Trends in the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Literature: A Bibliometric Analysis in the COVID-19 Era.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) was first used in the 1970s. Its use is increasingly common in critical care and perioperative settings and has gained newfound prominence during COVID-19. To guide future research, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of ECMO literature. Thomson Reuters Web of Science was searched to March 7, 2021. Articles were ranked by total number of citations. Data was extracted from the 100 most cited papers relevant to ECMO for study design, topic, author, year, and institution. Journal impact factor for 2019 and Eigenfactor scores were also recorded. Our search retrieved a total of 18,802 articles. Median number of citations for the top 100 articles was 220 (range 157-1,819). These were published in 34 journals, with first authors originating from 15 countries. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery had the highest number of articles (n = 9) while Lancet publications had the most citations (n = 3,191). Use of ECMO was most commonly observed in cardiogenic shock or acute respiratory distress syndrome. United States had the greatest article output (n = 49). With 10 publications, 2013 was the most prolific year. Using linear regression, when controlled for time since publication, there was no statistically significant relationship between 2019 journal impact factor and number of article citations (p = .09). Top articles in the ECMO literature are of considerable impact and quality. As the United States produced the bulk of the prominent evidence base, and most data were regarding respiratory issues, outsized advances in ECMO may be possible within the United States during the COVID-19 era.

Rural emergency departments: A systematic review to develop a resource typology relevant to developed countries.

OBJECTIVE: Despite low patient numbers, rural emergency departments have a similar diversity of case presentations as urban tertiary hospitals, with the need to manage high-acuity cases with limited resources. There are no consistent descriptions of the resources available to rural emergency departments internationally, limiting the capacity to compare clinical protocols and standards of care across similarly resourced units. This review aimed to describe the range of human, physical and specialist resources described in rural emergency departments in developed countries and propose a typology for use internationally. DESIGN AND SETTING: A systematic literature search was performed for journal articles between 2000 and 2019 describing the staffing, access to radiology and laboratory investigations, and hospital inpatient specialists. RESULTS: Considerable diversity in defining rurality and in resource access was found within and between Australia, New Zealand, Canada and USA. DISCUSSION: A typology was developed to account for (a) emergency department staff on-floor, (b) emergency department staff on-call, (c) physical resources and (d) access to a specialist surgical service. This provides a valuable tool for relevant stakeholders to effectively communicate rural emergency department resources within a country and internationally. CONCLUSION: The proposed five-tiered typology draws together international literature regarding rural emergency department services. Although further research is required to test this tool, the formation of this common language allows a base for effective communication between governments, training providers and policy-makers who are seeking to improve health systems and health outcomes.

Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial of Video- Versus Recall-Assisted Reflection in Simulation-Based Teaching on Acquisition and Retention of Airway Skills Among Trainees Intubating Critically Ill Patients.

OBJECTIVES: Conventionally, simulation-based teaching involves reflection on recalled events (recall-assisted reflection). Instead of recall, video-assisted reflection may reduce recall bias and improve skills retention by contributing to visual memory. Here, we test the hypothesis that when compared with recall, video-assisted reflection results in higher acquisition and retention of skills involved in airway management among junior critical care doctors. DESIGN: Randomized control trial. Participants were randomized 1:1 to video-assisted reflection or recall-assisted reflection group. SETTING: University-affiliated tertiary care center. SUBJECTS: Junior critical care doctors. INTERVENTION: Video-assisted reflection. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: All participants underwent simulation-based teaching of technical and nontechnical airway skills involved in managing a critically ill patient. These skills were assessed before, post-workshop, and in the following fourth week, by two independent blinded assessors using a validated scoring tool. Quality of debrief was assessed using a validated questionnaire. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to assess time and group interaction. Forty doctors were randomized. At baseline, the groups had similar airway experience (p = 0.34) and skill scores (p = 0.97). There was a significant interaction between study groups and changes over time for total skill scores (F[2, 37] = 4.06; p = 0.02). Although both the study groups had similar and significant improvement in total skills scores at the postworkshop assessment, the decline in total skills scores at delayed assessment (F[1, 38] = 5.64; p = 0.02) was significantly more in the recall-assisted reflection group when compared with the video-assisted reflection group. This resulted in lower mean skill scores in the recall-assisted reflection group when compared with the video-assisted reflection group in the delayed assessment (89.45 [19.32] vs 110.10 [19.54]; p < 0.01). Better retention was predominantly in the nontechnical skills. The perceived quality of debrief was similar between the two groups. CONCLUSION: When compared with recall, video-assisted reflection resulted in similar improvement in airway skills, but better retention over time.

Review of topical gelatin-based haemostatic agents; an insidious culprit of intraoperative anaphylaxis?

BACKGROUND: An under-recognized complication of gelatin-based haemostatic agents is their potential to cause anaphylactic reactions. This review aims to collate and analyse case in the literature of intraoperative anaphylaxis secondary to locally applied haemostatic agents. METHODS: An electronic search was performed on databases Medline, Embase, Pubmed and ProQuest. A total of 7671 articles were reviewed from title and abstract. After exclusion criteria and duplicates removed, 19 articles with 21 cases were included for analysis. Data extracted from each of the articles included patient demographics, haemostatic agent used, surgery type, known allergies and any objective evidence of hypersensitivity post anaphylactic episode, that is tryptase levels, IgE levels, skin prick testing. RESULTS: Fifty-seven percent of cases involved patients <18 years of age; 57% of cases involved spinal surgery; 100% of cases displayed objective evidence of hypersensitivity (tryptase levels, bovine or porcine IgE levels, or skin prick testing). Thirty-three percent of patients had exposure preoperatively to a known agent causing anaphylaxis or allergy which would preclude the use of a gelatin-based haemostat. These products included vaccines, spam meats, red meat, Jell-O and CollaPlug. Gelatin-based haemostat agents included Floseal, Gelfoam, Surgiflo, fibrin glue, Avitene, haemofibrine sponge, topical bovine thrombin and thrombin-soaked gelatin. CONCLUSION: Increased awareness of allergy to gelatin-based haemostats for surgical and anaesthetic is imperative, with 33% of cases having a known contraindication to gelatin-based haemostat. This review highlights important aspects in the pre-operative patient history and post-event patient investigation that could assist anaesthetists and surgeons in the prevention of future events.