Clinical characteristics and predictive biomarkers of intensive care unit-acquired weakness in patients with cardiogenic shock requiring mechanical circulatory support.

Intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICU-AW) is recognized as newly-acquired bilateral muscle weakness, which is a complication of critical illness in the ICU; however, there are no reports on the pathogenesis and early predictors of ICU-AW specifically associated with cardiogenic shock (CS). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of ICU-AW in patients with CS requiring mechanical circulatory support (MCS). This study was a single-center, prospective, and observational study.

Propensity-Matched Study of Early Cardiac Rehabilitation in Patients With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure.

Background: The impact of early implementation of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in heart failure (HF) patients remains to be elucidated. This study sought to determine whether CR during HF hospitalization could improve prognostic outcomes in patients with acute decompensated HF.

Methods: We analyzed patients with HF enrolled in the JROADHF (Japanese Registry of Acute Decompensated Heart Failure) registry, a retrospective, multicenter, nationwide registry of patients hospitalized for acute decompensated HF.

Home-based cardiac rehabilitation using information and communication technology for heart failure patients with frailty.

Aims: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is an evidence-based, secondary preventive strategy that improves mortality and morbidity rates in patients with heart failure (HF). However, the implementation and continuation of CR remains unsatisfactory, particularly for outpatients with physical frailty. This study investigated the efficacy and safety of a comprehensive home-based cardiac rehabilitation (HBCR) programme that combines patient education, exercise guidance, and nutritional guidance using information and communication technology (ICT).

Development of a simple method for predicting the levels of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate migrated from PVC medical devices into pharmaceutical solutions.

This study deals with the development of a simple method for predicting the elution levels of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) from medical devices made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) by using the physicochemical properties of pharmaceutical injections as a marker. GC-MS analysis showed that the release of DEHP from medical grade PVC product was concentration-dependently increased by extraction with two kinds of lipophilic injections (Sandimmun and Prograf) and three kinds of surfactants (HCO-60, Tween 80, and SDS). The solubility of lipophilic pigments such as Sudan III, methyl yellow, and 1,4-diamino-anthraquinone against these solutions were also increased in a concentration-dependent manner, in which methyl yellow showed the highest response regarding the increase of optical density (O.

Evaluation and analysis of exposure levels of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate from blood bags.

Background: The US FDA and The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan have indicated that the risk assessment of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) released from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) medical devices requires immediate attention. In particular, the analysis of the exposure to DEHP from blood bags is very important for medical treatment. However, human exposure to DEHP via blood transfusion remains poorly understood.

The validation of column-switching LC/MS as a high-throughput approach for direct analysis of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate released from PVC medical devices in intravenous solution.

Health Canada reported recently that medical devices containing di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) should not be used in the clinical treatment of infants, young boys, pregnant women, and nursing mothers. The risk assessment of DEHP released from PVC medical devices is an important issue for hospitalized patients. In this study, a simple, accurate, low-contamination and high-throughput analytical technique for the determination of DEHP in intravenous (IV) solution was developed using column-switching liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) with an extraction mini-column.

Characterization of estrogenic compounds in medical polyvinyl chloride tubing by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and estrogen receptor binding assay.

Background: In 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened to conduct a safety assessment of a plasticizer, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), released from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) medical devices.

Application of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to the quantification of bisphenol A in human semen.

The potential risks to human health and reproduction from the xenoestrogen bisphenol A (BPA) have not been well established. This is due in part to the absence of accurate analytical methods to quantify BPA in biological samples. In this study we establish an accurate, sensitive and selective analytical method for the quantification of BPA in human semen.