Ambulatory surgery often involves surgical procedures on the thorax, abdomen and limbs, which can be associated with substantial postoperative pain. The aim of this narrative review is to provide an analysis of the effectiveness of paravertebral block (PVB) alone or in combination with general anaesthesia, in this setting, with an emphasis on satisfactory postoperative analgesia in comparison to other modalities. We have conducted a search of current medical literature written in English through PubMed, Google Scholar and Ovid Medline®.

Characteristics and outcomes of patients with grill-related Burn injuries admitted to the Cologne Burn Center, Germany.

Background: Grilling has become increasingly common in Germany. Although grilling is considered a non-negligible household burn hazard, few reports have assessed this type of injury. This study aimed to determine the patterns and characteristics of grill-related burn injuries and to compare these with other types of burn injuries.

The Role of Cardiac Ganglia in the Prevention of Coronary Atherosclerosis: An Analytical Examination of Cholesterol-fed Rabbits.

Background: The heart is innervated by the autonomic nervous system, which contributes to the control of the heart’s rhythm and coronary circulation. It has been suggested that the cardiac fibers of the vagus nerve play important roles in controlling circulatory functions and in protecting against atherosclerotic pathologies in coronary arteries.

Aims: To investigate the presence of atherosclerotic differences in the coronary arteries of cholesterol-fed rabbits by measuring the density of cardiac ganglia neurons.

Comparison of the characteristics of hot tap water scalds and other scalds in Germany.

Background/aim: Mortality associated with hot tap water scalds remains significant, owing to a lack of up-to-date regulations on tap water temperature. We aimed to evaluate the effect of hot tap water scalds on patients admitted to our adult burn intensive care unit (BICU), and compare them to those with other scald types.

Methods: We enrolled patients treated for scalds at the BICU of Cologne-Merheim Medical Center from 1989 to 2014, and retrospectively analyzed their age, sex-specific differences, characteristics, length of hospital stay, number of operations, and mortality.

Dose Escalation of Naltrexone to Reduce Stress Responses Associated With Opioid Antagonist Induction: A Double-blind Randomized Trial.

Context: To describe the role of opioid antagonist induction in reducing stress response and withdrawal symptoms.

Objective: Complexity of naltrexone induction is limiting broader applicability of opioid antagonist-assisted abstinence. The aim of this clinical trial was to assess the stress response to 2 low-dose naltrexone induction protocols under minimal oral sedation.

Fibronectin and its soluble EDA-FN isoform as biomarkers for inflammation and sepsis.

Fibronectin (FN) is a widely distributed glycoprotein which is present in different bodily fluids, on the surface of cells and in the extracellular matrix (ECM). It plays roles in various processes, including cell adhesion, migration, growth, proliferation, and tissue repair. Fibronectin exists in 2 forms: a soluble, inactive molecule, called plasma FN (pFN), which is synthesized by hepatocytes in the liver, and an insoluble cellular form (cFN), which is produced locally by different types of cells and is a key component of the ECM.

Feasibility of Pure Silk for the Treatment of Large Superficial Burn Wounds Covering Over 10% of the Total Body Surface.

Large, superficial burn wounds require many painful dressing changes and, thus, dressings that can stay on the wound and peel off during re-epithelization such as Biobrane® and Suprathel® are preferred, but they are costly. Natural silk has shown good outcomes with respect to wound healing, scarring, and patient satisfaction. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of natural silk compared with that of initially used dressings for the treatment of superficial burn wounds greater than 10% of the TBSA.

Factors Associated With Long-term Risk of Recurrence After Percutaneous Radiofrequency Thermocoagulation of the Gasserian Ganglion for Patients With Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Multicenter Retrospective Analysis.

Objective: This study aimed to estimate risk factors associated with recurrence after radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RFT) of the Gasserian ganglion among a large sample of patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) during a long-term follow-up.

Materials And Methods: We performed a multicenter retrospective analysis of data from 1481 patients with TN who underwent RFT from 2005 through 2017. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) was assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method.

Real fasting times and incidence of pulmonary aspiration in children: Results of a German prospective multicenter observational study.

Background: Prolonged fasting before anesthesia is still common in children. Shortened fasting times may improve the metabolic and hemodynamic condition during induction of anesthesia and the perioperative experience for parents and children and simplify perioperative management. As a consequence, some centers in Germany have reduced fasting requirements, but the national guidelines are still unchanged.