[Multiple pulmonary emboli in a 15-year-old boy with a femoral venous aneurysm].

Pulmonary embolism (PE) in childhood is rare and correlated with high morbidity and mortality, and diagnosis is often delayed. This is a case report of a 15-year-old boy presenting with chest pain, dyspnoea and pain in the right inguinal region, who was found to have multiple pulmonary emboli secondary to a 14 cm long femoral venous aneurysm. Two weeks before he had seen his GP due to dyspnoea, where asthma was suspected. He was treated with low molecular weight heparin but developed recurrent PE and underwent vascular surgery. Clinical suspicion to PE is the key to a rapid diagnosis, treatment and survival.

Supplemental oxygen for traumatic brain injury: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Oxygen supplementation is recommended after traumatic brain injury (TBI) but excessive oxygen may be harmful. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of supplemental oxygen or high/low inspiratory oxygen fraction (FiO2 ) for TBI patients on in-hospital mortality. METHODS: We searched Medline (Pubmed), EMBASE and the Cochrane Library for interventional and observational studies fulfilling the following criteria: TBI patients >17 years (population); initial use of supplemental oxygen/high (≥0.6) FiO2 (intervention) vs no supplemental oxygen/low (<0.6) FiO2 (control) for spontaneously breathing or mechanically ventilated TBI patients, respectively with in-hospital mortality as primary outcome. Secondary outcomes were 30-day and 1-year mortality, length of stay in hospital or intensive care unit, days on mechanical ventilation, complications, and neurological impairment. RESULTS: We screened 4846 citations. Two interventional studies comparing high vs low FiO2 for mechanically ventilated TBI patients were included. No difference in in-hospital mortality was found. The first study found a statistically significant shorter length of stay in the intensive care unit for the high FiO2 -group (6.5 [4.6-11.4] vs. 11.4 [5.8-17.2] days, p = 0.02). The second study found a lower disability at 6 months in the high FiO2 -group with low disability in 25 (73.5%) vs. 15 (44.1%), moderate disability in 9 (26.5%) vs. 16 (47.1%), and severe disability in 0 (0.0%) vs. 3 (8.8%), p = 0.02. CONCLUSION: Evidence on the effect of initial use of high/low FiO2 for TBI patients on in-hospital mortality was extremely limited. Evidence on the use of supplemental oxygen for spontaneously breathing TBI patients is lacking.

A blinded randomized study comparing intubating conditions after either rocuronium 0.6 mg·kg-1 or remifentanil 2 µg·kg-1 in elderly patients.

BACKGROUND: To facilitate tracheal intubation, either a neuromuscular blocking agent or a bolus dose of remifentanil can be administered. We hypothesized that rocuronium 0.6 mg·kg-1 provided a larger proportion of excellent intubating conditions compared to remifentanil 2 µg·kg-1 in patients above 80 years. METHODS: A total of 78 patients were randomized to either rocuronium 0.6 mg·kg-1 or remifentanil 2 µg·kg-1 . General anaesthesia was initiated with fentanyl and propofol. Two minutes after the administration of either rocuronium or remifentanil, tracheal intubating conditions were evaluated using the Fuchs-Buder scale by a blinded investigator, and our primary outcome was the proportion of patients presenting intubating conditions deemed as excellent. Further outcomes included the Intubating Difficulty Scale (IDS), hoarseness or sore throat 24 h postoperatively, and intervention against hypotension. RESULTS: No difference in the occurrence of excellent intubating conditions was found comparing the rocuronium group with the remifentanil group; 10 (28%) versus 15 (39%) (p = .29), respectively, relative risk = 0.72. Interventions against hypotension were used in 24 (67%) versus 28 (74%) (p = .51), respectively. Hoarseness and sore throat 24 h postoperatively were found in 37% versus 35% p = .86, and 14% versus 5% p = .20, respectively. The IDS score was 2 versus 2 p = .48. CONCLUSION: No difference in intubating conditions was found 2 min after the administration of either rocuronium 0.6 mg·kg-1 or remifentanil 2 µg·kg-1 in patients aged above 80 years. Intubation conditions were less than optimal in a large proportion of this patient population. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: NCT04287426.