Adherence to the cardiac surgery checklist decreased mortality at a teaching hospital: A retrospective cohort study

Objective: To evaluate the impact of adherence to the cardiac surgical checklist on mortality at the teaching hospital. Methods: A retrospective cohort study after the implementation of the cardiac surgical safety checklist in a reference hospital in Latin America. All patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery and/or heart valve surgery from 2013 to 2019 were analyzed. After the implementation of the project InCor-Checklist “Five steps to safe cardiac surgery” in 2015, the correlation between adherence and completeness of this instrument with surgical mortality was assessed. The EuroSCORE II was used as a reference to assess the risk of expected mortality for patients. Cross-sectional questionnaires were during the implementation of the InCor-Checklist. To perform the correlation, Pearson's coefficient was calculated using R software. Results: Since 2013, data from 8139 patients have been analyzed. The average annual mortality was 5.98%. In 2015, the instrument was used in only 58% of patients; in contrast, it was used in 100% of patients in 2019. There was a decrease in surgical mortality from 8.22% to 3.13% for the same group of procedures. The results indicate that the greater the checklist use, the lower the surgical mortality (r = 88.9%). In addition, the greater the InCor-Checklist completeness, the lower the surgical mortality (r = 94.1%). Conclusion: In the formation of the surgical patient safety culture, the implementation and adherence to the InCor-Checklist “Five steps to safe cardiac surgery” was associated with decreased mortality after cardiac surgery

Association of alpha-thalassemia, TNF-alpha (-308GNA) and VCAM-1 (c.1238GNC) gene polymorphisms with cerebrovascular disease in a newborn cohort of 411 children with sickle cell anemia.

Cerebrovascular disease (CVD) is a severe complication associatedwith sickle cell anemia. Abnormal transcranial Doppler (TCD) identifies some children at high risk, but other markers would be helpful. This cohort study was aimed at evaluating the effects of genetic biomarkers on the risk of developing CVDin children fromMinasGerais, Brazil. Clinical and hematological data were retrieved from children's records. Outcomes studied were overt ischemic stroke and CVD (overt ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack, abnormal TCD, or abnormal cerebral angiography). Out of 411 children, 386 (93.9%) had SS genotype, 23 (5.6%) had Sβ0-thal and two had severe Sβ+-thal (0.5%). Frequency of CVD was lower in Sβ-thal group (p= 0.05).NoeffectofVCAM-1polymorphism on stroke or CVD risks was detected. Cumulative incidence of stroke was significantly higher for children with TNF-α A allele (p = 0.02) and lower for children with HBA deletion (p = 0.02). However, no association between CVD and TNF-α -308GNA was found. CVD cumulative incidence was significantly lower for children with HBA deletion (p= 0.004). This study found no association between VCAM1 c.1238GNC and stroke. An association between stroke and TNF-α -308A allele has been suggested. Our results have confirmed the protective role of HBA deletion against stroke and CVD

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data

Geoeconomic variations in epidemiology, ventilation management, and outcomes in invasively ventilated intensive care unit patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome: a pooled analysis of four observational studies

Background: Geoeconomic variations in epidemiology, the practice of ventilation, and outcome in invasively ventilated intensive care unit (ICU) patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remain unexplored. In this analysis we aim to address these gaps using individual patient data of four large observational studies. Methods: In this pooled analysis we harmonised individual patient data from the ERICC, LUNG SAFE, PRoVENT, and PRoVENT-iMiC prospective observational studies, which were conducted from June, 2011, to December, 2018, in 534 ICUs in 54 countries. We used the 2016 World Bank classification to define two geoeconomic regions: middle-income countries (MICs) and high-income countries (HICs). ARDS was defined according to the Berlin criteria. Descriptive statistics were used to compare patients in MICs versus HICs. The primary outcome was the use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) for the first 3 days of mechanical ventilation. Secondary outcomes were key ventilation parameters (tidal volume size, positive end-expiratory pressure, fraction of inspired oxygen, peak pressure, plateau pressure, driving pressure, and respiratory rate), patient characteristics, the risk for and actual development of acute respiratory distress syndrome after the first day of ventilation, duration of ventilation, ICU length of stay, and ICU mortality. Findings: Of the 7608 patients included in the original studies, this analysis included 3852 patients without ARDS, of whom 2345 were from MICs and 1507 were from HICs. Patients in MICs were younger, shorter and with a slightly lower body-mass index, more often had diabetes and active cancer, but less often chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure than patients from HICs. Sequential organ failure assessment scores were similar in MICs and HICs. Use of LTVV in MICs and HICs was comparable (42·4% vs 44·2%; absolute difference -1·69 [-9·58 to 6·11] p=0·67; data available in 3174 [82%] of 3852 patients). The median applied positive end expiratory pressure was lower in MICs than in HICs (5 [IQR 5-8] vs 6 [5-8] cm H2O; p=0·0011). ICU mortality was higher in MICs than in HICs (30·5% vs 19·9%; p=0·0004; adjusted effect 16·41% [95% CI 9·52-23·52]; p<0·0001) and was inversely associated with gross domestic product (adjusted odds ratio for a US$10 000 increase per capita 0·80 [95% CI 0·75-0·86]; p<0·0001). Interpretation: Despite similar disease severity and ventilation management, ICU mortality in patients without ARDS is higher in MICs than in HICs, with a strong association with country-level economic status