Bacteriophage therapy and current delivery strategies for orthopedic infections: A SCOPING review.

OBJECTIVES: Interest in phages as adjunctive therapy to treat difficult infections has grown in the last decade. However, phage dosing and delivery for orthopedic infections have not been systematically summarized. METHODS: Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, we conducted a SCOPING review through September 1st, 2023, of MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection, and Cochrane Central. RESULTS: In total, 77 studies were included, of which 19 (24.7%) were in vitro studies, 17 (22.1%) were animal studies, and 41 (53.2%) were studies in humans. A total of 137 contemporary patients receiving phage therapy are described. CONCLUSIONS: Direct phage delivery remains the most studied form of phage therapy, notably in prosthetic joint infections, osteomyelitis, and diabetic foot ulcers. Available evidence describing phage therapy in humans suggests favorable outcomes for orthopedic infections, though this evidence is composed largely of low-level descriptive studies. Several phage delivery devices have been described, though a lack of comparative and in-human evidence limits their therapeutic application. Limitations to the use of phage therapy for orthopedic infections that need to be overcome include a lack of understanding related to optimal dosing and phage pharmacokinetics, bacterial heterogeneity in an infection episode, and phage therapy toxicity.

Airway management in neonates and infants: European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care and British Journal of Anaesthesia joint guidelines.

Airway management is required during general anaesthesia and is essential for life-threatening conditions such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Evidence from recent trials indicates a high incidence of critical events during airway management, especially in neonates or infants. It is important to define the optimal techniques and strategies for airway management in these groups. In this joint European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) and British Journal of Anaesthesia (BJA) guideline on airway management in neonates and infants, we present aggregated and evidence-based recommendations to assist clinicians in providing safe and effective medical care. We identified seven main areas of interest for airway management: i) preoperative assessment and preparation; ii) medications; iii) techniques and algorithms; iv) identification and treatment of difficult airways; v) confirmation of tracheal intubation; vi) tracheal extubation, and vii) human factors. Based on these areas, Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes (PICO) questions were derived that guided a structured literature search. GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) methodology was used to formulate the recommendations based on those studies included with consideration of their methodological quality (strong '1' or weak '2' recommendation with high 'A', medium 'B' or low 'C' quality of evidence). In summary, we recommend: 1. Use medical history and physical examination to predict difficult airway management (1C). 2. Ensure adequate level of sedation or general anaesthesia during airway management (1B). 3. Administer neuromuscular blocker before tracheal intubation when spontaneous breathing is not necessary (1C). 4. Use a videolaryngoscope with an age-adapted standard blade as first choice for tracheal intubation (1B). 5. Apply apnoeic oxygenation during tracheal intubation in neonates (1B). 6. Consider a supraglottic airway for rescue oxygenation and ventilation when tracheal intubation fails (1B). 7. Limit the number of tracheal intubation attempts (1C). 8. Use a stylet to reinforce and preshape tracheal tubes when hyperangulated videolaryngoscope blades are used and when the larynx is anatomically anterior (1C). 9. Verify intubation is successful with clinical assessment and end-tidal CO2 waveform (1C). 10. Apply high-flow nasal oxygenation, continuous positive airway pressure or nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation for postextubation respiratory support, when appropriate (1B).

Airway management in neonates and infants: European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care and British Journal of Anaesthesia joint guidelines.

Airway management is required during general anaesthesia and is essential for life-threatening conditions such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Evidence from recent trials indicates a high incidence of critical events during airway management, especially in neonates or infants. It is important to define the optimal techniques and strategies for airway management in these groups. In this joint European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) and British Journal of Anaesthesia (BJA) guideline on airway management in neonates and infants, we present aggregated and evidence-based recommendations to assist clinicians in providing safe and effective medical care. We identified seven main areas of interest for airway management: i) preoperative assessment and preparation; ii) medications; iii) techniques and algorithms; iv) identification and treatment of difficult airways; v) confirmation of tracheal intubation; vi) tracheal extubation, and vii) human factors. Based on these areas, Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes (PICO) questions were derived that guided a structured literature search. GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) methodology was used to formulate the recommendations based on those studies included with consideration of their methodological quality (strong '1' or weak '2' recommendation with high 'A', medium 'B' or low 'C' quality of evidence). In summary, we recommend: 1. Use medical history and physical examination to predict difficult airway management (1С). 2. Ensure adequate level of sedation or general anaesthesia during airway management (1B). 3. Administer neuromuscular blocker before tracheal intubation when spontaneous breathing is not necessary (1С). 4. Use a videolaryngoscope with an age-adapted standard blade as first choice for tracheal intubation (1B). 5. Apply apnoeic oxygenation during tracheal intubation in neonates (1B). 6. Consider a supraglottic airway for rescue oxygenation and ventilation when tracheal intubation fails (1B). 7. Limit the number of tracheal intubation attempts (1C). 8. Use a stylet to reinforce and preshape tracheal tubes when hyperangulated videolaryngoscope blades are used and when the larynx is anatomically anterior (1C). 9. Verify intubation is successful with clinical assessment and end-tidal CO 2 waveform (1C). 10. Apply high-flow nasal oxygenation, continuous positive airway pressure or nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation for postextubation respiratory support, when appropriate (1B).

Measurement of Ambulatory Medication Errors in Children: A Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Children use most medications in the ambulatory setting where errors are infrequently intercepted. There is currently no established measure set for ambulatory pediatric medication errors. We have sought to identify the range of existing measures of ambulatory pediatric medication errors, describe the data sources for error measurement, and describe their reliability. METHODS: We performed a scoping review of the literature published since 1986 using PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane and of grey literature. Studies were included if they measured ambulatory, including home, medication errors in children 0 to 26 years. Measures were grouped by phase of the medication use pathway and thematically by measure type. RESULTS: We included 138 published studies and 4 studies from the grey literature and identified 21 measures of medication errors along the medication use pathway. Most measures addressed errors in medication prescribing (n = 6), and administration at home (n = 4), often using prescription-level data and observation, respectively. Measures assessing errors at multiple phases of the medication use pathway (n = 3) frequently used error reporting databases and prospective measurement through direct in-home observation. We identified few measures of dispensing and monitoring errors. Only 31 studies used measurement methods that included an assessment of reliability. CONCLUSIONS: Although most available, reliable measures are too resource and time-intensive to assess errors at the health system or population level, we were able to identify some measures that may be adopted for continuous measurement and quality improvement.

Urgent and non-emergent telehealth care for seniors: Findings from a multi-site impact study.

INTRODUCTION: The global pandemic has raised awareness of the need for alternative ways to deliver care, notably telehealth. Prior to this study, research has been mixed on its effectiveness and impact on downstream utilization, especially for seniors. Our multi-institution study of more than 300,000 telehealth visits for seniors evaluates the clinical outcomes and healthcare utilization for urgent and non-emergent symptoms. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study from November 2015 to March 2019, leveraging different models of telehealth from three health systems, comparing them to in-person visits for urgent and non-emergent needs of seniors based on International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition diagnoses. The study population was adults aged 60 years or older who had access to telehealth and were affiliated with and resided in the geographic region of the healthcare organization providing telehealth. The primary outcomes of interest were visit resolution and episodes of care for those that required follow-up. RESULTS: In total, 313,516 telehealth visits were analysed across three healthcare organizations. Telehealth encounters were successful in resolving urgent and non-emergent needs in 84.0-86.7% of cases. When visits required follow-up, over 95% were resolved in less than three visits for both telehealth and in-person cohorts. DISCUSSION: While in-person visits have traditionally been the gold standard, our results suggest that when deployed within the confines of a patient's existing primary care and health system provider, telehealth can be an effective alternative to in-person care for urgent and non-emergent needs of seniors without increasing downstream utilization.

United States and United Nations pesticide policies: Environmental violence against the Yaqui indigenous nation.

Indigenous Peoples suffer environmental violence related to pesticide exposure, including imported pesticides that are banned in the exporting countries (including the U.S.) due to their known detrimental health impacts and used in or near their traditional territories. The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) is a U.S. statue that allows "pesticides that are not approved - or registered - for use in the U.S." to be manufactured in the U.S. and exported elsewhere. The UN Rotterdam Convention also allows the global exportation of "banned pesticides." The ongoing exportation of banned pesticides leads to disproportionately high rates of morbidity and mortality, most notably in Indigenous women and children. In this paper, we present evidence describing the documented harms of banned pesticides with a focus on the Yaqui Nation in Sonora, Mexico, give background on the problematic laws allowing these harms, and highlight concrete solutions.

Extensive variability in platelet, bleeding, and QOL outcome measures in adult and pediatric ITP: Communication from the ISTH SSC subcommittee on platelet immunology.

INTRODUCTION: Despite publication of standardization recommendations by the immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) International Working Group (IWG) in 2009, there remains inconsistent outcomes definitions across ITP studies. To understand current practices and inform future standardization efforts, we characterized how outcomes have been measured following publication of IWG recommendations. METHODS: PubMed/MEDLINE-indexed manuscripts published from January 2010 through December 2019 describing platelet, bleeding, and/or health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcome measures in adult and pediatric ITP were comprehensively reviewed. This project was endorsed by the Platelet Immunology SSC of the ISTH. RESULTS: The PubMed/MEDLINE search revealed 1562 manuscripts; following review, 168 met inclusion criteria. Platelet response outcomes were reported in 141 studies, of which 57% did not use IWG definitions (using 21 distinct alternative platelet response schemes). Most randomized trials did not use IWG definitions, instead favoring platelet ≥50 × 109 /L to define response. Platelet ≥100 × 109 /L sustained for ≥6 months in the absence of therapy was the most common ITP remission definition. Bleeding outcomes were reported systematically in 41% of studies, which used 21 distinct reporting schemes. A plurality of adult studies used the World Health Organization Bleeding Scale and a plurality of pediatric studies used the Buchanan and Adix Score. HRQoL outcomes were reported in few studies (9%), which used a total of eight different HRQoL instruments. CONCLUSIONS: Despite prior attempts to standardize ITP outcome evaluation, wide variability in platelet, bleeding, and HRQoL outcomes remain. Most ITP studies did not systematically evaluate bleeding or HRQoL outcomes. Further standardization of outcome measurement in both pediatric and adult ITP is greatly needed.

WITHDRAWN: Urgent and non-emergent telehealth care for seniors: Findings from a multi-site impact study.

Ahead of Print article withdrawn by publisher.