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Eran Segal

Publications and source records attributed to Eran Segal.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

[Preoperative laboratory screening in healthy children: what is necessary?].

This study was designed to evaluate the current practice of preoperative laboratory testing in healthy children undergoing elective surgery in a single tertiary general hospital, and compare it to the guidelines published by the American and Israeli societies of pediatric anesthesia. We also evaluated the effects of a pre-designed educational program on that practice. This was a prospective, two stage study. In stage one, data was collected on the practice of the preoperative laboratory tests obtained from children scheduled for elective surgeries. We then conducted training, dedicated to criteria and indications for preoperative laboratory testing in children prior to elective surgery. Following the training, we conducted a second phase observation and data on a second group of children was collected and analyzed. Comparing the two groups of children enabled the evaluation of the benefit of the pre-designed educational program. Two hundred and forty children scheduled for elective surgery during the four months of the study period, were surveyed. In stage one, we enrolled and documented preoperative laboratory data obtained for 150 children. In stage two, we collected data on 90 children. Overall, the incidence of unnecessary laboratory tests in the preoperative period was reduced significantly (by 32.5%, p < 0.001). The incidence of non-indicated tests performed, was also reduced significantly (by 23.1%, P = 0.015). We conclude that the use of unnecessary testing of children before elective surgery is common. A training program designed to address this issue can lead to a reduction in unnecessary testing.

Anesthesia↗

Transpulmonary thermodilution cardiac output measurement using the axillary artery in critically ill patients.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare cardiac output (CO) as measured by the arterial thermodilution technique using only a central venous catheter and an arterial catheter inserted into the axillary artery, with conventional CO measurement with thermodilution using a pulmonary artery (PA) catheter (PAC). DESIGN: Prospective clinical study in which each patient served as his/her own control. SETTING: General ICU of a large tertiary-care teaching hospital. PATIENTS: 22 patients who required invasive hemodynamic monitoring in the ICU. INTERVENTIONS AND MEASUREMENTS: CO measurements made using the PAC (COpa) were compared to bolus arterial thermodilution measurements (COax). The significance of acute changes in the continuous CO measurements during acute hemodynamic episodes was observed. MAIN RESULTS: The correlation between the two techniques (COpa and COax) was R(2) = 0.82. There was a tendency for 5% overestimation of COpa by the COax. The SEM% (SEM/average CO) for COax and COpa was 2.6% and 3.2%, respectively. The bias between measurements was 0.27 +/- 0.67 L/min, and the limits of agreement (mean difference +/- 2 SD) from minus 1.07 L/min to 1.63 L/min. CONCLUSIONS: In critically ill patients, in whom the measurement of CO is required, arterial thermodilution, using a central vein and the axillary artery is accurate and reproducible.

Adult↗

ST-segment deviation following implantable cardioverter defibrillator shocks: incidence, timing, and clinical significance.

ST-segment analysis is frequently used during surgical procedures, while ST deviation is considered a sign of myocardial injury. ST deviations were reported following transthoracic and epicardial electrical shocks. The prevalence, timing, and clinical significance of ST-segment deviation following endocardial ICD shocks are discussed in this article. Twenty-eight patients undergoing 125 shock episodes during ICD implantation or testing were included. A 12-lead ECG was recorded at baseline, continuously during the first 3-10 seconds, 1 minute after test shocks, 3-10 seconds and 1 and 5 minutes after each shock given to terminate VF. ST deviation was diagnosed when the ST-segment was displaced > or = 1 mm in at least one lead compared to baseline. ST-segment deviations were observed after 49 (39%) of all shock episodes in 17 (61%) of patients. ST elevation was observed after 30 (24%) of all shock episodes, and ST depression after 31 (25%). Following 13 shock episodes in seven patients, ST-elevation and depression were observed. ST depressions occurred more frequently after shocks given to terminate VF than after lower energy test shocks (28% vs 18% respectively, P = 0.045). However, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of ST elevations between the lower or higher energy shocks. No adverse clinical events were observed in patients with or without postshock ST-segment deviation. ST-segment deviation following endocardial ICD shocks is a frequent phenomenon, occurring acutely and resolving during the first few minutes postshock. It mayhave no prognostic implications.

Defibrillators, Implantable↗

Possible role of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) in the control of hemorrhage associated with massive trauma.

PURPOSE: To report our experience with recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) to control hemorrhage in trauma patients with profound multifactorial coagulopathy. rFVIIa forms a complex with tissue factor exposed at sites of tissue damage and induces activation of coagulation limited to the site of injury. It is approved for use in hemophilia patients, however, its use in trauma is still controversial due to the theoretical risk of thromboembolic complications. CLINICAL FEATURES: Nineteen critically ill, multi-transfused patents with trauma (ten blunt and nine penetrating), aged 25 + 17 yr,were treated with rFVIIa after all conventional hemostatic measures had failed. After one to three doses of rFVIIa, hemorrhaging ceased within minutes in 15/19 (78.9%) patients. The total dose of rFVIIa required to control bleeding was 195 +/- 112.7 microg x kg(-1). Shortening of prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time was observed within 15-30 min from 22.7 +/- 7.9 to 10.4 +/- 2.6 sec and 71 +/- 38.9 to 42.2 +/- 24 sec respectively, (P < 0.05). Transfusion requirements decreased from 30 +/- 18.3 units used within 5.6 +/- 3.4 hr of admission to 2.8 +/- 2.5 within the following 24 hr (P < 0.05). One patient developed clinical deep vein thrombosis. No systemic activation of coagulation was observed clinically. Thirteen patients (68.4%) survived and recovered. Four patents did not respond to rFVIIa treatment and exsanguinated within 24 hr. Two patients died after one week, one from sepsis and one from multi-organ failure. CONCLUSIONS: rFVIIa is a promising adjunctive hemostatic treatment for trauma patients suffering from massive bleeding. Controlled trials are warranted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of this drug.

Adult↗

A discriminative model for identifying spatial cis-regulatory modules.

Transcriptional regulation is mediated by the coordinated binding of transcription factors to the upstream regions of genes. In higher eukaryotes, the binding sites of cooperating transcription factors are organized into short sequence units, called cis-regulatory modules. In this paper, we propose a method for identifying modules of transcription factor binding sites in a set of co-regulated genes, using only the raw sequence data as input. Our method is based on a novel probabilistic model that describes the mechanism of cis-regulation, including the binding sites of cooperating transcription factors, the organization of these binding sites into short sequence modules, and the regulation of a gene by its modules. We show that our method is successful in discovering planted modules in simulated data and known modules in yeast. More importantly, we applied our method to a large collection of human gene sets and found 83 significant cis-regulatory modules, which included 36 known motifs and many novel ones. Thus, our results provide one of the first comprehensive compendiums of putative cis-regulatory modules in human.

Binding Sites↗