Matteo Parotto

Introduction: More than 300 million major surgical procedures are carried out under general anaesthesia each year worldwide, and advanced airway management remains one of the leading daily challenges for clinicians. Data from large international prospective cohort studies on adverse events such as cardiovascular collapse, cardiac arrest and severe hypoxaemia during advanced airway management to facilitate anaesthesia are lacking. Methods and analysis: The International ob S ervational s T udy on A i R way mana G ement in oper A ting room and non-opera T ing room ana E sthesia (STARGATE) study will be an international prospective observational cohort study describing the incidence of major adverse events associated with advanced airway management (tracheal intubation or supraglottic airway device placement) for general anaesthesia in the operating and non-operating room for surgery and medical procedures. The secondary aim will be to describe the practice of airway management in a large international cohort. Critically ill patients will be excluded from this study. Data on patients’ characteristics, type of procedure and the adopted airway management strategy, post-procedure adverse events, operator characteristics and in-hospital mortality will be prospectively collected. The study aims to enrol 10 500 patients. Ethics and dissemination: The study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of the coordinating centre (Comitato Etico Interaziendale AOU San Luigi Gonzaga, N° 25/2023). Each of the participating centres will then seek approval of their local Ethics Committee before enrolment. Data will be disseminated to the scientific community by original articles submitted to international peer-reviewed journals. Trial registration number: NCT05759299 .

Introduction: Poor cardiopulmonary fitness is an important risk factor for postoperative complications, yet a feasible, objective and prognostically accurate method to assess preoperative fitness has not been established. The 6 min walk test (6MWT) is a simple, inexpensive and widely applicable measure that shows promise for predicting postoperative risk. However, robust data are lacking on whether the 6MWT accurately predicts complications, provides incremental prognostic value beyond routinely collected clinical factors or outperforms simpler alternatives such as questionnaires, cardiac biomarkers or grip strength testing. The Functional Assessment for Surgery by a Timed Walk (FAST Walk) study is designed to address these knowledge gaps by evaluating whether the 6MWT improves prediction of key postoperative outcomes compared with clinical factors and simpler measures of fitness. Methods and analysis: The FAST Walk study is an international multicentre prospective cohort study of 1672 adults (≥40 years) undergoing major elective non-cardiac surgery at centres in Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, Spain and the Netherlands. Participants complete a preoperative 6MWT and baseline assessments of comorbidities, self-reported cardiopulmonary fitness (MET: Re-evaluation for Perioperative Cardiac Risk questionnaire), biomarkers (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide) and grip strength. The primary outcome is 30-day death or major postoperative complication, defined as Clavien-Dindo grade II or higher. Secondary outcomes are (1) death or new significant disability at 90 days after surgery and (2) days alive and out of hospital at 30 days after surgery. Disability is measured using the short-form WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 instrument. Multivariable regression models and complementary metrics of prediction performance will be used to determine whether 6MWT distance adds prognostic value beyond routinely collected clinical factors and simpler measures of fitness. Ethics and dissemination: The FAST Walk study has received research ethics board approval at all participating sites. Recruitment commenced in June 2024, with completion of participant follow-up expected in 2026. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations, with the primary results anticipated in 2027. Trial registration number: NCT06412367 .

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of remote Video Plethysmography (VPPG) for contactless measurements of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) in adult surgical patients in a hospital setting. An iPad Pro was used to record a 1.5-minute facial video of the participant’s face and VPPG was used to extract vital signs measurements. A standard medical device (Welch Allyn) was used for comparison to measure BP and HR. Trial registration: NCT05165381. Two-hundred-sixteen participants consented and completed the contactless BP and HR monitoring (mean age 54.1 ± 16.8 years, 58% male). The consent rate was 75% and VPPG was 99% successful in capturing BP and HR. VPPG predicted SBP, DBP, and HR with a measurement bias ± SD, -8.18 ± 16.44 mmHg, − 6.65 ± 9.59 mmHg, 0.09 ± 6.47 beats/min respectively. Pearson’s correlation for all measurements between VPPG and standard medical device was significant. Correlation for SBP was moderate (0.48), DBP was weak (0.29), and HR was strong (0.85). Most patients were satisfied with the non-contact technology with an average rating of 8.7/10 and would recommend it for clinical use. VPPG was highly accurate in measuring HR, and is currently not accurate in measuring BP in surgical patients. The VPPG BP algorithm showed limitations in capturing individual variations in blood pressure, highlighting the need for further improvements to render it clinically effective across all ranges. Contactless vital signs monitoring was well-received and earned a high satisfaction score.

Purpose Squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA) suffers a constant increase each year in the last decades. Recent studies suggested the possibility of local excision (LE) as an option for early-stage SCAC patients. This systematic review aims to summarize the available evidence on the comparison of LE vs. chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in the treatment of early SCCA patients. Methods We conducted a literature review including MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, clinicaltrials.gov, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews through June 2022. MOOSE guidelines were followed. We used the methodological index for non-randomized studies (MINORS) tool to assess quality. Data on survival and procedure-associated costs were extracted. Results Four retrospective studies including 3323 patients were included. They were all comparative retrospective cohort studies (three were registry-based studies, either NCDB or SEER) with a MINORS score of 16–19 points. Overall survival (OS) was comparable between LE and CRT patients in three studies, with a 5-year OS of 85.3–100% in LE patients and 85–91.6% in CRT patients. One study investigated cancer-specific survival (CSS) and reported similar 5-year CSS in LE (98%) and CRT patients (96%). One investigated progression-free survival (PFS) and did not report any statistically significant difference in 5-year PFS between LE (91%) and CRT patients (83%). Only one study considered the mean costs associated with the two approaches (29,210 USD with LE and 46,350 USD with CRT). Conclusions LE may potentially be considered a valid alternative to CRT for patients with early-stage SCAA. Results of prospective randomized long-term trials comparing LE with CRT are warranted to draw definitive conclusions and consider LE as a true cost-effective strategy for T1N0 SCCA with similar oncologic results offered by CRT, which—to date—remains the “gold standard.” PROSPERO registration CRD42022338750

Objectives In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were significant concerns about the infectious risks of intubation to healthcare providers. In response, a dedicated emergency response intubation team (ERIT) consisting of anesthesiologists and allied health providers was instituted for our emergency department (ED). Given the high-risk nature of intubations and the new interprofessional team dynamics, we sought to assess health-care provider experiences and potential areas of improvement. Methods Surveys were distributed to healthcare providers at the University Health Network, a quaternary healthcare centre in Toronto, Canada, which includes two urban EDs seeing over 128,000 patients per year. Participants included ED physicians and nurses, anesthesiologists, anesthesia assistants, and operating room nurses. The survey included free-text questions. Responses underwent thematic analysis using grounded theory and were independently coded by two authors to generate descriptive themes. Discrepancies were resolved with a third author. Descriptive themes were distilled through an inductive, iterative process until fewer main themes emerged. Results A total of 178 surveys were collected (68.2% response rate). Of these, 123 (69%) participated in one or more ERIT activations. Positive aspects included increased numbers of staff to assist, increased intubation expertise, improved safety, and good team dynamics within the ERIT team. Challenges included a loss of scope (primarily ED physicians and nurses) and unfamiliar workflows, perceived delays to ERIT team arrival or patient intubation, role confusion, handover concerns, and communication challenges between ED and ERIT teams. Perceived opportunities for improvement included interprofessional training, developing clear guidelines on activation, inter-team role clarification, and guidelines on handover processes post-intubation. Conclusions Healthcare providers perceived that a novel interprofessional collaboration for intubations of COVID-19 patients presented both benefits and challenges. Opportunities for improvement centred around interprofessional training, shared decision making between teams, and structured handoff processes.