Current Status of Radioisotope Applications in Defence

Reviews the current status of radioisotope applications in Defence- R&D Establishments, Defence Inspectorates, Ordnance Factories, Public Sector Undertakings under the Defence Ministry, Army, Navy and Air Force Establishments and Military Hospitals. It also lists the users of film badge service in Defence. Training programmes in radioisotope applications in Defence conducted by DRDO organisations have also been highlighted

Artificial intelligence-based decision support software to improve the efficacy of acute stroke pathway in the NHS: an observational study

IntroductionIn a drip-and-ship model for endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), early identification of large vessel occlusion (LVO) and timely referral to a comprehensive center (CSC) are crucial when patients are admitted to an acute stroke center (ASC). Several artificial intelligence (AI) decision-aid tools are increasingly being used to facilitate the rapid identification of LVO. This retrospective cohort study aimed to evaluate the impact of deploying e-Stroke AI decision support software in the hyperacute stroke pathway on process metrics and patient outcomes at an ASC in the United Kingdom.MethodsExcept for the deployment of e-Stroke on 01 March 2020, there were no significant changes made to the stroke pathway at the ASC. The data were obtained from a prospective stroke registry between 01 January 2019 and 31 March 2021. The outcomes were compared between the 14 months before and 12 months after the deployment of AI (pre-e-Stroke cohort vs. post-e-Stroke cohort) on 01 March 2020. Time window analyses were performed using Welch’s t-test. Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel test was used to compare changes in disability at 3 months assessed by modified Rankin Score (mRS) ordinal shift analysis, and Fisher’s exact test was used for dichotomised mRS analysis.ResultsIn the pre-e-Stroke cohort, 19 of 22 patients referred received EVT. In the post-e-Stroke cohort, 21 of the 25 patients referred were treated. The mean door-in-door-out (DIDO) and door-to-referral times in pre-e-Stroke vs. post-e-Stroke cohorts were 141 vs. 79 min (difference 62 min, 95% CI 96.9–26.8 min, p < 0.001) and 71 vs. 44 min (difference 27 min, 95% CI 47.4–5.4 min, p = 0.01), respectively. The adjusted odds ratio (age and NIHSS) for mRS ordinal shift analysis at 3 months was 3.14 (95% CI 0.99–10.51, p = 0.06) and the dichotomized mRS 0–2 at 3 months was 16% vs. 48% (p = 0.04) in the pre- vs. post-e-Stroke cohorts, respectively.ConclusionIn this single-center study in the United Kingdom, the DIDO time significantly decreased since the introduction of e-Stroke decision support software into an ASC hyperacute stroke pathway. The reduction in door-in to referral time indicates faster image interpretation and referral for EVT. There was an indication of an increased proportion of patients regaining independent function after EVT. However, this should be interpreted with caution given the small sample size. Larger, prospective studies and further systematic real-world evaluation are needed to demonstrate the widespread generalisability of these findings

Cerebral perfusion in sepsis

This article is one of ten reviews selected from the Yearbook of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2010 (Springer Verlag) and co-published as a series in Critical Care. Other articles in the series can be found online at http://ccforum.com/series/yearbook. Further information about the Yearbook of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine is available from http://www.springer.com/series/2855

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Effects of fluoxetine on functional outcomes after acute stroke (FOCUS): a pragmatic, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial

Background Results of small trials indicate that fluoxetine might improve functional outcomes after stroke. The FOCUS trial aimed to provide a precise estimate of these effects. Methods FOCUS was a pragmatic, multicentre, parallel group, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial done at 103 hospitals in the UK. Patients were eligible if they were aged 18 years or older, had a clinical stroke diagnosis, were enrolled and randomly assigned between 2 days and 15 days after onset, and had focal neurological deficits. Patients were randomly allocated fluoxetine 20 mg or matching placebo orally once daily for 6 months via a web-based system by use of a minimisation algorithm. The primary outcome was functional status, measured with the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), at 6 months. Patients, carers, health-care staff, and the trial team were masked to treatment allocation. Functional status was assessed at 6 months and 12 months after randomisation. Patients were analysed according to their treatment allocation. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN83290762. Findings Between Sept 10, 2012, and March 31, 2017, 3127 patients were recruited. 1564 patients were allocated fluoxetine and 1563 allocated placebo. mRS data at 6 months were available for 1553 (99·3%) patients in each treatment group. The distribution across mRS categories at 6 months was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (common odds ratio adjusted for minimisation variables 0·951 [95% CI 0·839–1·079]; p=0·439). Patients allocated fluoxetine were less likely than those allocated placebo to develop new depression by 6 months (210 [13·43%] patients vs 269 [17·21%]; difference 3·78% [95% CI 1·26–6·30]; p=0·0033), but they had more bone fractures (45 [2·88%] vs 23 [1·47%]; difference 1·41% [95% CI 0·38–2·43]; p=0·0070). There were no significant differences in any other event at 6 or 12 months. Interpretation Fluoxetine 20 mg given daily for 6 months after acute stroke does not seem to improve functional outcomes. Although the treatment reduced the occurrence of depression, it increased the frequency of bone fractures. These results do not support the routine use of fluoxetine either for the prevention of post-stroke depression or to promote recovery of function. Funding UK Stroke Association and NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme

Assessment of patient satisfaction with the preoperative anesthetic evaluation

Endale Gebreegziabher Gebremedhn, Vidhya Nagaratnam Department of Anesthesia, School of Medicine, Gondar College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia Background: The evaluation of patient satisfaction is a core aspect of the continuous quality improvement in anesthesia service that can be affected by the preoperative anesthetist visit. This visit enables the anesthetist to know about the patient's general health status and the nature of surgery, to choose the type of anesthesia, and to discuss perioperative complications and their management with the patient. Patients have sometimes complained about the information given during the preoperative anesthetic evaluation in the University of Gondar teaching and referral hospital. The aim of this study was to determine the level of patient satisfaction with the preoperative anesthetist visit. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from February 15 to April 15, 2013. All consecutive elective patients who were operated upon under anesthesia during the study period were interviewed 24 hours after operation. A pretested questionnaire and checklists, which were developed based on the hospital's anesthetic evaluation sheet, were used for data collection. Results: A total of 116 elective patients were operated upon under anesthesia during the study period. Of these, 102 patients were included in our study, with a response rate of 87.9%. Anesthetists introduced themselves to ~24% patients; provided information about anesthesia to ~32%, postoperative complications to ~21%, postoperative analgesia to ~18, and postoperative nausea and vomiting to ~21%; and spent adequate time with ~74%. Patients' questions were answered by the anesthetist in ~65% of cases, and ~65% of patients had reduced anxiety after the anesthetist visit. The patients' overall satisfaction with the preoperative anesthetist visit was ~65%. Conclusion and recommendation: Patient satisfaction with the preoperative anesthetic evaluation was low compared with the Royal College of Anaesthetists standards. Preoperative anesthetic evaluation should be emphasized. Keywords: anesthetist visit, elective surger