Medical Clearance for Common Dental Procedures.

Medical consultations before dental procedures present opportunities to integrate cross-disciplinary preventive care and improve patient health. This article presents recommendations related to patients with certain medical conditions who are planning to undergo common dental procedures, such as cleanings, extractions, restorations, endodontic procedures, abscess drainage, and mucosal biopsies. Specifically, prophylactic antibiotics are not recommended for preventing prosthetic joint infections or infectious endocarditis except in certain circumstances. Anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapies typically should not be suspended for common dental treatments. Elective dental care should be avoided for six weeks after myocardial infarction or bare-metal stent placement or for six months after drug-eluting stent placement. It is important that any history of antiresorptive or antiangiogenic therapies be communicated to the dentist. Ascites is not an indication for initiating prophylactic antibiotics before dental treatment, and acetaminophen is the analgesic of choice for patients with liver dysfunction or cirrhosis who abstain from alcohol. Nephrotoxic medications should be avoided in patients with chronic kidney disease, and the consultation should include the patient's glomerular filtration rate. Although patients undergoing chemotherapy may receive routine dental care, it should be postponed when possible in those currently undergoing head and neck radiation therapy. A detailed history of head and neck radiation therapy should be provided to the dentist. Multimodal, nonnarcotic analgesia is recommended for managing acute dental pain.

Causas implicadas en la suspensión de pacientes tributarios para cirugía electiva / Causes for the suspension of elective surgery for eligible patients

Introducción: La suspensión de la intervención quirúrgica es una situación que ocasiona inconvenientes, va en contra de optimizar las actividades, reducir costos, evitar la pérdida de materiales y desarrollar el trabajo con la más alta calidad. Objetivo: Describir las principales causas implicadas en la suspensión de los pacientes tributarios para cirugía electiva. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo transversal en el Hospital General Docente Dr. Juan Bruno Zayas Alfonso de Santiago de Cuba, en el periodo comprendido de septiembre 2017-septiembre 2018. De una población de 4 511 cirugías anunciadas, se tomó una muestra de 1 289 pacientes que fueron suspendidos en la consulta de anestesia y en el preoperatorio inmediato. Resultados: La especialidad de cirugía general presenta el indicador más alto (26,9 por ciento) del total de las suspensiones en consulta, así de las 798 suspensiones en la consulta 476 (59,6 por ciento) fueron debidas a los pacientes, 341 por causas médicas (42,7 por ciento), es decir, más de la mitad de las suspensiones obedecieron a las alteraciones clínicas. Se le atribuye al hospital 386 suspensiones para 29,9 por ciento del total de las suspensiones. Conclusiones: La incidencia de las suspensiones anestésico-quirúrgicas es elevada tanto en la consulta anestésica como en el preoperatorio inmediato. Estas, junto a las causas relacionadas con el paciente, constituyen la experiencia práctica médico-asistencial más relevantes y es de tener en consideración por el anestesiólogo actuante, fundamentalmente ante la presencia de enfermos aquejados de comorbilidades cardiovasculares(AU)

Introduction: Suspension of the surgical intervention is a situation that causes inconveniences, goes against optimizing activities, reducing costs, avoiding loss of materials and developing the work with the highest quality. Objective: To describe the main causes for the suspension of elective surgery for eligible patients. Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out at Dr. Juan Bruno Zayas Alfonso General Teaching Hospital in Santiago de Cuba, in the period from September 2017 to September 2018. From a population of 4511 announced surgeries, a sample of 1289 patients was taken, who were interrupted for surgery during the anesthesia consultation and in the immediate preoperative period. Results: The specialty of general surgery presents the highest indicator (26.9 percent) of the total number of suspensions during consultation; thus, of the 798 suspensions during consultation, 476 (59.6 percent) were due to patients, and 341 were due to medical causes (42.7 percent), that is, more than half of the suspensions owed to clinical alterations. The hospital was attributed 386 suspensions, accounting for 29.9 percent of the total. Conclusions: The incidence of anesthetic-surgical suspensions is high both during anesthesiology consultation and in the immediate preoperative period. These, together with the causes related to the patient, constitute the most relevant medical-assistance practical experience and must be taken into consideration by the acting anesthesiologist, mainly in the presence of patients suffering from cardiovascular comorbidities(AU)

Evaluación pretrasplante en otorrinolaringología / Pretransplant evaluation in otolaryngology

Resumen Los pacientes trasplantados presentan mayor vulnerabilidad a complicaciones infecciosas, no solo debido al uso de drogas inmunosupresoras, sino que también, a las enfermedades subyacentes que presentan y a la falla de órganos primarios. A pesar de que las infecciones otorrinolaringológicas no son frecuentes en estos pacientes, es importante establecer un adecuado estudio y tratamiento de ellas. A través del siguiente artículo se aportan directrices en el estudio pretrasplante desde un enfoque otorrinolaringológico, generando recomendaciones de acuerdo a la patología del paciente y el órgano a trasplantar. Si bien, las recomendaciones se realizan según evaluación rinosinusal, otológica y faringoamigdalina, una adecuada anamnesis y examen físico son los pilares de la evaluación pretrasplante en otorrinolaringología, reservándose el estudio con imágenes para aquellos pacientes con alteraciones sospechosas.

Abstract Transplanted patients have higher frequency of infectious complications, not only due to the use of immunosuppressive drugs, but also the underlying diseases that present and the failure of primary organs. Although ear, nose and throat (ENT) infections are not frequent in these patients, it is important to establish an adequate study and treatment of them. Through the following article, guidelines are provided in the pretransplant study from an ENT approach, generating recommendations according to the pathology of the patient and the organ to be transplanted. Although, the recommendations are made according to rhinosinusal, otological and pharyngotonsiline evaluation, adequate anamnesis and physical examination are the pillars of the pretransplant evaluation in otolaryngology, reserving the study with images for patients with suspicious alterations.

Neurometabolites and sport-related concussion: From acute injury to one year after medical clearance.

Sport-related concussion is associated with acute disturbances in neurometabolic function, with effects that may last weeks to months after injury. However, is presently unknown whether these disturbances resolve at medical clearance to return to play (RTP) or continue to evolve over longer time intervals. Moreover, little is known about how these neurometabolic changes correlate with other measures of brain physiology. In this study, these gaps were addressed by evaluating ninety-nine (99) university-level athletes, including 33 with sport-related concussion and 66 without recent injury, using multi-parameter magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which included single-voxel spectroscopy (SVS), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and resting-state functional MRI (fMRI). The concussed athletes were scanned at the acute phase of injury (27/33 imaged), medical clearance to RTP (25/33 imaged), one month post-RTP (25/33 imaged) and one year post-RTP (13/33 imaged). We measured longitudinal changes in N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) and myo-inositol (Ins), over the course of concussion recovery. Concussed athletes showed no significant abnormalities or longitudinal change in NAA values, whereas Ins was significantly elevated at RTP and one month later. Interestingly, Ins response was attenuated by a prior history of concussion. Subsequent analyses identified significant associations between Ins values, DTI measures of white matter microstructure and fMRI measures of functional connectivity. These associations varied over the course of concussion recovery, suggesting that elevated Ins values at RTP and beyond reflect distinct changes in brain physiology, compared to acute injury. These findings provide novel information about neurometabolic recovery after a sport-related concussion, with evidence of disturbances that persist beyond medical clearance to RTP.

Apparent diffusion coefficients for predicting primary cholesteatoma risk of recurrence after surgical clearance.

PURPOSE: Beside the well-known accuracy of non-EPI DWI techniques and relative ADC maps in detecting cholesteatomatous tissue, ADC can also represent a useful tool for stratifying cholesteatoma risk of recurrence. Aim of this study is to test the role of ADC in determining risk of recurrence for primary middle ear cholesteatoma, proposing stratification based on pre-operative mean (mADC) and normalized (nADC) ADC values. METHODS: In this prospective study, 60 patients with primary unilateral middle ear cholesteatoma underwent a three-years-long follow-up to assess the presence of recurrent disease after macroscopically complete excisional surgery. Baseline MRI examination mADC and nADC values in the group with early evidence of recurrent cholesteatoma were compared to the group with no evidence of recurrence by using T statistics. RESULTS: ADC values on pre-operative MRI examination were lower in cholesteatomas with early evidence of recurrence, and statistical significance was slightly higher for nADC compared to mADC measurements. We also determined a cut-off between the two groups, proposing stratification in high-risk of recurrence cholesteatomas (mADC≤ 1000 or nADC< 1.3) and low-risk cholesteatomas (mADC>1000 or nADC≥1.3). CONCLUSIONS: ADC values resulted discriminating in identifying cholesteatomas with higher risk of early recurrence, both for mean and normalized ADC, with optimized tissue characterization and outcome prediction.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness (Peak Oxygen Uptake): Safe and Effective Measure for Cardiovascular Screening Before Kidney Transplant.

BACKGROUND: Significant heterogeneity exists in practice patterns and algorithms used for cardiac screening before kidney transplant. Cardiorespiratory fitness, as measured by peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), is an established validated predictor of future cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in both healthy and diseased populations. The literature supports its use among asymptomatic patients in abrogating the need for further cardiac testing. METHODS AND RESULTS: We outlined a pre-renal transplant screening algorithm to incorporate VO2peak testing among a population of asymptomatic high-risk patients (with diabetes mellitus and/or >50 years of age). Only those with VO2peak <17 mL/kg per minute (equivalent to <5 metabolic equivalents) underwent further noninvasive cardiac screening tests. We conducted a retrospective study of the a priori dichotomization of the VO2peak <17 versus ≥17 mL/kg per minute to determine negative and positive predictive value of future cardiac events and all-cause mortality. We report a high (>90%) negative predictive value, indicating that VO2peak ≥17 mL/kg per minute is effective to rule out future cardiac events and all-cause mortality. However, lower VO2peak had low positive predictive value and should not be used as a reliable metric to predict future cardiac events and/or mortality. In addition, a simple mathematical calculation documented a cost savings of ≈$272 600 in the cardiac screening among our study cohort of 637 patients undergoing evaluation for kidney and/or pancreas transplant. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that incorporating an objective measure of cardiorespiratory fitness with VO2peak is safe and allows for a cost savings in the cardiovascular screening protocol among higher-risk phenotype (with diabetes mellitus and >50 years of age) being evaluated for kidney transplant.

Protocolo fast track ("rápida implementación") disminuye el tiempo de estadía hospitalaria, y el tiempo de inicio de la alimentación por vía bucal, en el paciente sometido a cirugía colorectal electiva / Fast track decreases the hospital stay, the time of begining of oral feeding in the patient undergoing, elective colorectal surgery

Introducción: el protocolo "fast track" (rápida implementación) ha revolucionado a la cirugía colorectal. Algunos cirujanos aún efectúan la preparación preoperatoria para los pacientes que serán sometidos a cirugía colorectal. El propósito de este escrito es el de comparar los resultados entre el protocolo "fast track "y la cirugía convencional en la preparación de los pacientes sometidos a cirugía colorectal por afecciones benignas. Métodos: desde enero 2012 hasta agosto 2015, los pacientes operados por cirugía colorectal debido a afecciones benignas se incluyeron en el estudio. El grupo de comparación consistió en pacientes con cirugía colónica mayor con cuidado convencional y el "fast track". Resultados: hubo 86 pacientes en total, 43 para cada grupo. Ambos grupos eran similares. Los pacientes con cuidado convencional tuvieron una estadía hospitalaria mayor y de inicio de la alimentación por boca comparada con los pacientes del protocolo "fast track", p = 0.000 para ambas diferencias. Las complicaciones postoperatorias y las reoperaciones fueron similares en ambos grupos, sin ninguna diferencia significativa, p>0.05. No hubo fallecimientos en los dos grupos. Conclusión: el protocolo "fast track" es efectivo en la cirugía colorectal electiva porque disminuye el tiempo del comienzo de la alimentación por boca y el de la estadía hospitalaria en los pacientes, sin comprometer la seguridad.

Introduction: The Fast-track protocol has revolutionized colorectal surgery. Some surgeons still perform preoperative preparation for patients undergoing colorectal surgery. The aim of this paper is to compare the results between the Fast-track protocol and conventional surgery in preparing patients undergoing colorectal surgery for benign disease. Methods: From January 2012 to August 2015, the patients operated for colorectal surgery for benign diseases were included. The comparison group consisted of patients with major colon surgery with conventional care and Fast-track. Results: There were 86 patients in total, 43 in each group. Both groups were similar. Patients with conventional care had higher hospital stay and start of oral feeding compared to patients in Fasttrack protocol,p = 0.000 for both differences. Postoperative complications and reoperations were similar in both groups, with no significant difference, p> 0.05. There were no deaths in both groups. Conclusion: Fast-track protocol is effective in elective colorectal surgery because it decreases the start time of the oral feeding and the hospital stay of patients without compromising safety.

Protocolized Laboratory Screening for the Medical Clearance of Psychiatric Patients in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: Emergency department (ED) patients with psychiatric chief complaints undergo medical screening to rule out underlying or comorbid medical illnesses prior to transfer to a psychiatric facility. This systematic review attempts to determine the clinical utility of protocolized laboratory screening for the streamlined medical clearance of ED psychiatric patients by determining the clinical significance of individual laboratory results. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, and Scopus using the search terms "emergency department, psychiatry, diagnostic tests, laboratories, studies, testing, screening, and clearance" up to June 2017 for studies on adult psychiatric patients. This systematic review follows the recommendations of Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) statement. The quality of each study was rated according to the Newcastle-Ottawa quality assessment scale. RESULTS: Four independent reviewers identified 2,847 publications. We extracted data from three studies (n = 629 patients). Included studies defined an abnormal test result as any laboratory result that falls out of the normal range. A laboratory test result was deemed as "clinically significant" only when patient disposition or treatment plan was changed because of that test result. Across the three studies the prevalence of clinically significant results were low (0.0%-0.4%). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of clinically significant laboratory test results were low, suggesting that according to the available literature, routine laboratory testing does not significantly change patient disposition. Due to the paucity of available research on this subject, we could not determine the clinical utility of protocolized laboratory screening tests for medical clearance of psychiatric patients in the ED. Future research on the utility of routine laboratory testing is important in a move toward shared decision making and patient-centered health care.

Rapid Methods for Routine Frailty Assessment during Vascular Surgery Clinic Visits.

BACKGROUND: Frailty assessment can help vascular surgeons predict perioperative risk and long-term mortality for their patients. Unfortunately, comprehensive frailty assessments take too long to integrate into clinic workflow. This study was designed to evaluate 2 rapid methods for assessing frailty during vascular clinics-a short patient-reported survey and a provider-reported frailty scale. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 159 patients presenting to an academic medical center vascular surgery clinic between May and November 2016. Patients underwent frailty assessment using 2 rapid methods: (1) the Frail Nondisabled (FiND) survey (5 questions) and (2) the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS; 9-point scale from robust to severely frail). These were followed by administering the Fried Index, a validated frailty assessment method with 5 measures (weight loss, exhaustion, grip strength, walking speed, and activity level). The correlation between Fried scores (reference standard) with frailty diagnoses derived from FiND and CFS was analyzed using the Spearman-rank test, Cohen's kappa, sensitivity/specificity tests, and receiver operating curves. RESULTS: The evaluated cohort included 87 (55%) females, a mean age of 61 years, 126 (79%) preoperative patients, and 32 (20%) categorized as frail using the Fried Index criteria. The FiND survey was very sensitive (91%) but less specific for diagnosing frailty. In comparison, the CFS was highly specific (96%) for diagnosing frailty and exhibited high inter-rater reliability between surgeon and medical assistant scores (kappa: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.72-0.87; P < 0.001). There was moderate correlation between frailty assigned using the Fried Index and the CFS (rho: 0.41-0.44). CONCLUSIONS: Frailty can be quickly and effectively assessed during vascular surgery clinic using a combination of patient-reported (FiND) and provider-reported (CFS) methods to improve diagnostic accuracy. Implementing routine frailty assessment into clinic workflow can be a valuable tool for risk prediction and surgical decision-making.

Morbidity of central compartment clearance: Comparison of lesser versus complete clearance in patients with thyroid cancer.

BACKGROUND: Extent of central compartment neck dissection (CCND) in thyroid cancers has been a debate because of associated morbidity. There have been attempts to reduce the extent of surgery in an attempt to decrease morbidity. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed the morbidity of CCND from our prospectively maintained surgical morbidity database. CCND was divided into bilateral complete clearance (BCC) and less than complete clearance (LCC). LCC was performed for clinicoradiologically node negative patients. Rates of hypocalcemia and recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy rates were compared for LCC versus BCC. We also classified procedures performed in the central neck according to the extent of dissection. RESULTS: Of 153 evaluable patients, BCC was performed in 43.8% and LCC in 56.2%. Rate of postoperative hypocalcemia was 40.2% in BCC group versus 17.4% in LCC group. We had an overall RLN palsy rate of 7.4%. There was no significant difference in RLN palsy rates between the groups. CONCLUSION: Lesser extent of dissection in central compartment reduces postoperative hypocalcemia but has no influence on RLN palsy rates.

Medical Redeployment in Soldiers With and Without Medical Deployment Waivers.

BACKGROUND: Historically, disease and nonbattle injuries (DNBI) have caused more casualties during military operations than enemy combatants. Recent deployments to U.S. Central Commands (USCENTCOM) area of operation (AOR) have demonstrated similar outcomes. Intuitively, appropriate medical standards for our deploying Soldiers should result in no greater redeployments rates for those Soldiers who are waived for various medical conditions. However, no formal study has been published on redeployment rates of Soldiers with medical deployment waivers. The objective of this report was to evaluate the redeployment rates of Soldiers with and without medical waivers. METHODS: A matched retrospective cohort study design was used in this study. Data were obtained from USCENTCOM, Army Central Command, Transportation Command, and the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center. All U.S. Soldiers deploying to USCENTCOM's AOR with a medical deployment waiver during the calendar years of 2008-2013 were eligible for inclusion into the exposure group of this study. Soldiers with a medical deployment waiver were matched 1:5 to Soldiers without a medical deployment waiver. The Soldiers with a medical deployment waiver and their matched counterparts were then subdivided into 5 strata on the basis of their diagnosis. A McNemar's χ2 test was performed to calculate risk ratios (RRs) per strata and for the group as a whole. RESULTS: The overall risk of being medically evacuated because of DNBI for all medical deployment waivers was an RR of 2.03 (CI: 1.74, 2.36). The greatest risk of being medically evacuated because of DNBI was from the group of Soldiers on a waiver for neurological conditions with an RR of 3.81 (CI: 1.99, 7.30). The RR of medical evacuation because of DNBI was increased and statistically significant for all strata (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: There is a statistically significant increased RR of Soldiers with a Modification of the Operational Order waiver being medically redeployed for a DNBI reason from USCENTCOM's AOR from 2008 to 2013 compared with their matched peers without a waiver. The results of this study provide Commanders with additional information when making decisions regarding Soldier deployment.

American Association for Emergency Psychiatry Task Force on Medical Clearance of Adults Part I: Introduction, Review and Evidence-Based Guidelines.

INTRODUCTION: In the United States, the number of patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) for a mental health concern is significant and expected to grow. The breadth of the medical evaluation of these patients is controversial. Attempts have been made to establish a standard evaluation for these patients, but to date no nationally accepted standards exist. A task force of the American Association of Emergency Psychiatry, consisting of physicians from emergency medicine and psychiatry, and a psychologist was convened to form consensus recommendations on the medical evaluation of psychiatric patients presenting to EDs. METHODS: The task force reviewed existing literature on the topic of medical evaluation of psychiatric patients in the ED (Part I) and then combined this with expert consensus (Part II). RESULTS: In Part I, we discuss terminological issues and existing evidence on medical exams and laboratory studies of psychiatric patients in the ED. CONCLUSION: Emergency physicians should work cooperatively with psychiatric receiving facilities to decrease unnecessary testing while increasing the quality of medical screening exams for psychiatric patients who present to EDs.

Utilidad de una Evaluación geriátrica integral dirigida a la determinación de riesgos para prácticas y procedimiento (DRIPP) en el adulto mayor / Performance of a comprehensive geriatric assessment aimed at the determination of risks for practices and procedures (DRIPP) in the elderly

La edad está asociada con un aumento de la prevalencia de múltiples enfermedades y también con un deterioro de la reserva funcional y fisiológica. Los pacientes adultos mayores tienen un riesgo aumentado para el desarrollo de complicaciones frente a cirugías y diversas prácticas oncológicas. Los procesos de toma de decisiones en muchos casos son complejos, y la detección de toda esta comorbilidad geriátrica no está contemplada en muchos de los modelos clásicos para predicción de riesgo. En este artículo se describe una herramienta de evaluación geriátrica integral dirigida a la detección de riesgos para prácticas y procedimientos (DRIPP) en el adulto mayor, que fue desarrollada y se utiliza en el ámbito del Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. El objetivo de DRIPP es la detección de factores de riesgo clínicos y geriátricos asociados con malos resultados, a partir del cual se generan recomendaciones específicas de manejo, que aportan mayor información para el buen desarrollo del proceso de consentimiento informado y la toma de decisiones. Su integración transversal y longitudinal con las diferentes disciplinas e instancias para el seguimiento del paciente es una característica esencial que se traduce en ventajas asistenciales y académicas. (AU)

Aging is associated with an increased prevalence of multiple diseases, and also with decline in functional and physiologic reserve. Elderly patients have an increased risk to develop complications after surgeries and various oncological interventions. Decision-making processes are complex in several cases, and detection of all this geriatric comorbidity is not covered by many of the classic models for risk prediction. This article describes a comprehensive geriatric assessment tool for detection of risks for practices and procedures (DRIPP) in the elderly, which was developed and is used in the setting of Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. The aim of DRIPP is the systematic detection of clinical and geriatric risk factors associated with poor outcomes, and from which specific management recommendations are generated, as well as provides more information for the proper development of the informed consent and decision making processes. The transverse and longitudinal integration with different disciplines and instances for patient's follow up, are an essential feature, resulting in healthcare and academic advantages. (AU)

Development of a Preoperative Patient Clearance and Consultation Screening Questionnaire.

The optimal timing of the preanesthesia evaluation varies with the patient's comorbidities. As anesthesiologists assume a broader role in perioperative care, there may be opportunities to provide additional patient management beyond historical routine anesthesia services. This study was thus undertaken to survey our institutional perioperative clinicians regarding their perceptions of patient medical conditions that (a) need additional time for preoperative clearance by anesthesiology before actually scheduling the date of surgery and (b) warrant additional preoperative evaluation and management services by an anesthesiologist. These data were used to create a pilot version of a Preoperative Patient Clearance and Consultation Screening Questionnaire.