Biomarker-guided intervention to prevent acute kidney injury after major surgery (BigpAK-2 trial): study protocol for an international, prospective, randomised controlled multicentre trial

IntroductionPrevious studies demonstrated that the implementation of the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guideline-based bundle, consisting of different supportive measures in patients at high risk for acute kidney injury (AKI), might reduce rate and severity of AKI after surgery. However, the effects of the care bundle in broader population of patients undergoing surgery require confirmation.Methods and analysisThe BigpAK-2 trial is an international, randomised, controlled, multicentre trial. The trial aims to enrol 1302 patients undergoing major surgery who are subsequently admitted to the intensive care or high dependency unit and are at high-risk for postoperative AKI as identified by urinary biomarkers (tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2*insulin like growth factor binding protein 7 (TIMP-2)*IGFBP7)). Eligible patients will be randomised to receive either standard of care (control) or a KDIGO-based AKI care bundle (intervention). The primary endpoint is the incidence of moderate or severe AKI (stage 2 or 3) within 72 hours after surgery, according to the KDIGO 2012 criteria. Secondary endpoints include adherence to the KDIGO care bundle, occurrence and severity of any stage of AKI, change in biomarker values during 12 hours after initial measurement of (TIMP-2)*(IGFBP7), number of free days of mechanical ventilation and vasopressors, need for renal replacement therapy (RRT), duration of RRT, renal recovery, 30-day and 60-day mortality, intensive care unit length-of-stay and hospital length-of-stay and major adverse kidney events. An add-on study will investigate blood and urine samples from recruited patients for immunological functions and kidney damage.Ethics and disseminationThe BigpAK-2 trial was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Medical Faculty of the University of Münster and subsequently by the corresponding Ethics Committee of the participating sites. A study amendment was approved subsequently. In the UK, the trial was adopted as an NIHR portfolio study. Results will be disseminated widely and published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at conferences and will guide patient care and further research.Trial registration numberNCT04647396

Radiologic Imaging of the In Vivo Position of the New Supraglottic Airway Device Spritztube® in an Adult Patient—A Case Report

Spritztube® is a new supraglottic airway device that allows either extraglottic ventilation or orotracheal intubation with the same device. The aim of the present report is to provide the first radiologic images of the Spritztube in situ in a living human and to assess the depth of insertion and its anatomical relationships in vivo. We present the case of a 55-year-old man who was admitted to our centre to perform an interventional neuroradiological procedure. We obtained and analysed radiologic images of the head and neck of an adult patient to ascertain the position of the cuffs of the Spritztube relative to different anatomic structures. The insertion and depth of the device, correct tip positioning, effects of the distal and proximal cuffs on adjacent soft tissues, and the position of the pharyngeal cuff from the cranial to the hyoid bone were evaluated. Our report shows that Spritztube could be helpful in maintaining an adequate airway during radiologic procedures

New Light on the Mid‐Fourteenth‐Century Chace

The recent discovery of two canons in the manuscript containing the famous Tournai Mass changes the history of canonic genres. This article situates the new Tournai canons within the surviving mid-fourteenth-century canonic repertoire from Francophone regions of Europe, especially canonic chaces in the Ivrea manuscript and the works of Machaut. To achieve this, we examine current theories of canonic techniques before setting out our own analytical framework. In a departure from the dominant view informed by the use of color and talea in tenors of the fourteenth-century isorhythmic motet, we propose instead that the solus tenor can in part inform a better understanding of early strategies for planning and composing canons. Alternatively, some canons can be better appreciated from the basis of a ‘top-down’ compositional approach found principally in the song repertoire of the mid fourteenth-century ars nova. Within this analytical framework, shared principles of isoperiodicity, voice exchange, melodic permutation and melodic design across the mid-fourteenth century French repertoire point to a common stock of techniques for composing canons. The Tournai canons provide early witnesses to these techniques, although they avoid more exuberant stylistic elements such as hocket

The PROVENT-C19 registry: A study protocol for international multicenter SIAARTI registry on the use of prone positioning in mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19 ARDS

Background: The worldwide use of prone position (PP) for invasively ventilated patients with COVID-19 is progressively increasing from the first pandemic wave in everyday clinical practice. Among the suggested treatments for the management of ARDS patients, PP was recommended in the Surviving Sepsis Campaign COVID-19 guidelines as an adjuvant therapy for improving ventilation. In patients with severe classical ARDS, some authors reported that early application of prolonged PP sessions significantly decreases 28-day and 90-day mortality. Methods and analysis: Since January 2021, the COVID19 Veneto ICU Network research group has developed and implemented nationally and internationally the "PROVENT-C19 Registry", endorsed by the Italian Society of Anesthesia Analgesia Resuscitation and Intensive Care…'(SIAARTI). The PROVENT-C19 Registry wishes to describe 1. The real clinical practice on the use of PP in COVID-19 patients during the pandemic at a National and International level; and 2. Potential baseline and clinical characteristics that identify subpopulations of invasively ventilated patients with COVID-19 that may improve daily from PP therapy. This web-based registry will provide relevant information on how the database research tools may improve our daily clinical practice. Conclusions: This multicenter, prospective registry is the first to identify and characterize the role of PP on clinical outcome in COVID-19 patients. In recent years, data emerging from large registries have been increasingly used to provide real-world evidence on the effectiveness, quality, and safety of a clinical intervention. Indeed observation-based registries could be effective tools aimed at identifying specific clusters of patients within a large study population with widely heterogeneous clinical characteristics. Trial registration: The registry was registered (ClinicalTrial.Gov Trials Register NCT04905875) on May 28,2021