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Objective: To examine correlates of and barriers to COVID-19 vaccine initiation and intention among college students. Participants: 1,171 students attending a public university in the South. Methods: Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the correlates of vaccine intention and initiation. Reasons for pursuing or foregoing vaccination were analyzed qualitatively using an inductive approach. Results: Among respondents, 44% had initiated vaccination, 38% intended to be vaccinated, and 18% were unsure about/unwilling to be vaccinated. Vaccine initiation and intention were both associated with 2019-2020 seasonal flu vaccination and political ideology, with conservative-leaning students having lower odds of vaccine initiation and of intention relative to liberal-leaning students. The most common reasons for vaccine initiation/intention and for vaccine hesitancy differed in frequency by political ideology. Conclusion: The most effective vaccine promotion strategies may be those tailored to different social groups, virus-related beliefs/perceptions, and the specific concerns of vaccine hesitant students.

Objective: Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges worked to minimize transmission through non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). The objective of this study was to apply the Health Belief Model to assess correlates of US college students' early stage NPI uptake. Participants: Sample includes 1,223 students from a medium-sized university who participated in an anonymous health survey. Methods: Logistic regression assessed associations between HBM factors and consistent adoption of five individual NPI strategies. Multivariate linear regression assessed HBM correlates of NPI adoption overall. Results: Correlates of NPI uptake varied by strategy. Only perceived NPI benefits were significantly associated with NPI adoption individually and overall. Perceived susceptibility was associated with use of hand sanitizer, facemasks, and general NPI adoption. Perceived severity was associated with avoidance of large social gatherings only. Conclusion: The HBM appears valuable for understanding students' NPI adoption. Results suggest university health initiatives should prioritize education on the efficacy of particular preventive behaviors.

Context: Nonverbal communication (NVC) skills are a critical component to clinician interactions with patients, and no research exists on the investigation of athletic training students' nonverbal communication skills. Video recording and debriefing have been identified as methods to assess and educate students' NVC skills in other allied health care fields. Objective: To investigate whether athletic training students perceived video recording and debriefing of their simulation exams to be an effective method for learning and assessing their NVC skills. Design: Survey. Setting: A standard athletic training education laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: A convenience sample of 47 participants enrolled in an upper-level athletic training laboratory course. Data Collection and Analysis: Descriptive statistics were conducted on combined items from NVC feedback forms that students completed after three simulation exams. Results: While 96% of the students thought their ability to assess their NVC communication skills had improved and 98% actually felt that their NVC skills improved as a result of this method, all participants agreed this was a worthwhile experience. Conclusion(s): Similar to medical and nursing literature, students felt that video recording and debriefing of clinical simulation exams were worthwhile and valuable methods for learning about and evaluating their NVC skills.

Background: Thromboelastography (TEG) in venous air embolism (VAE) has been poorly studied. We induced coagulation abnormalities by VAE in a rat model, assessed by TEG with and without mexiletine, a lidocaine analogue local anesthetic. Methods: Twenty-three Sprague Dawley rats instrumented under isoflurane anesthesia and allowed to recover five days prior to the experiments were randomized into three experimental groups: 1) VAE (n = 6); 2) VAE and mexiletine (n = 9); and 3) normal saline (NS) alone (control group, n = 8). Blood samples were collected at baseline, one hour (h) and 24 h in all groups and analyzed by TEG to record the R, K, angle α and MA parameters. Results: In Group 1, VAE decreased significantly R at 1 h (31%), K at 1 h (59%) and 24 h (34%); α increased significantly at 1 h (30%) and 24 h (22%). While R returned to baseline values within 24 h, K, MA and α did not. In group-2 (Mexiletine + VAE), K and R decreased at 1 h (48% and 29%, respectively) and at 24 h the changes were non-significant. Angle α increased at 1 h (28%) and remained increased for 24 h (25%). In group 3 (NS), only R was temporarily affected. MA increased significantly at 24 h only in the VAE alone group. Conclusion: As expected, VAE produced a consistent and significant hypercoagulable response diagnosed/confirmed by TEG. Mexiletine prevented the MA elevation seen with VAE and corrected R and K time at 24 h, whereas angle α remained unchanged. Mexiletine seemed to attenuate the hypercoagulability associated with VAE in this experiment. These results may have potential clinical applications and deserve further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess whether exposure to movie smoking is associated with cigarette smoking among Argentinian adolescents.Study Design: A school-based longitudinal study involving 33 secondary schools in Argentina was performed. The sample included 2502 never smokers (average age at entry = 12.5 years), 1700 (67.9%) of whom completed follow-up surveys 17 months later. Exposure to the top 100 highest-grossing films for each year between 2009 and 2013 was assessed by content-coding films for tobacco and then by asking adolescents whether they had seen each of 50 titles, randomly selected from the larger pool, then parsing exposure into tertiles. Logistic regression models estimated aOR for the following transitions: nonsusceptible to susceptible never smoker, never smoker to ever smoker, and never smoker to current smoking (last 30 days).Results: At follow-up, 34.4% of nonsusceptible never smokers became susceptible, 24.1% reported having tried smoking, and 9.4% were current smokers. Most exposure to movie smoking was from US-produced films (average 60.3 minutes compared with only 3.4 minutes from Argentine films). Greater exposure to smoking in movies was significantly associated with increased odds of becoming susceptible (aORfirst vs third tertile 1.77, 95% CI 1.30-2.41), of trying smoking (aORfirst vs third tertile 1.54, 1.14-2.08), and marginally associated with current smoking (AORfirst vs third tertile 1.54, 0.99-2.40). Exposure to smoking in US- or Argentine-produced films had similar associations.Conclusion: In Argentina, exposure to smoking in the movies predicted future smoking transitions among early adolescents, with most exposure coming from viewing US movies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resumo Justificativa A via aérea difícil (VAD) ocorre com frequência (5‐15%) na prática clínica. O Índice de Risco de El‐Ganzouri (EGRI) tem uma alta sensibilidade para prever intubação difícil (ID). No entanto, a ventilação difícil via máscara (VDM) nunca foi incluída no EGRI. Como a VDM não foi incluída na avaliação EGRI e a apneia obstrutiva do sono (AOS) também está correlacionada com a VDM, um estudo que correlacionasse a previsão da VAD e AOS (identificada pelo questionário STOP‐Bang, SB) pareceu importante. Métodos Acessamos um banco de dados previamente coletados para simular uma análise posterior da previsibilidade do EGRI para via aérea difícil, associado à via aérea normal e difícil, particularmente VDM. Como objetivo secundário, avaliamos a correlação entre o sistema de previsão do SB e da VAD, em comparação com o EGRI. Resultados Foram incluídos no estudo 2.747 pacientes. A proporção de pacientes com ID foi de 14,7% (IC de 95%; 13,4‐16) e a proporção de pacientes com VDM foi de 3,42% (IC de 95% 2,7‐4,1). A incidência da VDM combinada com a de ID foi de 2,3%. O valor de corte ideal do EGRI foi 3. EGRI também registrou uma capacidade maior de prever VDM (ASC = 0,76 (IC de 95%; 0,71‐0,81)). Ao somar as variáveis do SB no modelo logístico, a ASC aumenta com a inclusão da variável “apneia observada” (0,83 vs . 0,81, p = 0,03). A área sob a curva ROC para os pacientes com ID e VDM foi de 0,77 (IC de 95%; 0,72‐0,83). Conclusões Este estudo confirma que a incidência de VAD não é desprezível e sugere o uso do EGRI como um escore de cabeceira preditivo simples para melhorar a segurança do paciente. Background Difficult airway (DA) occurs frequently (5–15%) in clinical practice. The El‐Ganzouri Risk Index (EGRI) has a high sensitivity for predicting a difficult intubation (DI). However difficult mask ventilation (DMV) was never included in the EGRI. Since DMV was not included in the EGRI assessment, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is also correlated with DMV, a study correlating the prediction of DA and OSA (identified by STOP‐Bang questionnaire, SB) seemed important. Methods We accessed a database previously collected for a post analysis simulation of the airway difficulty predictivity of the EGRI, associated with normal and difficult airway, particularly DMV. As secondary aim, we measured the correlation between the SB prediction system and DA, compared to the EGRI. Results A total of 2747 patients were included in the study. The proportion of patients with DI was 14.7% (95% CI 13.4–16) and the proportion of patients with DMV was 3.42% (95% CI 2.7–4.1). The incidence of DMV combined with DI was (2.3%). The optimal cutoff value of EGRI was 3. EGRI registered also an higher ability to predict DMV (AUC = 0.76 (95% CI 0.71–0.81)). Adding the SB variables in the logistic model, the AUC increases with the inclusion of “observed apnea” variable (0.83 vs. 0.81, p = 0.03). The area under the ROC curve for the patients with DI and DMV was 0.77 (95% CI 0.72–0.83). Conclusions This study confirms that the incidence of DA is not negligible and suggests the use of the EGRI as simple bedside predictive score to improve patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prognosis and disease-free survival rates for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have remained relatively stagnant for the last several decades. Moreover, as is the case with other malignancies, locoregional recurrence and distant metastasis are all too common even after seemingly successful oncologic surgery and adjuvant therapy. Recently, increased focus has been placed on understanding the influence of perioperative factors on tumor cell behavior and surgical outcomes. More specifically, emerging research suggests that anesthetic agents may play a role in cancer recurrence by interacting with prosurvival protein signaling pathways which harden tumor cells against oncologic treatments. In the present pilot study, we tested the hypothesis that inhalational anesthesia and total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) exert differential effects on the proteomic expression of HNSCC. Ten patients with previously untreated oral cavity or oropharyngeal HNSCC were randomized to receive either sevoflurane and remifentanil or propofol and remifentanil for the duration of their respective surgeries. Morphoproteomic analysis using 10 pro-oncogenic protein markers was performed on both pre- and postanesthesia tumor samples to qualitatively grade changes in protein expression. The results of this analysis demonstrated differential expression of several protein markers. Specifically, the exposure to sevoflurane but not TIVA resulted in a statistically significant increase in the expression of cytoplasmic hypoxia-inducible factor-2alpha (P = 0.049) and nuclear p-p38 mitogenic-activated protein kinase (P = 0.041). This study represents one of the first to evaluate the effects of anesthesia on the molecular biology of HNSCC in vivo, and the results suggest that the exposure to sevoflurane may increase the expression of pro-oncogenic protein markers in HNSCC tumor cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disseminated intravascular coagulation and fibrinolysis have been associated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemic sepsis. It has been well established by point-of-care (POC) thrombelastography (TEG) that pigs have a hemocoagulation pathophysiology that resembles humans. We evaluated the use of TEG during the development of coagulation abnormalities in a porcine model of endotoxemia. After approval by the Animal Welfare Committee, pigs were instrumented to record hemodynamic variables. Ten days after surgical instrumentation, LPS (50 μg/kg) was infused intravenously over a period of 45 minutes in conscious animals. Hemodynamic parameters were recorded before and for 6 hours after LPS infusion was completed. Simultaneously, blood samples were analyzed using TEG to measure reaction time ( R ), clotting time ( K ), alpha angle (α), maximum amplitude (MA), coagulation index (CI), percent lysis at 30 minutes, and percent lysis at 60 minutes. LPS induced profound hemodynamic changes associated with the induced endotoxemia. Concomitantly, a progressive consumption coagulopathy characterized by significant increases in R and K and decreases in α, MA, and CI developed. The overall hemocoagulation profile of the 3 nonsurviving animals (27%) was significantly different than that of the survivors. Fibrinolysis was not detected during the 6-hour evaluation period. All stages of clot formation were affected as demonstrated by TEG (increased R and K , decreased α and MA). Our results suggest that TEG is a rapid method for assessing coagulation abnormalities in early stages of endotoxemia in pigs. TEG could have significant clinical applications as a rapid POC method in human patients with sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Monitoring the adequacy of spontaneous breathing is a major patient safety concern in the post-operative setting. Monitoring is particularly important for obese patients, who are at a higher risk for post-surgical respiratory complications and often have increased metabolic demand due to excess weight. Here we used a novel, noninvasive Respiratory Volume Monitor (RVM) to monitor ventilation in both obese and non-obese orthopedic patients throughout their perioperative course, in order to develop better monitoring strategies. Methods: We collected respiratory data from 62 orthopedic patients undergoing elective joint replacement surgery under general anesthesia using a bio-impedance based RVM with an electrode PadSet placed on the thorax. Patients were stratified into obese (BMI ≥ 30) and non-obese cohorts and minute ventilation (MV) at various perioperative time points was compared against each patient’s predicted minute ventilation (MVPRED) based on ideal body weight (IBW) and body surface area (BSA). The distributions of MV measurements were also compared across obese and non-obese cohorts. Results: Obese patients had higher MV than the non-obese patients before, during, and after surgery. Measured MV of obese patients was significantly higher than their MVPRED from IBW formulas, with BSA-based MVPRED being a closer estimate. Obese patients also had greater variability in MV post-operatively when treated with standard opioid dosing. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that obese patients have greater variability in ventilation post-operatively when treated with standard opioid doses, and despite overall higher ventilation, many of them are still at risk for hypoventilation. BSA-based MVPRED formulas may be more appropriate than IBW-based ones when estimating the respiratory demand of obese patients. The RVM allows for the continuous and non-invasive assessment of respiratory function in both obese and non-obese patients., Version of Record

Abstract: A literature review was performed to analyse the evidence supporting submental intubation and to aid in the development of a new airway algorithm in craniofacial surgery patients. A systematic search of Pub Med, OVID, the Cochrane Database and Google Scholar between January 1984 and April 2011 was performed. Measured variables included the outcome, complications, publishing specialty journal and method of intubation including technique modifications, indications for the procedure, devices utilized and the total procedure time to complete the submental intubation. Of the 842 patient cases from 41 articles represented in the review, the success rate was 100%. Minor complications were reported in 60 patients and included superficial skin infections (N =23), damage to the tube apparatus (N =10), fistula formation (N =10), right mainstem bronchus tube dislodgement/obstruction (N =5), hypertrophic scarring (N =3), accidental extubation in paediatric patients (N =2), excessive bronchial flexion (N =2), lingual nerve paresthesia (N =1), venous bleeding (N =2), mucocele (N =1), and dislodgement of the throat pack sticker in the submental wound (N =1). The average reported time to complete a submental intubation was 9.9min. Submental intubation is a safe, effective and time efficient method for securing an airway when increased surgical exposure or restoration of occlusion is a priority. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Morbidly obese patients undergoing general anesthesia for laparoscopic bariatric surgery are considered at increased risk of a postoperative decrease in lung function. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a systematic use of incentive spirometry (IS) prior to surgery could help patients to preserve their respiratory function better in the postoperative period. Forty-one morbidly obese (body mass index [BMI] > 40 kg/m2) candidates for laparoscopic bariatric surgery were consented in the study. All patients were taught how to use an incentive spirometer but then were randomized blindly into 2 groups. The control group was instructed to use the incentive spirometer for 3 breaths, once per day. The treatment group was requested to use the incentive spirometer for 10 breaths, 5 times per day. Twenty experimental (mean BMI of 48.9 ± 5.67 kg/m2) and 21 control patients (mean BMI of 48.3 ± 6.96 kg/m2) were studied. The initial mean inspiratory capacity (IC) was 2155 ± 650.08 (SD) cc and 2171 ± 762.98 cc in the experimental and control groups, respectively. On the day of surgery, the mean IC was 2275 ± 777.56 cc versus 2254.76 ± 808.84 cc, respectively. On postoperative day 1, both groups experienced a significant drop of their IC, with volumes of 1458 ± 613.87 cc (t test P < 0.001) and 1557.89 ± 814.67 cc (t test P < 0.010), respectively. Our results suggest that preoperative use of the IS does not lead to significant improvements of inspiratory capacity and that it is a not a useful resource to prevent postoperative decrease in lung function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]