Plant poisoning: Increasing relevance, a problem of public health and education. North-Western Italy, Piedmont region

Indoor and outdoor plants are responsible for a rising number of accidental poisonings. Plant ingestions are among the top five causes of accidental poisonings in children younger than 5 years. Pets are also frequent victims of plant poisonings. Young children and pets will often chew and eat anything within reach, no matter how it tastes or if it is bitter. Eating a small amount of a plant may not always be a problem, but large or repeated doses may be extremely harmful. There is no easy test for knowing poisonous plants from those that are safe. Don't assume a plant is safe for humans just because animals or birds eat it without harm, and heating and cooking do not necessarily destroy the toxin in a mushroom or a plant. Regarding plant exposures and/or poisonings in Piedmont region, on average fifty cases per year were monitored by the Milan Poison Control Center at the Niguarda Hospital, Italy. This study was divided into provinces, ages and sex, place of exposures (home, school, at work); in addition some cases of group intoxication were monitored. Many plants cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Some plants have substances that are very irritating to the tongue, mouth and skin. The expositions mainly regard houseplants, garden or vegetable-garden plants, but the most severe and dangerous expositions are due to wild plants

Ventilation and outcomes following robotic-assisted abdominal surgery : an international, multicentre observational study

Background: International data on the epidemiology, ventilation practice, and outcomes in patients undergoing abdominal robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) are lacking. The aim of the study was to assess the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs), and to describe ventilator management after abdominal RAS. Methods: This was an international, multicentre, prospective study in 34 centres in nine countries. Patients >= 18 yr of age undergoing abdominal RAS were enrolled between April 2017 and March 2019. The Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia (ARISCAT) score was used to stratify for higher risk of PPCs (>= 26). The primary outcome was the incidence of PPCs. Secondary endpoints included the preoperative risk for PPCs and ventilator management. Results: Of 1167 subjects screened, 905 abdominal RAS patients were included. Overall, 590 (65.2%) patients were at increased risk for PPCs. Meanwhile, 172 (19%) patients sustained PPCs, which occurred more frequently in 132 (22.4%) patients at increased risk, compared with 40 (12.7%) patients at lower risk of PPCs (absolute risk difference: 12.2% [95% confidence intervals (CI), 6.8-17.6%]; P<0.001). Plateau and driving pressures were higher in patients at increased risk, compared with patients at low risk of PPCs, but no ventilatory variables were independently associated with increased occurrence of PPCs. Development of PPCs was associated with a longer hospital stay. Conclusions: One in five patients developed one or more PPCs (chiefly unplanned oxygen requirement), which was associated with a longer hospital stay. No ventilatory variables were independently associated with PPCs