738 research outputs found
Ultrasound Guided Placement of Single-Lumen Peripheral Intravenous Catheters in the Internal Jugular Vein
Introduction: The peripheral internal jugular (IJ), also called the âeasy IJ,â is an alternative to peripheral venous access reserved for patients with difficult intravenous (IV) access. The procedure involves placing a single-lumen catheter in the IJ vein under ultrasound (US) guidance. As this technique is relatively new, the details regarding the ease of the procedure, how exactly it should be performed, and the safety of the procedure are uncertain. Our primary objective was to determine the success rate for peripheral IJ placement. Secondarily, we evaluated the time needed to complete the procedure and assessed for complications. Methods: This was a prospective, single-center study of US-guided peripheral IJ placement using a 2.5-inch, 18-gauge catheter on a convenience sample of patients with at least two unsuccessful attempts at peripheral IV placement by nursing staff. Peripheral IJ lines were placed by emergency medicine (EM) attending physicians and EM residents who had completed at least five IJ central lines. All physicians who placed lines for the study watched a 15-minute lecture about peripheral IJ technique. A research assistant monitored each line to assess for complications until the patient was discharged. Results: We successfully placed a peripheral IJ in 34 of 35 enrolled patients (97.1%). The median number of attempts required for successful cannulation was one (interquartile range (IQR): 1 to 2). The median time to successful line placement was 3 minutes and 6 seconds (IQR: 59 seconds to 4 minutes and 14 seconds). Two lines failed after placement, and one of the 34 successfully placed peripheral IJ lines (2.9%) had a complication â a local hematoma. There were, however, no arterial punctures or pneumothoraces. Although only eight of 34 lines were placed using sterile attire, there were no line infections. Conclusion: Our research adds to the growing body of evidence supporting US-guided peripheral internal jugular access as a safe and convenient procedure alternative for patients who have difficult IV access
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Vibrating vaginal balls to improve pelvic floor muscle performance in women after childbirth: Preliminary results (recruitment and survey) of a randomised controlled feasibility trial
Background:
Vibrating vaginal pelvic floor training balls are available in Austria and Germany to enhance womenâs pelvic floor muscles and thus prevent urinary incontinence and other pelvic floor problems following childbirth. Nonetheless, there is currently little empirical knowledge to substantiate their use or assess their relative effectiveness in comparison to current standard care, which involves pelvic floor muscle exercises [1].
Aims/research question:
This feasibility trial aims at assessing practical issues and feasibility of a future randomised controlled trial (RCT) to determine the effectiveness of vibrating vaginal pelvic floor training balls for postpartum pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation, at monitoring harms of the experimental intervention, and at exploring womenÂŽs perspectives on and experiences with the interventions and the trial [2].
Methods:
Design:
Single blind, randomised controlled feasibility trial with two parallel groups.
56 women from six weeks until six months postpartum are recruited in Vienna and randomised into one of two intervention groups to use either vibrating vaginal balls or a comparator pelvic floor muscle exercises for 12 weeks. As this is a feasibility study, study design features (recruitment, selection, randomisation, intervention and concordance, retention, data collection methods/tools, sample size calculation for full trial) are assessed, and participantsâ views and experiences are surveyed. Tested outcome measure, collected before and after the intervention, is pelvic floor muscle performance as reported by participants and measured by perineometry by a blinded assessor. Descriptive and inferential statistics and content analysis serve the preparation of the future trial.
Results:
The results of this feasibility trial will inform the design and conduct of a full randomised controlled trial and provide insight into the experiences of women regarding the interventions and study participation. At the conference, preliminary results concerning recruitment and participantsÂŽ opinion and experiences will be presented.
Relevance:
Knowledge about pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation after childbirth enables midwives to promote womenÂŽs pelvic floor health.
Recommendations/conclusions:
Recommendations/conclusions of this ongoing study will be available at the conference and focus on the feasibility of the planned RCT and on midwifery practice.
Ethical considerations:
Approved by the ethics committees of the Medical University of Vienna and City University London. Trial registration: NCT02355327.
Financing:
This is a PhD project, funded by a City University London Scholarship
Brightness induction and suprathreshold vision: Effects of age and visual field
AbstractA variety of visual capacities show significant age-related alterations. We assessed suprathreshold contrast and brightness perception across the lifespan in a large sample of healthy participants (N=155; 142) ranging in age from 16 to 80years. Experiment 1 used a quadrature-phase motion cancelation technique (Blakeslee & McCourt, 2008) to measure canceling contrast (in central vision) for induced gratings at two temporal frequencies (1Hz and 4Hz) at two test field heights (0.5° or 2°Ă38.7°; 0.052c/d). There was a significant age-related reduction in canceling contrast at 4Hz, but not at 1Hz. We find no age-related change in induction magnitude in the 1Hz condition. We interpret the age-related decline in grating induction magnitude at 4Hz to reflect a diminished capacity for inhibitory processing at higher temporal frequencies. In Experiment 2 participants adjusted the contrast of a matching grating (0.5° or 2°Ă38.7°; 0.052c/d) to equal that of both real (30% contrast, 0.052c/d) and induced (McCourt, 1982) standard gratings (100% inducing grating contrast; 0.052c/d). Matching gratings appeared in the upper visual field (UVF) and test gratings appeared in the lower visual field (LVF), and vice versa, at eccentricities of ±7.5°. Average induction magnitude was invariant with age for both test field heights. There was a significant age-related reduction in perceived contrast of stimuli in the LVF versus UVF for both real and induced gratings
An Improved Solver for the M/EEG Forward Problem
Noninvasive investigation of the brain activity via
electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography
(MEG) involves a typical inverse problem whose solution process
requires an accurate and fast forward solver. We propose the
Method of Fundamental Solutions (MFS) as a truly meshfree
alternative to the Boundary Element Method (BEM) for solving
the M/EEG forward problem. The solution of the forward
problem is obtained, via the Method of Particular Solutions
(MPS), by numerically solving a set of coupled boundary value
problems for the 3D Laplace equation. Numerical accuracy and
computational load are investigated for spherical geometries and
comparisons with a state-of-the-art BEM solver shows that the
proposed method is competitive
Low temperature structural phase transition and incommensurate lattice modulation in the spin gap compound BaCuSi2O6
Results of high resolution x-ray diffraction experiments are presented for
single crystals of the spin gap compound BaCuSiO in the temperature
range from 16 to 300 K. The data show clear evidence of a transition from the
room temperature tetragonal phase into an incommensurately modulated
orthorhombic structure below 100 K. This lattice modulation is
characterized by a resolution limited wave vector {\bf
q}=(0,0.13,0) and its 2 and 3 harmonics. The phase
transition is first order and exhibits considerable hysteresis. This
observation implies that the spin Hamiltonian representing the system is more
complex than originally thought.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
A Meshfree Solver for the MEG Forward Problem
Noninvasive estimation of brain activity via magnetoencephalography (MEG) involves an inverse problem whose solution requires an accurate and fast forward solver. To this end, we propose the Method of Fundamental Solutions (MFS) as a meshfree alternative to the Boundary Element Method (BEM). The solution of the MEG forward problem is obtained, via the Method of Particular
Solutions (MPS), by numerically solving a boundary value problem for the electric scalar potential, derived from the quasi-stationary approximation of Maxwellâs equations. The magnetic field is then computed by the Biot-Savart law. Numerical experiments have been carried out in a realistic single-shell head geometry. The proposed solver is compared with a state-of-the-art BEM solver. A good agreement and a reduced computational load show the attractiveness of the meshfree approach
STIMA DEL POTENZIALE ELETTRICO IN tDCS CON APPROCCIO MESHLESS INNOVATIVO
Transcranial DC stimulation (transcranial Direct Current Stimulation,
tDCS) is a non-invasive technique aimed at modifying neuronal activity for the purpose
therapeutic and / or for the improvement of mental performance. A continuous current of entity
modest (below the threshold of perception) is injected into the brain via electrodes placed on the
scalp surface to produce changes in long-term cortical activity.
Despite the increasing use of this and other similar techniques, and the relevant ones
applications - for example in the field of neuropsychological rehabilitation - their impact
on neuronal activity is not yet fully known, mainly due to the difficulty of
predict the spatial distribution of the current within the brain, and to determine the
optimal position and size of the electrodes
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