Critical care admission of South African (SA) surgical patients: Results of the SA Surgical Outcomes Study

Background. Appropriate critical care admissions are an important component of surgical care. However, there are few data describing postoperative critical care admission in resource-limited low- and middle-income countries.Objective. To describe the demographics, organ failures, organ support and outcomes of non-cardiac surgical patients admitted to critical care units in South Africa (SA).Methods. The SA Surgical Outcomes Study (SASOS) was a 7-day national, multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study of all patients ≥16 years of age undergoing inpatient non-cardiac surgery between 19 and 26 May 2014 at 50 government-funded hospitals. All patients admitted to critical care units during this study were included for analysis.Results. Of the 3 927 SASOS patients, 255 (6.5%) were admitted to critical care units; of these admissions, 144 (56.5%) were planned, and 111 (43.5%) unplanned. The incidence of confirmed or strongly suspected infection at the time of admission was 35.4%, with a significantly higher incidence in unplanned admissions (49.1 v. 24.8%, p<0.001). Unplanned admission cases were more frequently hypovolaemic, had septic shock, and required significantly more inotropic, ventilatory and renal support in the first 48 hours after admission. Overall mortality was 22.4%, with unplanned admissions having a significantly longer critical care length of stay and overall mortality (33.3 v. 13.9%, p<0.001).Conclusion. The outcome of patients admitted to public sector critical care units in SA is strongly associated with unplanned admissions. Adequate ‘high care-dependency units’ for postoperative care of elective surgical patients could potentially decrease the burden on critical care resources in SA by 23%. This study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02141867)

Ethical use of new technologies: where do Indian journalists stand?

While the study of the ethical use of new technologies in journalistic work is imperative given the widespread use of such technology, such studies are few and far between, particularly for the developing world. This paper provides results of an exploratory, qualitative study of Indian journalists' views about the ethical use of new computer and Internet-based technologies for news gathering and reporting in India. New digital technology was widely accessible to the respondents, but not all journalists were given the tools by their employers. Opinions about ethical news practices using new technology were mixed and revealed a few grey areas. English language national newspapers tended to indicate that their standards were strict and that ethical violations, exacerbated by new technology, occurred mostly in vernacular newspapers. On the whole, respondents had not heard often of other organizations or individuals committing unethical practices such as plagiarism and lack of attribution using new technology. Still, some beliefs indicated uncertainty about ethical practice or breach of ethical principles. The findings of this study have implications for journalism education and on-the-job training of Indian journalists, as well as for formulating ethical codes of journalism, particularly with regard to new media. Indian codes focus more on the roles journalists should play in society and do not provide very specific tactical guidance for everyday news gathering. Coupled with lack of training, this creates a situation where perceptions about journalistic ethics are sometimes vague and variant

Composição tecidual dos cortes da carcaça de ovinos jovens e adultos Tecidual composition of carcass of cuts of young and adult sheep

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a composição tecidual dos cortes da carcaça de ovinos jovens e adultos. Utilizaram-se 36 animais &frac12; Ile de France &frac12; Ideal (12 cordeiros não castrados, 12 ovelhas e 12 capões). Os animais foram criados em pasto de Tifton-85 e suplementados com concentrado em 1% em relação ao peso corporal. Os cordeiros foram desmamados com aproximadamente 17&plusmn;0,87 kg de peso corporal e abatidos aos 32 kg, com aproximadamente cinco meses de idade; as ovelhas e os capões foram abatidos com aproximadamente 55&plusmn;1,26 kg e 60 meses de idade. O corte da carcaça com maior porcentual de músculos foi o da perna, seguido da paleta e do lombo, entre as categorias animais estudadas. Os cordeiros apresentaram o maior porcentual de ossos, nos cortes da carcaça estudados, do que os animais adultos. As gorduras subcutânea, intermuscular e total, dos cortes da carcaça, foram maiores nos animais adultos do que nos jovens, e o lombo teve maior porcentual de gordura total, seguido da paleta e da perna. Concluiu-se que as categorias animais influenciam a composição tecidual dos cortes da carcaça, e o tecido adiposo é um dos principais responsáveis por tais diferenças.<br>The objective of this work was to evaluate tecidual composition of the cuts carcass of young and adult sheep, in thirty-six &frac12; Ile de France &frac12; Polwarth sheeps (12 uncastrated lambs, 12 ewes and 12 wether). Animals were grown in grazing system based on Tifton-85 pastures and were supplemented with concentrate. Lambs were weaned close to 17&plusmn;0.87 kg and slaughtered at 32 kg and about 5 months old. Ewes and wethers were slaughtered close to 55&plusmn;1.26 kg and 60 months of age. Higher values of muscle percentage in carcass cuts, were found: in leg, followed by shoulder and loin, among animal categories. Bone percentage in carcass of cuts was higher in lambs than in adult animals. Subcutaneous, intermuscle and total fat in the carcass of cuts were higher in adult than in young animals. Loin had higher value of total fat, followed by shoulder and leg with the smaller value. Animal categories affected tecidual composition of the carcass of cuts, being adipose the main tissue responsable for these differences