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August Strindberg's fin de siècle novel Inferno (written in French) has been the object of a vivid critical debate, with some readers interpreting it as a pathological confession best used as a basis for pathographies, and others as a fictional literary experiment. This article argues that the very structure of Inferno anticipates and even encourages such hermeneutic constructions, in order to demonstrate the limits of interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The way that pain is assessed in the PACU could impact on postoperative pain and analgesic consumption. However, there is currently no evidence to support this speculation. The authors hypothesised that using a comfort scale reduces postoperative opioid consumption when compared with a standard numerical rating scale (NRS) to evaluate pain in the PACU., Methods: In this cluster-randomised trial, patients were assessed using either a comfort scale (comfort group) or a pain NRS (NRS group). The primary outcome was the opioid consumption in the PACU. The main secondary outcomes were postoperative pain, nausea and vomiting, length of stay in the PACU, and satisfaction., Results: Of 885 randomised patients, 860 were included in the analysis. Opioid consumption in the PACU was comparable in the comfort and NRS groups (median [interquartile range [IQR] 0 (0-5) vs 0 (0-6); P=0.2436), irrespective of the type of surgical procedure. The majority of patients did not need any postoperative opioid (59% in the comfort group and 56% in the NRS group, P=0.2260). There was no difference in postoperative pain, nausea and vomiting, time to reach an Aldrete score ≥9 after extubation, and global satisfaction., Conclusions: Using a comfort scale to assess pain in the PACU did not spare any opioid compared with use of a standard NRS. Further studies focusing on patients at risk of increased postoperative opioid consumption are necessary., Clinical Trial Registration: NCT05234216., (Copyright © 2024 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: We aimed to determine whether high-flow nasal oxygen could reduce the incidence of decreased peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO 2 ) compared with standard oxygen in patients at risk of hypoxaemia undergoing gastrointestinal endoscopy under deep sedation., Methods: This was a multicentre, randomised controlled trial with blinded assessment of the primary outcome evaluating high-flow nasal oxygen (gas flow 70 L min -1 , inspired oxygen fraction 0.50) or standard oxygen delivered via nasal cannula or face mask (6 L min -1 ) or nasopharyngeal tube (5 L min -1 ) in patients at risk of hypoxaemia (i.e. >60 yr old, or with underlying cardiac or respiratory disease, or with ASA physical status >1, or with obesity or sleep apnoea syndrome) undergoing gastrointestinal endoscopy. The primary endpoint was the incidence of SpO 2 ≤92%. Secondary outcomes included prolonged or severe desaturations, need for manoeuvres to maintain free upper airways, and other adverse events., Results: In 379 patients, a decrease in SpO 2 ≤92% occurred in 9.4% (18/191) for the high-flow nasal oxygen group, and 33.5% (63/188) for the standard oxygen groups (adjusted absolute risk difference, -23.4% [95% confidence interval (CI), -28.9 to -16.7]; P<0.001). Prolonged desaturation (>1 min) and manoeuvres to maintain free upper airways were less frequent in the high-flow nasal oxygen group than in the standard oxygen group (7.3% vs 14.9%, P=.02, and 11.1% vs 32.4%, P<0.001)., Conclusions: In patients at risk of hypoxaemia undergoing gastrointestinal endoscopy under deep sedation, use of high-flow nasal oxygen significantly reduced the incidence of peripheral oxygen desaturation., Clinical Trial Registration: NCT03829293., (Copyright © 2021 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In sepsis, early and appropriate antibiotic therapy is key but is frequently challenging due to the increasing incidence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. The feasibility of shotgun metagenomics (SM) has been scarcely assessed in urinary tract infections (UTIs). In this study, the feasibility of SM to detect both the microbiome and the resistome in patients with confirmed UTI-related sepsis was evaluated. Urine samples were obtained from 40 adult patients with UTI-related sepsis. Conventional culture was used as a reference. Following total DNA extraction and depletion of human DNA, SM was performed using Ion Proton TM technology. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted using Geneious Ⓡ software as well as online tools from the Center for Genomic Epidemiology. For the microbiome, SM was consistently concordant when urine culture was positive with only one bacterium (mainly Escherichia coli). For the resistome, results were in agreement with antimicrobial susceptibility testing with no major discrepancies. SM consistently identified bla CTX-M genes responsible for resistance to third-generation cephalosporins. Resistance to aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones was identified in all patients. This pilot study confirms that SM can provide clinically relevant information both on the microbiome and the resistome from urine samples of patients with UTI-related sepsis., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. and International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.)

Background: Rhabdomyolysis has multiple etiologies with unclear mechanisms; however, rhabdomyolysis caused by Staphylococcus aureus infection is rare., Case Report: A case report of severe rhabdomyolysis in a patient who presented with endocarditis caused by methicillin-susceptible S. aureus and review of relevant literature., Results: The patient had a history of cardiac surgery for tetralogy of Fallot. He was admitted to the hospital because of fever and digestive symptoms. Respiratory and hemodynamic status deteriorated rapidly, leading to admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) for mechanical ventilation and vasopressor support. Laboratory tests disclosed severe rhabdomyolysis with a serum concentration of creatine kinase that peaked at 49,068 IU/L; all blood cultures grew methicillin-susceptible S. aureus. Antibiotic therapy was amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ciprofloxacin, and gentamicin initially and was changed subsequently to oxacillin, clindamycin, and gentamicin. Transesophageal echocardiography showed vegetation on the pulmonary valve, thus confirming the diagnosis of acute endocarditis. Viral testing and computed tomography (CT) scan ruled out any obvious alternative etiology for rhabdomyolysis. Bacterial analysis did not reveal any specificity of the staphylococcal strain. The patient improved with antibiotics and was discharged from the ICU on day 26. He underwent redux surgery for valve replacement on day 53., Conclusions: Staphylococcal endocarditis should be suspected in cases of severe unexplained rhabdomyolysis with acute infectious symptoms.