Hippocratic concepts of acute and urgent respiratory diseases still relevant to contemporary medical thinking and practice: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: The collected works of Hippocrates were searched for concepts on the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of acute and urgent respiratory diseases, with the objective to trace their origins in the Hippocratic Collection. METHODS: A scoping review was performed to map out key concepts of acute and severe respiratory diseases in the entire Hippocratic Collection. The digital library Thesaurus Lingua Graeca (TLG) was researched for references in the entire Hippocratic Collection regarding the epidemiology, pathophysiology, prognosis, diagnosis and treatment of acute respiratory diseases; then, the relevant texts were studied in their English translation by the Loeb Classical Library. RESULTS: Hippocratic physicians followed principles of treatment for pneumonia and pleurisy, still relevant, such as hydration, expectoration, analgesia and prompt mobilisation. Other approaches, including the inhalation of "vapours through tubes" in angina, can be considered as forerunners of modern medical practice. Thoracic empyema was diagnosed by shaking the patient and direct chest auscultation after "applying your ear to his sides". In case of an emergency from upper airway obstruction, urgent insertion of primitive airway equipment, such as a small pharyngeal tube, was applied. CONCLUSIONS: The main Hippocratic concepts on four still common acute and urgent respiratory diseases -pneumonia, pleurisy, thoracic empyema and upper airway obstruction- were identified and most of them were found to be in agreement with contemporary medical thinking and practice.

The relevance of the Hippocratic Oath to the ethical and moral values of contemporary medicine. Part II: interpretation of the Hippocratic Oath-today's perspective.

This is the second part of a paper on the relevance and significance of the Hippocratic Oath to modern medical ethical and moral values with the aim at answering questions on controversial issues related to the Oath. Part I argued that the general attributes and ethical values of the Oath are relevant to the modern world. Part II attempts to elucidate the interpretation of the specific injunctions of the Oath from today's perspective in relation to ethical values concerning the duties of physicians to patients and society. The objective is to prove that the Oath has established the general context of medical ethics of the physician-patient relationship, which reflects long-lasting moral values that still define the medical profession. The Oath has exemplified the fundamental modern ethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence and confidentiality. Its foremost message focuses on patients' best interests and not on the prohibition of surgery, euthanasia or abortion, as is generally believed. Furthermore, the Oath as a code of professional identity has had a powerful impact on modem judicial opinions regarding medical ethics. In a lot of ways, it is as relevant of the values of contemporary medicine as it was for ancient medicine. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.

The relevance of the Hippocratic Oath to the ethical and moral values of contemporary medicine. Part I: The Hippocratic Oath from antiquity to modern times.

The present paper discusses the relevance and significance of the Hippocratic Oath to contemporary medical ethical and moral values. It attempts to answer the questions about some controversial issues related to the Oath. The text is divided in two parts. Part I discusses the general attributes and ethical values of the Oath, while Part II presents a detailed analysis of each passage of the Oath with regard to perennial ethical principles and moral values. Part I starts with the contribution of Hippocrates and his School of Cos to medicine. It continues by examining the moral dilemmas concerning physicians and patients in the Classical Times and in the Modern World. It also investigates how the Hippocratic Oath stands nowadays, with regard to the remarkable and often revolutionary advancements in medical practice and the significant evolution in medical ethics. Further, it presents the debate and the criticism about the relevance of the general attributes and ethical values of the Oath to those of modern societies. Finally, it discusses the endurance of the ethical values of the Hippocratic Oath over the centuries until today with respect to the physicians' commitment to the practice of patient-oriented medicine. Part I concludes with the Oath's historic input in the Judgment delivered at the close of the Nuremberg "Doctors' Trial"; this Judgement has become legally binding for the discipline in the Western World and was the basis of the Nuremberg Code. The ethical code of the Oath turned out to be a fundamental part of western law not only on medical ethics but also on patients' rights regarding research.

The value of the Modified Early Warning Score for unplanned Intensive Care Unit admissions of patients treated in hospital general wards.

AIM: To determine the value of the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) for general ward patients and its potential use as an alarm tool for ward nurses. METHODS: A combined prospective-retrospective observational study was conducted with 153 patients in a university hospital (2013-2014). All patients were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) from general wards. Parameters retrospectively studied were 5 MEWS values at 4 hourly intervals, up to 20 hours before ICU admission. Parameters prospectively studied were ICU length of stay, ICU mortality, and mortality after ICU discharge. RESULTS: Most frequent severe adverse events were acute respiratory failure (39.9%) and septic shock (20.3%). Modified Early Warning Score increased gradually during the last 20 hours, and most patients remained in the wards, above a cut-off point ≥7 recorded at 4 hours before admission. Significant associations between latest MEWS score and ICU mortality and ICU length of stay were found. MEWS score≥ 7 hours before admission was highly associated with increased ICU and hospital mortality. CONCLUSION: Patient deterioration in general wards can result in severe adverse events. Modified Early Warning Score is a strong predictor of outcome and may be used as a monitoring tool for potentially avoidable deaths and unplanned admissions to ICU.

The origins of oral medicine in the Hippocratic collected works.

The collected works of Hippocrates describe for the first time in a systematic way a large number of oral diseases, such as ulcers, inflammations, abscesses and tumours from the epiglottis, mouth, tongue, palate, uvula and the sublingual area. Several of these case reports are remarkable for the accurate observation of clinical symptoms and signs, the aetiology, the pathogenesis and their therapeutic approach in relation to prognosis. The Hippocratic authors report cases of aphthae as part of a polysystemic disease, described many centuries later by Behçet and Adamantiades, while they associate features of splenomegaly from endemic malaria with gingivitis (ulitis). Benign lip ulcers, caused by sharp teeth bites, were distinguished from the difficult to treat herpes labialis (herpes) and from the necrotising nomae. Although staphylitis and angina (kynanche) were attributed to phlegm accumulation, they were recognised as true emergencies when they were associated with a swollen tongue and uvula. Several cases of kynanche with forward displacement of the first cervical vertebrae, atrophy of the uvula and oedema of the jaws are illustrated. A fatal outcome was anticipated in cases of phagedaenic ulcers of the teeth, causing necrosis and abscess formation. The therapeutic approach of oral diseases proceeded step by step, starting with simple regimens and progressing to invasive techniques, such as phlebotomy, surgical incisions for fluid drainage, and cauterisation. With the aim to avoid adverse events, special attention was paid to the correct timing of surgery and the maintenance of a patent airway with the insertion of small pharyngeal tubes.

Gastrointestinal motility following thoracic surgery: the effect of thoracic epidural analgesia. A randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUNDS: Impairment of gastrointestinal (GI) motility is an undesirable but inevitable consequence of surgery. This prospective randomised controlled study tested the hypothesis that postoperative thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) with ropivacaine or a combination of ropivacaine and morphine accelerates postoperative GI function and shortens the duration of postoperative ileus following major thoracic surgery compared to intravenous (IV) morphine. METHODS: Thirty patients scheduled for major thoracic surgery were randomised to three groups. All patients had bowel motility assessments 1 week preoperatively. All patients received general anaesthesia. Group Ep-R received TEA with ropivacaine; group Ep-RM received TEA with ropivacaine and morphine and group IV-M received IV morphine via patient controlled analgesia pump (PCA). Bowel motility was assessed by clinical examination in addition to oro-ceacal transit time (OCTT) on the first and third postoperative days and colonic transit time (CTT). RESULTS: Overall the OCTT demonstrated a 2.5-fold decrease in bowel motility on the first postoperative day. The OCTT test revealed statistically significant differences between all groups (Ep-R vs Ep-RM, p = 0.43/Ep-R vs IV-M, p = 0.039 / Ep-RM vs IV-M, p < 0.001). Also, very significant differences were found in the OCCT test between days (Ep-R vs Ep-RM, p < 0.001/Ep-R vs IV-M, p < 0.001 / Ep-RM vs IV-M, p = 0.014). There were no significant differences in the CTT test or the clinical signs between groups. However, 70% of the patients in the Ep-R group and 80% in the Ep-RM group defecated by the third day compared to only 10% in the IV-M group, (p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Objective tests demonstrated the delayed motility of the whole GI system postoperatively following thoracic surgery. They also demonstrated that continuous epidural analgesia with or without morphine improved GI motility in comparison to intravenous morphine. These differences were more pronounced on the third postoperative day. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN number: 11953159 , retrospectively registered on 20/03/2017.

The Hippocratic principle "to help or at least to do no harm".

Hippocrates' teaching on the ethical and moral values of medicine have captivated physicians, scholars, and historians for over twenty-five centuries, enduring despite the challenges of applying moral guidance across diverse cultures. At the core of Hippocratic ethics is the human relationship between the physician and the patient, with an emphasis on the physician's responsibility to assess potential harm involved in any attempt to heal. The Hippocratic principle "to help, or at least to do no harm" remains as relevant today as it was 2,500 years ago. In the modern context, it serves as a deontological imperative, reminding physicians to evaluate the risks of harm associated with any healing attempt. This concept aligns with the ethical principles of beneficence and non-maleficence, which are at the heart of Hippocratic medical ethics with timeless significance.

Molecular response of the human diaphragm on different modes of mechanical ventilation.

BACKGROUND: The mechanical stress that the human diaphragm is exposed to during mechanical ventilation affects a variety of processes, including signal transduction, gene expression, and angiogenesis. OBJECTIVES: The study aim was to assess the change in the production of major angiogenic regulators [vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2), and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1)] on the human diaphragm before and after contraction/relaxation cycles during mechanical ventilation. METHODS: This observational study investigates the diaphragmatic mRNA expression of VEGF, FGF2, and TGFB1 in surgical patients receiving general anesthesia with controlled mechanical ventilation (CMV) with muscle relaxation (group A, n = 13), CMV without muscle relaxation (group B, n = 10), and pressure support of spontaneous breathing (group C, n = 9). Diaphragmatic samples were obtained from each patient at two time points: 30 min after the induction of anesthesia (t1) and 90 min after the first specimen collection (t2). RESULTS: No significant changes in the mRNA expression of VEGF, FGF2, and TGFB1 were documented in groups A and C between time points t1 and t2. In contrast, in group B, the mRNA levels of the above angiogenic factors were increased in time point t2 compared to t1, a finding which was statistically significant (pVEGF = 0.003, pFGF2 = 0.028, pTGFB1 = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the molecular response of the human diaphragm before and after application of diverse modes of mechanical ventilation is different. Angiogenesis via the expression of VEGF, FGF2, and TGFB1 was only promoted in CMV without muscle relaxation, and this may have important clinical implications.

Antiemetic prophylaxis in thyroid surgery: a randomized, double-blind comparison of three 5-HT3 agents.

PURPOSE: The aim of this double-blind randomized study was to compare the antiemetic efficacy of three 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 antagonists in terms of the incidence and intensity of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in a homogenous group of female patients undergoing thyroidectomy. METHODS: The study cohort consisted of 203 American Society of Anesthesiologists PS I-II female patients randomized into four groups to receive at induction of anesthesia an intravenous (IV) bolus of 5 ml solution of one of the following: normal saline (placebo), granisetron 3 mg, ondansetron 4 mg, or tropisetron 5 mg. Nausea and vomiting were evaluated at five time points: during the first hour in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) and 6, 12, 18, and 24 h postoperatively. Nausea intensity was measured using a visual analogue scale score (0-10). RESULTS: Patients in the placebo group displayed a high incidence of nausea in the PACU and at 6, 12, and 18 h postoperatively (44, 60, 50, and 34%, respectively) and of vomiting (26, 42, 30 and 10%). The administration of granisetron reduced significantly the incidence of nausea at 6, 12, and 18 h (26, 18, and 2%, respectively) and vomiting at 6 and 12 h (10 and 6%, respectively). Ondansetron reduced significantly the incidence of nausea and vomiting only at 6 h postoperatively (28 and 12%, respectively). The administration of tropisetron did not affect the incidence of PONV compared to placebo. CONCLUSION: Among the female patients of this study undergoing thyroid surgery, granisetron 3 mg provided the best prophylaxis from PONV. Ondansetron 4 mg was equally effective, but its action lasted only 6 h, whereas tropisetron 5 mg was found ineffective.

References to anesthesia, pain, and analgesia in the Hippocratic Collection.

The Hippocratic Collection, containing 60 medical texts by Hippocrates and his pupils, was searched using the electronic database Thesaurus Lingua Graeca to identify the words "anaesthesia" and "analgesia," their derivatives and also words related to pain. Our purpose was to investigate the special use and meaning of these words and their significance in medical terms. The word "anaesthesia" appears 12 times in five Hippocratic texts to describe loss of sensation by a disease process. This observation reveals Hippocrates as the first Greek writer to use the word in a medical rather than a philosophical context. Hippocrates was also the first Greek physician to keep an airway open by bypassing a pharyngeal obstruction with the insertion of narrow tubes into the swollen throat of a patient with quinsy, thus facilitating the airflow into the lungs. In the Hippocratic texts, "analgesia" is related to "anaesthesia" for the first time, when it is pointed out that an unconscious patient is insensitive to pain. Hippocrates and his followers rationalized pain as a clinical variable and as a valuable diagnostic and prognostic tool. They used expressive and precise adjectives and well-defined characteristics of pain, such as location, duration, or relation to other symptoms, to elucidate a disease process. They also had a wide terminology for the various types of pain, still in use today. Many cures were described for the treatment of pain, including incisions, effusions, venesection, purges, cauterization and, most interestingly, the use of many plants, such as opium or the application of soporific substances. In particular, Hippocrates refers to opium poppy as "sleep inducing."